Can you use a Windows Phone with no service to get full functionality from Band 2?

[tomworthjr]

Theoretically, using a Band 2 and a cheap Windows Phone with no cellular service (and therefore no phone number) that is tethered via wifi to another phone that is acting as a hotspot (that other, non-Windows Phone does have cellular service), would you be able to do things like use Cortana or reply to texts from your band without removing either phone from your pocket?

 

[Mark Kaplan]

Yes, I gave my young son my old Lumia Icon and he uses it fully without service over WiFi. If you have an inactive SIM in it, at least in the US, you can still also dial 911 but no SIM at all also works just fine.

 

[RumoredNow]

I think the loop breaks down at SMS reply. How does the SMS get forwarded from the (I assume non-Windows) phone with service to the WP that has no number?

Other forms of messaging that do not rely on cellular data would work and so should Cortana...

 

[tomworthjr]

RumoredNow, that's a good point on SMS.

 

[tomworthjr]

Lucky kid! Icon was my favorite phone, at the time I had it. The future was so bright...

 

[Mark Kaplan]

Sorry, I should clarify the standard SMS/MMS will NOT work without an active SIM as it requires a carrier. However, any WiFi enabled service like Skype, WhatsApp and so forth will work for texting.

 

[luxnws]

Theoretically, using a Band 2 and a cheap Windows Phone with no cellular service (and therefore no phone number) that is tethered via wifi to another phone that is acting as a hotspot (that other, non-Windows Phone does have cellular service), would you be able to do things like use Cortana or reply to texts from your band without removing either phone from your pocket?

Short answer is yes and no.

The Yes part: I use an old Windows Phone that I no longer use for phone service on wifi to sync my data. The main benefit is that you can play around with Cortana. The Health app will have all the data and so will your Microsoft Health dashboard.

The No part: of course, you will not get text or phone call notifications on your band even if you are tethered to another mobile phone that does have text and phone service. The band only will get notifications from the phone that it is syncing with. If your phone doesn't have text or phone service, there won't be any notifications for phone calls and you can't reply to texts because you won't have any notifications for texts. But you will receive notifications on your Band for email (downloaded from wifi), notifications from the Store if you need apps updated. and news/weather/sports if you have those tiles on the Band enabled.

Question: why are you running the Health app on the phone that doesn't have cell phone service and aren't running the Health app on the phone with cell service?

 

[tomworthjr]

I hadn't considered the point about only being able to pair with a single phone, so that kills it for me.
I don't yet have a Windows Phone without service, I was considering buying an old cheap used one. My Band 2 is synced with my iPhone 6 Plus, which is where my Health app resides. I liked the Band, but LOVE the Band 2, even without the ability to do everything it could do if paired to a Microsoft Phone.