McDonald's Happy Meal Step-It fitness trackers officially recalled
Reports of burns and rashes trigger a recall. Bring yours back for a replacement toy and apple slices or a yogurt tube.
- Nearly 20 years writing about tech, and over a decade reviewing wearable tech, VR, and AR products and apps
Last week, McDonald's stopped selling a fitness tracker toy, the Step-It, that it was packaging with its Happy Meals in the US and Canada. Today, the tracker has been recalled.
The Step-It is a plastic snap-on band in two designs: one with a watchlike step-count display (see above), and one that lit up when moving. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission website, over 70 reports have been filed of skin irritations, burns or blisters.
If this is on your wrist right now, take it off.
It's good that McDonald's quickly stopped selling these products last week, but what do you do if you already have one? The CPSC recommends you "immediately take the recalled wristbands from children and return them to any McDonald's for a free replacement toy and either a yogurt tube or bag of apple slices."
The recall affects all the Step-Its delivered in Happy Meals, which amounts to 29 million units in the US and 3.9 million units in Canada. That's a lot of plastic.
I tried one out before they disappeared. It was a terrible fitness tracker. But, yeah, my son liked wearing it.
To find out more, according to the CPSC website, call McDonald's at 800-244-6227 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. CT daily, or go online to www.mcdonalds.com and click on the "safety recall" section.