Charge 5 strap started disconnecting

[kvpj-h]

after having my charge 5 for less than a month the strap started disconnecting whenever anything pulled in it at all. Including something as light as a sleeve catching on it when I changed my shirt. Today it popped off as I was getting on the bus and I put it back on snapped it back together and sometime between boarding the bus and disembarking I lost it. It had once again disconnected… I searched everywhere even downloaded a paid subscription app to help me find it. Waited 35 minutes for the same bus to come back around so see if anyone had handed it to the driver but was unable to recover the charge 5. I contacted Fitbit as I do feel this is a manufacturing issue. The strap should not be disconnecting this easily all the time especially on a new Fitbit. I have been a loyal customer for 11 years and got the answer that it’s not under warranty and I could have a 35% discount on a new Fitbit but cannot be combined with any other offers. Which will save me only $10 on the current sale price. I have not only been a loyal customer for 11 years but I have also convinced 6 other family members to purchase Fitbits and they continue to upgrade. I will be a lost customer today.

Moderator edit: subject updated for clarity

[DavideFitbit]

Hi, welcome to the Fitbit Community forums, @kvpj-h.

I'm sorry to see that you experienced this inconvenience with your Charge 5. Thank you for confirming that you already contacted the Customer Support team for further assistance with this. 

In this case, since this is a inquiry about the warranty limitations, I do recommend that you continue the communication with the Customer Support team so they can let you know if there are any options available for you. 

Please know that all your comments and feedback are greatly appreciated and the team continues to work to improve the quality of products and services. 

See you around. 

[kvpj-h]

Not sure I would be proud of any acknowledgement on the customer support teams behalf. They didn’t even acknowledge the faulty band and just dismissed me with a discount code that barely amounts to the current sale. I have had fitbits for 11+ years without this issue but the one I got clearly had an issue and now I’m left without. I guess customer loyalty means little to nothing these

days.

[DavideFitbit]

@kvpj-h Thank you for sharing your feedback and your experience with this. 

I'm sorry to see that you didn't have the best experience with the Support team, I would still recommend that you get in touch with them to let them know about this, since they have specialized tools to help you with warranty claims. 

Have a good day. 

[Peter2873]

I lost 2 charge 4's due to the band just popping off so wanted to move to the 5. I contacted the support desk to find out if the design was the same for the strap. They just sent me a manual and said that they had not received any issues with the strap coming undone. Quick check here and its obvious it still has the same problem so either support are fibbing or they know that they have an issue but are not acknowledging it. Such a shame as Fitbit was so good and i like the fact i have a family group but i can't justify more money on a faulty item.

[kvpj-h]

Hi Davide , I did respond to them questioning the fact that it’s not covered under the warranty despite the faulty strap and got no reply. 

-----------

I’m sorry to hear that Peter, I know the feeling! 

Moderator edit: personal info removed 

[DavideFitbit]

Hi, thank you for your replies. 

@Peter2873 Although there are other users that have reported this problem, please keep in mind that the vast majority of people using the Charge 5 have not experienced this specific problem with the wristband. If you find any problem with the band, it is recommended to get in touch with Support, as every case is evaluated individually. 

@kvpj-h Could you please confirm if you've received and update about this? It seems that Support has sent you a response and some instructions. Please let me know. 

See you around. 

[Peter2873]

Yes i did get in touch with support with this very problem with the charge 4. I ended up getting another charge 4 and experienced the exact same problem with the strap. This is why i was trying to find out about the charge 5 strap from support. Unfortunately because of the evasive nature  from support to tell me what type of fastening it had and the fact they said they had not had any issues reported which is clearly false made me decide not to buy the next fitbit. Their does seem to be more than enough complaints on here and other reviews to safely say they still have an issue. Personally i have superglued the strap on my old one which will suffice for now. Perhaps the next incarnation will address the problem.

[DavideFitbit]

Thanks again for taking the time to share your feedback and your experience with the device, @Peter2873. 

Please know that all user comments about the product are greatly appreciated and the team is constantly working to improve the quality. 

[mrspipy]

My strap keeps coming off too - I have lost it several times since getting it at Christmas 2021. It’s always the top connection that comes off - incidentally my strap is the slate blue if that makes any difference?!

[TamonEarth]

Happening to  me too and it is CONSTANT.  At this point the watch is worthless unless I start using duct tape.  It won't even stay on in bed so my sleep tracking is non existent.  I have been using Fitbit for years, this is awful.  I see the support person, @Mdavid , stated in the thread that customer support sent some instructions to @kvpj-h  to fix it, can someone post those instructions here? 

I have tried every resolution found all over the internet.  Perhaps if customer support googles the issue they will see that HUNDREDS of their customers are frustrated.  I have had the issue for months, it got worse every week until now, and this is the first time I thought to find the issue on a user forum within FitBit.  I bet you are losing customers left and right that just don't report it because they assume it is a piece of junk. Someone from support should post a solution here (and the other forums) and offer us a solution?  I will be searching for one on my own.

[kvpj-h]

Hi David, 

after a lot of back and forth I did finally get a response advising the would replace it as an one time accommodation. I did receive the replacement but the irony is that it came without the strap… which was obviously also lost with the Fitbit so I had to purchase another one. It also is clearly refurbished. The battery lasts barely 2 days compared to the one I bought that lasted 5-7 days depending on use. I ended up ordering a third party strap and it literally came with instructions on making sure the strap stays connected so I would have to say it’s obviously widespread knowledge despite the claim that “the majority of charge 5 users” have not had this issue. 

 all in all, not a great experience. I’m not sure I’ll be staying with Fitbit beyond this unit.

---------

Hi @TamonEarth @I did not receive any instructions. They eventually replaced the unit with a refurbished one. I did buy a third party strap from Amazon that does actually stay connected. So there’s that at least but not super happy that I’m dealing with a third of the battery life of a new unit seeing as how I only had mine for a little over 3 weeks when it disappeared. But such is life I guess. 

[DavideFitbit]

Hi, thank you for all your replies, and welcome to the new users in the Community forums.

@mrspipy If you haven't done so already, please make sure to get in touch with the Customer Support team for further assistance with this. Click here to get connected. 

@TamonEarth @kvpj-h If you continue to experience this problem with the wristband or with a replacement device, please continue the communication with the Support team so they can provide you with the next steps or let you know if there are any options available for you. You can get in touch with them here. If you're having trouble with the battery draining too fast, please make sure to follow the recommendations mentioned in this thread as well. 

Thanks again for all your feedback and for sharing your experience. 

[TamonEarth]

Thanks, @DavideFitbit I did do as one person mentioned, and bought different straps.  So far so good!

[DavideFitbit]

@TamonEarth Thank you for sharing your experience with this!