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ndouglas

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 1, 2022
709
622
I just bought a 42mm jet black with a braided loop band and it doesn't fit. The band itself is fine. It's the connection between watch and band - it's loose, rattling and crackling...
Dang, sorry to hear that. Is this an Apple brand braided loop? I just got one in the mail today and it fits the watch fine. But sadly it’s much too loose on my wrist. When I posted this originally I had no idea how many folks would have issues re: the bands and the watch piece itself. For me those bands (apple branded) all fit into the watch fine. It‘s a bummer though, I paid $45 on ebay for a nice brand new Apple braided size 10 band and it’s not going to be wearable at all. Oh well, live and learn. Maybe I can try on a size 9 at the store.
 

CaféPicasso

macrumors member
Oct 4, 2022
39
84
Dang, sorry to hear that. Is this an Apple brand braided loop? I just got one in the mail today and it fits the watch fine. But sadly it’s much too loose on my wrist. When I posted this originally I had no idea how many folks would have issues re: the bands and the watch piece itself. For me those bands (apple branded) all fit into the watch fine. It‘s a bummer though, I paid $45 on ebay for a nice brand new Apple braided size 10 band and it’s not going to be wearable at all. Oh well, live and learn. Maybe I can try on a size 9 at the store.
Yes, it’s an original braided solo loop that came with the watch. I called apple and they will investigate, waiting for a reply… let’s see what happens..
 

DGGoingUphill

macrumors regular
Jul 11, 2015
124
72
Does anyone know if Apple Stores accept return/exchange for the band only, within that 14-day window? I might just go back to the store and try it but the stores are SO chaotic and busy, it’s always like a 2-hour commitment including travel to get there and back.

Since getting the S10, the standard “Sport Band“ it came with AND my 3-4 older bands with similar notches just don’t fit well for me. Curious if any others experienced this, or it’s just me? I guess with the S10 being slightly flatter, I have to wear it either too loose or too tight.
We just need more holes :) I was always in-between with my eight, either very loose or very tight. For me, the 10 gives a perfect fit. The holes don’t look that far apart, but I think with the stiffness of the bands, someone is always going to have the bad luck of wanting the spot between holes.
 

Night Spring

macrumors G5
Jul 17, 2008
14,796
7,986
We just need more holes :) I was always in-between with my eight, either very loose or very tight. For me, the 10 gives a perfect fit. The holes don’t look that far apart, but I think with the stiffness of the bands, someone is always going to have the bad luck of wanting the spot between holes.
The Nike sports band has more holes. If you are going to use sports bands, that's the one you should get.
 

chrisrows

macrumors member
Sep 6, 2024
63
215
Nashville, TN
Funny I just found this thread after questioning it for a week or so why my Sport Bands feel tighter and I have to go one slot looser with the same band on the Series 10 than the Series 9.
 
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ndouglas

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 1, 2022
709
622
Thanks everyone for your experiences! It’s good to know I’m not the only one noticing this. And, not a big issue obviously in the grand scheme of things, but a little bit of a hassle / adjustment.

While it’s too bad about my other 3 bands, on the bright side, I enjoy the Nike sport loop now (the comfy one with the velcro, not sure if I’m naming it correctly) since the S10 lasts 24 hours so I only need to charge it once daily. With the S7 before, I couldn’t handle wearing this band often because of having to remove it 2 or more times a day to charge.
 

rodknocker

macrumors 6502
Jul 4, 2011
298
10
Does anyone know if Apple Stores accept return/exchange for the band only, within that 14-day window? I might just go back to the store and try it but the stores are SO chaotic and busy, it’s always like a 2-hour commitment including travel to get there and back.

Since getting the S10, the standard “Sport Band“ it came with AND my 3-4 older bands with similar notches just don’t fit well for me. Curious if any others experienced this, or it’s just me? I guess with the S10 being slightly flatter, I have to wear it either too loose or too tight.
The old bands fit on my Series 10, but what I’ve noticed is that they’re much harder to attach when putting the band on the watch.
 

navaira

macrumors 68040
May 28, 2015
3,923
5,152
Amsterdam, Netherlands
I had this problem, because I – a very stable genius – originally attached the sports loop the wrong way round, wondering why I couldn’t get it in even with force :/ since I fixed that, it’s perfectly fine. Just replaced it with a third party leather band to see what happens. Zero problems, taking it out and in, both work fine… but the band does feel tighter. (Well, the watch is smaller, so this isn’t a huge shocker.)

