If you let your gamer brain win and buy an N95 mask from Razer, a company known for its keyboards and computer mice, you may be entitled to compensation—well, even a refund. The Federal Trade Commission announced this Monday reached an agreement with the gaming hardware company to set aside $1 million to reimburse people who bought the Razer Zephyr, a short-lived “N95” mask that the company sold during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Under the terms of the agreement, the FTC said it will send checks and PayPal payments containing full refunds to the 6,764 consumers who purchased the mask. According to the agency, buyers who purchase a Zephyr will have 90 days to cash their check upon receipt or 30 days to accept their PayPal payment. The FTC will send payments based on records received from Razer and does not require consumers to file a claim.
The payout represents the end of a surprisingly thoroughly saga that saw the FTC crackdown on Razer for mismarketing its Zephyr masks. The company first began offering the masks in 2021, saying the product is “FDA registered and lab tested for 99 percent BFE [Bacteria Filtration Efficiency]” and offered “better protection compared to standard disposable/cloth masks” thanks to its “replaceable N95 grade filters for maximum protection.”
Turns out, not so much. According to the FTC's investigation, Razer never submitted the Zephyr masks to the FDA or the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health for testing, and they were never certified as N95 grade. Instead, the company conducted tests through a third-party contractor, but even the results showed that the masks were inadequate. To qualify as N95 grade, the mask must achieve 95% or greater particulate filtration efficiency. Third-party tests found the Zephyr maxed out at 86.3% in an area with the fans on, and “often tested lower.”
Despite knowing this, Razer decided to market the mask as the N95 anyway, which is a pretty major no-no. The company sold the masks for months spanning the back half of 2021 and the beginning of 2022, charging $100 a pop before pulling the product when it began receiving scrutiny.
While the company informed consumers after the fact that the Zephyr was “not a medical device or certified as an N95 mask,” it did not inform consumers that refunds were available. As a result, the FTC found that less than 6% of Zephyr purchases got their money back—which it sets out to fix in this settlement. Better late than never.
