Note that in North America the term “recall” is a formality specified by the “CPSC” (Consumer Product Safety Commission) for any corrective action taken on a product after it has been placed on the market. The already published “SAFETY CHECK FOR AVALANCE TRANCEIVERS – REVIEW OF MODES” meets this criterion.

Since Black Diamond is our distributor for PIEPS in North America, we are required to now refer to this as a “Voluntary Recall” there, even though the procedure has not changed with respect to the previously published “SAFETY CHECK FOR AVALANCHE TRANSCEIVER / BEACON MODE FAILURE” notice.

We apologize any confusion this may cause. Because we are a global company, we must comply with the laws and procedures of the country in which our products are sold.

For Europe, we are in close contact with the “Funkbehörde” and the “Ministry of Product Safety.” Both authorities confirm that the current “SAFETY CHECK FOR AVALANCE TRANSCEIVERS – REVIEW OF MODES” and the corresponding measures taken by our company for the Black Diamond and PIEPS avalanche transceivers in question are sufficient for Europe. We hope this explains the differences in wording.

The overarching root cause for all affected beacon issues has been narrowed to a material handling / assembly anomaly in manufacturing. Below are the details on the two specific issues:

• PIEPS Micro BT Button / Race / Sensor:
  We’ve identified a specific issue with the Pieps Micro family beacons where the front foil containing the buttons could be damaged during the manufacturing process thereby affecting the electronics of the device.  If this were to occur, it could result in the beacon not being able to switch into the SEARCH mode for the Button and Race models, and loss of the Mark function for the Sensor model.

• PIEPS Powder BT, Pieps Pro BT, Pieps DSP Pro, Pieps DSP Sport, Black Diamond Recon, Black Diamond Guide:
  These beacons use a series of magnetic reed switches that switch the beacon into SEARCH mode. We’ve identified an issue in manufacturing where the reed switches could be damaged. If this were to occur, it could result in the beacon not being able to switch into SEARCH mode.

• PIEPS Powder BT, Pieps Pro BT, Pieps DSP Pro, Pieps DSP Sport, Black Diamond Recon, Black Diamond Guide:
  As of April 28, 2022, 0.07% of all beacons sold globally have been reported with this issue. In North America the reported instances are lower, at 0.02%.

• PIEPS Micro BT Button / Race / Sensor:
  As of April 28, 2022, 0.53% of all beacons sold globally have been reported with this issue. 0.22% reported in North America.

We are taking this issue very seriously and want to ensure that we are transparent about what’s happening, acting quickly and as precisely as possible, and responding to our community’s concerns. We’re actively working toward a solution by focusing on the following three priorities and work is going around the clock:

Internal Product Investigation

• Based on our regular review of all warrantied /returned units, we identified an electronic component failure that appeared at a greater frequency than expected in the above listed beacons. Although the number of affected units was small, this triggered our internal investigation where the root cause was narrowed to a material handling / assembly anomaly in manufacturing.
• We have pulled all current inventory and are performing a thorough inspection, including testing every single unit before placing them into the marketplace.
• We have worked with our manufacturer(s) to identify and correct the material handling / assembly issue and are confident that this issue has been resolved.
• We have confirmed that this issue is limited to the above listed beacons.

Safety Check & Repair/Replace

• We issued a Notice for Safety Check and urge you to follow the instructions to check if you have an affected unit. We are working to repair or replace all affected beacons as quickly as possible. If you do not feel comfortable checking your own beacon, send it in and we will check it for you.
• All affected units sent in will be replaced or repaired free of charge.
• In conjunction with our Notice of Safety Check, we notified global regulatory bodies (including Health Canada, RAPEX, and the CPSC in North America) and are currently in regular communication with them as our internal investigation continues.

Communication

• It is our goal to communicate all information as quickly and precisely as possible. We will continue to provide updated information and answer all questions as soon as possible.

A device check (following the instructions on this website) will show if the beacon is transitioning correctly from SEND to SEARCH Mode.

As we continue to investigate the issue, we will honor the repair/replace program in perpetuity and adapt recommendations and communication to new findings accordingly.

No, that is how it is meant to work. The switch will not lock into Search position. This design feature allows the beacon to be switched rapidly back into Send mode in case of a secondary avalanche scenario.

No, this current issue is not related to the Pieps DSP recall in 2021.