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Replace a Fitbit for US$133 vs Replace Battery for US$10 (external-content.duckduckgo.com)

submitted 3 years ago* (last edited 3 years ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

3 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I've been through countless Fitbit devices by now and know that their batteries really only last about 2 years and a few months (actually the same for many wearables and if you get to 3 years you are lucky) so here my wife's Fitbit Alta HR battery has packed up after a lengthy 2 years and 8 months (a record for us actually).

I find a replacement battery on AliExpress (seems Amazon has none or did Fitbit complain about them?) and with shipping it will cost me $10.20. It seems a bit wasteful to keep dumping expensive electronics when all that is needed is a new cheap battery (and of course a heat gun for the glue, and an iFixit kit which I have thanks to the Google Nexus 6P phone battery).

I look then at $1,000 phones that live or die by a battery dying... As consumers, we need to start regaining the right to repair and replace batteries. And then I think of disposal cartridge razor blades, electric toothbrush heads, etc and the common denominator for consumers is that they cost on average ten times more than the older devices they replaced... yet we're caught up in that marketing/consumer circle of disposal.

#technology #righttorepair #fitbit #environment #ewaste

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 years ago (1 children)

I think replacing $1k phones battery for 100$ is reasonable. Issue is cheaper 100-300$ phones making less sense to replace their battery with that high labor cost.

Replacing wearable devices battery does it not likely break water proof ?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 years ago (1 children)

True but many have zero option to change a battery eg. Pixel phones. I'd happily choose splash proof over waterproof if I could change the battery myself, and the phone can also be 1mm thicker to allow for it.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 years ago

I agree that and slightly smaller battery would not be an issue for me neither. Also it would not necessarily be much thicker than external case that glass phones pretty much need.

Its just that phones are marketed in a way more cameras, thinner, bigger screen to body ratio etc, all irrelevant in use, just pretty to look at. Well cameras I have not taken such shots it would be useful and screen to body ratio only makes phones harder to hold.