Apple Watch Bands

I've owned my Series 8 Apple Watch a while now (since Fall of 2022).

I've been through a few watch bands.

I should've been posting about these, as I think it's good information regarding wear patterns and longevity.

I first bought a 3-pack of Alpine Loop bands (similar to this, although I'm no longer seeing the 3-pack for sale).  The set that I bought were OD Green, Orange, and Black.  I liked them a lot but they didn't last long, as I washed them and since they were held together by glue/adhesive, they eventually fell apart.  I attempted to use small dabs of Gorilla Glue on them but that was only a temporary solution, which was sad.  If I'd have know they'd fall apart after washing, I'd have not bought them.  I still have the OD Green one but I'll speak on that again in a bit.

I then bought a leather braided band.  That one lasted maybe a year.  It was also nice, but I didn't like that it felt stiff (was used to the Alpines).  As well, it wasn't as adjustable and always either felt either too loose or too tight.  Eventually it became worn and loose.  Although it didn't fall apart, leather does stretch/wear over time, moreso than textile products.

After the leather band, I went back to the OD Green Alpine.  I'd thown the other two Alpines away since they fell apart but I'd used an extra dose of Gorilla Glue for the OD band and it is still holding together.  I stopped putting it in the wash, but wipe it down by hand when it's dirty.  As well, I remove the watch if I'm going to be getting wet or sweaty, so that I can preserve the band.

This weekend, I decided to check for a different band and ended up buying the Caseology Anthlex band, in Active Orange.  It's a bit stiff but not as stiff as the leather band I previously bought.  It has sufficient adjustment and appears that I can wash it (I will hand wash it when washing is needed).  It's black on the outside and orange on the insude, with orange stitching.  It has a metal buckle.

I still love the Alpine Loops and may buy more, but I'll have to keep in mind that they're pretty much disposable if you get them wet, and yeah, I can glue them back together when required, but that's something I shouldn't have to do.

Apple Watch - 2nd Charger Died

 This will be a quick post about:

My 2nd Apple Watch charger died.  I bought it mid-March (March 12, I think).

WTF.  It was an Apple product.  I ordered it from the Apple Amazon store.  It wasn't cheap, either ($27).

So, two Apple-branded charging cables died.  The first one came with the Watch and died 5 months later.  The second one died after 1.5 months.  The charging cables are used at my bedside, so they're not being abused.  They're not being pulled.

They worked fine but just stop working after a time.  That cable and a USB-C to Lightning cable for my iPad were using a 20W charging adapter.  The other cables I've used with that adapter have been working fine.

I bought a new charging cable and it is non-Apple (and cheaper).  I figure, if Apple can't get their shit together, I'm not going to lock myself into spending $27 for repeated failures that shouldn't be occurring.  We'll see how long that cable lasts.

Solved - Apple Watch Stopped Charging

My Apple Watch stopped charging three weeks ago (first week of March).

I couldn't determine why.  I only had the one charging cable that came with the watch (there was no need to have more than the one that it came with).

Keep in mind that this watch is relatively new.

It just ran out of juice, which made it difficult to troubleshoot.

I ordered a new (Apple brand) charging cable on 13 March, and it arrived 14 March.  It immediately started charging.

So, the cable went bad.  I've no idea why.  I didn't abuse the cable.

It was very frustrating because the reason I'd bought this watch was because the Fitbit Sense had a similar issue, and then died (due to a battery issue).

This watch was NOT cheap.  This post is a reminder that the "you get what you pay for" mantra doesn't always apply.

Fitbit Sense & Apple Watch

I'm not going to lie.  I sort of miss my Fitbit Sense.  It's interface and capabilities are less complicated than the Apple Watch, which leads to better ease of use.  I feel that Fitbit's health monitoring capabilities are better - my Sense counts steps and stairs more accurately than my AW.  I'm sure it monitors sleep patterns far better than anything Apple produces, too.

I'd have stayed with Fibit if they'd make their products more reliable.  They're cheaper than Apple Watches but not by much - and they certainly aren't so cheap that I'm willing to buy a new one every thirteen or fourteen months.  Even if they died before the 1-year manufacturer warranty, it took Fitbit nearly two months to get me a replacement.

