[Quick Impressions] Who Has Gotten Band 2?

[Darkgift]

I just picked up my Band 2 yesterday. Got it on sale at Bes Buy for $199.99 and I had a $50 Gift Card, so after tax, I snagged it for $163 and change. I love it. Way better than the first Gen, and I loved the first Gen. This version is slimmer, lighter, better screen, same familiar features, with a few new ones to boot. One happy camper, here.

 

[ACF1]

I just received my band 2 (medium) from Amazon last night. I paid $200. I have never used the band 1, only fitbit one. I really wanted to like this, I've been waiting for this since the band 1 was announced. As quick impression, I am highly disappointed, mainly for 2 reasons:

1) The Fit: I use it as a fitness band, not smartwatch. I wear it on my right hand facing down. It feels very uncomfortable, too rigid. Part of it, could be, I have never worn anything on my right wrist, so I'll give it a few days to see if I get somewhat comfortable wearing it. I have already spent a night with it, and it felt a little bothersome, I was always conscious it was there.

2) The step tracker: it seems to get stuck in a number and not count at all, unless my walk involves 20+ steps. I don't think it is a lemon as I see many people complaining about the same thing. I will do my best to keep it and try it as long as I can before the return period expires.

Additionally, it has logged 2 floors, and I haven't left my apartment.

I like all the other sensors. The screen is really good, the interface is super easy. But if they can't resolve #2, there is no reason for me to keep it. the floor counting seems to be a problem and I don't know about the accuracy of the heart rate monitor. I will compared to the Polar chest strap.

 

[Darkgift]

I just received my band 2 (medium) from Amazon last night. I paid $200. I have never used the band 1, only fitbit one. I really wanted to like this, I've been waiting for this since the band 1 was announced. As quick impression, I am highly disappointed, mainly for 2 reasons:

1) The Fit: I use it as a fitness band, not smartwatch. I wear it on my right hand facing down. It feels very uncomfortable, too rigid. Part of it, could be, I have never worn anything on my right wrist, so I'll give it a few days to see if I get somewhat comfortable wearing it. I have already spent a night with it, and it felt a little bothersome, I was always conscious it was there.

2) The step tracker: it seems to get stuck in a number and not count at all, unless my walk involves 20+ steps. I don't think it is a lemon as I see many people complaining about the same thing. I will do my best to keep it and try it as long as I can before the return period expires.

Additionally, it has logged 2 floors, and I haven't left my apartment.

I like all the other sensors. The screen is really good, the interface is super easy. But if they can't resolve #2, there is no reason for me to keep it. the floor counting seems to be a problem and I don't know about the accuracy of the heart rate monitor. I will compared to the Polar chest strap.

You should definitely pit it on the wrist you normally wear your watch. I never wear anything on my right. Always my left. That's totally why it feels uncomfortable to you. As for the counter and elevation sensors, mine work flawlessly. Try resetting it. See if that helps.

 

[Jan Strijk]

Hestitated a while before buying the Band 2. I was afraid it was to clumpsy. I took a risk and ordered it. I'm absolutly happy with the size and comfort. I like the comfort better than my Fitibit Charge HR.

 

[runner7395]

Hestitated a while before buying the Band 2. I was afraid it was to clumpsy. I took a risk and ordered it. I'm absolutly happy with the size and comfort. I like the comfort better than my Fitibit Charge HR.

I'm coming from the Fitbit HR too and totally agree with you it's more comfortable. I'm really surprised because when I first picked it up I thought there's no way because it was so much bigger but I don't even notice it on my wrist.

 

[Richard_Indy]

My Wife surprised me with the Band2 for Christmas. First thing I had to try was the music controls. I can't wait to try it out while jogging. Jogging and trying to pull my WP out of my pocket to adjust/change the music was not something that I enjoyed. Tue fit and finish seems excellent. Setting up Tue Band2 wasn't the smoothest process but I got it done.

 

[Nova01]

Got my Band 2 for Christmas and paired it with my Lumia 950. Seems great so far, but notifications are NOT working on the Band. I get email notifications, but nothing else. No Cortana, no text, no Facebook. I've already checked all settings (battery saver, device management, Health app, etc...) and I can't get any of these to work. Any suggestions?

 

[SunToucher]

My wife gave me the Band 2 for Christmas as well. I've paired it with my 950XL and thus far everything is functioning well, that I've tried. I'm getting notification of all sorts. I'm running the Insider preview with the latest updates.

 

[vEEP pEEP]

Me! I got one!!!!
To early to tell you about it because it's charging....

