Jawbone refunds all UP purchasers whether they return the device or not

Complaints over the durability (or lack thereof) of Jawbone's UP wristband have led the company to the unusual move of promising refunds to all customers -- even if they decline to return the device to Jawbone. Jawbone says current UP owners can keep their wristbands, according to TechCrunch, so long as they promise not to sell them on eBay or otherwise profit from it. A letter from the company's CEO lays out the plan and promises that Jawbone is retooling to fix the issues.

Meanwhile, all pending orders for the Jawbone UP have been canceled, and Jawbone offers existing users a choice of cash refunds of US$109.43 or Jawbone.com credit of $150.

The Jawbone UP wristband fitness tracker has received generally good reviews, but many users have complained that the hardware fails after a short period of time. In response, Jawbone has withdrawn UP from circulation until it can sort these issues out. This recall/refund scheme will no doubt cost Jawbone a great deal of money, but it may be an acceptable tradeoff if the company reaps enough goodwill in return.