NO 24-hour heart rate monitoring on the Band

[spaulagain]

Disagree. Love ya man, but the ad on Microsoft store is absolutely deceptive and misleading

This was not misleading. It's simply subjective use of words and language. Something that most people would never even think or care about. But obviously the OP had an issue with it.

 

[spaulagain]

Article is up: http://www.windowscentral.com/how-often-microsoft-band-checks-your-heart-rate

Long story short:

• Exercise modes (Run and Workout): Heart rate records every second
• Sleep tracking : 2 minutes on, 8 minutes off. Repeats throughout duration
• All other times : 1 minute on, 9 minutes off, and repeating the cycle
• Manual: You can force-check your heart rate at any time by tapping the Me Tile

This is brilliant. Thanks Daniel!! That's more than enough checking and recording to measure and analyze HR data!

 

[spaulagain]

Where exactly did you get this information from. Can you provide us a source?

I can't speak for the sampling rate when I'm sleeping because I haven't observed the optical LED when in sleep mode... but I can tell you that my optical sensor is NOT on for one minute out of 9 minutes during the day/evenings when not sleeping.

Here's how you can test your unit... place it on your wrist fairly loosely. Go into a dark room and plan to do something uninterrupted (like read a book) for at least 10 minutes. Place your wrist so that you can barely see the underside of the optical sensor. If you are in a dark room, the LED will light up and grab your attention instantly. If not, the sensor did not turn on and no HR data has been logged.

Alternately, you can just glance at your wrist every 30 seconds (you can set up a repeating timer on your phone) for 10 minutes and you will see that the optical sensor does NOT turn on for one minute out of every 10 minutes.

Also note that I have tested TWO units and both behaved identically. So either I received two identically defective units or your information is false.

Let's assume I have two defective units. Being that it takes up to one minute for the optical sensor to get a "lock" on your heart rate and the optical sensor is only physically on (i.e. LED light on) for one minute, that means that the Band is not actually sampling HR data for 1 minute out of every 10 because it's spending 90%+ of the time trying to lock in your actual heart rate. Therefore the Band only provides several heart rate data points over 3,600 data points over the course of an hour (other inexpensive heart rate monitors update HR every second). I am curious as to how this serves any value to the consumer when it comes to calculating caloric expenditure. If you don't understand what I am talking about please go back to my earlier post using a car and MPG as the analogy. I was not being rude about it, I was trying to use effective analogies so people can understand where I'm coming from. The Band literally has no idea what my caloric expenditure is based on my heart rate for 99% of the day. How is this useful?

I'm not being a doosh here so please stop with the inflammatory posts. Please stay on topic and let's keep this discussion technical. No **** hurt comments please (that goes for me as well). I really would like to understand the value of the HRM. I just put my order in for a Basis Peak. Basis also states on their website that their product offers 24-7 HR monitoring but if the Peak is no different than the Band, the Peak is also going back.

You're kidding right?

YOU = FAIL

 

[jeres88]

I tried your experiment and what was stated in the article is spot on. You should have tried running the experiment yourself before asking others to do it. At least now we know that you are lying about the device. I would like to thank you for the thread though since it motivated some research into the matter and it's good information to have.

 

[pj737]

You haven't been listening. We've all been telling you that it does, indeed, come on a lot more than you are claiming. This isn't a situation in which everybody who has a Band is making up their experience except you.

In my case, I have been observing for several days and I have seen the green light on quite a bit. I hadn't stopped to time it until Daniel posted his article. I then did just what you describe above: I sat and watched it. The green light came on for exactly one minute. Then it went off. Exactly nine minutes later, it came on again. Not nine minutes and twelve seconds; nine minutes exactly.

You've been pulling so much information out of your ear, and been so hostile throughout this thread, that nobody believes you when you claim you tested the devices you had. Everyone else is getting the 1/10 experience that Daniel described -- although maybe we hadn't timed it before to see exactly how long it took, we all told you that your "once per hour" claim was not what we experienced. Yet you persisted. And persisted. And still you persist. But no matter how many times you repeat yourself, you aren't going to change the minds of those of us who sat here with a stopwatch and -- surprise, surprise -- found that it works exactly the way Microsoft told Daniel that it works.

Well, at least I tried to be nice.

I call BS. Post a 12 minute video to youtube with a timer running in the video for proof. I want to see the optical sensor turn on twice without the wake button being touched during that time. Until someone can post that. I call BS. I'd post a video but I don't have an account and it would be a realllly long video.

Or you could always post the actual heart rate data (6 readings per hour). That would also settle this argument.

BTW, Basis responded to my inquiry about their HR optical sensor. They claim 4 days of battery and the HRM is ALWAYS ON. So much for the "technological limitation" excuse.

 

[theefman]

Well, at least I tried to be nice.

I call BS. Post a 12 minute video to youtube with a timer running in the video for proof. I want to see the optical sensor turn on twice without the wake button being touched during that time. Until someone can post that. I call BS. I'd post a video but I don't have an account and it would be a realllly long video.

