Related

Strap mounts broken (Forerunner 45)

1418924
over 3 years ago

I have had my Forerunner 45 since the end of February, so it's less than seven months old and has had very light use. I don't wear it all day, or even every day. Today it just suddenly fell of my wrist - no bags hanging or getting caught on clothes, just fell off. I thought the strap had come undone but in fact the mounts have both snapped in half, and since they are part of the watch body, there's no fixing it. This thing cost me £160 not much more than six months ago, so honestly, I expected better....

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to Filipa

    My FR-45 broke in the same way. I contacted customer service and I was told I could get a replacement for a "one-time deal" of around $27. You mean to tell me that after I paid around $200 to a respectable brand that's supposed to have quality products, they're charging me an extra ~$30 because my watch broke in a very common way? Granted, $30 is not a huge amount of money, but I wonder how many people have succumbed to their money grab. Now the FR-45 is around $130 and they still expected more money from me. I ended up contacting them again and the fee was waived, but come on. I've always liked Garmin products, but I expected more from my first customer service experience with them.

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to 4877254

    Glad you got it sorted in the end. When it happened to me it took ages and I had to email the UK office because where I live (Portugal) they wouldn't even consider it as being a warranty-covered problem! Garmin Portugal wanted me to send them the damaged watch and pay 105 Euros, and in exchange they would send me a refurbished watch!! It was just unbelieveble. But what shocks me most of all is that, to this day, even with the constant complaints, the exact same product with the exact same problem is still out for sale. 

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to Filipa

    I'm in the US. They didn't specify if I'll get a refurbished one or a new one, but I would hope and expect that I'd receive a new one. I haven't received it yet, but it's the holidays so shipping is slow, and I just sent the broken one to them about a week ago. Hopefully, they don't overly drag out the process. As I said, I enjoy the Garmin products I've owned and used, but clearly, there is a poor design flaw in that watch's housing that is supposed to be a sports watch. It seems like they're trying to get rid of the FR-45, to be honest. It sounds like you had it worse!

  • 0 over 2 years ago

    Thus also happened to me a couple days ago

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to 8445905

    I contacted their support. They paid to have mine shipped back and sent me a replacement. It is possible the replacement isn't new. I can't be sure. The battery doesn't last like a new one, but then again the one that broke was about 2 years old, so all in all, it seemed fair to me. I hope they redesign this, though! I like my Garmin devices, but it is too much money for a watch with a poor strap design. Their very old models have a pin in the strap for easy replacement.

  • 0 over 1 year ago

    I've also had my forerunner for just over a year and the exact same thing happened. I emailed Garmin, who directed me to their UAE office as I am currently based here, I hope that they will replace the watch as this is definitely a manufacturing defect, especially if so many people are experiencing the same issue.

  • 0 over 1 year ago

    I've had my forerunner 45 for just over a year and I've had the exact same issue. I've emailed Garmin support and am waiting on their feedback, can't believe the manufacturing quality if this breakages occurs so often. Perhaps a better idea would be to discontinue the watch and offer all the purchasers a replacement with a different model if and or when this issue happens.

  • 0 over 1 year ago

    Less than 2 years since purchasing... my 45S fell off my wrist too.  Unfortunately even with the exchange programme (Garmin has a link but does not deliver to HK), which Hong Kong customer service says does apply, they want to charge me HK$780 for replacement fee as it is outside of warranty (excluding straps).  This is approx. half the cost of the watch!  When challenged this is clearly a known issue for there to be an exchange programme, I was reminded that each region differs and they are only being helpful, so if I wanted to arrange a replacement, to contact them.

    Disappointed... Disappointed

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to 2661194

    Hi. I suggest you send an email to the "brand owner". Find out which is the nearest Garmin office and threaten them with whatever consumer rights association you have in your region. That's what I did, as here in Portugal I had the same problem - the local representative (which I think is not an actual Garmin office) was using the same argument, when I said exactly what you said: "if there is an exchange program, surely you know the product has a problem and you should not be selling it in the first place!". At first, they wanted to charge me an absurd amount, so I emailed the London headquarters and told them it was the last chance before I went to the consumer association. They sent me a replacement a few days later.

  • 0 over 1 year ago

    My watch strap/mounts just broke too.
    I’m surprised this is a common issue with the Forerunner. :(

    I also thought it was the strap at first but shocked to see it was the mount. My watch was using the original straps, I’ve never done a replacement. 

    I’ve contacted support services, waiting to hear what they say.