Anyone else having difficulty switching bands?

[Iliyana]

I have the SE version. I have no problem getting the woven band off and on. I get one of the silicone sides on no problem. The other side? The pin keeps popping out. (Yes, it’s angled, pin pressed down, I’m aware of the ridges...) I’m about to give up. Bands shouldn’t be this difficult to switch out. 

Anyone else experiencing issues it is it just me? I’m wondering if it’s my Versa. Especially since I’m only having difficulty on one side. (Always the same. )

[Dena216]

Yes I am having the same issues

[CraigOde]

FItBit Versa. Same problem. One side clicks in correctly while the other side does not let the pin lock in place! I'm trying to talk to support, but they haven't responded to me since last Saturday 😞 and I followed the instructions and video they provided too....

[Iliyana]

I’m just wondering if it’s my Versa that’s defective or if they are all like that. 😞

[Dena216]

The silicone band is too wide. I even took the pin out of it too see if I could squeeze it in far enough and it’s like there is too much plastic behind it or something.  It would be nice to have the black one to switch to preserve the color of the lavender one.  

[dngadimin]

I have the same issue. Pin keeps popping out when I switch from woven band to silicone band and only one side has this issue.

[Iliyana]

what side are you guys having issues with? me it’s the band with buckle. 

[Dena216]

I cannot get either side to go in

[wtchambers]

The side with the buckle goes in, I won’t say easily, but I can get it in after a few tries.  The other side is my problem - made even more of a problem because I can’t figure out a way to hold the Versa so that I am not pushing the side buttons or unattaching the buckle side...it is first side in, try second side, first side out, first side back in, try second side...

[SunsetRunner]

Folks,

Wow, I've bought a couple of third-party bands, and it has been a NIGHTMARE.  First, I bought "a pair" of those "Magnetic Milanese Loop Stainless Steel Metal Mesh" bands, and, for the life of me, I absolutely, positively, can not possibly get one attached to my Versa.  The problem is "the second" pin, which you rather need to install "upside down" because it's all one band -- along with the fact that the pins are not just "loose," but VERY loose, every single time, the pin falls to my table or the floor long before I could possibly get the second end attached to my Versa.  If anyone could explain in substantial detail how they managed to install one of those things, I would be interested in reading it.

Also, given how the Versa charger seems to work properly with the Versa "laying flat" on top of it, how have any of you who have used this band managed to make your Versa work with the charger?  I suppose the charger would have to lay "inside the band" somehow.

Far worse is another band that took A VERY LONG TIME to arrive from China.  It was described as a "Tiean New Magic Sticker Nylon Adjustable Replacement Strap Wrist Band," but what it actually was is a band that closes with a very nice, strong "Velcro" closure.  At around a hundredth of the weight of one of the Milanese bands, it would be lightweight, it wouldn't fall off if the magnetic clasp is touched, it can allow the Versa to lay flat over the charger, and all sorts of other wonderful things.

But there was one teensy tiny little problem:  It had a fatal design flaw.  If you take your Versa off and lay it on the table, face-down, the "pin" that you yank on to compress the pin when you install it will be on the LEFT on the "top" part of the band, and that pin will be on the RIGHT on the bottom part of the band.  The "pins" fit into the "groove" that's on each end of the bottom of the Versa.  Got it?

Well, on this otherwise wonderful Velcro band, BOTH pins are on the LEFT side of the band.  Actually, the pin on one end is "enclosed" within the band, like the FitBit original bands I have.  The other pin fits into a plastic piece that has a groove for the "pin" that you yank to compress the pin, and that groove is on the left side of that plastic piece, when it should be on the right.  The bottom line is that you can never, ever install this band, unless you tried to do some ultra-delicate work with a Dremel tool or something, so that you could make a groove on the other end of that plastic piece, and make it work in the Versa.  And I'm certainly not going to try that.  I have sent a question to the seller about the band, so hopefully I'll hear back from them, but at this point, I've waited a few weeks for an absolute waste of money.

I think I have to end this with an angry question, to the tune of WHO "DESIGNED" THIS AWFUL, DYSFUNCTIONAL VERSA BAND ATTACHMENT "DESIGN?"  I have an Ionic, and this band nonsense just might be a reason to return the Versa, and use a watch that I can actually change bands on.  All I have done so far, with the Versa bands, is waste my time and money.

