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JayLenochiniMac

macrumors G5
Nov 7, 2007
12,819
2,390
New Sanfrakota
The only thing I dislike about the nylon bands is that the buckle (although SS) does not look exactly like the one on the classic buckle. It's coloured ever so slightly so it looks duller. Wish it was "shinier" to match the SS watch. I wonder if a Cape Cod cloth will polish it up?? Might try.

Likely done on purpose so they'd coordinate better with the aluminum finish on the Sport. After all, they have more Sport models with the nylon straps as out-of-the-box options compared to the SS models (4 for Sport vs. 2 for SS).
 

Network33

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 9, 2013
46
4
Looking at the OP's second video I would suggest a better technique for removing the strap is to press the button with the hand holding the watch body and keep the other hand free to slide the strap straight out. I can't help but wonder if you're inadvertently applying a twist to the strap as you're trying to press the button with the same hand.

Anyway, as someone else said, people shouldn't be put off buying a nylon strap from Apple because you have the best customer service in the business and they will sort it out if it's not right. I'm pretty sure there are many thousands of happy customers out there who wouldn't come to a forum because they have no reason to. Not suggesting you were wrong to complain here as this is useful info for those of us who have seen this thread. Thanks.


Better technique?? really, watch the first video where I slip on the orange sport and remove it with ease. I'm not twisting the band at all or installing it upside down. It's was just that stupidly hard to remove.

I never insisted that anyone not buy the Nylon band. I encourage anyone who's interested in them buy one. I bought two right when they hit the apple web store. Trust me I know Apple has great customer service, they were completely sympathetic to the problem and agreed that it must be a defect. At this point I've sent the Pink nylon back this morning, as it stands I won't get another for 1-2 weeks. :( totally lame. I might as well just cancel both of the nylon bands I have on order and save the money for AW2, I already have enough bands for one person lol.
 

Aerdna

macrumors newbie
Nov 16, 2012
17
3
Germany
I know how you feel - I also have to return my nylon band. The long end slides through without locking, exactly like in your first video.
The end with the buckle does lock and unlock, so it's not as hard as in your second video, but not nearly as smooth as the other Apple bands I have. I could live with that, but since the other end isn't working at all, it has to go back.

Will go to an Apple store next week and hope that they have the band on stock so that they can replace it.
 

Nell

macrumors 6502a
Jun 25, 2012
583
262
London
I got one this afternoon (in pearl) and the long end is a bit stiff but not unmanageably so; the buckle end is really smooth. I really like the strap; it looks great and feels really nice on. I have far too many straps already but am pretty sure the scuba blue one will start calling to me if and when the sun comes out!
 
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Someirishguy

macrumors 6502
Mar 27, 2016
252
211
My 42mm Nylon Pearl isn't latching correctly leaving me worried that the watch might fall off. Glad I'm not the only one experiencing problems.

I'm having the exact same problem on my SS. However, I tried the same band on my friends SS and the band clicked in perfectly.
 

lamujerderene

macrumors newbie
Mar 28, 2016
1
0
I'm not trying to mislead anyone. This was my experience. I totally encourage you to buy the Nylon band if you want one. I was just completely disappointed that I never got to use it.
I returned mine today, the sale rep was not surprised, in fact he told me he returned his as well. It is nice but problematic. I expect more of Apple.
 

Aerdna

macrumors newbie
Nov 16, 2012
17
3
Germany
I returned mine to an Apple Store this morning and they were not surprised. They said it was a known problem with the nylon bands. They had already had several cases this morning (and this was about one hour after the store opened) and they had also had a meeting regarding this.

I exchanged mine for another color (my original color was not in stock) and thankfully it locks.
 

Cogsworth

macrumors 6502
Feb 7, 2015
380
271
I'm sure your not, and your opinion matters, but it also leads people to thinking the band is flawed. Just came back from the gym and switched from nylon, to sport band, and back to nylon without any issues.

Again, maybe the stainless steel model works best with this band. Who knows.

