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Solo loop broke in half!

techtechtech

techtechtech

macrumors regular
Original poster
Nov 9, 2017
180
268
UK
I know I'm not alone with this problem but my mothers 40mm Deep Navy Solo Loop broke clean in two after developing a small nick/tear/defect a few millimetres long. I have seen others posting similar images on the Apple support forum. Called Apple and they said no replacement, it was purchased in October 2020 so less than eight months old. My mother is in her 70's so no rock climbing or other activities along those lines, it is sized large if anything. I will be chasing Apple down to resolve this, not a happy bunny! :mad:

Has anyone else experienced this?

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Genuine?
I can only imagine that this could happen when it’s folded under extreme pressure or stretched
 
I have the blue Solo Loop, too, and have worn it daily for six months. I didn't notice any tears or cracks, but I plan to take a closer look at it later this evening. I've been wearing it primarily for sleeping and working out.
 
BSG75 said:
I have the blue Solo Loop, too, and have worn it daily for six months. I didn't notice any tears or cracks, but I plan to take a closer look at it later this evening. I've been wearing it primarily for sleeping and working out.
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I think you will notice if it happens, initially my mothers looked like it had been caught on something sharp, best way I can describe it, right in the middle of the band, few millimetres long but not torn right through. I did joke and asked what she might have been up to but I could also see it wasn't going to end well. Three weeks later it simply snapped in half when she removed it one evening.

Can only assume that maybe it was a bad batch, hope so at least for other owners. If it was widespread then surely more would have reported it. Would appear some are failing at the fixing points as the support staff suggested that would have qualified immediately for replacement! I was not happy as mentioned already, being a gift as well, we won't get into pricing but yes :oops:
 
techtechtech said:
I know I'm not alone with this problem but my mothers Solo Loop broke clean in two after developing a small nick/tear/defect a few millimetres long. I have seen others posting similar images on the Apple support forum. Called Apple and they said no replacement, it is less than six months old, my mother is in her 70's so no rock climbing or other activities along those lines, it is sized large if anything. I will be chasing Apple down to resolve this, not a happy bunny! :mad:

Has anyone else experienced this?

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You need to talk to Apple again. If I am not mistaken, the band comes with a 1 year warranty.
 
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Apple_Robert said:
You need to talk to Apple again. If I am not mistaken, the band comes with a 1 year warranty.
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I will call them again and I have sent an email to Mr Cook with associated images and links etc. I agree the band should be covered, Apple support looked at the images and they said no dice. I don't give up that easy, especially when I know this is purely defective. Let's see what Apple come back with and how the second call goes.
 
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I had the exact same problem. No visible damage, and then just broke in half.
 

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ms7u said:
I had the exact same problem. No visible damage, and then just broke in half.
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Sorry to hear and see that, looks like a very similar break point and pattern :confused: Did you manage to get a replacement?
 
Oh wow this is bad.
Dunno if my allergic reaction to any watch band that is not wolven nylon helps here, but my last wolven nylon band bought from Apple lasts 4 years with only a few broken strings etc, and certainly nowhere near “break in half”. Guess I will stay away from this loop band then.
 
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The quality from the recent watchbands is very far from apple standard, since my S6 I've bought four sports bands, and all the connectors came bigger or wrong, it won't slide easy like all other genuine watchbands.
 
That’s exactly why I only buy the cheap $4 bands off AliExpress. In bulk. Seriously, you should see my nightstand drawer, I’m up to around 20 or so now. I may need help…

Anyways, I don’t expect them to last longer than two to three months and if they break it’s not a big loss. Plus I can get half a truckload of bands for what Apple charges for a single one of them. And I have been genuinely surprised by the quality and build of some of these supposed knock-offs.
 
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‘
“I think you will notice if it happens, initially my mothers looked like it had been caught on something sharp, best way I can describe it, right in the middle of the band, few millimetres long but not torn right through. I did joke and asked what she might have been up to but I could also see it wasn't going to end well. Three weeks later it simply snapped in half when she removed it one evening”

So is it possible that it was actually “caught on something sharp”? Seems to me whenever someone reports something wrong, they are always very quick to blame Apple no matter the circumstances. “Purely defective”? By your own admission, when you joked about it, you could see it wasn’t going to end well, so maybe she did nick it and was afraid to admit it. Looking at the photo, there is a section that is not jagged. Usually a tear would be jagged and not straight like in the photo.
 
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Pierre535 said:
‘
“I think you will notice if it happens, initially my mothers looked like it had been caught on something sharp, best way I can describe it, right in the middle of the band, few millimetres long but not torn right through. I did joke and asked what she might have been up to but I could also see it wasn't going to end well. Three weeks later it simply snapped in half when she removed it one evening”

So is it possible that it was actually “caught on something sharp”? Seems to me whenever someone reports something wrong, they are always very quick to blame Apple no matter the circumstances. “Purely defective”? By your own admission, when you joked about it, you could see it wasn’t going to end well, so maybe she did nick it and was afraid to admit it. Looking at the photo, there is a section that is not jagged. Usually a tear would be jagged and not straight like in the photo.
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I was playing with fire when I made that comment, I realise! but no way this was damaged, my mother is 70+ years old and she baby's the watch, taken off if doing any gardening, cleaning etc. So yes indeed, I am blaming Apple. I am also an engineer and this is a silicone watch band, if you try and cut silicone of any blend it will take some doing ;)
 
Just out of interest has anyone ever received a response from Tim Cooks email address, obviously not directly but presumably from assistants responding on his behalf! - curious 🤓
 
Apple fanboy said:
Got my solo loop at launch. Where it all the time (its the only strap I have). No issues at all. I would say this is a manufacturing defect and as such should be replaced. Good luck with it.
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Appreciated, they are super comfortable no doubt. Let's see what Apple can do for me, this is the first issue I've had with one of their products and I've owned a few 😮

Oh, nice camera setup by the way 👍 I'm a Nikon fan also.
 
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Looks like material failure.
On normal use, these rubber/silicon bands do get worn out through time in contact with oil on the skin, moisture, humidity, etc. But usually it takes a while. Hopefully you'll get a replacement.
 
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ian87w said:
Looks like material failure.
On normal use, these rubber/silicon bands do get worn out through time in contact with oil on the skin, moisture, humidity, etc. But usually it takes a while. Hopefully you'll get a replacement.
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Thanks for the input, hopeful of a good outcome but I will be updating here with any news 🙂
 
Just to update on this situation, after reading several other reports like this on both Apple and Macrumors I decided it was time to call Apple support again. It appeared some owners were getting easy replacements and others were being told no.

I spent around 20-30 minutes on the phone initially with a first line support agent and then a senior advisor. The latter was very patient, helpful and knowledgeable and immediately agreed this should be a straight forward replacement, no question. They went away to discuss with a colleague and to authorise this, normally I believe they would require the broken strap to be returned for analysis.

Around 5 minutes later I received a call from the same senior advisor who informed me they would be sending a replacement solo loop without the need for me to return my existing one. This time around it was a very pleasant experience on the phone to support.

So it would seem if you are not happy with the initial outcome then jump back on the phone. Push to speak with a senior advisor or member of staff who should be more accommodating.

As the advisor pointed out, this could have been a more unpleasant outcome if the watch had fallen onto a hard floor when the strap failed 😲 - this could have lead to a much more serious replacement situation, certainly food for thought. I do hope that others aren't unlucky enough for that to happen.

Anyway, I will await arrival of the replacement solo loop and give my Mother the good news 😊
 
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