Well I have had my Band 2 for about three weeks now. Since owning it, my Band 2 won't even last 24 hours on a single charge.
The only things I do are check notifications, record my sleep and take the dog for a walk 1-2 times a day. I can only imagine how quickly it would die if I did actual workouts.
Regardless, this is far from the advertised 48 hours of battery life.
For the record, I have brightness set to low, vibration set to low and I don't have too many other apps/tiles on the Band that I don't use. The Band also takes far longer to recharge than advertised as well. Like 2 or more hours.
To say the least, I am regretting getting this device since it last far less than my 950XL which does a heck of a lot more work during the day.
I spent the last few days looking online to see what is causing the problem and a lot of things I have come across seems to be related to the last update to the MS Health app. Many have complained that they have been having similar issues as I since the last update to the app. Apparently, it seems as though there is a lot more communication between the Band and the App compared to before and this, it is heavily impacting the battery on the Band 2.
One suggested solution was to turn off Bluetooth or put Airplane Mode on, but then the Band gets no notifications from the phone, you can't control your music on your phone and this, shuts off a good chunk of the features I liked about the Band.
Another suggestion was to turn off the Health Apps' Background Tasks and you would see a huge improvement to the battery's life. Well I tried that and it ends up being the same as the above where apparently all notifications and everything relating to your phone goes straight through the Health App. Turning off Background Tasks means nothing is sent to your Band unless you have the app open..... Again, this defeats the purpose of me having the Band and limits a good chunk of the features I was interested in. What's the point of having the Band if I have to turn everything off and only have my steps, sleep and calories recorded to merely be uploaded to my phone when I manually do it later on?
I might as well have bought the cheapest FitBit if that's all I wanted.
I have also heard about a lot of people getting replacement after replacement for their Bands where support thinks its a hardware issue, but their replacement devices end up lasting just as long.
Oh and yes, I did un-sync, re-sync, reset, deleted the Health App, reinstalled the Health App, powered off and powered on the Band with zero improvement.
It's odd that reviewers I came across stated when they got their Bands that they'd get 48 or more hours before needing to recharge. On reviewer was on their third day without a recharge.... Yet most of the battery drain complaints I have come across start roughly around the last update / firmware. A few people have said it was night and day..... Before the update they got 48 or slightly less hours and then the next day they'd struggle to get through most of a day.
In addition, I checked my battery usage on my 950XL last night. Edge took the most battery, but oddly the Health App was in second place for battery usage. Considering I only go into the app twice a day for about 1-2 mins each time, that's a red flag right there.
The problem is that I cant find any information about if or when Microsoft is going to look into fixing this as it clearly doesn't sound like a hardware issue.
I feel like contacting support, but it sounds like they would merely send me a replacement. If the above connection is true and the Health App, then getting me a replacement seems like a waste of everybody's time.
If there isn't a fix for this soon, I will have to go another step forward and discuss options for a refund if possible. Considering I have had this for almost three weeks now and I have little faith a replacement would fix this issue, I see no alternative. Having to recharge this device in less than 24 hours for the little work I ask it to do, I feel like I have wasted my money..... And this is the first time I've ever felt that way towards a MS Device.
I do like the device, but I feel that due to how many times they claim this can be recharged and how often I am charging it now, I'm worried it's lifespan will be severely compromised.
Of course any solutions or ideas are greatly appreciated, otherwise I feel in the next day or two I will see about returning this.
The only things I do are check notifications, record my sleep and take the dog for a walk 1-2 times a day. I can only imagine how quickly it would die if I did actual workouts.
Regardless, this is far from the advertised 48 hours of battery life.
For the record, I have brightness set to low, vibration set to low and I don't have too many other apps/tiles on the Band that I don't use. The Band also takes far longer to recharge than advertised as well. Like 2 or more hours.
To say the least, I am regretting getting this device since it last far less than my 950XL which does a heck of a lot more work during the day.
I spent the last few days looking online to see what is causing the problem and a lot of things I have come across seems to be related to the last update to the MS Health app. Many have complained that they have been having similar issues as I since the last update to the app. Apparently, it seems as though there is a lot more communication between the Band and the App compared to before and this, it is heavily impacting the battery on the Band 2.
One suggested solution was to turn off Bluetooth or put Airplane Mode on, but then the Band gets no notifications from the phone, you can't control your music on your phone and this, shuts off a good chunk of the features I liked about the Band.
Another suggestion was to turn off the Health Apps' Background Tasks and you would see a huge improvement to the battery's life. Well I tried that and it ends up being the same as the above where apparently all notifications and everything relating to your phone goes straight through the Health App. Turning off Background Tasks means nothing is sent to your Band unless you have the app open..... Again, this defeats the purpose of me having the Band and limits a good chunk of the features I was interested in. What's the point of having the Band if I have to turn everything off and only have my steps, sleep and calories recorded to merely be uploaded to my phone when I manually do it later on?
I might as well have bought the cheapest FitBit if that's all I wanted.
I have also heard about a lot of people getting replacement after replacement for their Bands where support thinks its a hardware issue, but their replacement devices end up lasting just as long.
Oh and yes, I did un-sync, re-sync, reset, deleted the Health App, reinstalled the Health App, powered off and powered on the Band with zero improvement.
It's odd that reviewers I came across stated when they got their Bands that they'd get 48 or more hours before needing to recharge. On reviewer was on their third day without a recharge.... Yet most of the battery drain complaints I have come across start roughly around the last update / firmware. A few people have said it was night and day..... Before the update they got 48 or slightly less hours and then the next day they'd struggle to get through most of a day.
In addition, I checked my battery usage on my 950XL last night. Edge took the most battery, but oddly the Health App was in second place for battery usage. Considering I only go into the app twice a day for about 1-2 mins each time, that's a red flag right there.
The problem is that I cant find any information about if or when Microsoft is going to look into fixing this as it clearly doesn't sound like a hardware issue.
I feel like contacting support, but it sounds like they would merely send me a replacement. If the above connection is true and the Health App, then getting me a replacement seems like a waste of everybody's time.
If there isn't a fix for this soon, I will have to go another step forward and discuss options for a refund if possible. Considering I have had this for almost three weeks now and I have little faith a replacement would fix this issue, I see no alternative. Having to recharge this device in less than 24 hours for the little work I ask it to do, I feel like I have wasted my money..... And this is the first time I've ever felt that way towards a MS Device.
I do like the device, but I feel that due to how many times they claim this can be recharged and how often I am charging it now, I'm worried it's lifespan will be severely compromised.
Of course any solutions or ideas are greatly appreciated, otherwise I feel in the next day or two I will see about returning this.
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram