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Apple Watch Solo loop snapped after 5 months

J

Jerry10284

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 22, 2022
4
7
My Apple Watch band broke apart after 5-6 months apple refused to replace it and suggested I buy a new one .
$69 AUD for a product that didn’t last 6 months

UPDATE:
spoke to live chat and they told me to send it in for inspection or pay for a payed replacement that cost $88.95 (more then the band)was referred to a call with a senior advisor and she straight up told me she can’t do anything the only thing is ship it for inspection or go to apple . As they can tell if its a defect or not as “Apple engineers already test there product quality”
 

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You’re not the only one. I started noticing stress cracks after six months then finally snapped in about eight. I thought I read a thread in here that Apple replaced theirs but I could be wrong.

As comfortable as this band is to wear, they couldn’t pay me to take another one. I’d be afraid this thing would snap again and my watch would hit the hard pavement. I just took the loss and a lesson learned.

Also, I never really liked how much it stretched just putting it on and taking it off. Always felt like it was stressing the locking mechanism that secures it to the watch. It also felt like it stretched over the months and not as tight as it was brand new.

1647998915288.jpeg
 
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There must be something about the dark ones that make them more prone to stretching/breaking. Every single time I've seen a picture of one that broke, it was either Deep Navy or Black.
 
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yeah I bought one of those braided loops and within 2 months it stretched a bunch, now I don't wear it. big waste of money.
 
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I've been using a generic 8 AUD Milanese Loop clone since gen 1, and it's still going strong. It's so old that I need to periodically scrub it hard to get the dead skin and dirt out, which is gross. But even with all that scrubbing it's still going strong. I bought it from Aliexpress I think, it came from China anyway. I would have thought the genuine $69 band would also last for years.
 
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kevcube said:
yeah I bought one of those braided loops and within 2 months it stretched a bunch, now I don't wear it. big waste of money.
Click to expand...
Same. Mine gave me about 5/6 months before it was just too big to wear.
Funny thing was that I bought the size smaller originally, and it was just too tight. Moved up to one that was a perfect fit...but then it just stretched to being unwearable. Great strap while it fit right...but $100 is too much for something with a shelf life of a couple of months..
 
i had a dark navy one that made it almost a year before developing a tiny tear. replaced it with a starlight.
 
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morningsong said:
Same. Mine gave me about 5/6 months before it was just too big to wear.
Funny thing was that I bought the size smaller originally, and it was just too tight. Moved up to one that was a perfect fit...but then it just stretched to being unwearable. Great strap while it fit right...but $100 is too much for something with a shelf life of a couple of months..
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This is exactly why it's essential to stay with one size smaller than the recommended one from Apple. It starts out a bit tight, but it ends up being perfect.
 
PaladinGuy said:
I would absolutely be persistent with Apple. They should replace bands that break in under a year. Just insist that you speak with a supervisor.
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I agree, this is not acceptable for the time you've been using it. It's not like these bands are cheap. For the price you've paid and the margins Apple is doing on selling a silicon band, the bare minimum is to get a replacement if it breaks within the warranty period
 
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fwmireault said:
I agree, this is not acceptable for the time you've been using it. It's not like these bands are cheap. For the price you've paid and the margins Apple is doing on selling a silicon band, the bare minimum is to get a replacement if it breaks within the warranty period
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Tried again was told i can get a payed replacement . Or send it in for inspection .
 
Ive never had this - but why are you stretching the band when installing onto your wrist?? How tight do you wear it?? Mine is always very slightly loose on my wrist and never had any issues at all. Not so loose that it moves, but enough to keep it in place and be able to slide my little finger through!
 
Ifti said:
Ive never had this - but why are you stretching the band when installing onto your wrist?? How tight do you wear it?? Mine is always very slightly loose on my wrist and never had any issues at all. Not so loose that it moves, but enough to keep it in place and be able to slide my little finger through!
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Not tight around my wrist but it has to go thru my hand first
 
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morningsong said:
Same. Mine gave me about 5/6 months before it was just too big to wear.
Funny thing was that I bought the size smaller originally, and it was just too tight. Moved up to one that was a perfect fit...but then it just stretched to being unwearable. Great strap while it fit right...but $100 is too much for something with a shelf life of a couple of months..
Click to expand...

Sounds like you’ve been overstretching yours, mine is over a year old and shows no sign of stretching. Best band I’ve ever bought.
 
I bought a solo loop in December 2021 (blue). No problems with it. I bought a Eucalyptus one end of March 2022. By mid May the strap was beginning to come away from the metal retaining piece that slides into the watch edge. Contacted Apple they replaced it. Replacement arrived mid to the end of May. Wednesday of this week, about 4 weeks from delivery of the replacement, the strap came right away from the retaining bar. I am awaiting a call back from Apple. Obviously the strap material is not fit for purpose but I think the problem may be the size of my wrist compared to the size of my hand. My wrist is narrow. I need a size 4 loop according to Apple. Putting the watch on over my hand may be putting too much pressure on the joint. That should have been thought through in the design stage. It may be the testers had small hands. Plus I suspect there may have been a change in material since my blue one.
 
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