Defective clasp

[thericeman]

Not even 24 hours owning/wearing the band and the clasp broke overnight during sleep monitoring. It appears that the springs on the push buttons broke or came unseated, so the clasp no longer holds in place.

Long story short with my support experience: Call Center support is great. Microsoft Store retail locations; not so much. I'm SOL and stuck with a $200 paperweight until new stock comes in and/or demand dies down. Really liking my decision to buy Microsoft Complete, too. :eck:

 

[jeres88]

What was wrong with the Microsoft Store retail location? My store has always given me great service.

 

[bitman417]

It sounds like a manufacturer defect in your Band. I'm sure the store will replace it once they have the stock.

Don't worry.

 

[mke_geek]

I have a similar problem, but it started before I went to sleep. One of the little locking tabs doesn't slide well, so the tabs won't completely engage the slots. I took it back to the store this morning and they only had one large left. I need a medium so they put me on a list and will call me when they're restocked. I checked the demo unit and the tabs slid just fine when pressing the release buttons. No biggie, the HR monitor is the only thing that won't function perfectly until the new Band arrives.

 

[thericeman]

What was wrong with the Microsoft Store retail location? My store has always given me great service.

The store I bought it from didn't complete my sale correctly, so I wasn't covered by Microsoft Complete although the SA took my account username (also received the receipt correctly via email). Another store that has a band in stock in my size won't hold it for me / set an appointment to exchange my defective one out because of the high demand for the unit.
EDIT: This is even with the call center tech calling the store to setup the exchange. To be fair, I am asking them to hold it until the store opens tomorrow morning because it's a 30m drive there and with it being Halloween it'll be impossible to get there tonight before the store closes.

I have a similar problem, but it started before I went to sleep. One of the little locking tabs doesn't slide well, so the tabs won't completely engage the slots.

Both my tabs won't engage, so the band slides completely open and eventually comes off the wrist. At least I have some comfort that I'm not the only one having this problem. What lot number is your band? Mine is 1443.

 

[mke_geek]

Same lot number. I'm glad mine isn't coming unclasped. I took apart the locking mechanism and found the spring inside was binding and sticking at an opening in the groove where the spring sits. When I put it back together the tabs were sliding perfectly until I closed the band. Now I'm back to the same problem. Hopefully, they'll restock soon.

 

[sdrexler11791]

Figured out how to take it apart and fix it:. Works great now!

 

[entropylabs]

Can you tell me how you managed to fix it? I'm having the exact same issue with a dead button on the clasp. It came out of the box this way - and rather than wait for ages for a new one, I would love to see if I could fix it myself.

Any advice you could give would be GREATLY appreciated.

 

[sdrexler11791]

Do this over a broad surface so that the parts won't fly away on you. I did it over a white flannel bed spred. Unscrew the two screws using a torx wrench. I am not sure what size it is, but I believe it is a T3. I used the smallest one from this kit: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...ag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUwpUvbUpU2854580

Once you take the screws out, the clasp will fall away from the band. Inside the clasp is a metal sleeve that holds the two buttons. It can be popped out as unit by pushing one button in and slipping it out of the button slot. The other side will come out easily once you get it out. Flip the sleeve over and you will see the spring that pushes the two buttons apart. In my case, the spring had slipped out of position and was not holding the two buttons apart. I pushed it back in to place with a small screw driver and saw that the two buttons now had good force pushing them apart again. I then reassembled the clasp. It has been working perfectly since then. Be careful not to lose the two screws. They are very small and short.

 

[aussiepos]

I purchased this item off Amazon and was able to fix the band exactly as stated. I was a little confused as Amazon listed that the set had a T3, but the sticker inside the set listed only T4 and higher. I used the smallest one I could find in the set (not sure if it truly is a T3 or T4), and within 5 minutes I had it taken apart and put back together.

 

[Red River]

Do this over a broad surface so that the parts won't fly away on you. I did it over a white flannel bed spred. Unscrew the two screws using a torx wrench. I am not sure what size it is, but I believe it is a T3. I used the smallest one from this kit: On Sale 60% OFF: ML Tools 32 in 1 Precision Multi-Magnetic-Bit Screwdriver Set for Electronics PC Laptop Mobile Cell Phone and More ...Lifetime Guarantee - - Amazon.com

Once you take the screws out, the clasp will fall away from the band. Inside the clasp is a metal sleeve that holds the two buttons. It can be popped out as unit by pushing one button in and slipping it out of the button slot. The other side will come out easily once you get it out. Flip the sleeve over and you will see the spring that pushes the two buttons apart. In my case, the spring had slipped out of position and was not holding the two buttons apart. I pushed it back in to place with a small screw driver and saw that the two buttons now had good force pushing them apart again. I then reassembled the clasp. It has been working perfectly since then. Be careful not to lose the two screws. They are very small and short.

Just fixed my clasp issue by following this post. Thanks a lot!

 

[randyoaks187]

Anyone know if it is possible to get a replacement clasp? One of the locking tabs on mine caught on something and broke off. From the teardown video I saw it looks like it is entirely replaceable, I just have to find the part. I really don't want to use my warranty claim after only 7 days.

