When we last reported on our experience with the Jawbone UP, we had just received our third band, hoping it would last longer than the one we originally purchased. It turns out it didn’t, as the vibration motor died shortly after our post went up. This meant the alarm function was useless, so we sent another e-mail to Jawbone support, and were told they would send us a fourth band.
It took about three weeks to get the new band in our hands, with Jawbone being a bit less responsive about getting an RMA and tracking number to us, compared to how they handled our earlier replacements. We asked Jawbone support whether the fourth band they were to send us was part of the original production run, or if it was manufactured afterwards and with updates addressing earlier problems. What we got was a bland reply not really addressing the question:
We are committed to send a brand new fully working band, if you have any issue with this new band you can just contact us and we will be glad to replace it for you again.
We received our fourth band, and after a full charge and a day’s use, the band reported 58% battery life left. The next evening, about 38%. The third evening, 20%. The band died that night, so our alarm never went off.
After trying to charge the UP, the band quickly showed the white light indicating the band was full, and no matter how long we kept the UP band plugged in, it refused to sychronize with our iPhone. So this morning, we sent yet another e-mail to Jawbone, explaining that this fourth band didn’t even last a full week.
Our experience with the UP has gone downhill since the original band we purchased; our replacement bands have actually failed in less time than the original band, so we assume they’re all part of the original production run and Jawbone is simply getting rid of the stock they have left. Presumably, a lot of other UP buyers have taken their refunds and not bothered to obtain replacement bands, and since Jawbone isn’t currently selling them, they undoubtedly have stock that needs to either be thrown away, else given away. Unfortunately, we’d prefer the former, because continuing to send out bands that are prone to fail isn’t going to help smooth over relations with already upset customers.
Per one of Jawbone’s earlier responses, they will keep sending out replacement bands for as long as the original band’s warranty is for. That doesn’t make us feel much better.