AW S8 - Battery Tracking; Activity Tracking

So, the AW's battery got as low as 20% today, before I decided to charge it. Between the last time I charged it and this afternoon, I changed the display settings:  I enabled AOD and allowed the display to show full-time.  I noticed a sharp drop-off of charge capacity between this morning and this afternoon.  Still, I got 2.5 days of use out of it before it needed charging (and I didn't run it down to 0% charge).

I charged it to 95% before I had to take it with me on a walk this afternoon.  I enabled Activity maybe 5 min into the walk (I hadn't messed with it until today).  10 min later it detected the walk and had already had the timer set to 10 min.  I enabled it to continue tracking and when I was done, I stopped the tracking.  I got really good feedback from that 20 min walk!  I will have to do this more often.

I'll also charge the AW again tonight then track how long the charge will last with AOD enabled the whole time.  I will then charge the AW and disable AOD and track how that charge's duration.

AW S8 - The First Few Days

I charged up the AW for the first time yesterday morning.  30 hours later, I checked it's battery level and it's at 48%.  That's not bad at all.

Keep in mind that I have the GPS model (probably uses less power than the cell/GPS model).  I also have AOD (Always On Display) enabled, with Wake on Wrist Raise and Wake on Crown Rotation.

One problem I've noticed is that the AW won't wake upon raising my wrist.  I'm not sure what's up with that.  I'll need to look into that.

I like how I can manipulate music that's playing on my iPhone, too.

I've settled on a watch face.  I've chosen Modular and edited it to show white lettering on black background:

This watch has soooo many configuration options, some that I'll probably never use.

One thing I didn't count on was choosing an AW with the wrong size wrist band.  I didn't even see that option when purchasing, and ended up getting the small band.  It fits but I've to use the last or 2nd to last hole in the band when wearing the watch.

As well, before purchasing, I had a bad time choosing a watch color.  At first I selected Midnight Blue but then changed my mind, as I remember folks complaining about their Macbooks losing paint easily (scratches and wear marks).  I chose silver and I'm OK with that.  It looks similar to my Sense in that regard.

Why didn't I get the stainless steel version?  If I did that, I may as well have purchased the Ultra...they aren't far off in price.  I already know I'm going to get bent over in trade value, so I definitely didn't want to spend $700 on ANY watch.  Stainless steel looks good, but I don't want SS so bad that I've to pay $700+ for it.

Will I get a screen protector?  Probably not.  I'm more than likely going to get AppleCare+ and just use the watch without worry.

I Bought the Apple Watch Series 8!

I was supposed to wait a while before purchasing an Apple Watch, and it was supposed to be a Series 7, but I saw that Amazon was having a sale, specifically the Amazon Prime Early Access sale that occurred on 11-12 October.  I wasn't even aware of the sale until 12 October at maybe 9 PM.

I ended up purchasing a Series 8 45mm GPS model in silver aluminum, for $379.  That price was good enough to where I decided not to pass it up.  I didn't want the steel version, as there's no way I'm going to spend $700 on ANY smartwatch, which also left out the Ultra.  NO SMARTWATCH IS WORTH THAT MUCH.

I ended up ordering it the day before I went on vacation to New England.  It's already been delivered at my home and it's awaiting me to open it.

Yes, I deviated from my plan of purchasing the Series 7, but that watch would've been refurbished if I'd chosen to buy it from Apple.  I'd thought to buy the Series 7 through Amazon, but didn't want to worry about Apple not offering support with refurbished Series 7s and didn't know if I could find new Series 7s on Amazon.

I really didn't want to worry about support (if the watch ever had an issue) and wanted the max support duration possible, so Series 8 was the best choice.  I'm also tired of always getting older tech equipment, so this time I bought something that's been recently released.

I'll eventually be buying a watchband for this watch.

The Fitbit Sense will be used at night only (it has good sleep tracking) and maybe for workouts (it has great workout detection and tracking - probably much better than the Series 8).

I'll document my experiences with this watch on this blog.

Fitbit Sense Replacement

As you've previously read, I had problems with an 8-month old Fitbit Sense - it refused to restart and was stuck in a reboot loop where it would never progress beyond the Fitbit logo screen.