 

[arandazz]

After a week my bands button became stuck. Followed your instructions and fixed the issue. Thanks! The screws are T4 torx. (lot number 1446)

 

[OwlPower]

I had the clasp issue as reported here. After about 3 months of daily ware the clasp stopped working. One side of the clasp had almost no tension in it, so the watch would fall of my wrist if I wasn't very careful. It was nearly unwearable in this state.

I used a torx screwdriver set to remove the two screws on the clasp. The screw head is torx T4 size. The screws are very small and they are difficult to work with; it would be easy to lose them if you are not careful. Once the screws are out, you can separate the clasp from the band. If you pinch both buttons completely in, you can eventually wiggle the internals of the clasp out from the casing. If you flip those internals over you will see a tiny spring that is normally hidden by the outer casing of the clasp.

There is a single spring that pushes against both ends of the clasp so that both buttons have tension in them. The spring on my clasp had partially pushed out from one side of a little track in which the spring is supposed to sit. So, the spring was only pushing back against one side of the clasp. It was easy to push the spring back into the track with my fingers, but it took a few tries to get the internals snapped back into the clasp casing without the spring sliding back to the bad position that I found it in. After about 15 minutes I had everything back in place. The screws are tiny and it took a while to get them threaded back into the band, since the band itself is fairly rigid.

It is fixed for now, but the clasp still seems fragile. I have a feeling that I will need to repeat this repair at least a few times during the lifetime of the watch.

I hope this helps. I was disappointed by my experience, and I think this is a design flaw of the device. It is a critical flaw. A watch, especially a fitness watch, is nearly useless if you can't count on it to stay in place on your wrist. I would be much more tolerant of a software bug or even a technical hardware issue as opposed to a mechanical failure of the clasp which make the watch continuously slip off my wrist.

 

[baloo247]

Same issue here. Springn was misaligned, but easily fixed. Thank you for the tip.

 

[poit57]

I received a warranty replacement unit due to a faulty HR monitor. I'm starting to notice an issue on the clasp of the replacement unit, but it seems like the issue is more on the side with the HR monitor rather than the side with the tabs.

I wear my Band on the second tightest setting, but I've noticed that it often slips to the next notch, especially when I do something that requires flexing my wrist. This seems to be the only notch affected, so that is why I am pretty sure that the tabs are not the issue.

Sometimes it seems the clasp will lock into the desired notch and not move even under intentional effort to do so whereas other times, the clasp slips to the next notch every few minutes. It is very inconsistent, but after being without the Band for 2 weeks waiting for the first warranty exchange, I don't want to do without it again. I think I can survive with this issue, but occasionally, it becomes very annoying.

 

[Koert van Kleef]

I am noticing the same thing as poit57 04-21-2015, 01:30 PM pointed out. Except that it doesn't appear to be just one notch, I've seen it get looser by two notches as well. Not a critical defect; the band stays on my wrist. The way the clasp is designed it stays together even if it slips to the last notch.
But as he also pointed out, this does become annoying, and I will see if I can post on a uservoice topic about this so that MS might take this into account should they build a second edition.

I too, have found that it is not easy to make the same thing happen intentionally, one way I can get it to occur is when I twist the two ends of the band like so /\ and so \/. (moving along my wrist, not pushing and pulling away from my wrist) After I've done this about a dozen times it slips one notch.
I now also noticed I can reproduce the problem quicker if I first bring the two ends out of alignment like so _-- this causes the button on the outer side to be depressed. Then twisting the unds just once makes it move a notch. I highly suspect that this is what happens when I flex my wrist a lot.

 

[poit57]

I have since received another warranty replacement (touch screen stopped working on my first replacement). The new unit has a much more secure clasp, but it still occasionally slips. I wear the Band so that it is comfortably snug with some, but not much movement up and down on the wrist. When it does slip a notch, it is when I am lifting/pulling an object so that my wrist is slightly bent toward my body and the forearm is firmly flexed. It don't really feel more pressure between my wrist and the Band when this happens, but apparently there is still enough pressure to make it loosen itself.

 

[mwailes]

Here is a picture of the spring loose. Thank you to sdrexler11791 and OwlPower for your posts

 

[danielfine]

Same dang issue. I had my band just a little over the warranty period and the clasp tore. I should have worn it every day, but I didn't This Microsoft Band was a lot of money and I certainly expected it to last a big longer. In fact, I thought the electronics would wear out before the wristband did. I am probably NEVER going to buy Microsoft again. I had a Surface. Same thing. Right after the warranty, I was working on it and it just fried. Complete brick. Took into the Microsoft Store and the answer is buy another one. They must think we have $60b in the bank, like they do. I can't afford, nor will I buy products that are not quality and the company doesn't stand behind them. So disappointing because I liked the functionality of the Band, but to have it fall apart at a year, and not be able to repair it just kills me. I've been a loyal MSFT fan (Surface, Windows Phone, Band, etc.), but will finally make the switch to Apple.