RECALL ALERT: Nest Protect Smoke Alarms

Nest Labs is recalling nearly 440,000 of its Nest Protect smoke detectors over an issue that could potentially delay a fire or carbon monoxide alarm from sounding. Good news for consumers - you won't have to send yours back for it to get fixed.

The company initially stopped sales of the smoke detectors last month when they discovered the problem, and now the Consumer Product Safety Commission has formally announced the recall.

The good news is that Nest Protect owners won't have to send theirs in for repair or even bring it back to where they purchased it. Instead, Nest is offering a software update that will automatically disable the Nest Wave feature, which allows users to temporarily silence the alarm by waving an arm near the device.

That feature is what has been directly linked to the dangerous bug. (Nest says it has not received any reports of incidents or injuries, however.)

Once the update has been installed, the Nest Wave option will be disabled and grayed out to make sure owners don't accidentally reactivate the feature. At that point, the Nest Protect will operate safely — without worrying about a late alarm when faced with an emergency.

If you'd rather return the device for your own peace of mind, a safety notice states that all buyers are entitled to a full refund.