Important Safety Notice from WakeMate

#1

Post by tptacek » Fri, Dec 31, 2010, 7:40 AM UTC

From my email just now.

Imporant Safety Notice

Hello WakeMate Customer,

We have just been alerted to a safety issue with our product. The black USB charger bricks that have been included with the product are defective. Do not use them.

The USB chargers were sourced through a Chinese vendor. We paid to have the proper certification and safety tests performed here in the U.S. for the chargers. However, tonight we were informed by a customer of a safety incident with the black USB chargers. Therefore, effective immediately we are recalling ALL USB charger bricks and informing our customers that it is not safe to use these USB chargers to charge your WakeMate.

We will continue to look into the situation but needed to email you immediately to ensure that you stop using and unplug the included Black USB Power Bricks.

We are extremely sorry that we sent a product containing defective components. However, we also want to stress that this issue is with the chargers only, and not with the WakeMate itself. It is still safe to use the included USB cable to charge the WakeMate, and it is safe to wear the WakeMate while sleeping.

I sincerely apologize for this mishap on our part. We are doing everything we can to prevent any further incidents with the USB charger bricks.

Re: Important Safety Notice from WakeMate

#2

Post by dwynings » Fri, Dec 31, 2010, 7:41 AM UTC

Video: http://www.twitvid.com/UBBWC

Re: Important Safety Notice from WakeMate

#3

Post by tlrobinson » Fri, Dec 31, 2010, 7:45 AM UTC

Man these guys can't catch a break. I really want to love WakeMate but they're making it hard.

Re: Important Safety Notice from WakeMate

#4

Post by noonespecial » Fri, Dec 31, 2010, 7:45 AM UTC

It's likely that the chargers that were tested and the chargers that actually ended up shipping are quite different inside.

This seems to be a constant battle when going the Chinese route. You have to cut open a few from every shipment and check to see if inferior components have been subbed in since last time.

Re: Important Safety Notice from WakeMate

#5

Post by donniefitz2 » Fri, Dec 31, 2010, 7:50 AM UTC

Man, this is big. What a bummer for Wakemate. I admire your honesty though. Thanks for not keeping quiet.

Re: Important Safety Notice from WakeMate

#6

Post by bugsy » Fri, Dec 31, 2010, 7:58 AM UTC

noonespecial wrote: post #4

It's likely that the chargers that were tested and the chargers that actually ended up shipping are quite different inside. This seems to be a constant battle when going the Chinese route. You have to cut open a few from every shipment and check to see if inferior components have been subbed in since last time.

At a place I worked a few years ago we had to individually retest every single unit of our products. This involved opening up packaging and repacking and reshrinkwrapping afterwards. In between unpacking and repacking there was testing and finding about 1/3 of them always had problems. Some boards could be fixed by diagnosing to the component level, replacing components and even resoldering incorrectly wired interboard connects. This work was done by asian immigrants of uncertain immigration status. This rework quadrupled the cost of the products but somehow it was still cheaper than just manufacturing locally to begin with, something like the exact same product was costing $20 per unit from asia, but $200 per unit to build in the US. Apparently the big cost difference was due to the effect of environmental laws regarding not being able to dump toxic waste in a river in the US.

Re: Important Safety Notice from WakeMate

#7

Post by acgourley » Fri, Dec 31, 2010, 7:58 AM UTC

noonespecial wrote: post #4

It's likely that the chargers that were tested and the chargers that actually ended up shipping are quite different inside. This seems to be a constant battle when going the Chinese route. You have to cut open a few from every shipment and check to see if inferior components have been subbed in since last time.

As someone working on a hardware startup I feel like I can only create a competitive price by sourcing and assembling overseas, and yet it seems like once you do that every turn is fraught with peril and counterfeit.

It would be awesome to hear more advice or stories, if you have them.

Re: Important Safety Notice from WakeMate

#8

Post by delackner » Fri, Dec 31, 2010, 8:02 AM UTC

So the logical next question is are the battery paks in the band safe? What sort of safety cert was done on them?

Re: Important Safety Notice from WakeMate

#9

Post by tlrobinson » Fri, Dec 31, 2010, 8:04 AM UTC

donniefitz2 wrote: post #5

Man, this is big. What a bummer for Wakemate. I admire your honesty though. Thanks for not keeping quiet.

Thanks for not keeping quiet.

If they kept quiet and someone were injured or killed due to a known defective product wouldn't they be open to lawsuits?

Re: Important Safety Notice from WakeMate

#10

Post by clewiston » Fri, Dec 31, 2010, 8:06 AM UTC

delackner wrote: post #8

So the logical next question is are the battery paks in the band safe? What sort of safety cert was done on them?

yes the batteries are safe. we believe that the chargers are spitting out a noisy electrical signal, which is causing the battery charger IC on the WakeMate to overheat, thus causing the problem. We have only seen any incidence when the unit is plugged into the black USB charger bricks we shipped with. To date we have logged over 20000 hours of sleep on our system, so we're certain that sleeping with the Wakemate is safe, and that the batteries on the WakeMates are safe as well. This is in addition to the testing and certification we had done on the unit as well before we began shipping units.