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Replacement black sports band peeling already, what can I do?
- Thread starter Sir Ruben
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Even though I'm only going to post weekly pics I think it's worth mentioning that after 1 day the new band already has a tiny patch of wear, right where it tucks into the other part of the strap. 1 day.
Wear, especially dark areas around the buckle area, tuck area, pin area, or any areas the bands touch together are considered normal wear, IMO. Silicone/rubber is expected to show wear marks. It's the peeling of the coating after a month or less that I feel is a problem on a $50 band that is advertised for "sport" type usage.
Mine looked exactly the same after 2 weeks of usage. Wear in the area where the strap is tucked in is going to happen. As others have said, the area near the watch is the coating peeling off. I was able to do an exchange for a replacement, but if it happens to this one, I'm just not going to worry about it.
Signs of wear are just a fact of life with wearables, unfortunately it just seems to show up faster with the black bands.
I have thought that maybe the black band had some type of enhancing coating applied to it to make the black look blacker. I know when we were looking at kitchen countertop slabs, read that was something some finishers did to black stone to give them that desired look, otherwise it came off more black/gray and people didn't like the look as much. There are sprays people have been using to keep their blackwalled tires a nice black too (and definitely am not suggesting using that on a band you wear on your wrist to get absorbed into our body!) but I do think it's just an inherent color issue with maybe any somewhat porous material.
I'd try for replacements and then just clean off the coating as a last effort and live with the nature of the beast. It will never be as black as the black watch face anyway.
I'd try for replacements and then just clean off the coating as a last effort and live with the nature of the beast. It will never be as black as the black watch face anyway.
I went through 4 black sport bands before apple gave up and upgraded me to a nicer band free of charge. It's a shame because I love the look of the black sport band. :/
It's true, it's just horrible design. Even the manager at the Apple Store I went to said "that's how they are made" to peel like that. Mine did that after 6 days. Steve Jobs would be turning in his grave if he knew about that. It's a disgrace. Have bought several 3rd party bands to wear and haven't worn my black sports band since.
Try the Moko black band from Amazon. I have one and it doesn't seem to suffer from the peeling because it's made of silicone and doesn't have the coating. However, it's bit of a dust magnet.
If you read my quote on post #20 I had no luck calling Apple about my issue. Only by going into the store and talking with an employee was I able to get it replaced. It's at their discretion, but talking to them face to face is your best bet.
Keep in mind unless the clear coat is peeling away, normal marks and stretching is considered wear and tear, and is not usually covered.
Smart plan on buying a cheap replacement that will be the work horse. No need to push your luck on how many Apple bands you might need to warranty in the future. Good luck!