I have a Nike sports band, too. Somewhere where I will find it easily (pro-tip: if you want to never see something again, give it to me and ask to put it somewhere where I will find it easily). Anyway, going back to the sports loop, let’s see if it attaches easily… *15 seconds later* Yup.

Maybe my watch is faulty ;)
 
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JulianL

macrumors 68000
Feb 2, 2010
1,708
720
London, UK
Just got a S10 Titanium 46mm. I've noticed that my old woven band (probably 44mm) doesn't quite fit in the new watch perfectly. The new watch is just a tad wider. It's not a huge deal, but something to be aware of when using older bands on the new 46mm watches.

View attachment 2426567
I just looked at my s9 strap on my new s10, a 41mm strap fitted to a 42mm s10 in my case, and I see the same. The ends of the metal slide-in pieces that latch the band into the watch are now not quite flush with the edges of the watch case but instead are very slightly indented into the case. It's a very tiny difference that doesn't bother me at all.

I'm thinking that Apple might have kept the length of the attachment pieces/rails on its latest s10 bands the same length as it had for series 9 and before to maintain backward compatibility. People can buy the bands as stand alone accessories for older watches if they particularly like a new colour/design/whatever and if Apple had lengthened the attachment rails to perfectly align with the new s10 case sizes then the rails would have stuck out very slightly from the side of the case if those bands were used with a pre-series-10 watch and I suspect that would be more noticeable and annoying than the pretty much imperceptible (unless you look for it) misalignment on a series 10 case.
 

xraydoc

Contributor
Oct 9, 2005
10,964
5,422
192.168.1.1
When I switched from my Series 7 to my Ultra 2 last year, I noticed the same thing - some bands seemed to be a little bit looser. Makes sense though, since the watch is bigger, it adds a couple of millimeters of space. Not really much one can do about it though.
 
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deeddawg

macrumors G5
Jun 14, 2010
12,420
6,530
US
I enjoy the Nike sport loop now (the comfy one with the velcro, not sure if I’m naming it correctly) since the S10 lasts 24 hours so I only need to charge it once daily. With the S7 before, I couldn’t handle wearing this band often because of having to remove it 2 or more times a day to charge.
I’m curious…. Maybe I’ve misunderstood, but why are you needing to remove the band to charge the watch?
 

Night Spring

macrumors G5
Jul 17, 2008
14,796
7,986
I’m curious…. Maybe I’ve misunderstood, but why are you needing to remove the band to charge the watch?
1727792721541.jpeg

Maybe they haven't figured out you can do this?
 

ndouglas

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 1, 2022
709
622
View attachment 2431159
Maybe they haven't figured out you can do this?
that’s cool! I don’t have those bands though but I’ll keep it in mind. About Deeddawg’s Q, I’m not removing the band when charging, I was just referring to removing the watch from my wrist. Obviously that’s not a difficult thing to do in general, but when you have to do it multiple times a day as I did w/ the S7, it becomes much easier with the standard bands with holes in them, compared to the velcro sport loop bands.
 

ndouglas

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 1, 2022
709
622
Hmm, my S7 is either too loose or too tight. Sounds like the S10 will fit me perfectly!
I wouldn’t count on it, I had the same model and same issue, too loose/tight for standard bands with holes/notches, and S10 made that even more noticeable.
 

ndouglas

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 1, 2022
709
622
Semi good news update, Apple store staff agreed to let me return the original black band that came with the watch, in exchange for the braided solo loop and $49 + tax. It fits a bit snug but they let me try on several and it seems to be the best size. Hopefully with time it’ll loosen just a tad. 2 days before the 14-day window ended. 😅

Thanks @nxt3 for the good tip to bring just the band box only, they accepted it and I was in and out of the store in record time (15-20 mins).
 
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nxt3

macrumors regular
Sep 15, 2023
182
137
Semi good news update, Apple store staff agreed to let me return the original black band that came with the watch, in exchange for the braided solo loop and $49 + tax. It fits a bit snug but they let me try on several and it seems to be the best size. Hopefully with time it’ll loosen just a tad. 2 days before the 14-day window ended. 😅

Thanks @nxt3 for the good tip to bring just the band box only, they accepted it and I was in and out of the store in record time (15-20 mins).
Nice! Glad you got it all sorted
 
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