I did a ton of research before purchasing my Withings Steel smartwatch. I wanted something that would track sleep and steps, but not need charging every night. It struck a great balance of smarts and practicality.

However, one thing that bugged me was the silicone band that shipped with the watch. The texture made the watch look cheap, despite the attractive face. Also, something about the band’s texture gave me chills.

Not wanting to return the watch I decided to replace the silicone band with a nylon NATO band. It’s been one of the better moves I’ve made. The watch has received a huge number of questions and complements.

Withings Steel Smartwatch An attractive smartwatch that you never have to charge The Steel has all the activity tracking of a smartwatch without the annoying notifications or need to charge the battery every day. Withings.com View on Amazon The Steel has all the activity tracking of a smartwatch without the annoying notifications or need to charge the battery every day.

So, how do you upgrade your Withings Steel watch strap? Here’s everything you’ll need to upgrade your watch game. Note: If you do this with the Steel HR then the heart rate monitor will not work correctly.

This is how the watch looks out of the box. It’s got an attractive face, but I’m just not a fan of the Silicone band that it came with. No worries, it will only take a couple minutes to replace.

All the Withings watches use quick release bands. This means that the release is built into the band itself and there are no spring bars.

To remove the band look for the silver knob near where the watch connects with the band. You should be able to use your finger nail to slide it back.

The bands should slip right off.

Despite the watch using quick release watch strap, you’ll still be able to use spring bars. Take out your spring bars and use the spring bar tool to insert them into the watch.

If you’ve never used a spring bar tool before checkout this video. Essentially, you want to fit one end of the spring into the watch and use the spring bar tool to hold back the other and place it into the watch.

Withings Steel Smartwatch An attractive smartwatch that you never have to charge The Steel has all the activity tracking of a smartwatch without the annoying notifications or need to charge the battery every day. Withings.com View on Amazon The Steel has all the activity tracking of a smartwatch without the annoying notifications or need to charge the battery every day.

The last step it to take your NATO band of choice and thread it through the spring bars. Here’s the Withings Steel with the new NATO next to my Timex Weekender.