Okay, so I finally got around to swapping out the strap on my Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 the other day. Been meaning to do it for ages, the original one was starting to look a bit tired, you know? Plus, I picked up a new nylon one I thought would be more comfortable, especially for sleeping with the watch on.
Getting Started
First thing, I grabbed the watch and the new strap. Laid them out on the table, made sure I had decent light. Didn’t want to be fumbling around too much. The Watch 5 uses those standard 20mm quick-release pins, which is pretty handy, honestly. Makes things simpler than needing tools like back in the old days.
Taking the Old Strap Off
Flipped the watch over. You see those little metal nubs on the underside of the strap, right near the watch body? That’s the quick-release lever.
- I just used my fingernail to slide one of those little levers inward, towards the middle of the strap.
- While holding the lever slid over, I gently pulled that side of the strap away from the watch lug. It popped right out.
- Did the exact same thing for the other half of the strap. Slide the lever, pull away. Came off easy enough, no real struggle there.
The old strap felt a bit grimy once it was off, confirmed my decision to swap it!
Putting the New Strap On
Now for the new nylon strap. It also had the quick-release pins already installed, which is usually the case these days.
This part sometimes needs a little wiggle:
- I took one half of the new strap. Slid the pin on one side into the little hole on the watch lug.
- Then, I pulled the quick-release lever inward again with my fingernail.
- This lets you line up the other end of the pin with its hole on the opposite side of the lug.
- Once it felt like it was lined up, I released the lever. You gotta kinda feel it click or seat properly into the hole. Gave it a gentle tug to make sure it was secure.
- Repeated the process for the second half of the strap. Insert one end of the pin, pull the lever, align the other end, release the lever, listen/feel for the click, and give it a test tug.
All Done
And that was basically it. Took maybe two minutes total? The new nylon strap felt way lighter immediately. Checked the fit on my wrist, adjusted the buckle. Looked pretty good, felt more breathable already. Definitely an easy swap, glad I finally did it. Makes the watch feel a bit fresh again without spending much.