Snap Recalls Its Autonomous Pixy Camera Drones, Warns of Battery Fire Risk
Every Pixy owner is advised to stop using their drone immediately, and to return it for a complete refund.
Snap, best known for the vanishing-messages Snapchat app, has announced an immediate and complete recall of its Pixy camera drones — warning of a fire risk.
"Snap is recalling the lithium battery that comes with the Pixy Flying Camera because the battery can overheat, posing a risk of fire," the company announced in a statement. "All Pixy batteries are included within the scope of this recall. If you purchased or received any spare batteries for the Pixy as part of your order, or separately, those batteries are recalled as well and you can receive a refund."
The Pixy was launched in 2022 as a compact, easy-to-use autonomous drone for selfie photography. Fitted with a 12-megapixel camera and 16GB of storage, the device offered five to eight flights of 10-20 seconds each per battery charge — meaning those who used the gadget often carried multiple batteries around with them.
The recall covers every single Pixy drone sold, and all of the batteries. Owners will be given a full refund, the company has confirmed — while those who choose to take the risk and retain their drones will find the companion app losing the ability to retrieve images later this month, rendering the hardware useless.
More information, including details of how to claim a refund, are available on the Pixy support site; Snap has not announced whether it will be relaunching the drone in the future.