Before I bought the vivosport as a christmas present for myself I did some research and found out that the straps on the vivo series have been a weak point and known to break after just a few months. The vendor somehow convinced me that it must have been a production error, and that I could just return it under waranty as soon as it started breaking as long as it was not completely broken through or like a clean knife cut. So, I bought it, and to be sure, checked it regulary for breaks or tears, treated it carefully, etc etc. A few days back, when putting it on in the morning the strap tore at the unit, the tear following the contours of the unit. Luckily, the tear was not complete and the strap is still attached by a few mm. I returned it to the store where I got it. However, they said now that warranty doesn’t cover this. I got quite angry (though of course that salesperson is not to blame). He then confessed that the last few months they had several customers with the same issue. So, They agreed to send it to Garmin who will now check if its a design flaw or me abusing it. This will take several weeks and the sales person told me I should not hope for a replacement. 200 euro for a wearable that is not usuable anymore after 6 months...thank you Garmin :( My next wearable won’t be a garmin!
Broke my second strap in a year. Tore clean off the body of the device. They seem to have a 6 month lifetime with my wrists.
I think my problem is that my wrist is too wide. The strap would like to follow the curve of the device but can't, and that puts a stress where the two meet.
I saw comments about this on Amazon before I bought mine. So I've been exceedingly careful with it since I got it. It's still OK for now. I wipe the strap down gently with a baby wipe and then again with tissue about once every day or two before I put it on charge while bathing/showering.
I wear mine quite loosely though. I wonder if people who've had breakages are putting theirs on tight?
Had the same issue. It broke after 6 months. I contacted customer support. Shipped them my unit, and they shipped me a replacement. I noted that it broke where the metal clasp rested, since that was where I always set it. On the new one, I change the change the location daily. It means that sometimes it is a bit snug and other times a bit loose, but maybe it will last a bit longer. I did pick up an extended warrantee from Amazon.
The wife and i have had ours just over 12 months, we wear it 24/7 (except the short time to charge it), in the shower, mountain biking, hiking etc etc and mine is still intact. It's a bit scuffed here and there but to be expected. No sign of cracks in the band. *not sure what people are doing to theirs in regards to everyday wear. We wear ours not tight, but not loose as per the manual. It is stupid though how the band is not consumer replaceable. But yeah, RING Garmin.
The wife and i have had ours just over 12 months, we wear it 24/7 (except the short time to charge it), in the shower, mountain biking, hiking etc etc and mine is still intact. It's a bit scuffed here and there but to be expected. No sign of cracks in the band. *not sure what people are doing to theirs in regards to everyday wear. We wear ours not tight, but not loose as per the manual. It is stupid though how the band is not consumer replaceable. But yeah, RING Garmin.
Same here, but July 2018. I have a feeling that there is a design flaw that comes to light when you...
* do the strap up really tight * subject the device to 'knocks' * have a wrist that is too small, forcing a tight bend radius and causing strain on the weak point
...and it only copes with a certain amount of abuse as a result.
It makes sense that if something is slightly 'weak & vulnerable' is you put low to no force on it it will survive longer. This is a coping strategy and in no way absolves the fact that the strap design is less than ideal.
No sign of cracks in the band. *not sure what people are doing to theirs in regards to everyday wear. We wear ours not tight, but not loose as per the manual. It is stupid though how the band is not consumer replaceable. But yeah, RING Garmin.
I thought this too until about a week ago. Finally after 11 months mine started to crack last week. I can tell you with 100% certainty that it has nothing to do with anything mentioned in this thread, it is just inherent in the design. I know this because mine was never, ever:
1) worn in the shower or even exposed to rain 2) taken underwater in a pool or anything else 3) cleaned with any chemicals 4) worn too tight or rubbed/dragged across anything 5) exposed to excessive heat, or cold, for that matter
Fortunately I purchased the Geeksquad warranty when I bought mine and it was replaced with no cost. That's good because other than the band problem I absolutely love my Vivosport!
Yes, my first vivosport was returned due to a broken strap, the replacement was returned due to having a faulty battery, the strap on the replacement for that has just broke and Garmin have given me an RMA number, the only thing i have had to pay for is shipping it back to them. First purchased January 2018. I asked if I could swap it for a model with replaceable straps but that isn't possible. I used the live chat option from the support page to correspond with them.
I was maybe lucky with strap. Lasted for about 2 years. I was not wearing it at night and in the shower. Now trying to hack some things to get it back.