 

[SunMan]

I love it!

I love that tracks my sleep a lot. It has really opened my eyes to how much I sleep on average and what its like. I will also say that as someone out to lose some weight, I can definitely see why they tell you to sleep. When I sleep longer, I can burn about 1000cals. Sometimes I workout before bed and if I burn 6-800cals then and sleep, that's a killer combo.

I love how it tracks my workouts. I try to get better each time. So far, ive burned more cals each workout and increased my heart rate. I'm excited each time to workout and let the band record. I love that it also times the workouts. I always shoot for an efficient yet powerful, 45-50 mins.

Havent tried it with running or walking yet. I was a little confused as to how I burned more cals by walking daily vs doing strength training of some sort.

 

[Adgraphics]

Waited most of the day today and finally my Band 2 arrived. I'm more of a mac guy so I was a little skeptical about getting a windows device, but I have had a fitbit before and want to wait for the next generation apple watch and when the price went down I decided to go for it. I'm grateful to this forum and a bunch of web searches, as there is no way anyone that just opens the box and reads the few pages of instructions would have a clue as to how to get the best use out of this device.

I ordered the large as my wrist is typically around 7.25-7.5" depending on the weather/humidity etc, and it seems to fit fine though of course there is that big gap caused by the clasp.. The strap to me is comfortable, and I had worn a different device after the fitbit also on the inside of my right wrist and found it to be comfortable so that is what I will try with this. I'm hopeful that the Cortana app for the iPhone will soon allow for voice control on the band like it does with a windows phone.

I also was surprised when I turned the brightness to auto how dim it was, and now have to figure out how to change that so it's bright enough during the day when I am driving or outside as I am most of the time. Since I got it to help track my walking and bike rides mostly, I'll see over the next week how that does... Will also see if any of the golf courses I play at are available to use with the GPS and try that as well.

Sorry this is not a short impression... and hope everyone is having a great holiday. Thanks for the insights and tips..

Barry

 

[hdtvchris]

Received my Band 2 for Christmas. The Band 2 is my first "smart watch/ fitness tracker", so I have no previous experiences with other devices. I was close to purchasing the B1, but Im not a fan of purchasing 1st Gen anything. I primarily purchased B2 for smart watch integration with my Win Phone but I have been playing around with the fitness side of the B2 and I like it so far. Im most excited about the Golf app, and hope to get out on the course with the B2 soon.
Comfort is the one thing Im getting used to. The B2 is a bit heaver than my normal watches. I think I need to give the B2 a few days before I don't notice it on my wrist. I don't normally wear my watches on the inside of my wrist but I find wearing the B2 on the outside to be clunky for reading the display. Perhaps a future update could turn the text/ tiles into portrait mode.

I taking the family to the zoo today and Band 2 will be in tow....

 

[Mark de Vries]

