How do you clean the Band charging port?

[jwpear]

I'm on my third Band since the official launch. I've had trouble with corrosion on the GSR sensor/charging port. The corrosion gets so bad that the Band eventually won't charge. The charging port contacts also looked dirty and possibly corroded.

I've always wiped off the Band after a workout and occasionally cleaned with a damp cloth. It hasn't helped much. This time, I've been wiping down with a damp cloth after every workout. It doesn't appear to be helping. The dimples are starting to appear and the charging contacts look dirty. Water just doesn't clean it.

So I'm curious what you are doing to keep your Band clean and minimize the corrosion?

 

[11B1P]

91% rubbing alcohol on a q-tip. Clean the contacts and metal around the contacts as well as the sensor. Then flip the q-tip around and use the dry end to dry any residual alcohol (there shouldn't be). Then I use a baby wipe to clean the rest of the band.

 

[Rhoyz]

I use Zagg antibacterial foam cleaner. Seems good in fighting the sweat and oil from my skin.

 

[anon(8555314)]

If I may, could I suggest that people responding indicate how long you have had the band, the frequency of getting it dirty or sweaty, your method of cleaning, and how well the charging port is holding up.

I've had mine for six months, I do 2-3 hours of biking or other workouts per week. I rub it down with a moist towel on days with no excercise. After a sweaty session, I wash it with baby wash. Mine is corroded and on the verge of no longer able to charge.

 

[poit57]

I'm on my third unit (2 warranty replacements) in the 4 months since my purchase. I don't know if I just haven't had a single unit long enough to experience any issues with metal corrosion or rubber disentigration, but my current unit is about 2 months old with an average of about 4 workouts/runs per week and still looks great. The replacements had to do with a faulty HR monitor and a non-responsive touch screen in case you were wondering.

As for cleaning, I've never really done much to clean it. On the suggestion of other users on this board, I have always wiped my sweat off of the charging plate before connecting the charger. When I just checked, the gray ring surrounding the charging plate has some discoloration that an alcohol wipe didn't affect (stains from dirt and sweat?), but the charging contacts looked as good as new.

 

[Nate Silver]

I've had mine since release, and I've never done anything to clean the charging port. Occasionally I wipe off the hr sensor area, or the screen if it gets too messy, but that's about it. No issues so far.

 

[mkg3]

My MSB was xmas gift and have worn it daily since. Workout 5~6 days/wk with MSB on - so over 6 months now.

I use foam hand soap (whatever my wife has bought). Wash the whole thing using soap under running faucet water and towel dry, at least 2x week. The days I don't wash it, I just use my gym towel and whip it down.

Things like baby wipe, anti-bacterial wipes all leave a residue and stickiness. Never paid particular attention to the charging pins other than it gets washed with rest of the MSB.

No charging issue and no strap bubbles or battery separation. Just luck I guess...

 

[Derausgewanderte]

surely aggressive cleaning materials will be bad. I do not believe anybody using a band would do that. I've seen too many posts with people suggesting all kinds of mixtures, pure rubbing alcohol, water/rubbing alcohol mixtures, just water.... you name it. These are all considered mild.

my conclusion is that it does not matter how often or what type of these recommended cleaning materials you use. it will happen.
My personal opinion is that it is related to the type of sweat that the metal is exposed to. Apparently there are people who have salt and acidity concentrations in their sweat that MS was not able to test before they released it. Even cleaning it after every exercise will not help long-term as the liquids will slowly diffuse between metal/rubber and possibly under the metal layer (hence the bumps).

I just started my third replacement. I am very meticulous with cleaning. After two months on my second band I thought I got to the bottom of it, when all of a sudden the bumps started to show up. I didn't mind it unlike the first time since it was still working fine. Until it got to the point that the bumps opened up like a disease. In addition they showed up on the charging part as well.

According to the representative I chatted with, MS is aware of this and tracks the numbers and will hopefully have this fixed with v2. Until then we have to go through replacements until they get tired.