Brand new vs refurbished

[SunsetRunner]

I bought a brand new fitbit from the fitbit website for my sons birthday. When he took it out of the box it didn't work properly. Wouldn't stay connected to Bluetooth, didn't hold charge, screen wasn't responsive. Then after being off charge for a few hours it would display a red X.

I contacted support who tried a reset and then later agreed to send a replacement. The replacement works perfectly. However my issue is that it is refurbished. 

Support are saying that this is their policy and warranty. My thoughts are that this wasn't a warranty claim, the watch never worked from the start. Should it not be replaced with a new watch? Interested in what others think and any that might have had the same issue.

[Julia_G · Accepted solution]

Hi, @SunsetRunner , it is obviously a little disappointing to exchange a nearly new Fitbit for a refurbished one, but I am betting that if you didn’t know it was refurbished you wouldn’t have noticed.  Also while the brand new Fitbit was clearly defective from the start, the refurbished one will have gone through individual tests to ensure that it is working properly.

However, the most important thing is that the warranty will have the full amount of time left on the original warranty.  Assuming that you returned your defective Fitbit fairly quickly you will have most of the year (or longer, depending on which country you live in) to make sure that the refurbished one really is “as good as new”.  All that being said, I think I wouldn’t worry about it too much.

Happy birthday to your son, and I hope that he is enjoying his Fitbit!