Last week my Band 2 arrived from the USA, bought it via eBay as it still is not available over here in The Netherlands) and must admit I am impressed by it on most points. I owe several of the "usual" suspects: fitbit charge HR, Garmin Vivosmart HR, MOOV2 as well as a MioFuse. The Band 2 for sure has the best X factor of the lot. I think the screen is marvellous as is the band itself. It is much flatter than I expected it to be and I love that. On the down side, the clasp side is something I do not get: it is way too bulky, the band can not flush fit around your wrist because it leaves gaps on both sides and I just can not get a comfy feeling although I must admit I get used to it. But still, that bulky clasp part is something that could do from a rethinking. The vivosmart hr for instance has a thicker screen unit but a very, very comfy strap.
I am amazed by the screen of the Band 2: it's curved, has a high class feeling, crisp, and easy to read. Almost too nice for use as a fitness device...;-) The colors are very vivid. Two buttons of which one is only there to activate the screen. Personally, I would love to see double tapping the screen to wake it and skip one button: seems more intuitive. I am not sure why MS seems to advocate wearing the band upside down besides that I find reading the screen far more easy with the screen on the inside of the wrist. In contrast to all the above mentioned trackers, the heart rate (HR) sensor will then be on the inside of the wrist whereas all the others seem to advocate the outside of the wrist as the preferred location of the sensor.
Speaking of sensors: I am impressed by the variety of those inside the band. Stepcounting, barometer, UV meter, skin moisture (?) etc. The Band for sure has a lot of potential there.
* There is a lot of discussion about stepcounting. Some say the band is underestimating the stepcount. I really have no clue on that one. Comparing all above mentioned devices there is a huge range between them. The Mio has the lowest, the Fitbit the higest, and the Band 2, MOOV and Garmin somewhere in between. I tend to think that the Band and Garmin proably will be close the real count but then again, I never tested this with a foodpod or something similar. What could be an improvement: taking your steplength into account, as Garmin does.
* Battery. With normal use I manage to squeeze just two days out of it and that is short ..... almost too short. Garmin, fitbit and moov do much better on that point. It should be better. A battery saver could be a solution but that would mean loosing some of the sensor info. There are ways to deal with it though. I connect it to its when I am in the bath or shower for instance but you need to get accustomed to that.
* Waterproof. This is a tricky thing, I know, but being able to wear the Band 2 in the shower or with a swim would be great. Not a huge issue but that is a great plus for the vivosmartHR.
*Sleep registration & heartrate monitoring. Like stepcounting, something that has a great variation between the devices. No clue which is closest to the reality. Only the Mio Fuse comes almost on par with a chest strap HRM and my primary use for the Fuse is just for that: recording HR during running. How the other devices, incl the Band2 perform ? No clue. Most will perform pretty well over all but only the Mio will catch up with sudden (burst) HR changes as quick as the chest strap. None of the other catch up as fast so will not give a correct pulse during intervals for instance. At least I do not count on them for that. It would be great. I have no experience with the sleep quality info other than that the falling asleep time and wake up time are pretty accurate in auto modus. I like the smart alarm feature which seems a pretty logical thing.
*GPS. As I wear the band 2 also as a fitness device, I have it on my wrist whilst running. However, after turning on GPS it takes just too long for the Band to lock on the satelite. Garmin is the fastest. Not sure if this could be improved by just a software update of needs some hardware upgrades ? Other than that, once up and running the GPS never losses contact and recordings are on par with my Garmin 920xt (which I use as main sports device)
As for apps, notifications: I like it as it is just for now. If I get a notification on my Band, I glance at it and if I think it is important enough I just grab my phone which is always within bluetooth range to respond. I found two apps to change the look and feel of my Band a bit which is just fine for me. I agree though that cross platform apps would be great with the addition of Band specific tiles. It can only get better !
A remark on the social aspect. It would be nice to see some (optional) social additions to the Health App, like Fitbit has. On the other hand, here on WPC was a mentioning of inkin.com. Seems you can couple your fitbit, garmin as well as band to that so there is way to compete. Just signed up so will need some time to find out what it is.
Part of this I also wrote in response to another post, not sure if that is allowed. I will testdrive the Band 2 for the next month and write a more in-depth review by then. Thusfar I am pretty impressed by the possibilities of the Band 2 and love mine. I am very happy I bought it despite paying a bit more because of import duties.

 

[HomeBound12]

I'm one of the folks who switched from Android wear (sony smartwatch 3) to Microsoft Band 2.

Initially I was impressed with apps and watchfaces of android wear.
But when the honey moon was over I had a list of what I wanted my smartwatch to do.
(Plus I tried just about any app that I can think of and I could not find a single usefull app on Android Wear that's good to have on the watch that Microsoft Band 2 does not have. Yes I tried them all.
But every time I find great app it turns out that it's faster and more convinent to do that on a phone.
So for me, microsoft band 2 has a perfect app list... absolutely nothing is missing that I can think of...)

Long and behold it would appear that Microsoft has listened to me and has delivered literary everything that I asked for.
So when price dropped during the holiday (it was 330 in canada but I got it on 80 bucks off sale so 250 CAD) it was instant purchase.
I almost grabbed VivoSmart HR but it's screen was almost impossible to read in certain light conditions plus I was not happy with the interface in general (however price of 200 CAD made it attractive proposition).

So I grabbed Band 2.

Now I work on plastic covered desk all the time so I'm wearing band on outside of wrist.
Battery life is at 2 days (I can stretch it to 3 days if I turn some features off but 2 days is really all I need).

Very happy campter. Microsoft has trully delivered a perfect smartwatch for me.

The only thing that I would change is brightness when reading time (after flipping wrist). I wish it was brighter.
Also, it's a bit anoying to have to press the button to "wake" band even after screen is on when you're checking time.

These are really minor things. As far as I'm concerned Microsoft has really nailed it here. Well done.

SIDENOTE:
Clasp is already scratch central due to the way I type on the keyboard but that does not bother me. I call it "proud battle scars".

 

[Multispeed]

Would love to get one but unfortunately there's no size that fits my wrist. :asleep:

And it's not available at my country anyway.