Fitbit, after spending 8-10 days evaluating the broken Sense that I'd sent back to them, sent a replacement.  The replacement arrived 2 days early, which is surprising since it took so long in being delivered from my address to Fitbit's return facility.

The replacement Sense appeared to be prepackaged in a plastic bag with standard Fitbit labeling.  I received nothing other than the pebble itself - no watchband, no charging cable or any other accessory.

It started without issue.  I immediately installed my third party metal band.  I then synched it to my phone using the Fitbit iPhone app.

It came with a 70% charge, but I wanted it topped off.  The charging cable that came with the original watch is not working properly, and I found that out during troubleshooting of the broken watch (this is a known issue - the spring-loaded pins on the charging cable loses it's "spring" the pins no longer make contact with the watch).  I'd ordered two new ones from Amazon.com a few months ago.  I used one of  them to charge the watch.  When I connected it, the watch black-screened.  My first thought was that this watch also died, as the first one die.  I watched it go to the Fitbit logo screen, thinking it would loop back - it started without issue.  I'm not sure why it crashed.  I'd just received it less than an hour prior to that.

This watch brand is very much untrustworthy in the extreme.  While I'm glad I've another Sense, I'm waiting for this one to stop working.  I do not want to go back to my Samsung Watch - while it is nice and it works, this Sense should also work (and stay working).

This Sense will soon be replaced.  I conducted some research the past few days and decided I do not want another Fitbit.  

At first, I was considering the new Sense 2 but Google appears to have severely nerfed it - whereas the Sense is a legit smartwatch, Google has removed a lot of the smart aspects of the Sense technology from the Sense 2, intentionally neutering it so that their new Google Pixel smartwatch can be better competitive.  That is sad as hell.  The biggest changes to the Sense 2 is that the watch is no longer capable of controlling music (which most folks use on Senses when working out) and they've disabled WiFi.

As well, the Google Pixel is not compatible with iPhones, so both the Sense 2 and the Pixel are not options for me.  One of the things I love about my Sense is that it's not locked to a specific OS. 

Garmin isn't an option, as it's fitness and health technology is the least robust in the smartwatch industry.  I want a versatile watch and Garmin appears to be tracking-centric.

Samsung isn't an option, as it's software is WearOS (Google and Samsung are joint developers of WearOS), which is not compatible with iPhones.

It appears I may be locked to Apple's Watch.  Apple Watch isn't a bad platform at all, but I'd prefer to not be locked to any particular platform - the industry is becoming silo'd and that's not a good thing for a consumer that wants options regardless of the phone brand he/she is using.

Of the Apple Watches, I want something that's supported and do not want to worry about Apple dropping hardware or software support any time soon.  That means I won't be getting any legacy Apple Watches.  I'll be focusing on either the Series 7 or 8.

In comparing the 7 and 8, the 8 may be newly released but it doesn't offer a lot more tech over the Series 7. The best thing about the Series 8 option is that I would have even longer support.  The con of the Series 8 in comparison to the 7 is that it'll cost more for not-so-much tech advantage.

I'm trying to keep costs low and I think I will look at refurbished Series 7 Watches.  

I looked at Best Buy's refurb Series 7s and their prices are high. As of 10/8/2022, the price for a certified used S7 45mm GPS Watch is $389!  They also offered taking trade-in watches, and I was curious so I checked what they'd give for a new Sense, but they only offer $25 for Senses - WTF.  This is what I hate about the technology world and why I keep everything that I have...all they're going to do is take your $25 trade-in and sell it to someone or sell it themselves for $100.  F that.

Amazon sells Series 7 re-certified Watches, but I've been told that Apple will sometimes not honor warranty claims on watches bought from Amazon.  The pricing on those phones weren't bad, though, so Amazon would've been a good option (while also buying 3rd party warranties through Amazon, which I should've done with the Sense when I bought it) if I hadn't have found an even cheaper option.

Note that I'm looking for a specific version of Series 7 Watch:  45mm, Space Gray, GPS variant.

I found that Apple carries Series 7s on their Certified Apple website.  I found what I wanted there and the cost is $313.  I don't have the money now, but I might have to do something soon because Series 7s are pretty much the rage at this point in time, as the public is now aware that the Series 8 has no huge advantage over the Series 7, and now folks with older than Series 7 Watches are now trying to buy Series 7 watches.

