Snap Recalls Every Single Pixy Drone Over Battery Fire Risk
Snap's venture beyond social media and into the world of cute little drone cameras is coming to an unfortunate end. Snap has asked all buyers to immediately stop using the drone due to fire hazards posed by the battery. Owners have also been advised to not charge the battery pack with immediate effect. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says the "lithium-ion battery in the camera can overheat, posing a fire hazard."
The company is said to have sold close to 71,000 units of the Pixy following its launch in 2022. However, merely four months after its market release, Snap put a halt on its development as part of cost-cutting measures, according to The Wall Street Journal. Snap sold the Pixy drone at $230 with battery packs available separately.
Notably, at the time of writing, there have been no reports of property damage due to the batteries, according to the company. With the recall, Snap's social media-tethered drone plans have come to an unsavory halt. Snap says it is accepting refunds for the Pixy units purchased from its official website, Amazon, or received as a gift. The company is also shutting down the automatic photo syncing facility via the mobile app next month.
How to get a Pixy refund?
Notably, you only need to return the Snap drone and not the hazardous battery pack. Snap says once the units have been processed, it will refund the purchase amount within three to six weeks. In order to participate in the recall program and get a refund, Snap has created a dedicated web page for registrations that can be accessed here, complete with the online form and all the requirements.
The company says it doesn't need a purchase receipt to participate in the recall program. Just to be clear here, Snap will issue a refund for the entire retail bundle containing the drone camera and a battery unit, as well as the battery packs purchased separately. Any other items, such as the official Pixy Flight Pack or any other accessories need not be returned.
As far as the batteries go, Snap says they should be disposed of in accordance with local ordinances or as per EPA safe disposal guidelines. Since these lithium-ion batteries pose a fire hazard (and the battery tech is prone to thermal runaway in general), you should not deposit them in regular battery recycling boxes. All the instructions to handle the batteries can be found on the EPA resource page.