Thousands of people who bought an “N95-class” Razer Zephyr mask during the Covid-19 pandemic have finally received refunds for the suspect mask, months after U.S. agencies ordered the gaming equipment company to pay out $1 million. The Federal Trade Commission is sending out checks right now. I don’t know whether I should be content that the Trading Standards Agency has done its job, or depressed that over 6,700 people found this mask good enough to buy it in the first place.
Razer launched the Zephyr mask during the pandemic, advertising it as a medical-grade N95 mask capable of filtering the harmful virus. But this is not true: it has never been proven that a mask can do this. It hasn’t even been reported to federal agencies in the United States that could deem it worthy of the valid N95 reliability mark. In other words, it was a case of “deceptive” advertising of a fraudulent product, says the Federal Trade Commission, which this week is sending refunds in the form of checks and PayPal transfers to 6,764 people who bought the mask.
“Recipients will receive a full refund,” the FTC says post explaining that money is being transferred (as he noticed Ars Technica). “Consumers should cash the check within 90 days as indicated on the check or complete the PayPal payment within 30 days.”
The RGB-lit face mask was tried out by tech reviewer Naomi Wu when it first launched in November 2021. She noted the strange appearance of the mask in video titled “Razer Zephyr Is Completely Useless – But It Has Potential.” She argued that it is not medically certified as an N95 mask, even if it contains the same components as other masks that have passed the official review process. Razer’s PR department saw the reviewer’s comments and panicked, as the head of PR was sending internal emails asking about the mask, recognizing that the unsubstantiated claims were a huge problem.
“Do we have any certifications to support the N95 class claim? Are we currently in the process of officially certifying/listing N95 products?… The key question from a consumer and media perspective is: Does Zephyr provide the same protection as an N95 face mask? If so, how can we prove it? And if not, our marketing is misleading.”
At the same time, Razer PR also pressured the reviewer to change the title of his video, which is quite overbearing behavior from a press perspective.
The FTC, unsurprisingly, took it all in stride. “Accordingly, Razer knew from Intertek, its employees and Ms. Wu that their claims regarding the status of the Zephyr N95 were misleading,” the industry body said in its lawsuit.
The mask is no longer sold by Razer, which soon agreed to a $1 million refund settlement with the FTC. Despite all the evidence gathered during the FTC casethe hardware company denied doing anything wrong.
“We disagree with the FTC’s allegations and did not admit any wrongdoing as part of the settlement,” they said in a statement issued after the FTC’s May ruling. “It was never our intention to mislead anyone, and we have decided to settle this case to avoid diverting attention and disruption to the legal proceedings and to continue to focus on building great products for gamers.”
Great products? Well, let’s be the judge. I first heard about bullshit mask when James and Alice B (RPS in peace) were discussing it Electronic wireless showproviding some very comical photos of this terrible looking accessory.
“I won’t mourn Zephyr,” James said, “aside from the fact that it overestimated its effectiveness against Covid at a time when people were literally dying from Covid, it’s just a stupid product – I hate it. Doesn’t matter, everything Does not pass medical tests. If you wore this walking down the street, would you look like a bell?
Razer has since turned its attention to Snap Tap, a keyboard feature that has been banned in several esports tournaments for giving high-level players an unfair advantage in pressing buttons quickly. Although hardware czar James has tried it thoroughly and claims that ordinary fools won’t experience such a boost. Another point for him for cutting through the noise.