The plan is to get a 45mm GPS variant Series 7 within the next few months, whenever money comes in, but if I find that I can no longer find Series 7s on the Apple refurb website due to high demand, I'll just have to get the Series 8.

Fitbit - Replacement on the Way; Fitbit Support is Iffy

I've been without a functional Fitbit Sense since mid-July.  It is currently the end of September.  I'm only now getting a replacement.

I paid a good deal of money for this smart watch.  No, it's not an Apple Watch or Garmin product, but damn...since when is $200+ not a decent chunk of change?  I think most folks have lost their money sense nowadays.

If I'm paying that much for a product, I expect it to last more than 8 months.  I didn't get through 365 days before the watch stopped functioning.

The replacement watch will be at my door next week (Oct 5).  That's very close to 3 months wait time.  Granted, I didn't immediately escalate the issue to Fitbit, as I kept troubleshooting the issue, because I kept seeing Fitbit support posts making recommendations and I kept trying different solutions (none of them worked).

Fitbit support was extremely slow in all parts of the return process, almost as if they were reluctant to address the issue and were intentionally slowing the pace of things.  Even after they had received my watch (they wanted me to return it to them, and I did), they held onto it for close to two weeks before notifying me that they've initiated the replacement process.  I don't understand why it would take that long to assess a replacement for a watch that is locked to the bootup screen.  What part of this process would warrant two weeks of process time?  Yeah, we're still experiencing the negative affects of COVID-19 - I get that, but damn...

I'm very tempted to sell the replacement watch.  I no longer want it...what's to prevent the replacement from exhibiting the same issue?  I'm dreading trying to sell this thing, though - it's going to be a pain in the ass and I'll end up losing money in the process, since the Sense 2 was recently released.

I'm soooo tired of buying smart watches that aren't dependable.  I'll probably keep the Sense but only buy top-end smart watches from now on.  I know for a fact that Apple wouldn't have taken almost 3 months to replace a broken Apple Watch.  Even Samsung has better support than that (but that's not saying I'll buy another Samsung watch, either).

Back to Wearing My Samsung Watch (SM-R800)

I've a Samsung Galaxy Watch that my wife gave me for Christmas a few years ago.  It wasn't a new product when she got it for me (I believe the next version was released less than a year later).

This watch sits between their S3 and Watch 4 - they botched the naming convention for this watch and just named it Galaxy Watch, which is confusing as hell!

It replaced my Galaxy Gear S watch, which was a cellular networked watch.  That watch was functional but dated when I got it, as well.  I loved taking calls from that watch, though!

This particular watch is the 46mm BT version of the Galaxy Watch.  It works well enough but stopped being fully supported maybe a year ago (it runs on the Tizen OS, which has been depreciated).  Well, let me rephrase:  the watch is still supported; it gets occasional updates, but nothing like the current Samsung Watch products (because Tizen OS isn't supported anymore - it will eventually die).  The last update I got was 8/18/2022, a small update that enhances GPS stability.  The update prior to that was 11/2021 and was probably the very last large update.

I'd replaced this watch with a FitBit Sense, which is equivalent to an Apple Watch Series 7, but the Sense stopped working maybe a month ago (it won't charge).  I'm in the process of RMAing the device.  They'll send me another one once I send mine back to them.  

I bought the Sense using employee stipend funds (bought it during the thick of Covid - the employer gave us funds to use to stay healthy at home).  I should've just bought a damned Apple Watch instead, because Fitbits aren't really dependable/durable.  There's a chance I'll eventually have issues with the replacement.

To be honest, I may just sell the replacement and use the funds to buy an Apple Watch.

So, for now, I reverted back to my Samsung Watch and am liking it.  I love it's heft and it's UI is easy to navigate.  It's also GPS-capable, so it should be able to track my runs and other physical activities (using tethered software, I assume).  It's doing a lot of what the Sense does.  The only thing the Sense does that this Samsung Watch doesn't is sleep tracking and heart monitoring.  

Continuing to use the Samsung Watch even once I get the Sense replacement, wouldn't be the worse idea, I guess.

We'll see.

The Apple Watch Series 7 is still on my radar, too.