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

AlphaSway
over 4 years ago

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.

  • 0 over 4 years ago in reply to 7457844

    I bought a stainless steel one on Amazon. I have dye and nickel allergies as well. Hopefully the SS one will work!

  • 0 over 4 years ago

    Me too! I've washed the band, used anti-fungal cream, cortisone cream - not sure what the irritation is but it doesn't fully go away. Never had a watch band do this and I've had a lot of different smart watches. 

  • 0 over 4 years ago

    I had the same issue with the VA3. I got myself a nylon (it can stretch a bit) wristband which has been working great for over a year. I can use it a bit tighter because it is somewhat elastic without becoming uncomfortable. Since then no issues anymore...

  • 0 over 4 years ago

    I also have exactly the same rash. Seems like its a big issue. thanks for the alternatives. Needless to say I wont be purchasing a strap through Garmin with a 10% discount addressing the issue. 

  • 0 over 4 years ago

    Hi,

    Just wondering the outcome of this post ? , I've got exactly the same problem, worn watches all my life and never had this issue.

    It's not the metal contact it's the rubber.

    Cheers

  • 0 over 4 years ago in reply to 3274508

    Have you tried any other straps? 

  • 0 over 4 years ago

    Same here. Bought a leather strap and hey  presto. It disappeared. I do take it off to wash now too. 

  • 0 over 4 years ago

    Same issue here, vivoactive 4 and getting the exact same rash. I can't completely agree with the comment saying its a small percentage of people. There seem to be quite a few cases, and we are the only ones that are reporting it compared to others who don't go through the effort. Never had any issue with other bands but I guess we got unlucky here. 

    Looks like our best option is to buy a 3rd party band so I'm going to search on Amazon for one. It is a bummer though for the stock band to cause irritation for so many people. I did like how light it was. Hoping to find one similar. 

  • +1 over 4 years ago in reply to 5964253

    Hi , I wrote to support and to be honest they were great , offered a replacement strap free of charge , leather or nylon non rubber based as they thought that was the issue. New strap was delivered in a couple of days and not had any issues since.

    Cheers

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to 5964253

    Exactly same issue here with the Vivoactive 4 purchased at the beginning of March 2020. Area affected is just the area of the wrist where the band is solid. It looks like a burn, is red and itchy and starts peeling. I initially switched wrists and now have the rash on both wrists. Have been wearing watches my whole life and have never had any skin allergies. My husband purchased same watch at same time, he has no issues. (He has the black strap, I have the charcoal, don't know if that's relevant). I have emailed Garmin this morning .....