Fitbit Alta Fell Off & Now Lost!

[RaymondJr]

I am Very Upset! My wife bought me a Fitbit Alta (Black/Large) for an early Father's Day present. I loved it! and was so happy to help me with getting fit.
Well today while out walking at Disneyland it fell off! I haven't even had it 10 days! The strap on this is terrible! If it comes off while walking & limited activity, how are you suppose to do increased activity? You would think there would be a clasp or some kind of lock to keep it from coming off! My wife is upset too since this was the gift she bought for me so she & I could challenge each other to stay active, now it's gone! $129+ for less than 10 days :-(...
Fitbit needs to improve this band!
I sure wouldn't recommend the Fitbit Alta to my friends or co-workers if it falls off that easily!

Moderator edit: format

[Dalilah]

I actually notified support and they gave me an option of sending a replaceny of the same model, or 50% off the current model. I took the free one and bought a $10 band from Walmart, that closes like a standard watch. Havent had any problems since May! 

[marcbar]

Hi KimmieTN,
Thanks for your suggestion. I too downloaded the app they suggested. The app recognized
That my Alta was nearby, but it took me days to find it. (It fell in a crack between my car seats.

[KimmieTN]

Great news about finding your Alta.  Buy the Bitbelt Jr. on Amazon and it will keep it from happening again.  12 bands in varying colors for less than ten dollars. 

[carolyn9678]

Thanks for that tip. Will check it out.

[Sophiespiers93]

I too had only had my Fitbit for two weeks when it fell off a few days ago. It was a Christmas present from my partner, so she is also very upset that it has been lost as she paid a lot of money for it. I am happy that the originator of this post was sent a replacement, but when I contacted customer service and explained the problem they weren’t happy to provide the same for me, despite having proof of receipts/warranties. A bit unfair to provide one customer with a replacement and not offer the same to others...

[Colsen]

I am sorry to hear you lost one too. Please note, it took multiple calls for me to get them to finally send another fitbit. The company is lousy at customer service. Maybe you can try again though?

[KimmieTN]

They sent a new one to me,  but only after I followed the procedure they asked me to - downloading the tracker app on my phone and attempting to find it through the app.  It does take more than one call though.  Good luck.   

[marcbar]

Hello,

By a stoke of luck I did finally find my Fitbit Alta between the seats in my car.
I’ve been very conscientious in forcing the prongs into the holes on the rubber band.
It’s been several months now and the Fitbit seem secure now.

I like the Fitbit a lot, but the band they came up with is a terrible design.

Nice to hear that they finally sent you a new Fitbit.
You’re right about lousy customer service.

Marc

[KimmieTN]

If you buy the Bitbelt Jr. on Amazon for ten dollars, it will hold the band together.  I've have the Bitbelt on my band since I got the new one and it has saved me multiple times.  Even if the band comes apart, it will not fall off. 

[carolyn9678]

Hi Sophie,

I'm sorry to hear that you lost your Alta.  It is so disappointing to look down & not see it on your wrist!

Call back and talk to customer service again.  Many people have called multiple times before finally receiving a replacement.  It has been a year and a half since my post was submitted, and I'm very surprised that a redesign on the Alta strap has not happened yet.  I've seen some of the options for non-FitBit brand straps to use as alternatives, but I just use an elastic hair band wrapped around twice as a safety.  It has saved me numerous times from having my Alta fall off of my wrist.  I hear that someone sells plastic sliders focused on being used on these bands, but I find that the hair band works just fine.

It happens all of the time & FitBit should really change the design of this band .... just adding a safety loop for the bottom part of the strap to slide through would be soooo helpful.  

Good luck with customers service .... keep trying.  Be nice to the rep and if you are more upset with the loss of your Alta than angry with their custom service policy, you might get a a rep who will offer you a replacement.  Be positive and be persistent.

Carolyn

[marcbar]

Thanks for the Bitbelt Jr info. I didn’t know about that.

Marc

[KimmieTN]

You're welcome Marc - it has saved me multiple times, the last time just last week. 

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[hanna1776]

I also recommend buying a new band with a watch-style clasp. Amazon has a ton of them and I've never had an issue since I swapped my Alta band for a band with a normal clasp. I have the silicon bands from the brand Henoda (look up "Fitbit Alta HR Bands, Henoda Replacement Silicone Wristband") and I got a pack of four colors for about $10. I think any brand with four stars or above would work well. I only wear the black one and I've been wearing it for half a year and it shows no signs of wear. I used to use something similar to the bitbelts but it's just a lot easier to take on/off the bands with the watch clasp, and I never worry about the strap coming undone anymore.

[Tsalagiman]

I received my Fitbit Alta as a Christmas present from my wife. It didn't take long for me to notice the poorly designed silicone wrist strap. It came loose several times during normal daily activities, but I saw it happen and didn't lose it. Today, however, I ran some errands and when I returned home I saw the my Alta was gone. I went back to the places I had been and tried syncing the app with it. No luck at any of the places I had been. The number of threads here about lost units due to the wristband coming loose is astounding. Fitbit should have fixed this a long time ago.

Moderator edit: format

[KimmieTN]

Call the company and follow the instructions they give you to find your Alta.  I did exactly what they told me and when I could not find it, they sent me a new one.  Then I went on Amazon and bought the bitbelt jr. for about ten dollars which I still have on my strap now.  This was a year ago and the bitbelt has saved me several times.  They are willing to work with you if you follow their instructions which includes downloading a free app to find the device. Good luck.  I found the company very easy to deal with.   

[Vespine0]

Amen!!!

[Sandy252]

My situation is very similar. I had purchased my Fitbit from Walmart Ontario on last Friday. I loved my Fitbit and how accurate it was. However, one day as I was coming home from work, I had noticed that Fitbit disappeared. I took the train from work and it must have fallen off. I am disappointment that Fitbit support team reponse to their manufacturing defeat on their Fit Altra. I was told that since I cannot prove that there is a defect on the wrist band, they cannot do something. I had used this Fitbit for 4 days only. Brought it brand new. This tells you that there is an issue with the band. If I had the Fitbit, I would take it to Walmart and return it. I am

disappointment that Fitbit support cannot offer an replacement. 

[carolyn9678]

Call again and talk to another person.  Just keep trying.  Good luck!!

[TWil]

I agreed, they are totally aware of this defect.

I wrote Fitbit and they told me it was not classified as a mechanical
defect.
They offered me another one at 25% off. Of course I decline that offer and
wrote back stating that their product was indeed flawed in designed and if
I had to, I would take this matter to upper management.
Thee next day, I was notified that my replacement Alta was on it's way.

Moderator edit: Merged replies

[FerdinandFitbit]

@Sandy252 Welcome to the Fitbit Community Forums! 🙂

I'm very sorry to hear that your Alta got lost 😕

At the moment, lost trackers are not covered under the warranty so the only option would be for our team to offer a discount on the purchase of a new one. I really wish I could do something more for you but our team needs to abide by the policies at all times.

Thanks a lot for the comprehension and if there's anything else I can do for you, I'm here to help!