And to that end, I paid extra for the "special" edition or whatever it was called, with the "woven" grey band, and given how "you have to wear it tight in order for its heart rate sensor to work properly," I can see that the slot I'm using in the band is already stretching out of shape, after only a couple of weeks of use.  I'm sorry, but I'm really finding the Versa band to be the worst part of the device, and it won't take much more aggravation to make me just give up on it, completely.

[SunsetRunner]

All I can add to the discussion is that I have found "changing bands" on the Versa to be NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE.  Every time I have tried has been a MASSIVE, MASSIVE, MASSIVE ORDEAL, leading me to scream and yell and swear and write messages in this forum with ALL CAPS.  This has got to be the worst "watch band attachment" design ever produced in the history of all mankind.  I have an Ionic, and thought the Versa might be nicer in terms of being lighter and so on, but AT LEAST I CAN FREAKING ATTACH A BAND TO THE IONIC.  Whereas I have wasted money on THREE (3) Versa bands that I absolutely, positively, cannot POSSIBLY install.  And I have wasted countless hours trying and trying and trying again, then finally BARELY managing to get the original band installed back on my Versa.  IT HAS BEEN A NIGHTMARE.  I can't describe it in any better way.

[dianewordsmith]

My first attempt left me pi**ed off and with the watch locked up from pushing the buttons. Subsequent attempts have been better. I find it easiest to hold the watch sideways and try to place my fingers so that I’m not on the buttons. Once the first side is done, I flip the watch around so that I’m installing the second piece with the same (dominant) hand. Not sure this will help anyone, but I know the first time I changed one, I was holding the watch with the buttons side to side instead of top and bottom. That was a disaster.

[WendyB]

@SunsetRunnerYou need to take this up with the third party people you bought them from. Its not a Fitbit problem.

This is why I stick with Fitbit Bands

[Blondzilla]

I just Googled “Trouble with Fitbit Versa bands” and was lead to this community page. I too am having trouble getting the buckle side on, and it’s with the black rubber straps. I keep think I’m putting the wrong band on until I realize I’ve got it right. Then I think it’s because I have long nails. You’d think they’d work better so I could pull the pin more. Nope!! I’ve also had the pin spring out. Luckily I saw where it landed. I get so frustrated. 

[SunsetRunner]

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@@WendyB wrote:

@@@SunsetRunnerYou need to take this up with the third party people you bought them from. Its not a Fitbit problem.  This is why I stick with Fitbit Bands

Well, I respectfully disagree.  Yes, one third-party band I purchased was indeed defective in design, and I did indeed mention that I am "taking it up with the third party" vendor involved.  But part of why I post in forums like these is to warn people who might be considering the purchase of the items involved -- whether it be third-party bands, Fitbit bands, or the Versa itself.  Good grief, just think of the decades-old ("centuries-old?") pin configuration that watches have used since before anyone here was even born -- that has indeed worked just fine for, well, "ever."  But what Fitbit has cooked up for the Versa is truly EXTREMELY difficult for a substantial percentage of its customers to fit bands to the device.  And I have stumbled upon at least one third-party manufacturer who couldn't even figure out how to design a band that will correctly work with the Versa's design.

So, for those of you thinking about getting a Fitbit device, I can give you a few words of advice:  I have the Ionic and the Versa devices.  I have been able to attach essentially the same bands to the Ionic, without any problems whatsoever, but I have found it absolutely, completely impossible to fit the same bands to the Versa.  And essentially the only thing that changed between the two devices was the design of the "pins" that the Versa employs to attach the bands to the device.  Luckily, I'm sure that anyone who has a working third hand should find the Versa bands quick and easy to install.

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[TezaC]

Yes. The SE Band is fine but the black plastic rubbery one is very difficult.  I gave up 

[razerf15]

I suggest you guys pull the handle that sticks out all the way in to the right and have that end stick completely out and place that into the hole of the fitbit and keep it held all the way in as you bring the other side in and when you let go it will 100% catch. I've been doing this for a while and quick release is as easy as it gets aside from Apple sliding bands and Garmin push button bands.

[Iliyana]

@razerf15

This is what I’ve been doing. I have no issues with one side. it’s like you describe. The other side on the other hand... I’ve even tried switching the pins from the other side.  No luck either. 

[razerf15]

My only other suggestion would be to get a spring bar removal tool from Amazon or similar place OR get new quick release springs if that one is really trouble  

[JamieF95]

Yes!! The buckle side is the hardest side!!