Charge 3 strap broken

[Irene87]

My strap has broken on my Charge 3, it is only 5 months old. Is it possible to get sent a replacement please? The buckle has come off because the little loops have snapped.

Thanks.

[Richardkirwan]

My son's Fitbit he has only had since Christmas is broken it seems the holes on the Fitbit are split so a new strap isn't the answer. Really disappointed.

[SunsetRunner]

My first bad broke at the buckle on the 8th months, which was replaced by Fitbit. Great service experience. But unfortunately, the new one broke at the same place after 5 months of service, but Fitbit declined to replace at this moment.

[SteveH]

@SunsetRunner, unfortunately, that's the way the warranty works. When you get a replacement the warranty doesn't start again - the replacement is only covered for the remainder of the original warranty term:

"Any replacement Product will be warranted for the remainder of the original Warranty Period or thirty (30) days, whichever is longer, or for any additional period of time that may be required by applicable law."

[dwg1]

Yep, not happy with Fitbit. How much does a band cost them, a few bucks?! I would think they would want repeat business rather than making people mad & then going with Apple or someone else next time. Meanwhile I will buy a knock off band for much less. 


Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone

[SunsetRunner]

How long is the original warranty for the band? 

[SteveH]

The warranty period depends on where you are. It's normally 12 months from purchase but if you are in Europe it's 24 months

[Runarama]

My watch band disintegrated after a year... cracked open in several places an the watch tumbled off a cliff.   I only have the plastic loop and small end piece of the original watch band remaining.    I am not going to buy a new fitbit.    Back in the 1970s I bought a casio watch, and its plastic band is still operational.   How is it the modern polymers sourced by fitbit are lower quality than those decades old?

[sassytexan19]

never been so disappointed in a product

[sassytexan19]

Never been so disappointed in a product

[jraea]

I know!! Very disappointed.

Sent from my iPhone

[beeyah46]

My strap broke after 18 months of gentle use. It is out of warranty so the Fitbit team refuses to replace. They offered, instead, excuses like storage/weather/temperature changes as a cause of malfunction. I find this ridiculous as a malfunction cause. My fitbit charge 4 has lived on my wrist since November 2018. I'm almost 74 years old and my only exercise is to walk 5-10K steps every other day. The watch stays on my wrist all day and night (I monitor my poor sleep) and is taken off only for showering. I've had issues in the past with their cases and/or straps. Even when past warranty (usually just past the period) they have made exceptions and sent me a new case (for Fitbit One) or a new strap. I Don't know what's happened to their customer service "good will". I've been a long-time user but will look for another company - I've had a good experience with Garmin. The silicone diamond pattern strap the comes with the Charge 3 has a weakness at the buckle where only 2 narrow bands hold the strap to the buckle. Another strap I ordered for this tracker (white summer sport strap with perforations) has 3 narrow straps, possibly stronger but have not used it enough to test. Very disappointed in this company after being a long-time customer.

[beeyah46]

I"m still fighting to get a replacement even out of warranty. No reason this strap should break after less than 18 months of gentle use.

[dwg1]

Totally agree!! I’m going to purchase a knock off, couldn’t be any worse than theirs!! 😡


Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone

[jraea]

The straps are definitely a poor, faulty design. When I got my replacement, I was hoping the design would have changed, and fixed the weakness. But the replacement is identical to the original, faulty design. I’m not expecting it to last long...

Sent from my iPhone

[dwg1]

Best of luck. Best they would offer me was a small discount on replacement. 


Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone

[bronros]

Same, mine has done exactly the same thing, only had it for 5 months.  I know exactly why the buckle has broken off - the 'loop' that holds the tail end of the band in place has a small bit that fits into the holes on the band, so it can't move.  When you take your Fitbit off and try to undo the buckle, you have to tug (often quite firmly) to pull the tail end of the band out of the 'loop'.  All that tugging also pulls on the metal buckle and it eventually snaps the small rubber pieces holding it in place.  On my Charge 2, I used to rotate the 'loop' so that the little piece sticking out faces the the underside of the wristband - I forgot to do this on my Charge 3.  In my opinion, the loop causes more problems than it's worth - or at least make it without the bit sticking out so it doesn't catch on the wristband holes.

[beeyah46]

Gave up trying to get Fitbit to replace the band. They tried to tell me that it could be caused by extreme use, faulty storage, weather extremes - anything but take responsibility for a faulty design. I bought a similar replacement strap on eBay at $8CDN tax and shipping included (better than their $40+tax+shipping) and am quite happy with it but no longer happy with Fitbit. 

[KDunckel]

Same just happened to me, about 13 months and broke.. you would think a company like Fitbit would have a quality product. It seems many people are having problems. I guess I will go by an Apple Watch since I got an iPhone.

[DASpauld]

Same thing happened to me after just tWo months.

[eatdrinkrepeat]

I purchased my Fitbit online on 7/20/19, and it was shipped to me about 7/25/19. My strap broke today (7/25/20) with just normal use. Very disappointed that this just barely missed warranty coverage. Luckily Amazon has replacement straps because Fitbit's charges $30–50 for just the band!