Alta HR fall off

[Margaret68]

The wristband started separating from the tracker, and despite watching videos and reading instructions on putting the band back in place, it will fall off again and again.  Is there a way to make sure the wristband is locked in place?  I am not trying to change bands.

Moderator edit: updated subject for clarity

[jbcampo]

Wow, that seems like a lot of work to compensate. I love my Alta HR display, but again this morning, my band dislodged and I almost lost it. Same thing happened yesterday walking my dog.

In the meantime, I just received my Garmin Vivofit3. There are NO interchangeable bands - yaaay! It also has a locking mechanism that you twist and that locks the band in place. Another Yaaay!. I think the FitBit UI is better, but I won't lose this Garmin device. Why can't FitBit learn from Garmin? My Garmin device synched straight away with my Moto fone, which was an issue with FitBit. So right off the bat, maybe the Garmin functionality is less, but, well, it does the job. Come on FitBit. You have great products. You can fix these issues.

[PoshyKaren]

In November I switched to an Apple Watch. I LOVE it!!! I loved my fitbit but I was always paranoid that I would lose it one day. And the fact they won’t replace the band for free after one year is a deal breaker. Especially since I needed a new band every 3 months.

Sent from iPhone

Moderator edit: personal info removed

[Renee13088]

Amazon sells packs of bands, I lost the whole watch, purchased another and have now gone through about 8 bands so far..a small plastic piece that connects to the metal clip gets a crack and ruins the seal. Try not to bang it, get it wet, avoid heat 

[AlexandraFitbit]

Hello! Nice to see you all on the Fitbit Community forums! @jbcampo and @Parkersspace  I'm sorry to hear that you are having issues with the bands on your Fitbit Alta HR. I appreciate all the détails provided and the feedback, its really useful to improve our products and services. I have created cases for both of you on our support department so they can provide options based on your warranty. They will be in contact with you shortly, please keep an eye on your inbox. 

@PoshyKaren Thanks for sharing your experience and what you did with other user's. 

@Renee13088 Thanks for the tip, just please note that this kind of bands are not covered by Fitbit n'or in case of damage to the pebble, as they are not manufactured by us. 

Please let me know if any of you have questions, I'll be glad to help! 

[Rferin]

It seems many products are made to a one year standard and that replacement parts are over priced. My out of warranty works fine, just not with the step provided. I’m working to reduce my plastic consumption and will continue to buy products that support my goal, not Fitbit throwaways.

Erin

[EdsonFitbit]

@Rferin Thanks for visiting the Fitbit Community and sorry for the delayed response.

I'm glad to hear that your Fitbit Alta HR works fine, thanks for letting us know. I'm sorry to hear that you are not interested in purchasing more Fitbit products. We are always working to improve the Fitbit experience and appreciate all the feedback from the users.

Feel free to contact the Community at any time.

[Renee13088]

I will purchase yet more bands because I do enjoy the product, would appreciate a free band

[AlexandraFitbit]

Thanks for your reply @Renee13088 ! I'm happy to hear that you enjoy your Fitbit Alta HR. I have created a case for you so our support department can assist you. They will be contacting you shortly. 

Let me know if there is anything else I can do for you! 

[Tlo22]

I had the exact same issue.

[jbcampo]

Is this really something you should have to think about with a watch? This is quite frankly ridiculous. I did contact FitBit and they are going to replace my Alta HR band, but they don't have my blue gray color, which was WHY I bought that. 

Meanwhile, my Garmin VivoFit3 hums along. It gets the job done. It's not as nice looking as the AltaHR, and the UI is not as good - you have to push a button to cycle thru results instead of tapping it.

But it works, tracks my steps, and best of all, it doesn't fall off my wrist! Wow, amazing. 🙂

[Renee13088]

Does,your new,watch track your sleeping, heart,and all the other things as well?

