Fitbit Surge Broken Strap.

[Richard-2811]

Hi, the strap on my FB Surge has come away from the body of the watch.

It's still holding, for now, as I pushed it back into place, however it came off and pulled the screws through the strap.

I've tryed to look for a new replacemetn strap but I couldn't find anything on the website.

are they available and if so how?

I can post pictures if needed.

(btw my Surge is today exacly 1 year old 😮 as in I ordered it 1 year ago on 20 Februari 2015)

[CtrlAltD1337]

Well thats one way to fix a $200+ watch.

[marymora]

I guess when you are willing to lower your standards anything will work.

Sent from my iPhone

[danielh1977]

My strap has crakce dboth sides un under a year - not paricularly impressed after £200 - especially when others offer replacement straps. I have contacted support and hope that they can sort asap.

[dansm15]

I've had a series of Surge devices become defective since my intial purchase about a year ago. Each time, the company has replaced their defective product with no questions asked. This time, they tell me that since my original band is now out of warranty, that the band I now have, which is defective, is no longer under warranty.

I'm really upset about this.  Why doesn't the company restart the warranty when then send you a band to replace the one that was found to be defective?

The bands I've had function for 3-4 months and then fall apart. I've attached a couple pictures showing the problem with my current band.

[Chris1963]

Hi. 

I'm guessing you are not in the EU ? If you are, you're in luck as it's a two year warranty, If not, you'll find many threads on here with no real explanation as to why this device is still being sold when they don't actually last that long.

Sorry that's no help, I did however extend the life of mine by super glueing  into the band and holding it till set. This has stopped the screw split extending and also the bulge you have. Not really satisfactory, I'm hoping for a model update soon as the Surge is a bit behind the pace now anyway being over 2 years old.

Otherwise I think the Gear 3 is released in September so I may take a look at that. 

[dansm15]

Thanks for your help. More help than the company's customer support team so far. I guess I'll try the superglue idea, but they most be having many of this same complaints and need to address it.

Do you think I'm wrong in assuming that when they send out a replacment unit for a defective product, they shoudl restart the warranty from that new date? Am I being unreasonable?  It just seems to be the "right" thing to do. 

[Shogun]

Many companies do restart the warranty, Apple does for instance...

Sent from my iPhone

[MarreFitbit]

Hey guys @Shogun @Session @CtrlAltD1337 @marymora @danielh1977 @dansm15 @Chris1963! Thanks so much for the feedback you gave in regards our Fitbit products and the customer service. I'll pass those along to our engineering team to take all of this into consideration. 

For those who haven't contacted Customer Support yet, my suggestion would be to do it and also to check our Warranty Policy. 

Also, thanks for your question about why we offered a discount instead of a replacement. Our limited warranty provides replacements for trackers deemed to have a manufacturer's defect within 365 days of purchase. Because your tracker didn't meet these warranty conditions, we offered a courtesy discount of 25% good towards the purchase of any tracker. 

We strive for excellent customer service and in the past often replaced trackers that were not covered under warranty. Though customer satisfaction remains our number one goal, the demands of running a global business require that we now enforce our warranty consistently. 

Thank you for being a Fitbit customer.

[Shogun]

Unfortunately your lack of a solution to a known product defect will continue to erode your market share and customer loyalty. I bought the Surge after using a Flex for several years. My expectation is that the Surge would last through years of service, it did not. I cannot believe that the Surge came apart after only a couple of years of use and what is unfathomable is that something as basic as the band on the tracker cannot be replaced, either by a user or an authorised repair center (of which Fitbit has none). I will not invest in another Fitbit product, spending nearly $400.00 is quite enough thank you...

[dansm15]

Maria,

Thanks for your reply to this subject. However, it really is an unacceptable, sub-par conclusion and a poor customer experience.

