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More than 90,000 hoverboards sold in the U.S. are being recalled over safety concerns

The 2020 model of the Hover-1 Superfly Hoverboard is being recalled after it was found to have a software issue that can make it move without the user intending it to.
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
The 2020 model of the Hover-1 Superfly Hoverboard is being recalled after it was found to have a software issue that can make it move without the user intending it to.

The maker of the Hover-1 Superfly Hoverboard is urging owners to stop using the 2020 model of the device, saying it can keep moving even when its operator wants the hoverboard to remain still. DGL Group, the maker, has issued a safety recall for about 93,000 hoverboards, the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission said on Thursday.

A software problem can allow the self-balancing board's electric system to keep sending power to the motor, "causing continued momentum, when the rider is not actively controlling the hoverboard, posing fall and injury hazards," according to the recall notice.

DGL says it has received 29 reports about the issue, including four minor injuries.

The model year 2020 hoverboards aren't currently on the market, but they were sold through Best Buy until last autumn.

Anyone who owns the hoverboard can get it repaired for free. The company has set up an online form to collect details about their purchase and other information.

The problematic models of the Hover-1 Superfly Hoverboard sold for around $200 at Best Buy stores and on its website, from October 2020 to October 2021.

All of the models in question are black, with blue LED lights on the front and top of the hoverboard's deck, where the user stands. The company says units in the recall have serial numbers on the bottom of the board that start with either SPFY-BLK-GO-2008, SPFY-BLK-GO-2009 or SPFY-BLK-GO-2010.

The boards were made in China and imported by DGL Group LTD., of Edison, N.J.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Bill Chappell is a writer and editor on the News Desk in the heart of NPR's newsroom in Washington, D.C.