and just like that my band is dead (not charging)

[Tom_T]

Bought my band on May 9th ................died on June 20th. No MS Store close so sent in for repair/replacement. A little disappointed but we will see how the replacement goes.

 

[slickxsparkie]

Bought my band on May 9th ................died on June 20th. No MS Store close so sent in for repair/replacement. A little disappointed but we will see how the replacement goes.

I replaced mine twice. So far so good on this last one. But free every time!

 

[mikepalma]

Return for store credit. Band 3 coming

 

[P_Edster]

Band 2 bought in the US in December 2015 - now on third band due to battery randomly just dying. So fed up. It's unreliable as you never know what it's about to die. MS know there is an issue. they have even disbanded the Band team (sorry for the pun). I'm in the UK so the support is practically non existent. you cant even complain. Band 3 due to arrive in a week or so.. nothing will change.. this one will do the same. Huge problem MS - sort it out.

 

[Falcata]

Same here. I bought my MS Band 2 on November 2015. After four month the battery won't charge anymore. MS change my Band Buy a new one. Two month aguan same issue. Band went black and only turns on when it was pluging. Unpluging it and the band get switch off. I asked a refund but not way. They sent me a new one (now I have 3 MS band boxes). MS support said me that don't let charging all night the band and never more of 3 charge hours. I did it but today same issue. I charged yesterday the Band until 98% and today 16:00 the band was dead. If I pluging the band, it switch on and I have to set Date and time, battery appears as 80%. If I unpluging, Band switch off and not respond. I read here about a design problem with the battery on the clasp, so I flex up and down the bulky end, and...It is now working. I don't know how much time. By the way, I run, cycle but any hard sport that can force the clasp or hit it.

 

[Dan Remick]

My band 2 has died twice. The first time the Microsoft store replaced it on the spot. Hopefully they will replace this second band without any hassle.

 

[f88]

I always find this thread whenever I look this topic up, but it really is a poor design choice, and I wouldn't be surprised that Microsoft canned the Band because of the high rate of defect, rather than low popularity (but of course I'm not sure).

So I bought a Band 2 back in January 16, it cracked by about April (I think), then I got a replacement in July because of the battery charging problem, then my third Band had another cracking problem. At that point, they discontinued it and I got a full refund in maybe November 16.

Anyways, I missed the Band 2 so much, I figured I'd deal with a cracking strap and buy one secondhand. I got it in January 17, and it stopped charging first week of February. I've been tinkering with it now and then ever since.

Here are some other ways to check what the problem is with your Band 2:

- If the Cortana button isn't working (meaning, if you try to press it on the home tile and it doesn't cycle through date, calories burned, etc) then your battery isn't connected to the device. That button seems to be related to the battery for some reason.

- While charging, pinch the battery part of your strap (which is the fattest part of the Band) while pressing the Cortana button. Once the Band 2 begins to cycle through the home tile options (date, calories burned, etc) then the battery will start to charge, and you can use the Band 2 as if it were normal.

- Probably shouldn't twist the strap to try to see if it's working, because if you ever want to wear your Band again naturally, you'll only make the damage worse by twisting it. Better to gently press the strap at the base of the battery until something works. It'll more reliably provide a (fragile) connection.

I suspect that if most of us who've owned Band 2's went in for no-hassle replacements, one ~$200 Band cost them hundreds in replacements. That's why the third Band never came out, because they were hemorrhaging money from the replacements.

If they reduced the amount of sensors maybe, and placed all the important connectors INSIDE the watch face (like most other competitors) so that the strap itself is replaceable, then they could've iterated on this device for years.

I love my Band 2 even though it's stuck on life support, and would buy a Band 3 based on the feature set of the Band 2 alone, but they really need to have another team build this thing to avoid all the horrible design choices they made.

 

[DLong4]

Bought the Band 2 on the first day it came out. This week it stopped charging. I had made the mistake of not placing it on its charger one night, and 2 days later there was no way to charge it.

 

[Da_Chemist]

Have been a Band enthusiast the moment it came out. have had several replacements for band 1 as well as band 2. Last week I told my wife how happy I was this last band was holding up for such a long time. Next day, out of the blue, the band went dead. battery cant hold a charge anymore. Tried the different options mentioned on different sites, but nothing will revive it. Decided to go for the Apple Watch series 2, which came close in functionality of the band 2. After a week, i really like the apple watch, but do miss some of the excellent features of the band.

 

[phil mckenzie]

I have already gone through three replacements and my fourth one died. Called MS about replacement and they said that it was out of warranty. So I asked them how to get it fixed....they don't do that anymore. SO I said what next. They said to go to the store and buy a new one. Great customer support and it appears that they are not making anymore because all the ones they make are going to replacements. Don't waste your money. Find something different . It was great for golf somewhat but the GPS was just too slow. There has to be something better out there then this piece of junk.

Found a site to take it apart to replace the battery. Wondering if anyone has performed this and fixed their problem. I have already take the battery out and don't want to spend #30 for a new battery if it is only going to not work

 

[deuce01]

I'm curious about the battery replacement too. Has anyone tried that?

 

[Paco Basurto]

I'm curious about the battery replacement too. Has anyone tried that?

I contacted microsoft and they said they no longer have items in stock so they wont replace it. so i am now stuck with a 280 dollar device that wont charge.

 

[tgp]

I contacted microsoft and they said they no longer have items in stock so they wont replace it. so i am now stuck with a 280 dollar device that wont charge.

Can you get a refund? My colleague did that. He would have rather gotten a replacement, but that wasn't an option.

 

[bandowner]

ritojr, I think you're right. My band stopped charging too (third one to do so!!) and without any more replacements available, I decided to explore. Turns out, the ribbon connecting the battery to the watch was fraying because of a pinch point in the strap. Repaired that (not easy!!) and it's working again... we'll see for how long.

I chronicled my adventure here: https://band2repair.wordpress.com/

 

[neoberry99]

Nice job. I enjoyed mine while it lasted. It's still the best looking fitness tracker imo

 

[thomasthomaslai]

tried taking it apart and fiddled around with connectors but no luck. still the best looking watch / band out there but it was just not build to last.

 

[anon(5327127)]

I thought mine wasn't charging but then remembered to use a strong charger as trickle charging, from the pc, didn't kick it into life.