Summary
- Snap is recalling its Pixy drone due to battery hazard issues, offering full refunds for those who bought it.
- The recall comes after reports of the battery overheating and causing a minor battery fire and injury.
- Consumers should stop using the drone, remove the battery, and contact Snap for the recall process.
Remember Snap’s Pixy drone? If you don’t, it’s a small drone in the social media service’s bright yellow color that it sold to help you get more interesting shots to upload to the app. It’s much smaller than an average drone, and it only weighed 101 grams. It was a basic device, but it was a curious idea, especially from a brand that is mostly known for software. Now, Snap is recalling the Pixy drone due to battery hazard issues, and if you bought one, you can get a full refund.
As spotted by The Verge, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission posted saying it is recalling the lithium-ion batteries used inside the drone. This comes after Snap has received four reports of the battery overheating and bulging. These reports have ended in “one minor battery fire and one minor injury.”
The rest of the report says that consumers “should immediately stop using the Pixy Flying Camera, remove the battery and stop charging it.” It’s only the battery that is at fault here, but the company is offering refunds for the entire product if you’ve bought one. The drone won’t work with other batteries, so it’s worth returning the entire drone if you have one to get a refund. It also says it’ll work without proof of payment so you can go through this process even if yours was a gift.
If you bought one, you can start the recall process by visiting Snap’s own website here. There’s also a hotline at 800-269-6990, or an email address of support@pixy.com that you can contact. If you do need to go through this process, read the company’s support website carefully as the brand wants you to dispose of the battery before returning the rest of the device. It has strict rules for battery disposal, and it says to use this website to find a way to do so rather than dropping it off at battery recycling services in stores.
This report confirms that the company sold around 71,000 batteries, which suggests it sold around the same number of drones. You could buy extra batteries on Snap’s website, so it’s likely the brand sold less than 71,000 drones in total. The product was canceled four months after launch, but the brand continued to sell accessories for the product until December 2023.
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