I gave up on the MS Band

[maflynn]

I'm not trying to sound like a troll, but I gave up on the band.

I've been an owner of the MS Band since day 1, I rushed out and got it as soon as I saw the features, and price. Its not a bad product but I think some of the negatives out weigh the positive in my situation.
My issues
GPS lock (I'm still dealing with support on this). When I got the MS Band it would achieve a GPS lock in seconds, now it hardly does. Same location, similar weather conditions. I ran 5 miles the other day and gave up on waiting for the lock to occur. I hit the option to let the band keep looking while I ran. It finally achieved a GPS lock 2.3 miles into my run, but I lost if because I had to step inside a building, I never got it back.

Battery, I get 1 full day out of it, and I have to make sure I charge it up before I go for my run, every day.

Comfort, its not a comfortable watch by any stretch of the imagination and a lot has been discussed on this. For me, I had to have the watch face on the inside of my wrist like many folks do. Even then I had to put a screen protector on it, because it was getting scuffed up banging on the desk.

Sofware - syncing was slow at time, and the software wasn't the best - at least compared to others like Fitbit.

I picked up a fitbit and felt it addressed all of those short comings (other then the GPS but I've not had a chance to test that aspect yet).
The wristband is much more comfortable, the battery life is superior, the larger display is more helpful (though I'm not knocking the band's display that is fine). The software is where I think its really shines.

My opinion is that for MS, it the Band is a proof in concept to highlight it services and I questioned the long term viability of the product or MS' commitment to it. With fitbit, I know they'll be there for me. I've been on the phone with MS trying to address the GPS issue, and I'm getting a little frustrated, I'm sure that colored my opinion but in the end, I really did want to see the MS Band succeed.

 

[kingbobyjr]

Which Fitbit did you go with?

 

[maflynn]

I went with the Surge because of the GPS. I've not yet had a chance to test it out, but I will say its much more comfortable. I wanted to like the band, but a little issues and some not so little issues really caused me to consider something else.

As I mentioned the software also helps a lot, it seems the fitbit app has more polish and functionality.

 

[DroidUser42]

GPS lock (I'm still dealing with support on this). When I got the MS Band it would achieve a GPS lock in seconds, now it hardly does. Same location, similar weather conditions. I ran 5 miles the other day and gave up on waiting for the lock to occur. I hit the option to let the band keep looking while I ran. It finally achieved a GPS lock 2.3 miles into my run, but I lost if because I had to step inside a building, I never got it back.

Keep in mind that the GPS satellites are in low earth orbit - meaning their position is constantly changing. If they happen to end up behind local obstacle, you're going to have a "bad GPS day". If the visible satellites end up in a line, it won't be able to figure out your position. Geocachers are familiar with this.

There are tricks that can be used to speed up the lock - such as using the data connection to get some information to jump-start the triangulation process. I don't know if the Band uses that, but it could make a difference if you try to start the GPS when separated from your phone.

Lastly, I find it interesting that you've not yet tested the FitBit GPS (particularly when it was your first complaint). When you do, be sure to compare it with the Band with the two side by side at the same time. Because "Same location, similar weather conditions" is NOT same GPS conditions.

I do agree the other issues are real, but they've not become significant issues for me.

 

[Matt Addy]

Are you selling your band?

 

[campbellc]

I have the Surge and it is a fantastic product. I used the GPS today and it locked in a signal in less than 15 seconds.

 

[realwarder]

I develop hardware with GPS and if the band used to lock quickly and now takes forever then you have a faulty unit. Try a hard reset first and return for repair if that doesn't work.

 

[willgill]

I have the Surge and it is a fantastic product. I used the GPS today and it locked in a signal in less than 15 seconds.

When I went to walk the dog yesterday, my Band did the same. It locked before I reached the end of my sidewalk. I have also had days where I went hallway down the block before it locked. It just depends.

However, it's a nice feature to have the Band start tracking distance before it looks in GPS.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

 

[maflynn]

Keep in mind that the GPS satellites are in low earth orbit - meaning their position is constantly changing. If they happen to end up behind local obstacle, you're going to have a "bad GPS day". If the visible satellites end up in a line, it won't be able to figure out your position. Geocachers are familiar with this..

I understand the technology behind GPS. My issue is that when I bought the MS band, I'd get a lock on the satellite within a few seconds, then at some point something happened and I suddenly stopped getting a lock. I'm running from the same location, the weather is the same (for the most part). As a contrast, the fitbit seemed to grab the satellite fairly quickly. I hate standing around outside for over 5 minutes while I see the searching text on the watch, especially in the cold.

