Latch won't release band

[4Myhealth]

One side of my tracker release latch is stuck, i push down the flat metal button on the strap, which i am able to do, however the band won't slide up to release it from the tracker. What is there for me to do? Isn't this a mechanical problem? Help!!

[jack2018]

I am having the same problem.  I bought a band from a 3rd party and the metal latch broke off so now i'm wearing it backwards and I cannot remove it with anything.  I tried a paperclip but that is too large.

Fitbit will not help because the band was not purchased from them.

I am afraid I will break it, but now I'm stuck with the same band.

[Carlyn2000]

I used a little screw driver to pull up the latch so it was even. Then I
used a larger one and covered the tracker with a cloth. If you push evenly
and use a little bit of force it should release.

[jack2018]

Unfortunately, I just cut the 3rd party band off.....I wasted $15 but once I cut it off, I used a butter knife to pop off the pin that was stuck inside and it came right off.  Do at your own risk, but I did not harm the unit at all.  

I requested a refund from the 3rd party.  Obviously, the band was faulty.

Good luck with yours.

[jack2018]

Yes, I had to use a butter knife and unfortunately cut the old band off.

Sent from my iPhone

[AlvaroFitbit]

@jack2018 Welcome to the Fitbit Community! It's great to have you here! Sorry to hear about your band getting stuck. As I said before not all third party bands have this defect. If you purchase them from Amazon then I suggest you always read the reviews to see what other users have to say about the specific item. Hopefully you will get your refund from them and thank you for letting us know what you did to fix this. @Carlyn2000 thank you for sharing your suggestions here.

I'll be around!

[NatBoo]

I had the same problem.  I found the latch mechanism was actually 'over pushed'; that is, when you press on the metal 'button', I wasn't getting enough movement of the latch to release it.  So I took a small flat screwdriver and wedging it behind the 'button', bent it back towards me, that is, prying it in the opposite direction that you would push it, until the metal was bent a bit more toward me than initially.  Then just press like normal and it works very well.

[SunsetRunner]

I took a q tip dipped in WD40. Lightly swabbed the latch, worked it back and forth and it opened easily. The bottom pin stuck a bit but it came out after a tiny swipe of oil. 

[L_Climbs]

Thank you so much! I was freaking out that it wasn’t coming off and this saved the day! 🙏🙏

[SaraSaxey]

Was this on a Fitbit versa? 

[L_Climbs]

no. the way to fix it is to wiggle it around.

[Sherriet]

I have a Fitbit charge

[Sherriet]

The wiggle method never worked for me. 

[L_Climbs]

u kinda have to give it some force. sorry that this is happening!

[Quixotic69]

While using the screwdriver method already mentioned, i noticed that if i put reverse pressure on the latch it made it “pop” back into place and now i am able to remove the band and replace it quite easily.  Maybe it was just jammed in the locked position and i reset it?  Either way it is a permanent solution for me. 

[Jonbo]

My Charge 3 band was really stuck. This was with both a Fitbit tracker and the official band.  I think over time gunk built up in the mechanism. Here is what I did. 

1 - Soaked it in water and worked the bank to loosen up the gunk. 

2 - Put cloth under the track to keep from scratching it. 

3 - Clamped the tracker to the table. 

4 - User a screw driver to put a lot of force on the switch. 

5 - Pushed, twisted and pulled the band till it came off. Wow!

The band works great on a new tracker so it was definitely the release mechanism on the tracker itself. 

Good luck!

[CCJOY]

mine was doing the exact same thing. Turns out it was really dirty between the band and the actual Fitbit. I used a sewing needle and cleaned it out and finally wiggled it out.

[tlv106]

This happened to me and I was using the original FitBit band. I've changed my bands lots of times but this was the first time I had an issue. The twisting finally worked!  Thank you!!

[Irish1405]

Finally I've been trying for a week and one side wouldn't release. I'm sorry but I'm 72 and your hands start to go as far as strength. This was ridiculously hard. Thank you for rocking advice. 

[merymom]

This did the trick for me!! Thanks!!

[calberry]

My wife bought a new Versa, but likes to wear her old Alta now and then because it's not as big and she has some nice decorative bands she has acquired over the years so it feels 'dressier' when she wears it (and she can still count steps, etc.).  Recently her old Alta died, so I bought her a new one through eBay from Hong Kong (1/3 the price of on Amazon).  But we were having the same problems others on this forum were having, ie we couldn't get the original very large/ugly bands off.  It was nice to find this forum, and to be honest it made me feel better, at least I knew it was not just us.  I tried a screwdriver, then silicone (dabbed on with a Q-tip), but nothing.  Finally I said screw it, and decided to get tough with it, and was just going to cut the darned bands off.  I took a pair of large plier dykes from the garage and gripped right behind the little lever you depress to release the band, and as I twisted to try to cut through the band the torque actually caused the band to just pull right off.  I then did the same thing to the other side.  Easy peasy. I figured I would just share my happy ending, as others may end up needing to do the same thing.