I am within my return/exchange period at Best Buy for the Pocket.  The gimbal keeps getting the protection error when booting.  I can see why: there is a label on the top of the pan motor that has started to peel up on the edge. The under part of the label that is sticking up looks like shiny foil of some type.  Upon booting, the lens housing just touches the peeled-up part enough to offer resistance and trigger the error.

I activated the OP when I got it.  If I return this for an exchange, do I need to do anything to deactivate the old one before activationg the new one I exchange for?

You can't 'deactivate' and already activated device - just return it.

Hi, thanks for the inquiry. We're sorry about the problem that you had with your Osmo Pocket, for returning the product, you don't have to deactivate the unit as the activation can't be undone. Please keep us posted if you have further concerns. Thank you for your support.