Or you could always post the actual heart rate data (6 readings per hour). That would also settle this argument.

BTW, Basis responded to my inquiry about their HR optical sensor. They claim 4 days of battery and the HRM is ALWAYS ON. So much for the "technological limitation" excuse.

So buy the basis and be done with the Microsoft Band.

 

[BobLobIaw]

BTW, Basis responded to my inquiry about their HR optical sensor. They claim 4 days of battery and the HRM is ALWAYS ON. So much for the "technological limitation" excuse.

You found your other half!

 

[Daniel Rubino]

Where exactly did you get this information from. Can you provide us a source?

Source is the Microsoft Band team through Microsoft press channels. Each department at MS has their own 'PR' people. You ask them, they pass it to the PMs and you hear back, sometimes direct from the PM.

 

[spaulagain]

Well, at least I tried to be nice.

I call BS. Post a 12 minute video to youtube with a timer running in the video for proof. I want to see the optical sensor turn on twice without the wake button being touched during that time. Until someone can post that. I call BS. I'd post a video but I don't have an account and it would be a realllly long video.

Or you could always post the actual heart rate data (6 readings per hour). That would also settle this argument.

BTW, Basis responded to my inquiry about their HR optical sensor. They claim 4 days of battery and the HRM is ALWAYS ON. So much for the "technological limitation" excuse.

You're calling BS? Dude, this entire thread is calling BS on you. An official statement from MS, and 10+ eye witnesses, yet magically they're all wrong and you're right? Narcissistic much?

What else's does Basis do? Does it have 9 other sensors it has to power and analyze? Does it also stay connected with your phone and receive / send notifications? Does it have a large full color display that you can actually leave on?

BTW, the Basis HR appears to be pretty inaccurate...

"The heart rate sensor is sufficiently accurate with one major exception: when you?re exercising. Here, the Basis monitor fails miserably. Fact is, it seems that the more your move around, the less accurate the heart rate monitor is."

http://www.digitalmcgyver.com/personal/gadgets/a-review-of-the-basis-monitor/

But regardless, once again, you're comparing Apples to Oranges. Making your argument once again flawed, false, and just plain futile.

 

[Bobvfr]

Please Daniel can this thread be closed it is causing me severe high blood pressure and although the band isn't available in the UK I am tempted to order one so I can see why I am stupid enough the read this rubbish......



Bob

 

[spaulagain]

Please Daniel can this thread be closed it is causing me severe high blood pressure and although the band isn't available in the UK I am tempted to order one so I can see why I am stupid enough the read this rubbish......



Bob

Agreed, one good thing came out of it though. Daniel got solid details from MS on how it works!!

 

[ytrewq]

Well, at least I tried to be nice.

I call BS. Post a 12 minute video to youtube with a timer running in the video for proof. I want to see the optical sensor turn on twice without the wake button being touched during that time. Until someone can post that. I call BS. I'd post a video but I don't have an account and it would be a realllly long video.

Since you're the only one reporting that it doesn't go on every ten minutes, the burden is on you to prove your right, not on everyone else who owns a band to prove you wrong.

And your lame excuse about a long video doesn't fly. Your video doesn't need to be a really long video. It just needs to be 12 minutes. If you can go a 12 minute span without a green light, then by definition it isn't going on every ten minutes. If you couldn't figure that one out on your own, that fact by itself would be sufficient to destroy your credibility (if you still had any left at this point).

 

[runamuck83]

Here's another person reporting that I just tested it. Green light turned on, on its own. I started my stop watch when it turned off and didn't touch the thing... EXACTLY 9 mins later it turned on again. Send the OP packing please

 

[dkediger]

Seems faste....wait, wrong thread.

 

[pj737]

Facts -

Fitbit Surge provides 720 HR data points per hour for 5 days straight
Basis Peak provides 3,600 HR data points per hour for 4 days straight
Microsoft Band provides 6 HR data points per hour for 2 days straight

Of course the engineers at both Fitbit and Basis (i.e. Intel) must be complete morons, right? I mean why would they need such a high HR sampling rate because all it does is kill the battery and serve no real value to the user, right? Look at those battery stats. The HRM on the Peak and Surge must be killing their batteries... that's why they last 2-3X longer than the Band's? LOL

The Band is a poorly designed fitness tracker with laughable heart rate accuracy, gimmicky "24-hour" HR monitoring, abysmal battery life all in a bulky, uncomfortable easy-to-scratch and unattractive product. In fact it's so bad, Microsoft doesn't even want to bundle it with their own phones - they're using the Fitbit instead. What does that tell you?

Check out all the other threads destroying the accuracy of the Band's HRM. And sorry, despite what you think, I didn't start those threads. There are many others out there that share my sentiment.

Remember, no personal attacks. Keep it clean. Just stating the facts.

