No MS Band 3.0 for 2016?

[driedl]

do the Smart Notifications work with Windows Phone?

Sorry, I'm an Android user so can't help you there. I know there is a WP app but that's the extent of my knowledge. Garmin does have pretty extensive support forums so you can probably find the answer there.

 

[driedl]

The only thing that interests me about Garmin's new device is auto-activity tracking. How does that work?

Auto activity tracking doesn't interest me but I've read reviews that say it works fine. Here's what the manual says about it:

"Garmin Move IQTM Events
The Move IQ feature automatically detects activity patterns, such as biking or running, for at least 10 minutes. You can view the event type and duration on your Garmin Connect timeline, but they do not appear in your activities list, snapshots, or newsfeed. For more detail and accuracy, you can record a timed activity on your device."

Based on that, I decided I'd prefer to have all of the information for an activity recorded so I manually start them. It's nice to know that there's a backup if I forget, though.

 

[buzzard75]

Sorry, I'm an Android user so can't help you there. I know there is a WP app but that's the extent of my knowledge. Garmin does have pretty extensive support forums so you can probably find the answer there.

Think I answered my own question. There isn't even an app for WP8.1. So that answers that. Based on a post from someone else with a 930 it doesn't appear that everything is working super smooth and Garmin isn't going to help him since that particular phone isn't on the compatibility list. Or at least it wasn't tested for compatibility.

 

[Summer_Moon]

Guess I'll be looking for an alternative elsewhere then. My current MB1 is falling apart and Microsoft won't honor the warranty and wants me to pay $130 to get it replaced. I could buy a new MB2 for $175-200, if I catch it on sale. But I don't even want one of those because of all the quality issues THEY have. I love the functionality of the MB1, but with all the corrosion on it, the loose battery covers, and the peeled battery cover coating, I'm to the point now where I'm almost afraid to wear it. If anyone has any recommendations for another wearable with all the same functionality, I'm all ears.

What quality issues? Honestly I have had 0 problems with my Band 2 and I bought it in December. I would recommend picking up the Band 2.

 

[Summer_Moon]

I had my band 1, for a year, before moving to the Band 2. Neither has presented issues so I'm often baffled how these things happen.

In all honesty the Band 3 had better be bullet proof as people seem to destroy them.

Yeah, I have no idea what people are doing to them to destroy them... Put it on your wrist and stop slamming it into things, that will probably help a lot. My Band 1 did start to fall apart, but that was close to the end of the warranty and I got it replaced and then bought the Band 2. I do have a friend at work who has the Band 1 and OMG! That thing is torn up like hell and is obviously not treated right... he claims it's his skin, but that's definitely not what it looks like.

Anyways, treat it right and it will perform as expected. Although a bullet proof Band 3 is something to look forward to!

 

[ven07]

Although a bullet proof Band 3 is something to look forward to!

*Thinks about Wonder Woman's bracelets* heheh

 

[SorenCG]

I thought my Band 2 was holding up well. I ran through 4 Band 1's with warranty replacements, and I preordered the Band 2 upon its release. Last week it just died, no warning or anything, it just went dark. Microsoft is replacing it, as they did with my 1's. I never got the thing wet except for a couple rainy runs several months ago, and I was even pretty careful about not getting it wet wet when washing my hands. But I think my sweat/skin combo is just a bad combo for these things.

 

[Jazmac]

Yeah, I have no idea what people are doing to them to destroy them... Put it on your wrist and stop slamming it into things, that will probably help a lot. My Band 1 did start to fall apart, but that was close to the end of the warranty and I got it replaced and then bought the Band 2. I do have a friend at work who has the Band 1 and OMG! That thing is torn up like hell and is obviously not treated right... he claims it's his skin, but that's definitely not what it looks like.

Anyways, treat it right and it will perform as expected. Although a bullet proof Band 3 is something to look forward to!

I believe your friend. I had two Band 1's. I beat up neither one and neither spent anytime in water. (unless you count sweat something it should be able to handle) the thing turned to crap. I never slammed into anything and it looks like garbage. So I switched to the Fitbit Charge HR. Does what I need from it and still looks great. Band uses faulty materials and they want too much for the quality of materials they use.