 

[rlbeetle]

I have had my Band 2 for about three weeks. I did not have the first Band to compare to but the Band 2 is very comfortable to wear. I was able to get a few bike rides in during a warm spell and the bike app worked great. During the rides I also used the Map My Ride app on my phone while wearing a chest heart monitor. The Band 2 heart rate was fairly close to the chest monitor. I also like getting the notifications on the Band 2. My only complaint is the step count reads low compared to my Fitbit. From what I have read online is your have to swing your arm for the Band 2 to count steps. Overall I am satisfied with the Band 2.

 

[Quilt1520]

I brought my Band 2 from Best Buy back on the 3rd. Got an extra charge cable and screen protector. The next day, I had a business meeting and was near a Microsoft store and picked up the charging stand after work. I tried on a Band 1 before 2 was announced. Glad I waited. The fit is much better.

Used the Pimp my Band app to "pimp my band" with my logo.

I also just upgraded my unlocked 1520 to W10. Had to uninstall / reinstall Microsoft Health because I wasn't receiving any notifications after the update. (Thanks WC forums).

That being said, it's running fine. I like not having to pull out my phone to check messages. I can respond to text with the keyboard or Cortana. I like having the extra alarm besides the ones I have on my phone in case I oversleep.

Besides my wife, I am the only one with a Windows phone and Band in my circle of friends and coworkers. I get lots of "what phone is that?" and "what's that you're wearing?". Feels nice being different. Miss the days when MS was top dog though.

 

[RoarinRow]

Got it 2 days ago. Coming from a Fitbit Charge. I have a L640 Win10 Technical Preview.

Likes:

• Screen ok except outdoors I have to squint a little
• All sensors and notifications are good
• Custom backgrounds and colors are nice
• Comfort and light weight
• Fit and finish

Dislikes:

• 2 Day battery life, but acceptable considering all sensors and all day HR monitoring
• Notification to watch not instantaneous. A second or two behind phone alert/notification
• Hepatic vibration not strong enough, even at High setting
• Only 9 or so apps available to show on screen minus defaults ones

Wish List:

• When a call comes in that I could swipe to answer, not only dismiss
• Quiet time on when notifications can come through like the phone
• That only VIP emails come through, not all including VIPS. When I click on just email from VIP, then all emails also gets selected. Bug?
• That when I ask Cortana a question, the response also shows up on the Band and not just the phone
• More 3rd party apps
• Better and more frequent metrics for all sensors, not just hourly
• Wish battery showed in percentage not just icon of battery and there should be a warning through phone

 

[xxgabbayxx]

I just received my band 2 (medium) from Amazon last night. I paid $200. I have never used the band 1, only fitbit one. I really wanted to like this, I've been waiting for this since the band 1 was announced. As quick impression, I am highly disappointed, mainly for 2 reasons:

1) The Fit: I use it as a fitness band, not smartwatch. I wear it on my right hand facing down. It feels very uncomfortable, too rigid. Part of it, could be, I have never worn anything on my right wrist, so I'll give it a few days to see if I get somewhat comfortable wearing it. I have already spent a night with it, and it felt a little bothersome, I was always conscious it was there.

2) The step tracker: it seems to get stuck in a number and not count at all, unless my walk involves 20+ steps. I don't think it is a lemon as I see many people complaining about the same thing. I will do my best to keep it and try it as long as I can before the return period expires.

Additionally, it has logged 2 floors, and I haven't left my apartment.

I like all the other sensors. The screen is really good, the interface is super easy. But if they can't resolve #2, there is no reason for me to keep it. the floor counting seems to be a problem and I don't know about the accuracy of the heart rate monitor. I will compared to the Polar chest strap.

Just an FYI the stair counter doesn't mean you were physically walking flights of stairs lol. It estimates an amount of flights based on the amounts of steps you have taken.

 

[TeknoBlast]

I've been wanting a Band since the first one, but the design of the first one turned me off from it. When the Band 2 was announced and saw the new design, I knew I wanted one. Took me a while to get it but finally did from another board member here.

I like everything about the Band 2, the design, the apps, and the data it collects.

The only issue I have has nothing to do with the product or software. The issue is Microsoft not partnered up with VirginPulse. I gain health funds from my insurance whenever I meet a certain step goal. However, I have to use either a FitBit or some other recommended health band. The Fitbit has been great for me, but love to see what information the Band 2 offers.

So right now, I have to keep using my FitBit so VirginPulse can pull in the step data.