Is it a mistake to buy the Band 2 right now?

[Captain_Eric]

I've had mine since mid-December. I've had no problems, thankfully. (But, who knows how widespread the problems are. I'd guess websites have a bias toward people with problems).

The Band 2 is a hybrid of 1) a "smartphone," a la Apple watch, which connects you to your phone's calendar, email, text, whatsapp, etc. via a Bluetooth with the phone, and 2) a fitness/activity tracker which can function independently of the cell phone and includes heart rate monitor, GPS tracking, altimeter stair counter, and gym routine apps. Both have step counters, sleep trackers and such.

So, the Band 2 is an exceptional blend.

It's not perfect, eg altimeter is sometimes wacky, and high stress workouts are reported to sometimes give artificially high heart rate readings at the the beginning of a workout. But Microsoft has undated twice already and seems will continue to add features and fix problems. Bottom line: jump in.

 

[Kram Sacul]

spend $39 for the extended warranty, and all is covered. Any issues bring to the store. The store guys are great. Don't trust the online chat idiots.

An extra $39 to cover issues that shouldn't be happening and should be covered under warranty anyway? No thanks.

I'll still buy a Band 2, eventually. When they make a version that isn't a beta test.

 

[nausky]

An extra $39 to cover issues that shouldn't be happening and should be covered under warranty anyway? No thanks.

I'll still buy a Band 2, eventually. When they make a version that isn't a beta test.

It's worse than that. If they want to claim that the splits aren't covered and they want to use your complete, it's an additional $30 to get a replacement, hiking the cost up to $345 before tax for the guys who bought this full price.

And to have a chance to get this covered under warranty, hope you have a good MSFT store nearby or prepare for a road trip. Cause sending it in is 3 weeks without your Band for only a chance of getting a new one.

I'll confess, despite how frustrated I am with the experiences I've read about, I ordered one anyway. I refuse to buy complete though. It makes the device way too expensive for what it is. If mine breaks I'll just pick up another Fitbit which actually does boast reliability and customer service.

 

[rickhan]

I was also wondering about durability, I'm on my third or 4th Band 1, and it's now wrapped in electrical tape. I'm out of warranty now, I was looking at getting a Band 2 once this one dies.
Durability --rubbery covering splitting, end of strap breaking off, etc has been absolutely terrible with Band 1.
I was hoping Band 2 would be considerably better.
I definitely love using the Band, and I would pay more for better quality.

 

[DroidUser42]

Durability --rubbery covering splitting, end of strap breaking off, etc has been absolutely terrible with Band 1.

The rubber on the battery doors go, but for the ends splitting off, I only remember a few incidents reported here. I could probably count them on one hand. It seems to be the Band 2 is having a bigger problem. Perhaps they sold a lot more, but I'm not betting on it.

 

[Erik Read]

I bought the first generation Band in May. Amazing device to help lose some weight and get in better shape. The device worked great for about 6 months and then the clasp started separating from the band. I noticed that there was a one year warranty so I sent it in. They sent it right back to me saying I abused the device which I assure you I did not. Needless to say I was not happy. In the mean time I received Band 2 for Christmas. It seems to be better in all respects to 1. This is my last try with the MS fitness line if this device doesn't last a year.

 

[rianbechtold]

I had the Band 2 for 2 weeks and ended up returning it. It is a good piece of hardware but is just a little lost in it's intention.
I purchased it looking for a smart watch/fitness tracker combo.
The biggest drawback is the lack of water resistance. It has none, whatsoever. This makes it worthless as a smart watch as I found myself taking it off anytime I washed my hands for fear of getting it wet. This also makes it worthless as a fitness tracker for me since so much of my fitness revolves around water sports for the majority of the year.
Most of the other issues can be fixed with updates like gps battery life (even though the addition of gps power save mode is so inaccurate, there is essentially no reason to even use it when enabled) and screen orientation (hard to use when on outside of wrist).
The above posts about the band itself are interesting because I didn't know people had issues with it but I was saying to my wife that it looked like I had owned it for over a year by looking at the band.
I purchased it only after I made sure I could return if I didn't like it. The things I liked were: the accuracy during treadmill use, workouts that could be loaded onto it, display brightness, data available, and themicrosoft health app. The negatives were: NOT WATERPROOF/WEATHERPROOF, gps battery life (I could squeak out 6 hours with no Bluetooth, no haptic feedback, display on low and no daily heart rate), gps power save mode inaccurate ( ran a full marathon and it was off by over 3 miles; if your pace changes, it seems to not be able to adjust), and the band material.
Overall, if it cost $100 less, I'd say it was worth it. It does get me excited for a band 3 though. If a band 3 is released with waterproofing, better rubber and a hot swappable battery, I'd be all over it and would fork over even more than the band 2's price.

