Band breaking off surge!

[nasamp88]

3 months out of warranty and today noticed that the screws on the back of my $259.99 surge are ripping out of the band. No replacement bands available. Gave me a 25% coupon to buy another one. What a joke. Look up this problem numerous images on google! This is obviously a manufacture defect and company is not standing by its most expensive product. Will not buy again or deal with fitbit again. FYI I was a totally loyal customer until today. I have the surge, fitbit one and the flex. They have gotten their last penny from me!

[JohnRi]

I know how you feel. I bought my Surge November 2015.  And in January I noticed the band was cracking around the screws.  Firbit sent me a replacement, but I decided to not use it until my band actually broke off...   Well by March I had a new problem.  I had lost so much weight, that my XL band Surge no longer fit. 

So I decided based on the band issue, to get a Blaze.  But this time I got my Blaze with an extended warranty.

I was pretty happy with the design of the Blaze.  Swappable bands was great.  But the connected GPS is completely inaccurate, and they are still working on it.  I'm not holding my breath.

So I read somewhere that they would exchange a Surge for a smaller band.  So I contacted them again, and they swapped out my Surge XL (the one I never opened) for a Surge L. 

So now I wear the Surge when I exercise, and the Blaze the rest of the time.

All I can say is extended warranty.  For $20 you can get a 2 or 3 year warranty at Best Buy, Cost Co, Sam's, Amazon... 

The sad thing if you dig around, the issue is when they attached the band to the watch, they but a thin line of glue on the top of the band (face side), but no glue on the bottom where the screws are.  If they had just put a little glue there, the problem would not happen.  Such a easy fix, I never understood why Fitbit never did that.

All I can say is sorry dude, I know it sucks.  If/When my Surge fails again, I'll probably buy another one, this time with an extended warranty..  I've spent $1000's on equipment, clothes, shoes, ...   All in the effort to get and stay fit.  So for me it was worth the money.  I'm down 67 lbs so far...  Another 31 to go...

Good luck..

[USAF-Larry]

I am sorry to hear of your problems, @nasamp88, and I know you are not alone!  Unfortunately, if it is out of warranty, and was not purchased from a retailer that offers an extended warranty, their 25% discount coupon is about all you will get.  Remember, too, when you Google such things as "defective FitBit Surge" you will get ONLY people complaining about the product and absolutely NO posts about people happy with their Surge - so, it will be a very one-sided response. There are probably millions of satisfied users who have no reason to post anywhere about it. Best of luck with your future trackers, whatever you choose to buy!

[ncbeachgirl]

I bought my surge March of 2015, and noticed a few weeks ago that one of the holes in the band was tearing, I emailed fitbit and they replaced my surge, recieved it today.  I happened to look at my original surge and noticed that it was tearing on the top left hand corner completely away from the screws, glad they sent me a new one but what happens in a year from now when it does it again.  I don't understand if they are having so many complaints about this issue why it isn't getting fixed, the band should be replaceable. This is a lot of money for something to fall apart in a year.

[Koz1980]

guys i am on my 4th or 5th replacement in just under a year all with bands peeling off...all they will do is send you another that will start to peel in months also.. its a shame i love my fitbit but i must move on to another brand now that THIS replacement i have had less than 2 months already has a bubble under it lol ...and i am coming up on my 1 yr warrenty being up which means no more free replacements which means i must move on to a better brand....terrible craftsmanship ....but a great functional product its a shame.

[USAF-Larry]

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@ncbeachgirl wrote:

I bought my surge March of 2015, and noticed a few weeks ago that one of the holes in the band was tearing, I emailed fitbit and they replaced my surge, recieved it today.  I happened to look at my original surge and noticed that it was tearing on the top left hand corner completely away from the screws, glad they sent me a new one but what happens in a year from now when it does it again.  I don't understand if they are having so many complaints about this issue why it isn't getting fixed, the band should be replaceable. This is a lot of money for something to fall apart in a year.

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It will not be under warranty any more, since the original device was purchased in March 2015, the 1-year warranty is up and replacement devices do not extend the warranty beyond the original purchase date.  Unless you purchased it from an authorized retailer that offered an extended warranty.

[ncbeachgirl]

I am aware of that but my point being is that for the money spent this should not be designed this way and should not fall apart in a year.  When I bought it at Target they did not offer an extended warranty.  If I knew of this problem at the time, and I did my research, I would ot have bought it.  I love this band, the look, and the features.  I am a long distance runner and it works great for that, but I need something that will not break so easily. I hope the company reads these messages I can't afford to buy another band at this price, when I bought this I thought it would last far longer. I am so dispointed because I know that in a year I will be back to having a broken wrist band.

