Snap has halted repairs on all Pixy drones after receiving four reports of overheating batteries, according to the company and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). The company said it will refund all drone owners who return their devices.
“Snap, in collaboration with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, is recalling the batteries included with the Pixy Flying Camera because the batteries may overheat, posing a fire hazard,” the company wrote on its website. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the battery issue has caused one case “Minor” fire and one “minor” injury.
The company has detailed instructions on its website for returning the flying camera (without batteries) and says all Pixy users are eligible for a refund of the purchase price, even if they received it as a gift or no longer have a receipt. Snap said anyone who owns a Pixy drone should participate in the recall, even if their device appears to be functioning normally.
The Snapchat maker launched the mini-drone in 2018, but the project got off the ground just four months later as Snap shifted resources away from the hardware project. The company has never disclosed how many drones it sold, but the CPSC said the recall affects about 71,000 devices.