DEF a keeper in my opinion and the quality is spot on mint

JRvul45.jpg


mtkLJeM.jpg
What color is that band? Looks good with the SS!
 

srshaw

macrumors 6502
Aug 13, 2011
410
66
My 42mm Nylon Pearl isn't latching correctly leaving me worried that the watch might fall off. Glad I'm not the only one experiencing problems.

Mine too, wouldn't lock with my SS.

Already sent it back.

I bet Apple are getting quite a few of these back!
 

blue rocket

Suspended
Jul 28, 2010
462
198
CT, USA
I'm a huge fan of the nylon band, by far the most comfortable out of all the bands I have. It took a little more force to snap it in, but not an issue at all...
 

caligurl

macrumors 68040
Jun 8, 2009
3,890
1,765
socal
the black and gray band I ordered is just fine. and the royal blue one that came on the rose gold watch I ordered fits fine. the first time I took it off it was tight... but now it's fine!
 

Mac2me

macrumors 6502a
Jun 10, 2015
965
446
I menioned my Pearl band was a little snug on one side when I got it. Still clicked however. I just love the band and have been wearing it for probably a week or so now (haven't wanted to switch out yet). I did however remove it yesterday to see how it was taking out of the case and honestly it seemed fine now. Took it off and on twice in fact. Funny you mentioned that was your experience too caligurl.
 

IXDoubleDXI

macrumors regular
Jun 19, 2011
229
7
Central Florida
I just got mine a few minutes ago and i'm running into a similar issue. I have the 42mm Space Grey Watch. When installing the Black Nylon band the top/buckle piece will not lock in at all, in the top of the watch. Bottom has no issues. When I install the top piece on the bottom of the watch and bottom piece on the top, they both lock in. Band feels pretty good. I'll probably live with it being upside down, lol.
 

xraydoc

Contributor
Oct 9, 2005
11,004
5,472
192.168.1.1
I just got mine a few minutes ago and i'm running into a similar issue. I have the 42mm Space Grey Watch. When installing the Black Nylon band the top/buckle piece will not lock in at all, in the top of the watch. Bottom has no issues. When I install the top piece on the bottom of the watch and bottom piece on the top, they both lock in. Band feels pretty good. I'll probably live with it being upside down, lol.
Torque/rock the connector forward and back a little bit. I can get mine to engage this way.
 

chabig

macrumors G4
Sep 6, 2002
11,434
9,299
Better technique?? really, watch the first video where I slip on the orange sport and remove it with ease. I'm not twisting the band at all or installing it upside down. It's was just that stupidly hard to remove.
I think he brought up a good point. Trying to do it all with one hand seems awkward to me. There a lots of videos on YouTube about changing watch bands and I couldn't find one where the person used one hand. Using your left thumb to press the button while your right hand slides the band out makes it a lot easier. I'm not saying your method doesn't work or is somehow "wrong". If it works for you that's great. But in this case it doesn't seem to be working for you.
 

starxd

macrumors newbie
Dec 4, 2013
22
4
I just got the 42mm Pink Nylon Apple Watch band today, Ordered it on Monday. I'm returning it :(.

It looks cool and is super lightweight. The problem is the side with the Buckle is ridiculously hard to slide into the watch. It's even harder to remove it from the watch without feeling like I'm going to break the plastic lug or worse the watch. Even better is the long side with the holes will not lock into the watch, it just slips through. It's not my watch every other band I have will lock in on both sides (Sport, Apple Link, and Milanese loop).

Really disappointing, I also have the Scuba blue Nylon band on order, but looks like I'm gonna be canceling it before it ships.

I just received my pink Nylon Band and I'm having the EXACT same issue. The short side is incredibly hard to insert and remove, but at least it locks. The long side simply does not lock - it just slides right through. I own 4 other first party bands and one third party, and they all work perfectly. There is clearly an issue with the Nylon Bands. I'm trying to use it with a Stainless Steel 42mm Watch.
 

tgara

macrumors 65816
Jul 17, 2012
1,154
2,898
Connecticut, USA
Huh... I got the pink 38 nylon for my wife and the black 42 nylon for me. There was a little more resistance sliding the connectors in compared to the flubber bands, but all the strap pieces slipped into place with an audible click on each watch, and each piece is secure. Maybe the early batches had a defect??
 

bizack

macrumors 6502a
Apr 21, 2009
611
399
Huh... I got the pink 38 nylon for my wife and the black 42 nylon for me. There was a little more resistance sliding the connectors in compared to the flubber bands, but all the strap pieces slipped into place with an audible click on each watch, and each piece is secure. Maybe the early batches had a defect??

