A 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 problem.

Those who applied for the exchange program back in December have been waiting for the new units to ship, and that day has finally come. The updated SPOT Messengers are shipping this month to both exchange customers and retailers. According to a recent press release, the new units have undergone ‘rigorous environmental and operating quality assurance testing.’

Reliability is the most important feature of a personal locator beacon like the SPOT Messenger, and the original problems that surfaced with the Messenger units were taken seriously. SPOT took the time during the update to add a few features to the units that are currently shipping out, like GPS acquisition and a LED confirmation of message sending.

With the news of the updated units becoming available also brings the exchange program to a close. From their website:

Updated Important Notice: If you have a SPOT 2 unit with an ESN number equal to or less than 0-8053925, please complete the simple Product Return Form below to return your SPOT 2 unit for replacement. All units need to be returned for replacement and to be eligible you need to fill out the form below before March 31st, 2010.

For more information about the recall, visit SPOT’s website.