 

[Jazmac]

I thought my Band 2 was holding up well. I ran through 4 Band 1's with warranty replacements, and I preordered the Band 2 upon its release. Last week it just died, no warning or anything, it just went dark. Microsoft is replacing it, as they did with my 1's. I never got the thing wet except for a couple rainy runs several months ago, and I was even pretty careful about not getting it wet wet when washing my hands. But I think my sweat/skin combo is just a bad combo for these things.

If you are interested, AT&T has the Fitbit Charge HR on a mother's day special going on for $74.50.

 

[buzzard75]

What quality issues? Honestly I have had 0 problems with my Band 2 and I bought it in December. I would recommend picking up the Band 2.

I don't know what the percentage is, but the largest issue seems to be the band splitting. As I said in a previous post, MS wanted $130 to replace my Band 1 even though everything wrong with it are known issues and should all be covered by warranty. Why would I pay $130 for a replacement Band 1 when I can get a Band 2 for $175-200? And to that, why would I want to buy a product with known quality issues (Band 2) from a company unwilling to support their warranty claims on another defective product (my Band 1)? I'm not in the habit of dropping money on products that are likely to fall apart during normal use. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

 

[Summer_Moon]

I believe your friend. I had two Band 1's. I beat up neither one and neither spent anytime in water. (unless you count sweat something it should be able to handle) the thing turned to crap. I never slammed into anything and it looks like garbage. So I switched to the Fitbit Charge HR. Does what I need from it and still looks great. Band uses faulty materials and they want too much for the quality of materials they use.

Well I do have to admit there may be some truth to the skin issue. Some people may have more of an effect on the metal used than others. Still I have seen the way he treats his electronics... it's not pretty and sometimes makes me cringe. So I would go for a 50/50 cause of misuse and skin affecting the metal that caused it to deteriorate.

My Band 1 never started looking bad until almost exactly a year after wearing it and at that point the black stuff on the sides started to flake off. The 1st Band wasn't really a consumer product anyways. It was an experiment and it obviously was a beta product. They might have been able to use slightly higher quality materials, but that's not what you were paying the price for. You were paying for the sensors inside of it and the chance to use a beta product. The Band 2 is a thousand times better and I immediately upgraded to it as soon as it came out, much better materials used on the Band 2.

 

[Summer_Moon]

I don't know what the percentage is, but the largest issue seems to be the band splitting. As I said in a previous post, MS wanted $130 to replace my Band 1 even though everything wrong with it are known issues and should all be covered by warranty. Why would I pay $130 for a replacement Band 1 when I can get a Band 2 for $175-200? And to that, why would I want to buy a product with known quality issues (Band 2) from a company unwilling to support their warranty claims on another defective product (my Band 1)? I'm not in the habit of dropping money on products that are likely to fall apart during normal use. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

I did look up the issue and I am not sure what is going on there. Perhaps it is just a bad batch, there's always a bad batch or two in every product during manufacture. Or perhaps people or just putting it on too tightly and it's stretching. Although during normal use I would not think that it would separate, so I'm leaning more towards the bad batch side.

I am not sure of your exact situation with the Band 1, but $130 may be appropriate for whatever was wrong with it. I would definitely go for the Band 2 though than to get the Band 1. Again I don't know your specific issue or what you marked the issue as before sending the Band 1 in, but they have never refused warranty service for anything I have sent. I don't think they are unwilling to support warranty claims, sounds more like a 1 off kind of thing to me.

And the Band 2 is most definitely not a defective product.... but to each their own. I'm not trying to convince you to buy a Band 2, that is entirely up to you. For me I have not had a problem with the band separating from the screen and I have had it since December. And if something does happen I will login into the site, request service, send the band in, and wait for them to repair it. Exactly as I did with the Band 1 and everything was honored as I would expect.

 

[buzzard75]

I am not sure of your exact situation with the Band 1, but $130 may be appropriate for whatever was wrong with it. I would definitely go for the Band 2 though than to get the Band 1. Again I don't know your specific issue or what you marked the issue as before sending the Band 1 in, but they have never refused warranty service for anything I have sent. I don't think they are unwilling to support warranty claims, sounds more like a 1 off kind of thing to me.

Corrosion on the charging port and optical sensor, battery cover coating completely peeled away, and battery cover separating from the band. I'm not an extremely active person (I don't go to the gym and workout or anything), I never wear it in the shower, and I take it off whenever I do any activity where it might get damaged (i.e. yard work, automotive maintenance, etc.) I've babied this thing and it's falling apart on me. I tried to get service on the website and I tried to explain it over the phone. They weren't willing to help me unless I paid for it, even though everything I've described is a known issue and documented. It's still in warranty for two more months.