I'm convinced it's the bands and not the Watch. Apple 'captured' my Watch and Nylon Band under the hypothesis that the Watch was the defective part (I went through 5 bands before one worked - eventually Apple swapped out the Watch for a brand new one).
The first watch that had problems was purchased at launch. The second watch that didn't have problems was from a retail Apple Store (manufacture date was within the past month since it came with a Pearl Nylon Band). That watch didn't have any issues.
However, I just sold that watch for a SS SB Watch from the Best Buy sale. I looked up the manufacture date - 11/2015. The Nylon Band (which I kept) works fine with that watch (a bit snug, but it locks into place).

I think whatever material is being used for the connector (some sort of plastic - I'm going to assume it's a composite material) has too much variance to be reliably manufactured at scale within the specified tolerances.

Interesting that some bands are now at eight weeks shipping. Maybe Apple is re-tooling an assembly line (or lines). I doubt demand is so high that they're backlogged by two months.
 

xraydoc

Contributor
Oct 9, 2005
11,004
5,472
192.168.1.1
I'm convinced it's the bands and not the Watch. Apple 'captured' my Watch and Nylon Band under the hypothesis that the Watch was the defective part (I went through 5 bands before one worked - eventually Apple swapped out the Watch for a brand new one).
The first watch that had problems was purchased at launch. The second watch that didn't have problems was from a retail Apple Store (manufacture date was within the past month since it came with a Pearl Nylon Band). That watch didn't have any issues.
However, I just sold that watch for a SS SB Watch from the Best Buy sale. I looked up the manufacture date - 11/2015. The Nylon Band (which I kept) works fine with that watch (a bit snug, but it locks into place).

I think whatever material is being used for the connector (some sort of plastic - I'm going to assume it's a composite material) has too much variance to be reliably manufactured at scale within the specified tolerances.

Interesting that some bands are now at eight weeks shipping. Maybe Apple is re-tooling an assembly line (or lines). I doubt demand is so high that they're backlogged by two months.
I pretty much agree with you. No reason ship times should be so long unless they're reengineering the manufacturing.

And on two watches - one release day 42mm stainless and one brand new 42mm gold sport - the only band that has any trouble latching is the nylon band, which, incidentally, came with the gold sport watch. I can get the band to latch on both watches, though it takes a bit of fiddling to do.

Interestingly, my daughter has a pink nylon 38mm band for her stainless steel AW and has no trouble latching it. Neither does my wife with her 38mm aluminum sport and pink nylon band. My wife's watch is a year old and my daughter's is at least 6 months old.
 

chuyn

macrumors 6502
Nov 13, 2015
365
110
Ordered a royal blue two weeks ago when it was still listed at 4-6 weeks. It ended up shipping a week later (from China) and I received it yesterday. The longer piece was a bit tighter, but both slid in fine and latched with a nice click. Was a bit relieved after seeing so many reports of a poor fit. This is for a 42mm stainless steel watch.
 
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xraydoc

Contributor
Oct 9, 2005
11,004
5,472
192.168.1.1
As I posted in another similar thread, I just received a 42mm black nylon band in the mail from Apple. Took only two days from the time I ordered it.

Pleased to report that it engages perfectly in my year-old stainless watch. No trouble clicking in and latching. Just perfect. Haven't tried it yet in my new gold Sport AW.

Perhaps they've successfully tweaked manufacturing...
 

Dino F

Suspended
Sep 16, 2010
4,515
3,404
Croydon, South London, UK
I have to echo some of the posts above - I also received my black Nylon band for my 42mm Space Grey watch on Friday (took less than a week to arrive, using the UK Apple Store app) and have had absolutely no issues with it whatsoever. Bands fit on the watch perfectly and both sides click in as normal.

Band looks gorgeous!!!
 
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