I purchased what in essence, was a defective Surge product with a faulty design. The design flaw has been proven out not just by me (I've had three repalcements in a year of use - all related the flawed deisgn of the band and how it attaches to the watch unit), but by countless others who have paticipated in these forums.  I used to be a Jawbone user and remember when they admitted to a design flaw and actually stopped selling the product until they fixed the problem. Then they sent all First Gen users a free replacement device. And yet, I switched to FitBit as I had heard great things about your early products.

I understand that the company has set a policy, but the policy is faulty for users that have received a defective product, then have it replaced, only to find out the replacement unit have the same defect.  That the warranty doesn't extend to the replacement unit, especially when the company knows it has a defective product, make no sense and is a poor business decision.

As for me, I've taken the advice of the one of the commenters to this thread and have super-glued my Surge band to the watch unit! What a great solution we've had to come up with on our own.  For now my super-glued band is holding, and should give me enough time to find a replacement company that actually stands behind the products they sell.  At this point, I won't be buying another product from you all.  In a crowded, commoditized product categeory, I would think the company would want to retain as many customers as possibile.  At this rate, I have my doubts that FitBit will be able to continue as an independent company for the long haul, and I certainly won't be buying any of the company's stock.

Please feel free to share my name and contact information with your management. I run my own technology company and have a emphasis on providing our customers with an excellent customer experience at all costs.

The product should be recalled.

Sincerely,

Dan Miller

dan@seedboom.com

[SunsetRunner]

The 25 percent discount is a poor solution to this ongoing problem.

The surge is not fit for the market and should be recalled asap.

[mriboy]

Yes I contacted support was offered 25% dicount after owning a very expensive device with a band lasting 15 months of use. I have purchased a Aria, and a surge for the wife. I  will now be recommending to friends to stay away, very poor customer service not offering a band replacement for a faulty design and here in the USA we only get 1 yr warrenty.

[selinabena]

Hi there, I've had my second strap for a few months now and I've tried to look after it so well (although it should be able to tolerate some general use given the functions it holds) and it's now starting to bubble like your watch.  

I'm coming up to my 1 year mark so am needing to contact the customer support team to sort this.  Furthermore, my HR stopped working a month ago.  It stopped a while ago but restarted a few days later.  I think a month is long enough to hope it will restart.

Not impressed

[dansm15]

@mriboymriboy, thanks for your reply. There's noi doubt aat this point that I'll be switching from the Surge when the fix I made to the band quits holding.

[zelas]

I came here looking for a solution because my strap too is starting to crack around the screws and some pieces already fell away. I was one of the people who preordered the surge when it was first announced. I absolutely cannot understand why they would make a $200+ active-wear watch that cannot last 2 years and offer no support of replacement strap.

I'm going to contact customer service and report back if they can offer to fix this strap for me, otherwise I might have to look into switching over to that new apple watch they just announced.

[marymora]

I think our best bet at this point is doing just that, going from the surge to something else. Mine was replaced earlier this year (February) and I'm having the same problem if not worst with the replacement. This things won't last a year and they just want to offer a discount on another one.

Sent from my iPhone

[dansm15]

I for one am done with Fitbit. Moving to the Apple Watch. I'm pretty sure their product quality will better and I already know that their replacement policies will be more logical.

[Shogun]

I feel the same way, I preordered as well. Very disappointed in the response from Fitbit!

I stopped using my Surge, what a major disappointment !

Sent from my iPhone

Moderator edit: merged reply

[Kuryous]

I have received the best customer service today... My surge is less than 6 months old and i realise the band started with one bubble that later developed into 3... I called the customer service line to request a band replacement... after confirming my information.... but wait get this... my surge was a gift from work.... i confirm with then that it was a gift...later in an email i confirmed  my address ...... i was expecting a band replacement....., what I got was a new surge instead....the agent asked if i wanted the same color band i requested the tangerine instead...... this was the best belated birthday gift ever..... this is my second device from FITBIT and I cant complain...... thanks guys..... excellent customer service....

[dansm15]

Just wait until you are on your 4th or 5th Surge (because all the bands are defective) and you've had about enough of this product. When they find out it's been a year since your 1st Surge was registered, they will no longer replace their defective product and want you to buy another one.