[GWD65]

1 year ago I purchased a Surge, it worked for me because it tracks all of my activity. After I received mine I showed it to a friend and he also purchased one. Last week we had dinner and I asked him to look at the under side of his Surge, sure enought the band is comming apart. 2 for 2, so last week a salesman from out of town made a call on me and I noticed he was waring a Surge, he says he has had it for 6 months.

So I asked him to take it off an look at the back. And sure enought the band was coming apart, now 3 for 3. Fitbit has a problem this is not negitave it is a fact. I like the product and Fitbit has sent a Fedx shipping lable to return it for a refund. I will buy a Blaze and give that a try. But I am up set that no one at Fitbit has offered a solutation to fix the defective band issues on the Surge. And that Fitbit continues to advertise and sell a known defective product. Fitbit should face the facts, the Fitbit Surge has a defective band issue. Please make the Surge band a FIT product, ment to out last the end user.

Fitbit please do the right thing!

[antoniob]

I have had this surge for 14 monthns( my first one 4 months) similar problems with the band.

This one opened up around the face of the watch back in June, and now is completely open. And it made it no longer water proof I just found out the hard way.

When I contacted them in June I was told this replacement watch, was out of warranty by two days. so teh y offered me a 25% dicount on a new one.... I just came back from avacation  in Cancun, and met 4 different people from 4 different countries ( England, Canada, Belgium, and Germany) we all had teh same problem.... The bands are all opened up at the base pf the watch...Clearly this is a major deffect, or  just came across the only people in 4 diferent countries with the same question....So the questios is:

do you as a company want us to wear a product that is clearly defective, looks defective and therefore advertises defective or are you going to do anyhting about it????. Giving me a 25% discount is frankly an insult( this is what they offered me after I called them and it was just two days out of warranty) after just about 11 months of wear and tear..

I will be glad to post pictures but I do not see a way to do it on this forum

[Bikerdog]

I made it 11 months and now have this issue. Chatted with support, still under warranty and getting a replacement so that's good.  

My hope is a Surge 2 comes out before the holidays so when my replacement wears out I'll have an upgrade path because I like my Surge.

[HelenaFitbit]

Welcome to the forums everyone! I want to thank you for sharing your experiences with the Community; I understand that this situation may be upsetting, but I can assure you that your Feedback is not unnoticed. We are addressing your inquiries and we will pass this along to further improve the Fitbit experience.

@JohnRi Congratulations on your weightloss! I've lost 58 pounds using my Surge too. 

To the members who received the 25% discount option as per our Warranty Policies please know that this is the best option to help you get back on track with the Fitbit family and I'm sure our Customer Support team will be more than glad to help you further with this. 

If your Surge wristband is split (even if it's a replacement), I recommend to contact our Customer Support team via email here or you can call (877) 623-4997 between the hours of 4am-8pm PST Mon-Fri and 6am-5pm PST on weekends. I am sure they will be more than glad to further assist you.

If you have already contacted our Customer Support team and you're awaiting for a response; please do keep us posted on the outcome. 

If there any questions present, please let me know and I'll be glad to help.

[antoniob]

Dear Helena:

Thak you for your kind reply. I did follow the advice you recomended...

If your Surge wristband is split (even if it's a replacement), I recommend to contact our Customer Support team via email here or you can call (877) 623-4997 between the hours of 4am-8pm PST Mon-Fri and 6am-5pm PST on weekends. I am sure they will be more than glad to further assist you.

I have been a true believer of youe product since June of 2015. I received a surge as a gift for fathre day. I have to admit that when I received it. I told my daughter it was way too much money, and most likely i would not use it.

To my surprise I found myself loving it. I used it everyday, competed against friends, and made the watch a fun everyday adventure. Around November 2015 I had a problem with the band. I contacted the customer service and they snet me a new one. Around June 2016 the band started splitting. I contacted customer service and they inormed me that the watch was no longer under warranty as I missed it by one day. When I replied that this watch was not a year old, they told me that this replacement was a courtesy replacement and as such not elegible for warranty. They offered a 25% discount

I just contacted then again as it got really worse( and read your advice). Same result a 25% discount. No warranty, because this is a complimentary replacement....

So here I am with two watches in 14 months both defective with a known problem, and yet your company wants me to spend anothe $190 ( $249 minus 25%) to get a watch that most likely will last me 6-12 months... Where the heck is the rational here? in essence it will coat a total of $430 for a watch in 14 months... No thanks you!!!

To make matters worse, I tried to tape the opening of the band with crazy glue, hey I just wanted to keep using the darn thing.. It looks terrible... But i keep using, showing it to everyone and telling them how bad it looks... Really bad advertisement on an every day basis...

So NO is not a good product you are selling us.... If you are listening the bands are defective... And they are BAD ADVERTISEMENT of your product... I will be glad to talk again with your department if they want to contact me... Look at the the defective product please!!!