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Stock band causing skin irritation. What's being done?

It's been a year since I've had my Garmin Vivoactive 3. I've tried scrubbing the band with rubbing alcohol, my wrist with rubbing alcohol. I've tried changing the types of hand soap and body wash I use. I don't wear it in the shower and I rarely wear it while I'm swimming. I remove it overnight while it needs to charge approximately every 3 to 5 days. I can't think of anything else I could possibly do to resolve this issue with the stock band. This seems to have affected several users throughout the past year. (most of those posts have been closed and no additional replies can be posted)

There's a spot on the side of my wrist that is red and irritated. it almost looks as if its a sunburn. The skin is red, itchy, and is flaky. It's only on one spot on my wrist where the band is solid. The slotted portion of the band on the other side of the watch face does not cause any skin irritation. Neither does the HR portion cause any irritation. It's just one small spot from the band that's causing this issue.

I owned the Vivosmart HR before this and never had a single issue with the stock band. 

Loosening the band doesn't fix the issue. The skin irritation is still there. Switching wrists is not a viable solution as I don't want the same skin irritation on both my wrists. I'd like to know what Garmin will be doing to provide excellent customer service.

  • I can't reply on behalf of Garmin, can't say what Garmin will be doing.   But I can guess what they likely are doing - absolutely nothing.  I say this because:

    1. While this is a very real issue for you, it likely is affecting a very very small percentage of their customers

    2. Clearly the material in their band negatively interacts with your skin.  There is probably no material out there that would not interact with some small subset of humans on the planet.  Garmin can't change that fact.  You happen to be one of the few unlucky persons on this one.

    3. Is this Garmin's issue or something in your personal skin makeup of body chemistry?  Not something they can diagnose

    4. They would simply suggest you change bands.  There are so many 3rd party watch bands out there.  Simply go to Amazon or eBay for example and purchase a band of the type you like.  That will solve the problem.  I tried a couple different types of band clasps until I found something I like that also happens to be metal.  Totally diffeent material.  You can surely find something you like probably for $10 or less.  They are cheap.

    I'd recommend getting yourself a different, inexpensive band and enjoy wearing the watch without any skin irritation.

  • we got new Garmin in December and both have this issue with rashes. Have tried loosening the band, wearing on other wrist but we can’t seem to overcome the issue.  Ideas about other bands to try would be great.

  • Sounds like your skin has a reaction with the plastic type material Garmin uses.  Let's guess that all Garmin bands will probably do the same thing as they likely use the same base material.  If you like this style of band, try a leather band.  I personally like metal bands that clasp.  There's also things like Melanese loop metal bands.  Check out Amazon or eBay for lots of options in 20mm watch bands.

  • Does anyone know if the band has latex in it?

  • It has to be some sort of allergic reaction to affect only a small percentage of people

  • You'd have to ask Garmin Support if it has Latex in it.  My guess is they won't even know what material compounds are in the rubber.  They'd have to ask engineering or manufacturing and get back to you.  But you can always ask.  There are so many 3rd party bands out there for $10 or so, replacing it with something you like is very cheap and easy.

  • FWIW, I have no known allergies and sometimes I get what appears to be a rash from mine. I think it's abrasion induced by movement. I have to loosen or tighten the band as needed (doing an activity and sweating as opposed to daily wear and sleeping) I also use Nivea on my wrist when I'm charging the watch. This solves the issue for me. The band is silicone AFAIK. Hope this helps.

  • I have the exact same issue! My husband has same device and has no problem whatsoever. I should have taken photos of mine, too, while it was still red. I have not worn the device in about a week and the redness is gone, but the skin is definitely puckered, burned, peeling, etc. 

  • Little story on that. I had the same issue and couldn't wear it any more. Garmin support offered me a 10% coupon for a leather band. As the leather bands are not vegetable tanned leather (i.e. may cause allergies and skin irritation du to copper-compounds), I didn't want to risk it. Luckily they soon announced the nylon band alongside the vivomove series (https://buy.garmin.com/de-DE/DE/p/552881/pn/010-12924-13). It's release took like 5 month and I used a cheap ebay loop-strap meanwhile (which didn't quiet fit). Now the nylon strap finally arrived and works okay. It is a ripp off for the original 60€, though. 
    After that I saw a report of the forerunner 245 music by a German product testing institution (payed version of https://www.test.de/Smartwatch-Fitnessarmband-Laufuhr-Wearables-Test-5254021-0/). They rated that model as only mediocre in the category of harmful chemical substances. I contacted them but they refused to offer further detail as for legal reasons. Their results normally are very trustworthy.

    While this is a different product and not a precise result, it leaves me wondering, wehter Garmin cares any bit about skin compatibility and health with their straps. BTW Even the nylon one has a cancer disclaimer on it.