Apple is allowing Solo Loop returns without sending back the Watch
The clasp-free stretch bands can be tricky to fit.
With the launch of the Watch Series 6 and Watch SE, Apple also introduced clasp-free stretch bands, the Solo Loop and Braided Solo Loop. However, sizing them proved to be tricky despite a printable price/size chart, so many buyers found themselves with an ill-fitting band. To make matters worse, Apple’s return policy meant that you had to send back the entire Watch to get the band replaced, a process that could have taken until November.
Apple has now addressed issues of fit and returns, according to MacRumors and several Twitter users. You can reportedly send back the band only and should be able to get the return processed in a matter of days. On top of that, Apple has released a new, more detailed sizing chart for the bands that makes it easier to pick the right size. To use it, you’ll need to print it, cut it out and wrap it around your wrist and the correct size among the nine available will appear between the green arrows, as shown above.
They're also throwing in a free Sport Band, and profusely apologizing. The agent kept saying, "We messed up, it's on us," and said if I don't get a return label just keep the original braided band that came with my watch-What a complete turnaround compared to the response Monday.
— Eli Hodapp (@hodapp) September 24, 2020
MacRumors said it was able to do a band swap yesterday without returning the Watch, which it couldn’t do the day before. GameClub exec Eli Hodapp had the same experience and tweeted that Apple Support even let him try an extra band to ensure he got the right size. Apple also “threw in a free Sport Band” and apologized for the error, “a complete turnaround compared to the response Monday,” he said.
