After reading so many posts about people losing their Fitbits, I feel compelled to write this post and give insight to what we think is an obvious and glaring fail on the part of the company.
Being a product designer by trade, I knew that after putting on my beautifully designed Alta, that I may have troubles down the road with this one.
Function should never follow form - as an industrial designer, its my biggest pet peeve in my workplace. The product has to work, and work well. Over anything else. In other words, the streamlined look of this season's Fitbit clasps are beautiful in form, but came with a price for all of us that have lost our beloved trackers. I knew after a few days of taking the watch on and off (you must - they are not waterproof...otherwise I would of definitely not messed with a good thing and left it on in the shower! Please don't, as they are not designed to handle water!) Wearing it to bed, I would find it under the sheets in the morning (ok, I do toss and turn like a pig on a spit - but that's a different story).
The pin that is supposed to snap into the band is sturdy enough (actually quite nicely designed I have to say, with the diamond shape countersinking into the top part of the band) but the material of the band where the holes are, must flex itself time and time again, in order for the pin to move past the undercuts. Over time, the holes will stretch out. No matter what rubber material is used (silicone, TPR etc.), these things have a way of stretching out with use (I won't give any funny comparisons here but you get my drift 🙂
Also, the end of the band (although tapered) still an area that is prone to 'catching' on things, like when you put your arm through your jacket, or when you put on your backpack (which is how I lost mine, I'm sure). Or just moving normally, doing normal things.
After a few weeks, you would have noticed that the struggle to get the pin through the hole became easier. This is good and bad, as it became easier to put on, but in fact more risky of losing it altogether now. I'm sure there were many complaints about the band being hard to put on as well. This is where focus testing and consumer testing is key. But don't always blame the designers...we are pressured to sometimes design stuff that we don't always agree with...or maybe they were rushed to put a new product on the market without thorough testing? (god knows I've done that lol) Pharm companies do it all the time right? Maybe there were many clasp design proposals in the beginning and the key decision makers wanted the sleek look and didn't listen to that lowly designer who said in a small voice, "yeah...i can design it that way if you want but it may not be the most sturdiest option..."
We don't always have foresight as a company, or as an industrial designer. Manufacturing tolerances and stiffness of the rubber band can vary depending on who is manning that part of the process in the factory...
I can only speculate the reason for this most obvious design fail. But rest assured, from my own personal experience, Fitibit is probably having many-a-meeting on how to handle the damange control with this one (consumers are very very savvy these days and word gets around fast). I'm sure they are in turn trying to keep Fitibit customers happy until the next 'release' - where you can sure that they are hard at work trying to design a more fail safe design.
SO don't blame yourself or Fitbit. No ones' to blame here. It's just an unfortunate lack-of-foresight thing and Fitibit is trying to rectify it. So if you're like me, and I lost my Fitbit today - give their customer service a call. I can't stress how AMAZING my experience has been with them. I explained that my beloved new Fitbit is still under warranty, and how over the course of the past three months, the clasp had become increasingly more loose and it kept falling off until yup, today of all days, is the day I lost it outside while running errands. No questions asked, they immediately sent me a new one and it is coming in the mail next week. You can't ask for better than that. And remember, being nice and cordial while on the phone to the customer support guy can go a long way.
Now, I realize I will still have the same problem with my replacement band - and yes, I had the little soft rubber sleeve on it (useless, don't get it - this requires stiffer stuff guys). Also being a jewelry designer, I had fashioned (McGyver'ed) a metal tight sleeve that slipped tightly over the band - which had worked like a charm (many a glance down at my wrist, discovering that my Alta was hanging by a thread, 'cept for the sliver band that was keeping it's life afloat...hmmmm...I see a new Etsy opportunity...lol). Anyway, today it must have been hanging by a thread, and I didn't notice it had wiggled its way loose past the metal band.
So what are our options? Product brainstorm underway:
1. Source an off-market buckle watch band (there's no official Fitbit watch type band for the Alta) - you can try Ebay, there's plenty of 'em for under ten bucks. Unfortunately I only found regular size bands, and none that I was able to find for the 'small' size wrists, which is why I am in this predicament to begin with.
2. Buy one of the bangle type bracelet styles that are made for the Alta (this won't help the dudes out there though)
3. If you're crafty like me, you can try and fashion your own metal clasp using wire (think how a paperclip bends, and bend it just so that you can wiggle it on tightly)
4. Since #3 failed for me, my next attempt will be to wear a dedicated bracelet WITH the watch (like a charm bracelet that has a lobster clasp extension - and clip that part to a ring that I will permanently afix to one of the holes in the band). Think of a fancy watch or fancy bracelet that has that 'safety' latch or chain. Any local jeweller can probably do that for you.
Hope that helps any disgruntled Fitbit customers out there, or at least help to explain why these things happen. I have never experienced such great customer support as the Fitbit support team, so kudos to them. In a situation like this, they definitely stepped up to the plate and ate their humble pie on this one.
I await with curiosity and baited breath to see how they design their next set of tracker bands.
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