 

[realwarder]

Send it for warranty repair then. Obviously something broke.

 

[maflynn]

Send it for warranty repair then. Obviously something broke.

Yep, I'm dealing with them. I'll be calling them back today/tomorrow. I was in contact with them late last week on this. Obviously, they (like any company) wants to make sure you try everything before sending a replacement/repair.

 

[mkg3]

When I went to walk the dog yesterday, my Band did the same. It locked before I reached the end of my sidewalk. I have also had days where I went hallway down the block before it locked. It just depends......

Yep, I'm dealing with them. I'll be calling them back today/tomorrow. I was in contact with them late last week on this. Obviously, they (like any company) wants to make sure you try everything before sending a replacement/repair.

Just curious about this. Did it start taking longer to lock in after the last firmware update?

There's been reports of longer battery life since then and decreasing GPS acquisition signal rate on the receiver is one of the things MS can do to increase battery life. While you can say its a bad day for GPS, there are at least 24 GPS active in MEO and the constellation has over 30 satellites now giving more accuracy than ever.

I realize if its a firmware issue, everyone should experience it but perhaps the expectation of "lock" is different amongst the user installed base.

 

[eyecrispy]

I share your sentiment exactly! I sold my Band to another member here and got my Surge and have had it for a week and feel it's worlds better. Not perfect, but best for my needs at the moment. Not giving up on the Band totally ... just this generation of the Band.

 

[Tim Stone]

I have also been with the Band since the very first week. I find it very comfortable. A charge lasts me over two full days. I'm a ( old ) techie, so I've looked closely at all of the devices available, tried many, and then did a spreadsheet comparing the various ones. I was disappointed with the MyFitnessPal integration, and the lack of a website where we could really review the data easily. I also was big on the notifications. In the end, I realized the Band was way beyond any of the other devices.

Now you are enthusiastic about your Surge. I wish you well. However, as a former Fitbit owner, and ( I purchased one my wife currently uses ), I spend a lot of time on their forums. I am deeply disturbed by their lack of response to the flood of concern posts that are presented with both the Charge and the Surge. Many people are returning both devices, mainly due to inaccuracies, poor construction, and with the Charge, a screen that scratches with the slightest contact with even soft materials ( or it's scratched right out of the box). The total lack of comment by Fitbit on any of the issues is disturbing, and calls to customer service have been an accelerator in convincing people to return their "defective" devices.

Last week several issues resulted in me setting aside my wonderful Windows Phone to use an iPhone 6. The one major benefit is that the software integration with MyFitnessPal and the MS Band, iPhone version, is amazing. Everything that I couldn't see before in their Windows release was actually in the iPhone version. Now you can say I'm totally convinced.

When looking at other devices, it's now about a whole lot more than steps, calories, and heart rate. I will stay with the Band until I see something really exceptional take its place ( and it won't be an Apple watch which gets less than a day on a single charge ). I also will not invest in another Fitbit product until they make a major shift in customer service and product quality. Most of the people expressing deep concerns are long term Fitbit loyalists who are feeling terribly let down with the two new products ( Charge and Surge ).

Just sayin ....

 

[Tim Stone]

My first Band had some problems, I did a chat, and they offered a swap. I asked if I could do it at the local store and they said yes. So I went there, and they gave me a new band and new screen protector, and reset the warranty to start then ...

No problem.

 

[DroidUser42]

However, as a former Fitbit owner, and ( I purchased one my wife currently uses ), I spend a lot of time on their forums. I am deeply disturbed by their lack of response to the flood of concern posts that are presented with both the Charge and the Surge.

To be fair, MS isn't even on the forum. :-/

(Unless I'm missing something.) And there's really been no response to the heart rate accuracy issues.

 

[locokip]

Wow! I'm surprised to hear so many issues with peoples Bands. I've had mine for a month and only had one issue with the firmware update that was solved by ensuring that only the Band was connected to my phone via Bluetooth until the update was complete. GPS locks within 5 seconds on a run and battery lasts about 2 full days on a single overnight charge. I'm really impressed with the Bluetooth range as I can have my phone on the charger in my office or my bedroom at home and still get updates on my Band when I walk over 50 feet away. I've also found the Cortana functionality pretty accurate. Took a couple weeks to get used to the fit, but after finding the right place, I don't even feel it anymore. I wear it on the top of my wrist like I do with any other watch, so maybe that is why the heart rate seems to be pretty accurate as well.

