I can’t believe after all those years, with an incessant uproar of complaints about faulty wristbands connectors, Fitbit’s connector are still ridiculously poorly designed. And the worst part is you can’t event buy a new connector when you get a faulty one.
My new Fitbit Charge 5 arrived today. I put the larger band on and it keeps falling off. I tried putting the smaller band back on and I’m having the same problem. I had a Charge 4 for years and switched bands often and never had this issue. I’m buying some aftermarket bands to see if they fit any better. If that doesn’t work, I’ll be returning this new Fitbit. It’s a shame because I really was looking forward to the upgrade from 4 to 5. Thanks for the video.
@@AndrewHelgeCox The after market bands fell off too. I ended up gluing a very flexible band on with epoxy. Hopefully I will upgrade my Fitbit before the band wears out. So far no problems with the glued on band.
@@AndrewHelgeCox the old Fitbit bands were stiff and would crack apart after much use. I intentionally looked for a much more supple band that would not crack and then epoxied it on. Good luck.
Of you've been wearing your tracker day and night for months gunk (dead skin cells, sweat) can accumulate in that join area. That can keep a replacement band from attaching properly. I cleaned mine out with a toothpick when I had that problem on one side now it's fine. If your is brand new and letting go, exchange it.
Reading comments, I learned the coming apart can happen frequently. My insurance paid for the charge 5. I should let them know. I also would like to know if there is a better replacement band put there because I don't like these silicone or whatever bands
You did a great job at describing the problem. I started by fileing the grove on the band to try to make the catch deeper but I see now that will not do.. I like how convenient it is to change bands on these watches - but this seems to sacrifice a robust design because mine falls off about once a day. Would a better quality band perhaps work thinking it would be made with tighter tolerances/ thicker insert?
A thicker insert might fix it. I also thought that changing the angle on the catch groove to be vertical could help. That way, pulling forces wouldn't resolve any normal components.
this is what I did and it seem to work --- I used a Small Milling Bit on a dremel tool ---slowly shave down the Beveled edge off the inside if the band Lug not sure if my Pictures got added ... if not just drop me a message and I'll send you the pictures Thanks
The band on my Fitbit 5 has popped at least 6 times. Once while using my ride on mower. Caught it that time but once took some time to find it. Fitbit seems unresponsive or I should say impossible to reach.
Great video. I recently got a fitbit 5. The piece connector piece that is attached to the fitbit, itself broke. Do you know if I that part can be replaced? I'm not sure how to send pics but I can if that would help. Thanks.
I've been dealing with my Charge 5 band falling off at nearly every class and practice I have every week, and it's so aggravating. The device is perfect for my needs otherwise, which is so frustrating. I already sent in my original for a replacement but the current one isn't any better. They just need to redesign the latch.
The spring on the latch has gone and the strap falls out. Very weak design. There was really no reason why they could not have used a standard strap and spring bar design. Super gluing the latch seems to be the only answer
Edit: It stopped doing it and the latch has held for eight more months now and counting. - Did you ever fix this? Mine has started doing the same thing.
I had the exact same issue with the latch being floppy so would not latch in place. I carefully used a razor blade between the body and latch and used it to collapse the pin into latch. Once it came free from body I was able to put the spring back into proper place to now latch correctly. It was easier to put the latch in and hold with thumb pushing from bottom towards the face and using the razor blade to push in on pins too get back into place. Now it latches once again normally. Very similar to how a normal watch band attaches. I was going to buy pieces on eBay but mine just had the spring come out from ear for spring.
Ha I have to laugh at my self. I watched your video on changing the bands on the Chg 5. So I did that and was getting ready to put on the charger and when I picked up the FitBit, the band fell off. I was getting ready to go back to the video. I picked up my phone and you were explaining the flaw. Worked out perfectly. Helped immensely. Can you tell me how often thus flaw occurs? I would hate lose my Charge 5
I can’t believe after all those years, with an incessant uproar of complaints about faulty wristbands connectors, Fitbit’s connector are still ridiculously poorly designed.
And the worst part is you can’t event buy a new connector when you get a faulty one.
My new Fitbit Charge 5 arrived today. I put the larger band on and it keeps falling off. I tried putting the smaller band back on and I’m having the same problem. I had a Charge 4 for years and switched bands often and never had this issue. I’m buying some aftermarket bands to see if they fit any better. If that doesn’t work, I’ll be returning this new Fitbit. It’s a shame because I really was looking forward to the upgrade from 4 to 5. Thanks for the video.
I had the same mechanism: after trying the larger band once and immediately removing it the smaller band no longer attaches securely.