 

[cardingtr]

Bottom line is people that have a decent amount of brain cells will understand that a Microsoft forum (and its forum members) is not going to provide unbiased feedback regarding the use/features of a fitness tracking device.. when the people on this forum are generally NOT hardcore fitness enthusiasts. Unless you're a hardcore fitness enthusiast or into sports, training etc you will not care about my comments. Which is fine because I started a SPECIFIC THREAD about the SEVERE limitations of the HR monitor on the Band. The complainers on this forum are not hardcore fitness people; they are (generally) people interested or have a liking to Microsoft products; over the eons Microsoft has not introduced a product SPECIFICALLY targeting FITNESS-ORIENTED people. So of course I expect to get buried here.

If you post to a hardcore fitness forum about the Band not being able to read entire emails, etc, you're not going to have a bunch of dooshie forum members saying "shut up nobody cares about reading emails, we just want to track our metrics - beat it loser". But here when somebody cries about MICROSOFT'S BLATANT FALSE MARKETING about a feature a lot of fitness buffs have been waiting years for, all I get is bashed to the ground with nonsensical analogies, blabbering about technology when they have zero understanding of it and twisting commonly accepted words like "24-hour" and "continuous" into some ridiculous new meaning that only applies to readers of this forum. As long as other health enthusiasts read my posts they will be well-informed when they buy the Band. It will save Microsoft a little bit of money on all the returns they'll get from unhappy hardcore fitness enthusiasts.

I don't know the exact definition of HARDCORE FITNESS PEOPLE but I consider myself fit. I ran lots of marathons, runs 5times a week at least 40 miles weekly and currently have training for Houston Chevron. I also ran Chicago Marathon last month and just run a half last week. But I don't care about 24 hr continuous monitoring by your definition. All I care about is my resting hr which I check on Monday before getting up since Monday is my full 2day recovery. I also care about my max HR I got from lactate threshold test 2months back and also my heart rate reserve and recovery HR (I measure by checking how many seconds my hr goes down to my reserve HR after a speed interval. This is a good measure of your cardiovascular fitness. Not the continuous hr monitoring)
So I might be hardcore but don't care about continuous, every second, 24 HR monitoring. And if you really is a hardcore you should know that.

 

[cardingtr]

Facts -


In fact it's so bad, Microsoft doesn't even want to bundle it with their own phones - they're using the Fitbit instead. What does that tell you?

Remember, no personal attacks. Keep it clean. Just stating the facts.

If you are stating the facts, can you provide the source?

 

[pj737]

If you are stating the facts, can you provide the source?

This was posted by someone else on another Windows forum - Microsoft snubs its new Band, bundles Fitbit Flex with new Lumia phones | PCWorld

 

[spaulagain]

Facts -

Fitbit Surge provides 720 HR data points per hour for 5 days straight
Basis Peak provides 3,600 HR data points per hour for 4 days straight
Microsoft Band provides 6 HR data points per hour for 2 days straight

Of course the engineers at both Fitbit and Basis (i.e. Intel) must be complete morons, right? I mean why would they need such a high HR sampling rate because all it does is kill the battery and serve no real value to the user, right? Look at those battery stats. The HRM on the Peak and Surge must be killing their batteries... that's why they last 2-3X longer than the Band's? LOL

The Band is a poorly designed fitness tracker with laughable heart rate accuracy, gimmicky "24-hour" HR monitoring, abysmal battery life all in a bulky, uncomfortable easy-to-scratch and unattractive product. In fact it's so bad, Microsoft doesn't even want to bundle it with their own phones - they're using the Fitbit instead. What does that tell you?

Check out all the other threads destroying the accuracy of the Band's HRM. And sorry, despite what you think, I didn't start those threads. There are many others out there that share my sentiment.

Remember, no personal attacks. Keep it clean. Just stating the facts.

Remember no personal attacks? What have you been doing this whole thread?

Daniel or some moderator, just lock this thread. It's clear this guy serves no other purpose but to post bull**** and **** people off.

 

[satrus08]

Well, at least I tried to be nice.

I call BS. Post a 12 minute video to youtube with a timer running in the video for proof. I want to see the optical sensor turn on twice without the wake button being touched during that time. Until someone can post that. I call BS. I'd post a video but I don't have an account and it would be a realllly long video.

Or you could always post the actual heart rate data (6 readings per hour). That would also settle this argument.

BTW, Basis responded to my inquiry about their HR optical sensor. They claim 4 days of battery and the HRM is ALWAYS ON. So much for the "technological limitation" excuse.

Lol you're on a cycle repeating the same things again and again. The Band has 10 other sensors draining it's battery, as people have told you before. If you don't understand what that means, maybe you should exercise the ol' noggin a bit more. Not a personal attack, just a suggestion. Your video idea further makes me think you should work on this. You can just post a video of band not working in 12 minutes. Did you not think of that? Or are you flaming?

You ignore all the valid points people make and just keep spewing out the same crap on repeat every few pages. There is no point to this thread anymore as we have been told explicitly the device's capabilities. Either way you are going to ignore everything.