Tips to repair Sense screen detached

[leowood]

Sense screen detached as many user experienced.

The key point of repair by youself is find the right glue.

as a display engineer, I aware of the most suitable fix method is TPU adhesive bonding, but it's not easy to find heating tpu dispenser equipment, so I just want find the easy way to bond the screen.

The answer is A130 structure adhesive,  you  can find it in google, you can get one for 2 dollar.

The glue  come with a needle, so you can easily apply to you frame of watch body. please make sure use a plasitic clip to apply force to body&screen for at least 3 hrs, now your screen secured!

After 2 weeks I glued my watch face, today my sense detached it's wristband on its own,  the sense fall to the floor, it's amazing the screen is still secured, that proves the fix for screen detached is successful!

Now we have to deal the second detaching problem, the wristband came off.

I carefully look into the structure of connection, find the root cause for wristband came off is due to the snap fit clearance is a bit large! so you can easly fixed it by stick a piece of paper with  a self-adhesive on the connection area， just like below photo. that's it!

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[Clove6060]

Thanks for sharing. I’m sure that will help others.

There has been a lot of reported face detachments lately.

Any special surface prep procedure? Isopropanol?

[leowood]

Firstly I completely remove the residue of glue  both on screen and frame.

secondly I use fine cotton swap (with small tip) wet by 99% alcohol to clean both surface of frame and screen

that's it

[BonMel]

Purchasers of Fitbit devices shouldn't have to repair display screens when they fall off.  The screens shouldn't fall off in the first place.  The issue is clearly a design or manufacturing defect and Fitbit should make it right without customers having to jump through hoops or long delays to get a replacement.

[Guy_]

If Sense and Versa 3 watches are under warranty still, it would be wise to take it back where you bought it for replacement.

@leowoodGood post - will help those when the warranty runs out, as it seems a common fault.

Occasionally on older watches the face comes off because water gets in and causes a short circuit such that the battery overheats [especially during charging] and expands so much that it presumably forces the screen off.

[Dmarkswan]

Thanks for this post! Fitbit replaced it the first time under warranty (bought Sept 2020, replaced in May 2021), but the warranty runs out based on the purchase so they offered a 35% discount that apparently applies to the regular price not the sale price. So I can buy a new Sense for a whopping $5 less than anyone else can right now. I get that they have covered me for a year past my purchase, but it seems like a design flaw more than a warranty issue. Oh well, I'll try this fix (don't need water proof).

The band occasionally falls off mine as well.

[Nlpascal]

Where did you buy that adhesive? I can only find it with really high shipping cost 

[leowood]

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001014821499.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.24a72176W3DMim&algo_pvi...

something like this?

[BonMel]

My warranty replacement Fitbit Sense also recently ended up with the screen falling off j7st like the other Fitbit Senses I've had.  Fortunately it didn't suffer water intrusion like the previous Senses which fry the battery.  Having the opportunity to closely inspect this Fitbit Sense detached screen reveals ZERO mechanical retention device for the screen, it's all done through adhesion.  The sealant appeared smoothly laid with no breaks although it seemed too firm to my mind.  I found a local electronics shop that carried out a repair.  The shop used B-7000 Multipurpose Industrial Adhesive.  B-7000 is readily available for do it yourself types.  

What I have learned:  Never trust a Fitbit Sense to be waterproof.  Even though Fitbit claims that Sense and other Fitbit products are acceptable for swimming all of the failures I've experienced resulted from water intrusion excepting the Sense I currently which would have failed due to water intrusion had I not noticed the screen had lifted.  Do expect having a failure of some type if a person is foolish enough to purchase a Fitbit.  Even though extended warranty plans add cost if buying a Fitbit anticipate having a warranty claim.

[Rod_Iron]

This is my second Fitbit and it seems you are right, at some point it will break. I don't swim and I didn't get it wet other than washing my hands but apparently that was too much for it to handle.

[Kouroshshah]

Thanks for sharing should the black seal be removed or do you bond it with seal on it?
Appreciate your reply.

[Kouroshshah]

It is happening 2 times to me ,once under warranty replaced and now after 6 months Again .I never wear it in shower or swimming  never been immersed so this is false assumption. The only reason after my Charge3 died and Ionic died  been Recalled I got sense I like the Fitbit app 

[leowood]

old sealant should be removed very carefully, otherwise the gluing stength will be weaken.

[Sadowner]

I am saddened by your company decision not replace or repair my watch. I have been a fitbit Supporter for over five years and this is the second time I've had a problem with a device the first time with the Icon 2, it started to over heat and stopped charging I contact you about this and I received the same response ( out of warranty)  35% discount. 

I gave Fitbit another shot this time I purchased a warranty from off of your website and fitbit only offer here's a 35% off now buy another one, I don't think so !

