Black Sport Band Wearing Quickly

[JumpingJayzuz]

I've had my Watch just under a month and I've noticed quite a bit of wear on the band/strap in two areas: top of the 'short' band (the one with the pin) where the band slides into the watch; and under the 'short' band where the other strap tucks into the closure - terrible shots below.

It looks like a thin surface layer has rubbed off to reveal the raw rubber beneath. Sure I expect some wear and tear on the strap, but one month seems a little too soon to be seeing such damage.

I haven't showered/gone swimming with the watch, but I do exercise with it 6 days a week. Is my sweat pure acid?!

 

[Bigeric23]

I have a Green Sports Band and I'm not having the wearing issues. I've used the same band everyday since April 24, and I exercise 6 - 7 days a week.

 

[Just_Me_D]

I've had my Watch Sport 3 days shy of two months, and my white sport band isn't showing any degradation whatsoever, and I wash it every other day or so with soap and water to remove dirt and dust.

 

[Flow39]

I've had my Watch Sport 3 days shy of two months, and my white sport band isn't showing any degradation whatsoever, and I wash it every other day or so with soap and water to remove dirt and dust.

That's what I do. I clean my  Watch, both phones, and iPad every day with a damp microfiber cloth, no problems whatsoever. Cleaning is essential in my opinion

 

[Just_Me_D]

That's what I do. I clean my  Watch, both phones, and iPad every day with a damp microfiber cloth, no problems whatsoever. Cleaning is essential in my opinion

No doubt about it....

 

[Rainwater50]

I have a white band that I got at launch & that one is fine. The black band that I'm currently using is showing some "wear", as if it's slightly peeling. It doesn't look bad, but I can see the difference.

Before I bought the black band, I did hear talk about the peeling issues, specifically related to the black band.

 

[JumpingJayzuz]

Thanks for all the responses. I'm going to get hold of Apple to see if they'll exchange the band.

 

[Just_Me_D]

Thanks for all the responses. I'm going to get hold of Apple to see if they'll exchange the band.

You're very welcome, and be sure to let us know how it turns out for you, if you don't mind...

 

[Just_Me_D]

I have a white band that I got at launch & that one is fine. The black band that I'm currently using is showing some "wear", as if it's slightly peeling. It doesn't look bad, but I can see the difference.

Before I bought the black band, I did hear talk about the peeling issues, specifically related to the black band.

That's crazy. I wonder why the black band are peeling, especially if they're made of the same material?

 

[Just_Me_D]

My black band seems just fine.

I hear you. If the OP is not using a harsh cleaner or something to clean the band with, his sweat may indeed be 'pure acid"...

 

[bamf-hacker]

That's crazy. I wonder why the black band are peeling, especially if they're made of the same material?

Sort of the same material. I read somewhere that the white band is a different weight than the black band, which would lend to the conclusion that they might be slightly different in materials. Maybe the dye to make them black??

 

[lackster2]

The differing weights are probably due to different pigments added to achieve a given color. I'm guessing the Black band has the least amount of pigment, since it absorbs all lightwaves. I'm not sure if certain pigments would also help to protect the base material.

If you're curious, here's a link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pigment

 

[Just_Me_D]

Sort of the same material. I read somewhere that the white band is a different weight than the black band, which would lend to the conclusion that they might be slightly different in materials. Maybe the dye to make them black??

Oh, I didn't know that, and great point.

The differing weights are probably due to different pigments added to achieve a given color. I'm guessing the Black band has the least amount of pigment, since it absorbs all lightwaves. I'm not sure if certain pigments would also help to protect the base material.

If you're curious, here's a link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pigment

Oh okay, and thanks for info.

 

[lackster2]

Let me rephrase what I posted earlier. The color Black absorbs most all visible wavelengths equally, thus no one reflected color is predominate. White, on the other hand, reflects most all visible wavelengths equally, so again, no one color is predominate. We're talking about reflected light here, not the emitted light of a display, which has different rules.

The thing that bothered me about my prior statement was the "absorbs all lightwaves". If that were true, it would be a CLOAKING band, which we may one day be able to buy, just not yet.

 

[clareberry]

I handled a friend's black band and it definitely feels different than the white sport band I have.
I would hope that Apple will do the right thing about this.

 

[bamf-hacker]

Bring it to a Genius Bar. I am sure they will replace it for you.

 

[jpgti]

Let us know what Apple says. Mine started doing this within a couple weeks where the black matte finish was wearing off. Very unlike Apple to put something like that out there.

 

[Millbrook]

I agree -- and I'd like to add that different pigments have different weights. The white is likely something relatively heavy, like titanium dioxide or zinc oxide. The black is probably carbon black, which is very light and fluffy (think ashes). The colors could be modern synthetic organic pigments (i.e., phthalo blue?), midway in weight between the heavy white and lightweight black.

 

[JumpingJayzuz]

UPDATE:
The saga continues. It's a little bit trickier to resolve because I live in Singapore and we don't have official Apple stores here; which means I can't just walk into a store (or to the Genius Bar) and have them sort it out. I need to go through Authorized Resellers and they're not half as helpful as the folks in the Apple Stores, from my experience of Apple in the States and Australia.

The Reseller (after a ton of debate) escalated my case to Apple Singapore (it's an office, not a store) and they promptly rejected the claim, the basis of the rejection was that AppleCare+ does not cover damage to the band.

My revert to the Reseller was that this decision was unacceptable because the band is evidently of poor quality - there must be a manufacturing fault for it to degrade so quickly.
The Reseller said there was nothing they could do. Tough luck.
So, of course, that pissed me off.

I called Apple Support again and had a whinge about having my claim rejected and the guys at the Call Centre in Australia have been super helpful. My case was elevated to a Product Specialist who, after seeing some photos of the damage, agrees that the deterioration is unacceptable and has promised me that he'll get me another band, for free, and without affecting my AppleCare+.

He'll be calling the Reseller on Monday morning to sort it out. I'm holding thumbs.

This has been the first time I've ever experienced poor quality from Apple in the 15 years I've been using their products. Hopefully they'll come to the party and 'do the right thing'.

I'll post back here with another update when I have one.

 

[Bigeric23]

UPDATE:
The saga continues. It's a little bit trickier to resolve because I live in Singapore and we don't have official Apple stores here; which means I can't just walk into a store (or to the Genius Bar) and have them sort it out. I need to go through Authorized Resellers and they're not half as helpful as the folks in the Apple Stores, from my experience of Apple in the States and Australia.

The Reseller (after a ton of debate) escalated my case to Apple Singapore (it's an office, not a store) and they promptly rejected the claim, the basis of the rejection was that AppleCare+ does not cover damage to the band.

My revert to the Reseller was that this decision was unacceptable because the band is evidently of poor quality - there must be a manufacturing fault for it to degrade so quickly.
The Reseller said there was nothing they could do. Tough luck.
So, of course, that pissed me off.

I called Apple Support again and had a whinge about having my claim rejected and the guys at the Call Centre in Australia have been super helpful. My case was elevated to a Product Specialist who, after seeing some photos of the damage, agrees that the deterioration is unacceptable and has promised me that he'll get me another band, for free, and without affecting my AppleCare+.

He'll be calling the Reseller on Monday morning to sort it out. I'm holding thumbs.

This has been the first time I've ever experienced poor quality from Apple in the 15 years I've been using their products. Hopefully they'll come to the party and 'do the right thing'.

I'll post back here with another update when I have one.

Yes, please keep us posted. . . . I might not purchase a black band if they have issues not covered under AppleCare+.