 

[Summer_Moon]

Corrosion on the charging port and optical sensor, battery cover coating completely peeled away, and battery cover separating from the band. I'm not an extremely active person (I don't go to the gym and workout or anything), I never wear it in the shower, and I take it off whenever I do any activity where it might get damaged (i.e. yard work, automotive maintenance, etc.) I've babied this thing and it's falling apart on me. I tried to get service on the website and I tried to explain it over the phone. They weren't willing to help me unless I paid for it, even though everything I've described is a known issue and documented. It's still in warranty for two more months.

If I were you I would go to the site specific to request Band warranty service. Go through all of the prompts and mark it as GPS Connection doesn't work (or one of the other ones that does not force you to call the helpdesk number like Touch Screen Issue, Step Tracker Does Not Work, etc.). And then it should just drop down to the next box and just select Standard Warranty Exchange. I highly doubt they would deny the warranty request. You'll just send it in with the free shipping label and you should get a new one in return. I think I marked mine as battery would not charge (I was having issues with battery intermittently on my Band 1).

I would never ever try to actually talk to Microsoft, that's usually the least helpful route from them. Use all online dialog boxes (not chat, even less helpful than calling) and see what you get back. I would do it before your 2 months is up.

https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-band/en-us/support/service-order#

 

[Jazmac]

Well I do have to admit there may be some truth to the skin issue. Some people may have more of an effect on the metal used than others. Still I have seen the way he treats his electronics... it's not pretty and sometimes makes me cringe. So I would go for a 50/50 cause of misuse and skin affecting the metal that caused it to deteriorate.

My Band 1 never started looking bad until almost exactly a year after wearing it and at that point the black stuff on the sides started to flake off. The 1st Band wasn't really a consumer product anyways. It was an experiment and it obviously was a beta product. They might have been able to use slightly higher quality materials, but that's not what you were paying the price for. You were paying for the sensors inside of it and the chance to use a beta product. The Band 2 is a thousand times better and I immediately upgraded to it as soon as it came out, much better materials used on the Band 2.

That's really good news SummerMoon. Thanks for the good word.

 

[DroidUser42]

I wonder what this might mean: Microsoft quietly sold its stake in Caradigm health venture with GE

For a number of years, it seemed like healthcare was one of the vertical markets where Microsoft planned to play.

But it looks like Microsoft's current management has very different ideas about where and the extent to which Microsoft should be participating in the healthcare field.

GeekWire reported over the weekend that Microsoft has sold its 50 percent stake in Caradigm (an amalgamation of "paradigm" and "care") to GE Healthcare, its partner in that venture, for an undisclosed amount.

Soooo, where does this leave things like Band? They did keep HealthVault, but it sounds like upper management is grown cool toward health - or at least one area of it.

 

[luxnws]

I wonder what this might mean: Microsoft quietly sold its stake in Caradigm health venture with GE



Soooo, where does this leave things like Band? They did keep HealthVault, but it sounds like upper management is grown cool toward health - or at least one area of it.

Maybe the GE partnership wasn't enough of a cloud play. Microsoft is all about the cloud these days.

I think Band 3 or whatever they call it has to be an IoT device. If that's on the right track then a 2016 release isn't going to happen. If Band 3 turns out to be just an iteration of the Band/Band 2 firmware, that would be disappointing.

The more experienced fitness device companies are releasing new products that move the bar higher every 9-12 months. Realistically, Microsoft's strength is not as a consumer electronics company. If they aren't building their devices to showcase Win 10 IoT, you have to wonder why they would continue to keep at it.

 

[DroidUser42]

Microsoft is all about the cloud these days.

Take a look at Engadget when the Band was first announced. A number of reviewers were saying the same thing - that MS's real game was the back end. And it looked ripe with Google leaving the health records, and Apple being only for users of it's ecosystem. But 18 months later, it seems that vision has stalled. No one else has jumped in. Everyone is still pursuing their walled garden instead of joining forces. I'm wondering how long MS will go it alone.

 

[vistamaster]

Remember when the Band was launched? No announcements about it, and then suddenly you could order one... Just saying...

 

[vistamaster]

I'm not gentle with MB2, but I have never had a problem with it. I did have the MB1 replaced once because of the clasp. But that's why I bought the replacement plan too. 10% to guarantee a replacement for two years is cheap.