Disintegrating rubber?

[anthonyng]

Hey who's got hairy arms? That probably doesn't help?

 

[willgill]

I've had my Band since Christmas and it shows zero signs of wear except for slight pitting of the metal around the charger.

I clean the area around the charger with 70% alcohol. It's actually better than the >90% as an anti microbial.

I don't buy acidic sweat or diet causing rubber issue. I'd bet more on constant cleaning and/or overly flexing the straps to put it on your wrist.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

 

[anon(7901790)]

I've had my Band since Christmas and it shows zero signs of wear except for slight pitting of the metal around the charger.

I clean the area around the charger with 70% alcohol. It's actually better than the >90% as an anti microbial.

I don't buy acidic sweat or diet causing rubber issue. I'd bet more on constant cleaning and/or overly flexing the straps to put it on your wrist.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

The rubber on my batteries is mostly gone now. I haven't used a cleaning solution on it since I bought mine back in Dec. I have worn it hiking and camping. I have NOT worn it in the shower or gone swimming with it. I do wear it every day and the wettest it has gotten was the occasional splashing it gets when I wash my hands (which it is rated for).

So YES sweat (which is more corrosive than you think) and the rubbing that comes with wearing it can cause this to happen. I'm thinking about taking it back to the Microsoft Store where I bought it and see if they can replace it. It does only seem to be cosmetic though and I haven't noticed a degradation of function.

 

[anthonyng]

sweat = salt = corrosive, especially in crystallized form to metals

 

[DroidUser42]

The timing of this subject strikes me as odd. It makes me wonder if there was a bad batch.

 

[anon(7901790)]

The timing of this subject strikes me as odd. It makes me wonder if there was a bad batch.

Maybe. I'm wondering if it has to do with the sizes. The rubber on my wife's Band isn't bubbling or coming off. She wears hers almost as much as I do and works out a whole lot more than I do. We bought our Bands at the same time from the same store. The difference is hers is a small and mine is a large.

When I took mine back to exchange it today, the Microsoft Store rep that helped me out, showed me his Band, the rubber was bubbling and starting to peal off.

Btw, they replaced mine without any questions, both the Band and the screen protector. The hardest part (for them) was transferring the warranty and installing the new screen protector.

 

[AMCooper63]

I know exactly why my rubber coating came off. Sunscreen. I had no damage until I spent a day in the sun. I put on sun screen and that evening when I took off my band all the rubber stuck to my arm. My only concern is if it is batteries touching my arm and am I going to corrode them.

 

[mjh127]

I got my second Microsoft band three weeks ago. Last week I went hiking and had to apply sunscreen to my skin. The next morning the rubber coating on the battery covers disintegrated from the covers. The metal of the battery cover seems to be aluminium, and I wonder if it might be possible to replace it wit a titanium cover, which would be safer than the corrosion prone aluminium.

 

[AlexHaasen]

I just managed to deal out a rma MS customer support via chat (thank you John!). It wasn't that easy as I live in Germany and the Band isn't distributed here (bought for me by a friend of mine who traveled to Detroit in April).
First, it seemed to be a fail because of "out of region purchase" but I insisted....
Reason? Plastic foil on batteries was flaking off and metallic surface surrounding the charging plug bubbling.
Getting replacement.

 

[Paolo Ferrazza]

I just managed to deal out a rma MS customer support via chat (thank you John!). It wasn't that easy as I live in Germany and the Band isn't distributed here (bought for me by a friend of mine who traveled to Detroit in April).
First, it seemed to be a fail because of "out of region purchase" but I insisted....
Reason? Plastic foil on batteries was flaking off and metallic surface surrounding the charging plug bubbling.
Getting replacement.

And it is available in UK and since the European market has no internal borders I was wondering if the warranty should be applied everywhere. Mine is in perfect shape after months of runs and cleaning it with some wet paper, but you never know.

 

[11B1P]

The rubber on my batteries is mostly gone now. It does only seem to be cosmetic though and I haven't noticed a degradation of function.

What about comfort level? Any irritation while wearing it?

 

[AlexHaasen]

What about comfort level? Any irritation while wearing it?

Exactly why I sent it back. Rubber would have been gone completely by now, wasn't suffering comfort issues also. But it costs 199$ still, right?

 

[massifheed]

Just got mine replaced for the same things - corrosion of the metal parts, and the rubber flaking off around the batteries. I'm 100% sure the same thing will happen again, as I don't do anything out of the ordinary with it, just wear it every day and run a couple of times a week.

I think this is more than a batch issue, and more like one of a design and materials problem. My original Band got into the poor state it was in in less than three months (I bought it in the UK on release day here). Will keep an eye on this new one, but I don't hold out much hope. In the UK at least, we get a year's warranty, so if the new one has the same issues, it'll go back again.

Having said all that, it is a great device, IMO.

 

[anon(7901790)]

What about comfort level? Any irritation while wearing it?

No problems with comfort, for me at any rate. Sometimes, I get some irritation, but I got that from my Casio occasionally as well.

 

[Tonio78]

If You wear it 24/24, make sur you change wrist and wear it loose for the night. This solved my irritation problem.

Via Tapatalk de mon splendide Lumia 930

 

[bigskytool]

Just got mine replaced for the same things - corrosion of the metal parts, and the rubber flaking off around the batteries. I'm 100% sure the same thing will happen again, as I don't do anything out of the ordinary with it, just wear it every day and run a couple of times a week.

I think this is more than a batch issue, and more like one of a design and materials problem. My original Band got into the poor state it was in in less than three months (I bought it in the UK on release day here). Will keep an eye on this new one, but I don't hold out much hope. In the UK at least, we get a year's warranty, so if the new one has the same issues, it'll go back again.

Having said all that, it is a great device, IMO.

I bought mine the day it came out and replaced it because of the plastic peeling off and the metal around heart rate sensor forming bumps. It lasted for 6 months and MS gave me a new one at the store no questions asked. Then after 2 months the replacement got the pitting of the metal around the heart rate sensor again and actually was sharp and cut my wrist. I took it back and they gave me a second one. I love the Band otherwise and hopefully this will be addressed in Band 2.

 

[DaHardhouse]

I've only had mine for 10 weeks. The inside coating (where there's a tiny screw) bubbled while I was in Hawaii the 1st 2 weeks of September 2015. It is starting to peel off. I wear it everyday since I bought it end of June 2015. Is putting black electrical tape a good idea? Thanks

 

[Nate Silver]

Mine gets worn 23/7 (an hour or so in the morning for charging), since first day of release. On one side, the inner rubbery battery cover is totally gone, the other side about 3/4 gone. It has had absolutely no effect on performance or comfort. No irritation, no issue at all, really. Of course, it is a defect, and I hope the second version of the Band corrects it. I've been lucky in that I haven't experienced any separation issues, or bad enough corrosion of the charging plate to cause issues with it charging.

 

[guidoseitz]

I have similar situation.
I bought my MS band 1 in Aug. this year and I wear it every day. I do not use it lots for sports 2x a week, today I realised that it disintegrate significantly.