Great Equipment but just a scrap because of its strap

[Dominic01]

I have been using FitBit for the past 8+ years and had to throw my earlier trackers because of its strap. 

Now I am using Charge 4 and working perfectly, not a single scratch but the strap mechanism broke. This made the whole thing useless. I am not sure if I should get my next tracker from Fitbit. 

We are paying premium for Fitbit and why the strap design is so bad or of poor quality. In addition, the meaning of warranty is different now-a-days. The equipment is designed to fail couple of months after warranty period.

Any thoughts?

[Odyssey13]

Hi @Dominic01  a few who have had this happen went to Amazon and got a special band which encompasses the pebble piece of the Charge 4. It allows them to continue using it, just with a different style band

[Dominic01]

Thank you @Odyssey13 . I checked it already and amazon could not ship it to India. 

[VnaOynxryrl]

Can you buy from Lazada? I bought this and it's way better than the original. No connection just satisfied with the strap.

[Dominic01]

Thank you @VnaOynxryrl. I am looking for a full case strap. The small plastic piece came off and this type of strap may not help. 

[Stop-trackin]

@Dominic01You are not the only one who's had repeated problems with their Fitbit device. This forum is full of them. As for me, this will certainly be my last Fitbit. I am  leaning towards either an Apple watch or a garmin. I've heard better things about those. I hope at least those ones are better at customer care than fitbit has been

[VnaOynxryrl]

@Stop-trackinJust done that binned mine and bought the Huawei band 7, it can't be worse and at 1/4 of the price if it is as flaky after a year I am still better off.

[Dominic01]

As suggested by @Odyssey13, I went ahead and ordered above strap and hope this would solve my issue. 

[Odyssey13]

Let us know how it goes for you @Dominic01 because the only way I knew about it was from others who posted about trying it, too.

[UnfitBytes777]

I've broken two straps within a year. The straps do have an excessively short lifespan but are cheap and easy to replace. The weak strap might be a safety advantage. If getting snagged on something I would rather have the strap break, then receive an injury. A strap is a lot easier to replace than a hand or an arm. I've gotten cheap strap replacements from Walmart or Amazon.

[Stop-trackin]

I think the point of the comments are that the straps should not break so easily or pose a risk of injury to the wearers; it is a strap that has been designed to be used on an activity tracker after all. If it is not possible for a wearer to use this safely because of the way it has been designed (without the stark choice of constantly replacing the strap or dealing with a risk injury), then the items should be recalled or fitbit admits to the faukt and agrees to replacing the straps for as long as the devices work, at no cost to the owners. @UnfitBytes777 

[UnfitBytes777]

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@Stop-trackin wrote:

I think the point of the comments are that the straps should not break so easily or pose a risk of injury to the wearers; it is a strap that has been designed to be used on an activity tracker after all. If it is not possible for a wearer to use this safely because of the way it has been designed (without the stark choice of constantly replacing the strap or dealing with a risk injury), then the items should be recalled or fitbit admits to the faukt and agrees to replacing the straps for as long as the devices work, at no cost to the owners. @UnfitBytes777 

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You and I are just going to have to disagree.

I don't mind the watch bands breaking easily, especially when I can get them so cheap online at Walmart or Amazon.

Are you willing to lose your hand or arm over a watchband?

No apologies from me. I'm a safety advocate.

I had a friend lose his finger, because he got his wedding ring between an automotive starter and an engine block. It burned his finger so bad that he lost his finger.

I know one guy, that lost his hand because his watch got caught on an assembly line. I've heard of several people have the same or similar thing happen to them; and I have investigated similar occurrences.

I subcontracted to a Fortune 500 company, that took safety so seriously, they did not allow workers to wear watches, rings or jewelry on factory floors or construction areas. I've written up and fired people because they did not follow the rules and because I cared about their safety and liability to the company. I fired many people that had attitudes like yours.

If Fibit made super rugged watchbands, they could be putting themselves in severe liability. More people could be injured and possibly killed.

Engineers often design things to deliberately fail in a way that helps public safety. For example; the "crumple zone" design of cars deliberately creates weaknesses in cars so that when they are in an accident that the vehicle absorbs a lot of energy so that passengers are less severely injured.

I suspect the watch bands may have been designed to deliberately break if they are snagged on something so customers don't lose their hands or arms or lives.

It's a matter of priorities. I can get a watchband for my device for about $10. So you're saying your hand, arm or life is worth less then $10?

I buy some things that are deliberately frangible. Such as I have a key and ID lanyard that is designed to come apart if it is snagged or if I'm attacked. Most of my collars for my dog are designed to release if there is a severe snag. I would rather my dog get loose then have it strangled or decapitated.

[Stop-trackin]

@UnfitBytes777Lol! I'm afraid I'm going to have to laugh at the preposterousness of the whole spiel you've just descended into above. Thank you for taking the time to let me know your work history and that you would have 'had me fired' for my attitude. Good to know should I ever feel the need to get a job in an establishment you work at.

You have also made assumptions as to what kind of field or profession I work in.

I might suggest you take some time to read and digest my comment and perhaps try and comprehend my statements before you decsend into a rant.

The bands do not fail at particular points showing that the faults are not a deliberate design feature that have been benevolently done should we decide to not just wear the fitbit whilst running/exercising but to flagrantly disobey whatever safety rules might have been put in place at any given factory/ manufacturing plant, for the sake of step counting. Were that the case, should all fitbit watches not be affected and break at specifically designed points? That does not appear to be the case. Particularly given that some of these watches have broken whilst people have been sleeping or not doing anything particularly strenuous, but hey ho, don't let facts get in the way of your opportunity to posture on the internet.

Thank you for doing your best to protect the rest of the world's populations from ourselves; I suppose we owe you a debt of gratutude!

I make no assumptions as to what yor life, arm or hand might be worth to you but I expect that when I purchase a device for >£100 that the least that can happen is that the armband that secures it to my wrist is safe enough that it stays on whilst i am doing activities typically expected to be done whilst wearing the device. Let's not forget that when you need to release the straps, you actually only need to hit the bit beneath the band for it to safely come apart, should your 1 in 1 million accident happen. But go on, whatever floats your boat

[UnfitBytes777]

Things like this happen all the time. Watches and jewelry are dangerous.

"In 1979, according to media reports at the time, Neil Armstrong was working on his farm near Lebanon, Ohio when he caught his wedding ring on a latch connected to his grain truck, and tore off the tip of his finger."

"Could I request that you consider creating a break away band for the Blaze.

...... I think there would be a lot of people interested in purchasing it if they were allowed to wear it in manufacturing plants.... "

https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Blaze/Break-Away-Band/td-p/1110864