Forerunner 945 Strap

It really is aha.

Yes so i think it's the band as well. I both tightened and loosened the screws and it made no difference.
Lubricating the band solves the problem for between 24-48 hours then it returns. 

I sent that video to Bike24 where I bought the watch and they said they checked the stock and all the watches make that noise (obviously not true), but would happy to give me a full refund still even though it's outside the original return period. I'm struggling to decide what to do as I really like the watch but for 500 bucks I want it to be without this issue aha.

Any advice welcome!

For that kind of loud noise, I suspect its the band itself.

We don't really read many of such creaking sound cases. The buttons issue is more common.

If I were you, I will just return back and take another model. ie Fenix 6 or 745.

I like the size and battery life of the 945 so the other option would be the fenix 6 pro; but I am concerned about all the negative things I have heard with buttons and backlight. The 945 seems safer if I could just get non-defective strap. 

There's a saying in the Netherlands that if your shoes creak, you haven't paid for them yet. No idea where that came from, but there's a fully paid-for FR945 in the house that has been creaking since it came out of the box.

If you really can't stand the noise and are willing to spend about 50 Euros on a strap: a Fenix 6 22mm quick-fit strap works great. IMHO it has to be the genuine Garmin brand; look-alikes I found too stiff for the lightweight FR945. 

Update: I have sent back the watch for a full refund since the option was there. They said they wouldn't exchange, so I've ordered a new 945 from Garmin directly. If I draw bad luck of the buttons or a similar issue with the strap I might just downgrade to the 245 and accept imperfection with a smile on my face for the money saved. Fingers crossed for the 945 first! 

What! Have you tested it on others wrists? I have never had that on my 945 stock band or QuickFit. Try a quockfit band off ebay I have a £50 Garmin one and a £5 eBay and pretty much the same. 

If another 945 has the same problem, you must be a very unlucky person. 

I don't think the wrist matters. 

I'm using the stock band. 

Hi! I took the refund for bike 24 and ordered from garmin direct to try a another 945. I thought everything was good then 3-4 days in I got the same annoying noises coming from the band/connection.

The noise was too much for me and although I could of tried wd-40 silicone spray I am just a fussy person who wants something working out of the box. So I ordered a fenix 6s pro from bike 24 (Germany - same price as forerunner 945 listed on garmin).

The 6s pro has double click buttons but they feel high quality and I actually like it after getting used to it. The band fits great for my 15.5cm wrists, and the overall feel was just better for me with no annoying noises.

A final thing I may as well mention is that yes it has a blueish screen compared to 945, but overall the screen feels higher quality and unless you take a photo of it with the backlight on in the dark, it’s really not a big deal!

Hope you can resolve the issue. I would just warn that a replacement might not be the solution!