@@AndrewHelgeCox The after market bands fell off too. I ended up gluing a very flexible band on with epoxy. Hopefully I will upgrade my Fitbit before the band wears out. So far no problems with the glued on band.
@@thehorrorfanx Thank you. I may go that route too.
@@AndrewHelgeCox the old Fitbit bands were stiff and would crack apart after much use. I intentionally looked for a much more supple band that would not crack and then epoxied it on. Good luck.
Of you've been wearing your tracker day and night for months gunk (dead skin cells, sweat) can accumulate in that join area. That can keep a replacement band from attaching properly. I cleaned mine out with a toothpick when I had that problem on one side now it's fine. If your is brand new and letting go, exchange it.
This was my issue, and why I ended up returning it. So disappointing.
Does anyone know an alternative Fitness tracker that has a solid build quality?
Garmin Venu Sq @
Reading comments, I learned the coming apart can happen frequently. My insurance paid for the charge 5. I should let them know. I also would like to know if there is a better replacement band put there because I don't like these silicone or whatever bands
You did a great job at describing the problem. I started by fileing the grove on the band to try to make the catch deeper but I see now that will not do.. I like how convenient it is to change bands on these watches - but this seems to sacrifice a robust design because mine falls off about once a day. Would a better quality band perhaps work thinking it would be made with tighter tolerances/ thicker insert?
A thicker insert might fix it. I also thought that changing the angle on the catch groove to be vertical could help. That way, pulling forces wouldn't resolve any normal components.
@@Obeisance01 Ya Gonna look for a better band. Thats probably a good idea but more for the engineers to take note of.
this is what I did and it seem to work --- I used a Small Milling Bit on a dremel tool ---slowly shave down the Beveled edge off the inside if the band Lug not sure if my Pictures got added ... if not just drop me a message and I'll send you the pictures
Thanks
I’m contemplating Krazy glue.
Did the crazy glue work because my clasp has broken?
My charge for band holder just broke off and is non-repairable I was considering a charge 5 but now that looks like maybe not the way to go
The band on my Fitbit 5 has popped at least 6 times. Once while using my ride on mower. Caught it that time but once took some time to find it. Fitbit seems unresponsive or I should say impossible to reach.
Great video. I recently got a fitbit 5. The piece connector piece that is attached to the fitbit, itself broke. Do you know if I that part can be replaced? I'm not sure how to send pics but I can if that would help. Thanks.
I don't know how to repair the broken part that you describe. Have you tried contacting Fitbit for warranty replacement?
I've been dealing with my Charge 5 band falling off at nearly every class and practice I have every week, and it's so aggravating. The device is perfect for my needs otherwise, which is so frustrating. I already sent in my original for a replacement but the current one isn't any better. They just need to redesign the latch.
I have found that they put a spring return in one side of mine and not the other
I thought I broke mine 😅 it seems this is a manufacturing/design defect, mine also disconnecting from the far end and its annoying
The spring on the latch has gone and the strap falls out. Very weak design. There was really no reason why they could not have used a standard strap and spring bar design. Super gluing the latch seems to be the only answer
Edit: It stopped doing it and the latch has held for eight more months now and counting. - Did you ever fix this? Mine has started doing the same thing.
I didn't find a fix; instead, i returned the fitbit. Now I'm a happy Garmin user.
I had the exact same issue with the latch being floppy so would not latch in place. I carefully used a razor blade between the body and latch and used it to collapse the pin into latch. Once it came free from body I was able to put the spring back into proper place to now latch correctly. It was easier to put the latch in and hold with thumb pushing from bottom towards the face and using the razor blade to push in on pins too get back into place. Now it latches once again normally. Very similar to how a normal watch band attaches. I was going to buy pieces on eBay but mine just had the spring come out from ear for spring.
Charge 3, 4 and 5 all have connector flaws in design, Fitbit 2 connectors are the most reliable especially as they are metal and not plastic
Ha I have to laugh at my self. I watched your video on changing the bands on the Chg 5. So I did that and was getting ready to put on the charger and when I picked up the FitBit, the band fell off. I was getting ready to go back to the video. I picked up my phone and you were explaining the flaw. Worked out perfectly. Helped immensely.
Can you tell me how often thus flaw occurs? I would hate lose my Charge 5
They redesigned the Charge 4 band latch, unfortunately they didn't do much better on the Charge 5
That problem only happened to me with aftermarket bands.
My Charge 4's connectors broke so I am currently wearing my Charge 2. I was wondering if I should get a Charge 5. What a life
My Charge 4 fell completely apart. Unfortunately, the 5 is no better. Fitbit just doesn't care.
I just got this for xmas now I have to jb weld the dam thing
Super glue