A woman says she wants to “deinfluence” potential Oura Ring buyers after hers broke a year and a half after she purchased it.
In a video posted April 12 with over 101,000 views, TikToker Helen (@hjc2017) explains that her Oura Ring—which she purchased for $500 in 2023 and maintains the $5.99 required monthly subscription for—stopped holding a charge.
She says she decided to buy the Oura Ring, a wearable biomarker tracker, to track her period. The Oura Ring can track sleep, heart rate, blood oxygen levels, and even predict sickness using sensors on the inner edge of the ring.
“When I first bought this ring, I loved it. I had great things to say about it,” she says. “It was life-changing for me. I have a very irregular cycle, so it allowed me to see where I am in my cycle.”
However, her opinion quickly changed when she reached out to Oura when her ring stopped holding a charge.
How did Oura respond?
Helen says it took “a while” for Oura to respond to her inquiry about the charging issue with her ring.
“I had to follow up twice to get someone to reach out,” she claims. “They gave me two options.”
Because Helen’s ring was just out of warranty, she says an Oura customer service worker offered her a $50 credit toward a new ring or a refurbished replacement ring.
“I have nothing against refurbished items. I have bought refurbished items, but this ring is almost $500 and only lasted a year and a half,” she says.
Helen says she countered the initial offer and asked Oura to raise the credit toward a new ring or replace her ring with a new one of the same model.
She says Oura made a surprising exception and told her it would send a new ring. Helen holds up a small plastic bag with a label attached to it.
“This is all I got. It wasn’t even in a box,” she says. “No charger. Just [the ring].”
She tells viewers to stay away from Oura Ring, citing the poor customer service she feels she recieved and the steep cost of the ring and subscription.
“Oura is a no. Don’t do it,” she says at the end of the video.
What do Oura Ring buyers think?
In the comments section, other Oura Ring owners report similar experiences with the brand’s customer service and quality.
“Agree. TERRIBLE customer service and the subscription is out of pocket on top of the price of the ring,” one shares.
“I love the Oura ring features, but I am also not happy with how worn out the ring is after a year. Poor quality for how expensive it is,” another says.
“Same thing happened to me, mine broke after 1.5 years and they refused to replace it. They’re flimsy and the battery can expand and leak, which is very dangerous,” a third writes.
“I had mine for 3 weeks. I love it, but I hate how worn out it looks after just 3 weeks. I honestly wish I had gotten a different color,” a fourth commenter adds.
Other wearable tracker users recommend alternatives to the Oura Ring.
“I returned my oura ring within 30 days because i didn’t like it. recently made the switch to ultrahuman and im happy i did. Even with its faults, miles better than ours,” one says.
“I’ve had my Ultrahuman ring for almost a year & love it! I initially got it bc it was sleeker, no upcharge for gold & no subscription fees,” another recommends.
Did Oura respond to her TikTok?
The Oura Ring official TikTok account responds to Helen’s video as well, writing, “Hi Helen, we’re really sorry you went through this. It’s not the experience we want for our members. We’ve sent a DM to help.”
In a follow-up video, Helen reveals that Oura offered to upgrade her ring to the latest model.
“The only reason Oura is doing this is because my video gained traction,” she says. “I don’t like that there are customers who have been ripped off.”
Helen says she doesn’t “feel bad” for posting her original TikTok calling out Oura Ring.
“I stand by it. I’m not going to fold to these companies,” she says.
@hjc2017 #ouraring #ouraringreview #ultrahumanring ♬ original sound – Helen
The Daily Dot reached out to Oura Ring and Helen for comment.
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