Replacement FitBit CLEARLY lower quality?

e_v_v
e_v_v Posts: 131 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
A couple weeks ago my fitbit charge HR button broke off. Thankfully, I had had it for less than a year, so the warranty still applied. I submitted a request for a new one and just got it a few days ago. I am SO disappointed because this replacement is clearly lower quality than my original one!! The band isn't nearly as flexible or soft, and the side button doesn't push with ease. I get that that may just be how the system works, but I'm not happy considering the warranty promised a replacement, not a budget refurbished piece of junk.

Has anyone experienced the same thing?

Replies

  • VisofSer
    VisofSer Posts: 130 Member
    I just got a replacement Charge HR as well as the covering was peeling away from the band. It is stiffer than my older one, but otherwise it is identical and I put this down to it being new instead of after 9+ months of daily wear.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    Actually no. I had two replacements for a non HR charge and they were both new. Customer service was excellent all I had to do was submit a photo of the damage and they sent it right out new in the box.

    However, both of these broke before 6 months were out,... the bands just do not hold up and the side buttons either fall off entirely or are in the process of falling off.

    I ditched fitbit and went to Garmin Forerunner. My husband has a non HR Fitbit Alta, much much much better design. It just does not have the HR and he doesnt really need that like I do.
  • Unknown
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  • mathandcats
    mathandcats Posts: 786 Member
    How do you know this is a "refurbished piece of junk"? What you are describing sounds like an unused model: it would likely loosen up with use.
  • BarbieAS
    BarbieAS Posts: 1,414 Member
    edited June 2016
    Are you sure it's not just because it's new? Stiffness in the band and buttons actually to me seem to be a sure sign that it's indeed brand new and NOT refurbished. The bands and buttons don't get stiffer and harder to use over time, it's just the opposite.

    I very clearly remember needing to "break in" both the bands and the buttons on the couple of wrist Fitbits I've had (a Charge HR and now an Alta, which doesn't have a button, but still). I know that when I first got my Alta I was hooking it on the 4th hole, and now I hook it on the 2nd or 3rd, and it's definitely NOT because my wrists have gotten thinner :lol:, I'm certain it's because the band has gotten a bit softer and is more flexible now. If you're comparing it to a Fitbit you've had for quite awhile it might seem stiffer and a bit harder to use the button right out of the box, but I'd be very willing to bet that after some use it will be just fine.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    That's a bummer. :disappointed:

    When Cervelo replaced my bike under warranty, they sent me a better one than I was entitled to. The guy handling it told me they like to keep their customers happy because they want repeat business in the long run.
  • GardenBanjo
    GardenBanjo Posts: 1 Member
    I'be also had problems with my Charge HR. It thinks I climb 70+ flights of stairs a day instead of 5-10. The warranty is up now. Going to get a Garmin without the HR because that green light annoys my partner at night.

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