 

[Nate Silver]

Wow! I'm surprised to hear so many issues with peoples Bands. I've had mine for a month and only had one issue with the firmware update that was solved by ensuring that only the Band was connected to my phone via Bluetooth until the update was complete. GPS locks within 5 seconds on a run and battery lasts about 2 full days on a single overnight charge. I'm really impressed with the Bluetooth range as I can have my phone on the charger in my office or my bedroom at home and still get updates on my Band when I walk over 50 feet away. I've also found the Cortana functionality pretty accurate. Took a couple weeks to get used to the fit, but after finding the right place, I don't even feel it anymore. I wear it on the top of my wrist like I do with any other watch, so maybe that is why the heart rate seems to be pretty accurate as well.

Agreed! (except I wear mine underneath :grin: ), and I just charge it for an hour or so while I'm showering and having breakfast in the morning. I have had absolutely zero issues with the hardware (knocks on wood), notifications have been seamless, and bluetooth has been rock-solid (windows phone). If MS will just get moving on the Health app enhancements, health vault integration and 3rd party support (like Strava and Endomondo), I won't have anything to complain about.

I guess I'm sort of a fitness tracker geek. I started with a Samsung Gear Fit (it died), then went to a Garmin Vivosmart (pretty decent really, just hate wearing a chest strap for HR) , had (and returned) a Fitbit Surge, which I found to be quite disappointing, primarily because of the HR performance during exercise, and GPS glitches. Personally I think they are facing a very serious problem with this flagship model, in that they have marketed it to target serious fitness folks, and the reality of its performance is sadly lacking. I also have (and like) a Mio Fuse. Of these, the Band has provided the absolute best experience for me so far. I think the Fuse has a lot of potential, but if you think the MS Health app is half-baked, you should try the Mio 'GO' app, at least on android. It is so not ready for prime time it isn't funny. Great hardware though, my only gripes are that the HR is not "full time", just when working out, and I think it is too conservative in counting steps. Mio has said that this is intentional, and they believe most trackers count way too many, which I agree with. But, I think they went too far in the other direction. Interestingly, Mio is arguably the industry standard when it comes to optical HR sensors, and when I compare it side-by-side with the Band, HR monitoring is very comparable. I rarely see more than a 1 or 2 beat difference between them, though generally the Fuse is a bit faster to respond to changes. One of the best features of the Fuse, and this saves it from the horrible "GO" app, is that it can transmit HR via bluetooth to a third party app, like Endomondo. Ooh, how cool is this? I just discovered that the Fuse even works to transmit HR to Endomondo on my Windows Phone HTC One (m8). Just for the heck of it I tried to pair it, and it connected. Did a quick workout in Endomondo, and hey-presto, HR graph was there. Wow, you'd think MS could get the Band to do that!

 

[Tim Stone]

Fitbit has Moderators on all the threads, and the only responses they offered was to say "call customer service". When people did that, they were told "live with it".

I contacted Microsoft support twice on my Band. The first time they told me to exchange it. The second time was because I had issues with getting it working on the iPhone ( which was related to its original registration on the WinPhone ). The tech walked me through steps to reset the device and made sure I had it working perfectly on the new phone.

There is a huge difference between the two support models.

 

[Th3P]

I feel I can add a genuinely honest comment here, Ive had the Microsoft Band since November 25th, Ive also now had the Fitibit Surge since last Tuesday.
The Band in my opinions seems better prepared for its use, Its handled all GPS based activities from the start everything from running, workouts and cycling and this is where the Surge is behind Im finding as are others on the Fitbit Surge forum in current form the Surge works fine with Walking, Hiking, Jogging/Running but any higher tempo activities seem to have a delay in the Heart Rate catching up AND GPS seems to be hit and miss.
GPS seems to be un-finished in my opinion Im finding cycling particularly bad (That being said Fitbit are working on the Cycling mode to be added) but alot of media and marketing show the Surge being used in cycling use which is somewhat mis-leading.

I recently found GPS tracking via my Mio Cyclo 505 showing a distance on 12.1 mile, The MS Band 12.1 and the Fitbit Surge 7.8 miles....

That being said the form factor of the Surge is so much more appealing to me, And for that reason Im swaying towards the Surge. The battery life is better but that being said 5 hours on GPS / Similiar to the MS Band is both these products weak spot for me I have to carry around a power bank with me which isnt ideal on longer rides.

Im based in the UK and will likely sell my MS Band if anyone is interested (Medium)