The SPOT emergency beacons have become quite popular lately because people are looking for alternative methods to alert authorities or emergency responders while in the backcountry (and most likely out of cell phone range). However, yesterday (December 14th) the company issued a voluntary recall of their SPOT 2 Messenger unit. The SPOT 2 is a smaller (and less expensive) version of SPOT’s original Messenger beacon.
According to the official information from SPOT on their Voluntary Return Program website, during product testing, they found “that some of the new SPOT 2 devices might not meet battery and messaging operating specifications.”
If you have purchased a SPOT 2 Messenger since October 1, 2009, you may be affected by this recall. SPOT gives detailed instructions on how to determine if you are affected by the recall (for both activated and unactivated units). They will be replacing the units, as well as offering one additional month of service for free.
To begin the exchange process (for those who have an affected unit), fill out the form on their website.
-via Outside.
[...] few months ago (mid-December, to be exact) SPOT LLC issued a voluntary recall of all SPOT 2 Messenger beacons. Problems with battery life and messaging were detected and SPOT has been working hard to fix the [...]
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