Looking on the web and your Community forum this is a problem that your not will to correct.or Properly compensate for.

[SunsetRunner]

I noticed my screen was not coming on.  I found a couple of YouTube videos with advice on what to do if the screen is not working.  While I was resetting the device, I realized that the screen had separated from the watch and was attached by a tiny amount of adhesive and the guts underneath.  Pressing the screen gently back down to the adhesive did nothing.  The screen won't work at all.  I contacted support, and they won't even tell me if it is under warranty (I've only had the watch for about a year) and said that I'd get an email in 24 hrs with my options.  Still have heard nothing. Just chatted with a support person who will tell me nothing, just says they will send me an email in the next hour with my warranty options.  Just replace the stinking watch FitBit.  I don't abuse it, knock it, drop it, etc.  It should not break in a year.  It looks pristine except for the separating screen.  I'm switching to a different brand because they won't do the right thing.  Crappy product.  Crappy support.  I won't use FitBit again.  

[danotx]

@SunsetRunner , I know the feeling.  My Sense was working, took it off and put it on the charger and came back 30 minutes later and it was stuck in a rebooting loop, and still is.  I went through the support side, and I am gonna guess you are gonna get the "here's 35% off to buy a new watch, have a nice day" email.

I scoured the forums and web and this seems to be a common problem with the Sense as well and clearly seems like a firmware issue for which FitBit should take responsibility.  Or, they could set up a program where you can send in your device and they'll hard reset it for you (another thing that doesn't work on the Sense).  

A couple of simple answers could help them save a lot of business.  I've been a fitbit owner for over 6 years, sure I've had other issues as well, but I like the devices, but I can't justify replacing them every 15 months or so.

[SunsetRunner]

@danotx yep, got the "here's 35% off to buy another watch from us" email.  So I went to look at the FitBit site where I have to buy this discounted watch.  They don't sell the Sense there anymore, so I'd have to upgrade and buy Sense 2.  You can't get any other discount with the 35% off, so the sale going on now does not apply to me.  I'd STILL have to pay $194.99 plus tax and shipping for the watch.  I'd be happy if they just replaced my Sense with a Sense.  But they would rather lose a customer than do the right thing.  So my new watch will be here Tuesday, and it isn't a FitBit. 

[NeonPeon]

I just want to share my own disappointing story with Fitbit Support regarding my own screen detachment on my Fitbit Sense.

I asked Support about the possibility of REPAIRING the screen. I asked two separate but related questions: 1) if there is any possibility that Fitbit could repair my detached screen, and 2) if not, could they advise on how to do it myself, or refer me to any official resources on how repair the detached screen. This way I wouldn't have to rely on random folks' Youtube videos and such, or figure it out for myself and risk messing it up.

Not once, but twice during my back-and-forth with them, and from two different individuals, I received responses in which they chose to misinterpret the word repair as replace. They responded essentially (paraphrasing, not a verbatim quote): "I'm sorry but your Fitbit Sense is not under warranty anymore, so we cannot replace it, but we'll give you a 35% discount on purchasing a new one." When I clarified that I was talking about REPAIRING, not REPLACING, a second individual said essentially the same thing. Unreal.

Anyway, then I did it myself. I found some double-sided LCD repair tape on Amazon that did the trick: Kaisiking 2mm LCD Repair Tape. I should describe my symptoms a bit more precisely in case this comment is useful to somebody. The screen was no longer physically "sticking" but still functional and attached via a cable. So I scraped off the original adhesive, applied the new tape with the tweezers included with the tape, and now the screen is solidly attached once again. I didn't apply the tape completely perfectly - sometimes it bunched up and stuck to itself - so I'm not sure if it's still water resistant, if water resistance even depends on the adhesive to be perfect (maybe it doesn't; I don't know). Water resistance is not too important for me personally, as I don't swim or shower with it, but just a caveat worth mentioning.

But man, choosing to misinterpret "repair" as "replace" was so annoying and frustrating to me. If they don't do in-house repairs and could not refer me to any repair guide or advised me in any way, they should have just said so. It just seemed like they were intentionally being obtuse in order to convince me to buy a new product. And since this misinterpretation came from two different individuals at Fitbit Support, it seems less like a mistake, but rather they are instructed to intentionally "misinterpret" in this manner by management.

[Guy_]

Hi @NeonPeon - thanks for taking the time to post the report and interesting solution.

It does seem that as Fitbit support is geared to replacing watches (or not), the notion of repair is not one they are familiar with. 

A do it yourself repair is a good alternative because paying someone is not going to be cost effective.

For situations where face becomes unglued I'm currently looking at another solution and that is to buy a strap in which you place the pebble only.

It might be sufficient to hold it in place and protect it from splashes.

Will report back when tested.