My first Viosmart 4 blistered badly after 9 months. Garmin replaced it. Just noticed its happening again after about 6 months.
Any idea on the cause yet? A real shame as otherwise I am very happy with the device. Will they replace a second one?
My first Viosmart 4 blistered badly after 9 months. Garmin replaced it. Just noticed its happening again after about 6 months.
Any idea on the cause yet? A real shame as otherwise I am very happy with the device. Will they replace a second one?
Any users who are seeing this issue will need to reach out to their local Product Support teams directly for a replacement. We cannot offer exchanges via the forums.
I have exactly the same problem. Less than a year after replacement I have a bubble again at the same spot.
I contacted Garmin in the Netherlands if the cause of this problem is already known or even solved…
Mine has not be replaced yet. It is about 9-10 months old. The bubble has been there for a while and is much worse than the picture above in the original post. I didn't complain because it hasn't effected…
Eventually it will pop and an oily substance can come out. At least it will no longer be waterproof.
i hope the oily substance is not electrolyte. Garmin has said to some customers it is not dangerous,…
It's a known and widespread manufacturing defect. Depending on where you live, make a complaint to the consumer protection bureau (if there is one). Post a picture here and start a new thread complaining.
The quality of these products as well as the support is awful.
Yeah, no idea whats causes this. We already had 4 ofthese watches with this problem. It will eventually pop and no longer be water proof.
i just sent in my second watch for a refund. My wife resigned to it not being watertight. Just not let it charge when nobody is at home in case it causes a fire.
After about one year, my Vivosmart 4 blistered and leaked oily substance, while still working fine.
As my Vivosmart 4 approached end of warranty, customer support stories in this thread encouraged me to research latest offerings from other brands. But none come even close to Vivosmart 4 low weight and capabilities.
When I contacted support via chat, I received my return number in less than 20 minutes. Now I am happily wearing brand new Vivosmart 4 that was mailed just two hours after my blistered unit was delivered to Garmin.
Kudos to Garmin Support!
Any users who are seeing this issue will need to reach out to their local Product Support teams directly for a replacement. We cannot offer exchanges via the forums.
If you bought it in an airport the "local product support teams" screw you out of your replacement.
Is there any advice you can give us to prevent this from happening. I am waiting for my third watch and I am getting tired to go through this routine of getting a replacement every 9 months. Especially since the shop I bought it from takes 2-3 months just to do the exchange.
Huh, I've had mine for about 2 years now - bought it the week it was released - and just noticed the bubble, as it hasn't affected the functioning and isn't especially large. The bezel falling off happened much more quickly (I've glued it back on twice now). I suppose I probably should send it in, since I also just noticed that the glue holding the band on is coming undone on one side - the same side as the bubble, in fact. Could this be a result of air - or other fluids, for people reporting a liquid coming out - getting trapped between the band and the electronics enclosure as the glue seal for the band starts to wear out? The proximity to the charging port would also makes sense - that side of the band is subjected to more force over time as a result of attaching and detaching the charging cable, so I'd expect that in nearly all cases, the glue holding the band on would wear out on that side first, resulting in a bubble from trapped external air or fluid in the same place on everyone's watch.
None of this appears to be affecting the waterproofing as PeterOo suggests; I wear it in the shower all the time and it hasn't died as a result. From what I can see where the band has come unglued, the electronics enclosure looks to be sealed underneath the band, not relying on the band to seal it.
They very clearly need to use a stronger glue, though given the number of cell phone screens I've had eventually fall off, this may be more of an industry-wide problem with the types of glues used in electronics manufacture not holding well for more than a year or two (which may be an intentional function of lifespan design - lots of manufacturers appear to very much want a two or even one year upgrade/replacement cycle for electronics to be standard).