Restored Band 2

[Alexandre Noailly]

Hi, as almost everyone here, my band 2 had problems with a torn strap....
as I didn't want to buy another one every time it broke I decided to make a little fix for this....
the idea was to replace the silicon rubber band with something more resistant and flexible : leather...
so I basically removed all the silicon strap (VERY VERY carefully and slowly)

then I drill with a Dremel some hole to help with stiching

then I glued two straps of leather (with neoprene glue) approx the size of the original straps
to get this result

then I made the stitching to increase resistance
then a bit of sanding to polish the sides

Well I wanted to share that with the other readers here so it may inspire other to make this little idea better....
I did it a month ago and until now my band is aging pretty well...
I didn't had time to write a tutorial but if I can get my hand on cheap band 2 on ebay I may do step by step photos to help...
sorry for my bad english (I'm French and I have to admit that my english lacks a lot of practice......)
I will upload the other photos I have from the teardown of the band and leather repair if I find time
I'll be glad to answer the questions you will have if possible

 

[RumoredNow]

Great work!

Thanks for this. I hope you subscribed to the thread @Alexandre Noailly as I suspect it will get a lot of traffic.

 

[meattray]

That's really cool. So when can I send you mine to do as well?? Ha ha j/k

Great work though! Looks good.

 

[Alexandre Noailly]

That's a really kind offer but I fear that shipping costs would be Too high....

 

[anthonyng]

wow that looks really awesome @Alexandre Noailly and way better than my vinyl electrical tape fix lol. How is it holding up, a month later?

Here's my "fix" lol

 

[Alexandre Noailly]

Hi I tried electrical tape before but it didn't hold that well.
Here's some pics taken this morning

 

[anthonyng]

@Alexandre Noailly I'm using the stretchy type of tape, you can really stretch it out and stick it down, will see how it holds up

 

[wpguy]

Great job! I used electrical tape to patch up my Band where sunscreen ate the rubber away, but had to redo the repair every few months when the end of the tape came loose. I didn't bother trying a similar patch job on my Band 2, because the strap (the quietly new and improved one at that) cracked and tore half way across.

 

[Felix Wong]

The leather band replacement was GENIUS! Nice work!

For those who are interested in a less radical repair, I've had good success using Sugru. Sugru is a moldable glue (like playdough) that dries into rubber that is of the same color, texture and feel as the Microsoft Band.

I made a quick video (with a Surface Pro 4) of the repair and posted it here. It has lasted a few months and you can see it is pretty stealthy. https://youtu.be/GpKmRsVVogU

For those who just want to replace the Microsoft Band 2 altogether, I'm really happy with the Garmin Forerunner 35. Epic battery life, replaceable bands, waterproof, and built in GPS. Affordable ($170) and looks good, if a bit too much like the Apple Watch. Smartphone notifications work fine with Windows phone but are more robust with Android.

 

[anthonyng]

@Felix Wong thanks for info about sugru, how many times have you re-done the fix now? Is it pretty tough to get all the old product off for fresh?

 

[dacarter77]

I tried the Sugru fix a few days ago and it has worked great so far. From a few feet, you can't see that it's been repaired since the color and texture match exactly the original rubber. When you get close and the light hits it just right, you can see variations in the surface since it's hard to get it completely flat, but overall very happy with the repair. Time will tell if it will hold up.

 

[IamDefiler]

Going to give this stuff a try.

https://www.amazon.com/X-Treme-Tape...ag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUwpUvbUpU3688439

 

[anthonyng]

@dacarter77 I did too but has died with a battery issue recently... wonder if I can get it past this hurdle.

 

[bandowner]

Thanks for the inspiration - mine had a crack and a power issue, so I redid the strap after my repair. Check it out here: https://band2repair.wordpress.com/

 

[anthonyng]

@bandowner wow that is awesome. Maybe one day for mine At least I understand where the problem could be! some arrows on the pictures would be nice to really point out what you're referring to!

Thanks for posting your efforts! Hope it lasts!

 

[kwright62]

As soon as my band began to crack i used a bicycle inner tube repair patch to augment the strap prior to any internal damage. Sanding the strap and trimming the largest patch to fit (largest contact area for adhesive) has worked well for months. Don't use the thin edges of the patch. Trim the edges to the full thickness of the patch and to clear the edge of the Band strap by a couple of millimeters. I applied a patch to the inside and outside Surface of the strap.

 

[anon(10389550)]

Hi Folks,
inspired by this thread I set out to repair my beloved Band 2. After some investigation I found a leather wristband that fitted quite nicely (https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B0...ag=techracom00-21&ascsubtag=UUwpUvbUpU3727710). Below are some pictures of the final outcome.

Unfortunately the fix somehow killed the Heart Rate monitor. Strangely, when I start an exercise the LEDs of the sensor turn on and I also get a heart rate but no data is recorded. While wearing the Band it states "Where'd you go? Wear me to see your Heart Rate" without recording any data. Broken Heart Rate monitors seem quite common among the Band 2 as I could find plenty of similar problems on other forums. Resetting the device did not solve the problem. Any hints highly appreciated...

 

[Adventurer64]

I tried the Sugru fix a few days ago and it has worked great so far. From a few feet, you can't see that it's been repaired since the color and texture match exactly the original rubber. When you get close and the light hits it just right, you can see variations in the surface since it's hard to get it completely flat, but overall very happy with the repair. Time will tell if it will hold up.

Use sand paper to get rid of surface variations.

 

[DKatman]

Nice Blog post. I left you a message there. I realize this might be an even better spot for it. How did either of these new bands hold up the test of time? Are they still in use? I have stripped down my original Band2. I am shopping for strap material to put it together - Leather or Stingray or something. I am hoping it will work well, so I am thinking of trying to make it nice - Not sure about my abilities though. But I have a different Band2 that I am wearing (also split of course) so I can afford to be a bit patient if not lazy.

 

[Adventurer64]

I'm now using loctite super glue liquid to fix cracks. Just position so crack is facing up and fill with super glue. The liquid type, not gel. I have 2 sugrued cracks which are starting to peel and one super glued crack that has held for 2 months. I may just peel the sugru and use super glue to eliminate the extra bulk.