[jbcampo]

Sleeping it tracks poorly. I take it off at night and it reports I had uninterrupted sleep. Alta hr knows not to track sleep if watch is off wrist. Heart rate no. You can buy some chest strap, but not my style. It reports calories and active minutes. The Alta hr is better all around, but it keeps falling off, so what good is lost Alta hr?

Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android

[PoshyKaren]

The customer service was great, while under warranty. I ended up replacing my band three times in one year. But they said not enough people complained about the same problem for them to offer more of a solution after the warranty was up. They really should offer everyone an upgraded fitbit (one that does not fall off). It’s such a shame b/c I really loved my Fitbit. But now I’ll be telling everyone about how great my Apple Watch is instead.

Sent from iPhone

Moderator edit: personal info removed

[jbcampo]

I bet an apple watch costs a lot more.Can it sync with an Android phone? I get my devices from a company fitness plan so my steps earn points. They don't offer apple watch unfortunately.

Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android

[PoshyKaren]

I don't know anything about android devices. I have only Apple products. It is a lot more expensive but it also does a lot more. I also have the cellular option so that has a $10.00 monthly fee. But now I can go for a run/walk/ play a sport without my phone and still receive text messages and phone calls. Which is important to me since I have two small children and need to be responsive if their school calls. Also my phone has died at times but my watch hasn't so I can still receive call and messages on my watch. It gives me alerts when I've hit goals and I love doing competitions with my friends and family. We share each others info so we can encourage each other. I also love that it's waterproof, so when we recently went to Great Wolf Lodge I didn't have to take my watch off. And this summer I can swim with it and it can count laps for me. I like the sleep app for it as well and keep track when I get my best sleep. A lot of pros to the Apple watch, for me well worth the price.

[EdsonFitbit]

@Tlo22 @jbcampo @Renee13088 @PoshyKaren Thank you for visiting the Fitbit Community. Sorry to for the delayed response.

@Tlo22 I noticed that you contacted Customer Support. I'm pretty sure they will do their best to provide assistance as soon as possible. Thanks for your patience in the meantime.

@jbcampo @PoshyKaren  Thank you for your feedback. Our team is constantly working to improve the Fitbit experience. 

If you have any question, please don't hesitate to contact us back at any time.

[jamk]

Yes I agree it is a flaw in the band as mine does the same thing .They sent me a new one big idea, I lost my fitbit because of it. I was thinking of taking it to the jeweler to see if maybe that can attach something to it

Moderator Edition: format and personal information

[jbcampo]

Sorry to hear that. Mine fell off but got caught several times on my sleeve. Mine was less than one year old. FitBit sent me a free one, and so far, the band has not detached. Your other option is to buy Garmin. I bought one to test and it has a lock on the band to keep it from detaching. Works well. Garmin's display is legible all the time, unlike FitBit which is hard to read in the sun. You push a synch from the Garmin device instead of having to pull it from your phone like FitBit. You push a button to cycle thru modes in Garmin, vs tapping in FitBit, where the tapping doesn;t always work. But Garmin has no vibration when you reach a goal, nor does it offer a Heart Rate. Those are your choices. good luck.

[AlexandraFitbit]

Nice to see you on the Fitbit Community Forums @jamk and @jbcampo! Thank you both for the input and for sharing your experience with the bands and customer support. I'm glad to hear that both of you received your replacements. @jamk i'm sorry to hear that you lost your Fitbit because of the wristband falling, just please note that if you take the Fitbit to the jeweler it will not be covered anymore by the warranty. 

Let me know if you need assistance, I will be around! 😊

[DanaMcNeely]

I contacted Fitbit customer support. They would have replaced the band if it was within the one year warranty period. It was actually 1 year 5 months, so they apologized and pointed me to the Fitbit store to buy my own replacement. Lots of "I understand your concern" language and "we are consistent in our treatment of our valued customers" and "we put our devices through rigorous testing". All this is true, I'm sure. Yet, this does seem to be a design flaw in a not-inexpensive device purchased by a repeat customer. Feels like short-term thinking.