GoPro pulls Karma drones off the market due to power outage risk

GoPro is recalling its Karma drone and temporarily halting sales. The manufacturer has discovered that in some cases the drones can fail during the flight. The company will give customers their money back and will not deliver the drones again until the problem has been solved.

According to GoPro, the recall concerns about 2,500 drones. This concerns all copies that have been sold since the introduction on October 23. The manufacturer says there are no known reports of injuries or damage to buildings as a result of the problem. Drone failure is said to have occurred in a ‘very small number’ of cases.

The manufacturer probably does not know what the problem is yet, because customers will not receive a replacement after they have returned their Karma drone. GoPro will refund customers the full purchase price and say it will not return the drone until the problem has been resolved. The company does not provide an estimate of when that will be. The website is currently showing the words ‘coming soon’ with the Karma drone.

GoPro has set up a web page where customers can find information about the recall. Customers who no longer have the receipt for their drone will also get their money back if they return the device to the store where it was purchased.

The GoPro Karma drone was presented on September 19 and was for sale a month later for a suggested retail price of 869.99 euros. It is a compact quadcopter that can be folded and works in combination with the GoPro Hero5 action camera.