Snap is recalling every Pixy drone that it ever sold

By Trevor Mogg February 1, 2024

Snapchat's Pixy drone. — snapchat / Snap

It turns out that Snap’s discontinued Pixy drone is a fire hazard.

The alarming news came via a notice issued by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recalling all 71,000 of the flying machines.

“Consumers should immediately stop using the Pixy … remove the battery and stop charging it,” the CPSC said in its recall notice.

Snap’s dalliance with drones only lasted four months, with the company ending sales of the $230 device in August 2022. And now, 18 months on, the CPSC is urging Pixy pilots to stop flying their drone or risk it catching fire in midair due to a potentially defective rechargeable lithium-ion battery. To date, Snap has received four reports of the battery overheating and bulging, resulting in one minor battery fire and one minor injury.

Full instructions on how to respond to the recall are provided on Snap’s website. They differ depending on whether you ordered it directly from Pixy or Amazon.

Owners will need to return their drone for a full refund and should be careful to safely dispose of the lithium-ion battery (instructions on how to do that are available online).

Customers who only have a Pixy battery or charger but no Pixy unit may also be eligible for a refund. If that’s you, contact support@pixy.com.

The Pixy weighed a mere 0.22 pounds (100 grams) and launched and landed in the palm of your hand, with protective guards safeguarding your fingers. During its time on sale, Snap marketed the camera-equipped copter as “a pocket-sized, free-flying sidekick that’s a fit for adventures big and small.”

While Snap’s social media Snapchat app has enjoyed notable success, the drone disappeared into the abyss after only a short time, with Thursday’s recall providing the final chapter of its turbulent existence. Snap’s other hardware effort — camera-equipped smart spectacles — has fared a little better in that it still sells the device, but it hasn’t been updated since 2019.

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