 

[poit57]

The biggest drawback is the lack of water resistance. It has none, whatsoever.

The negatives were: NOT WATERPROOF/WEATHERPROOF

These statements are false, or at least misinterpreted on your part. Please refer to Microsoft's official description of the Band and Band 2's water resistance here.

I have owned both versions of the Band, and splashing while washing my hands has never been an issue. I've also run in light rain and even got caught in a downpour for about 10 minutes while running once, and there was no adverse effect. I did try to shield by Band from the rain under the bottom of my T-shirt, but the attempt at keeping the Band dry was futile.

 

[Kram Sacul]

I was about to say the same thing. The Band 2 should be like any modern smartphone. It can get a little wet but I wouldn't press my luck with it.

 

[OldMillXxX]

you can goto the microsoft store locally and get microsoft complete, make sure you get it, ive already used it twice, once for a band that wouldnt charge, and once for the splitting rubber on the band itself

Wouldn't normal warranty cover these? If you have a dead band that won't charge surely warranty covers that. Depending on time of the band splitting, I would also think warranty covers defects.

 

[Teeceman]

Wouldn't normal warranty cover these? If you have a dead band that won't charge surely warranty covers that. Depending on time of the band splitting, I would also think warranty covers defects.

Microsoft covered my B2 with the following symptoms:
1. Heart rate sensor stopped working during normal use/sleep.
2. As a result of the above, after multiple resets it stuck on the low battery screen and would not turn on.
3. Slight tear in the strap.
I take good care of and do not abuse my devices so this was quite disappointing even for a 2 gen device.

 

[luxnws]

Wouldn't normal warranty cover these? If you have a dead band that won't charge surely warranty covers that. Depending on time of the band splitting, I would also think warranty covers defects.

Microsoft has denied making some users whole during the warranty period if it determined that the Band/Band 2 was broken due to normal wear and tear however that is defined.

So it might pay to get the insurance from Microsoft. Consumer experts say extended warranties or product insurance for most any product is a ripoff but for new products like Band/Band 2 where the company doesn't have any track record, it might be worthwhile for the hassle-free replacement policy.

 

[nausky]

So, as an update to this post, I just wanted to share my dumb story. The answer to my question is yes.

I will be packing up my second Band 2 for a return on Monday. I was so impressed by some things, but it’s falling short in major areas, namely one I didn’t expect at all—it just doesn’t fit me!

I was between small and medium. By advice of the posters here due to the known battery issue, I went with the size down. The small didn’t fit me though. I had to wear it on the largest setting, and I couldn’t wear it low enough on my wrist to be comfortable. It was way too snug. And the huge visible groove was really ugly too for something I was going to be wearing for at least a year.

So I returned it for a Medium. But there’s clearly not enough overlap in the sizes… the Medium only fits me on the absolute tightest setting, something that many posters here advised against… because it would accelerate the battery detaching. Well, after less than a week of use, that’s already happened. I can’t reliably charge it anymore.

So instead of getting a 3rd one, I’m just going to wait for the 2016 offerings to come out. I simply don’t have time to deal with a device that already broke after a week.

What I loved:

The accuracy of this thing was so insane. I don’t know how it did it, but it had my treadmill runs listed at the exact distance I went. Even adjusting for my unusual stride length, Fitbit was always in the ballpark of a half of a mile off. This was out of the box dead on.

The heart rate tracking was also far more accurate than my Fitbit. I know it gets mixed reviews on this, but it was working wonderfully for me, always staying locked on too.

The sleep information was way more detailed. I don’t know if it was more or less accurate, but it was providing a lot more information to go off of.
The MS Health Dashboard suggestions were very helpful in working on improvements.

What bothered me:

So, the music controls. They only connect if there’s no other Bluetooth connection. So every time I’d walk away from my desk at work and forget to pick up my phone, I’d have to disconnect my headset, reconnect the music on the band, and then reconnect my headset. It’s not a big deal—I mean a change of habits would fix this problem, but it was a little frustrating to find out how primitive this feature is.

Ultimately, it does not work as well with Windows 10 Mobile as it should. I was able to use my keyboard once, and it was badass, then it never worked again. Cortana worked a little bit, but also never worked again. I think my Bluetooth headset is interfering with all of this, and I can’t just give up a headset I use every single day because the band 2 doesn’t work well with a global protocol like Bluetooth.

Support:

As a person without a nearby MS Store, I recommend buying your Band 2 at Best Buy with an extended warranty. Of all the research I did, this is the only way to ensure that you’re taken care of. Actually, I recommend that anyway, cause not all MS Stores are nice. Don't be cheap about the insurance, this is a luxury item with an awful track record for reliability. The insurance is just simply part of the cost.