UPDATE: Jan. 10, 2022, 4:15 p.m. EST: In a statement, Razer confirms that “to avoid any confusion, we are in the process of removing all references to “N95 Grade Filter” from our marketing material.” It also pledged to reach out to existing customers to “clarify” what the mask can and can’t do.
UPDATE: Jan. 10, 2022, 10:15 a.m. EST: Over the weekend, Razer removed references to “N95 grade” from its marketing web pages, and updated the fine print on its “The Science Behind Razer Zephyr”
Before:
“Razer Zephyr is not a medical device, respirator, surgical mask or personal protective equipment (PPE) and is not meant to be used [in] medical or clinical settings.”After:
“The Razer Zephyr and Zephyr Pro are not certified N95 masks, medical devices, respirators, surgical masks, or personal protective equipment (PPE) and are not meant to be used in medical or clinical settings.”
The company did not publicly announce the removal of “N95 grade” from its website. On Saturday, it simply posted a tweet that said it has “taken feedback and guidance from regulatory agencies to establish our testing protocols for the Razer Zephyr and Razer Zephyr Pro,” which includes a link to the aftermentioned science website. Note that on its page, Razer does not say the masks are “certified,” only that they “took guidance” from regulators.
Razer has not yet responded to PCMag’s request for comment from last week.
The original story is as follows:
Not all “N95s” are the same.
Gaming PC maker Razer plunged into the protective mask world during COVID, selling paper masks, cloth masks and its pièce de résistance—the
Following that announcement, my Twitter feed exploded with rage against the company’s “N95” claim.
“N95 grade filters with two-way protection,” Razer’s website says.
In the US, the CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (
In its fine print, Razer
Razer is clearly using the “N95” signifier here.
When we reviewed the original Zephyr, Razer told us it worked with a company called Intertek to perform testing for Bacterial Filtration Efficiency (BFE) certification. It also
Wu says she raised a complaint with the CDC. A lot of the problem here is around tricky usage of medical and legal terms that the layperson can’t be expected to understand. For example, the designation between “adopting standards” and getting certified by NIOSH.
In the last day, Razer appears to have added a section to its Zephyr product page comparing its mask to other safety solutions.
I don’t have any way of actually testing mask efficiency, but marketing contradictions make the whole thing look shifty. It says the Zephyr is not personal protective equipment (PPE), but at the top of its product page, it says the Zephyr uses “
Are you confused by these two boxes? You should be.
I’m being picky here.
But as my mentions have shown recently, a lot of people do care about the use of “N95” here, and Razer’s marketing feels over the line. It should stop using that term.
Related Video: TikTok doctors debunk the most viral COVID vaccine myths