Microsoft Band Forums are Live!!

[VickiFL]

I agree. (I have a screen protector) I am a little worried about the battery. There is even a disclaimer on the box as follows:

"Battery has limited recharge cycles, and cannot be replaced."

http://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-band/en-us/support/hardware/battery-and-charging

It makes me wonder if we should be letting our Bands battery drain completely before charging. Are we losing battery life if we charge it daily, when it's only down to, say, 50%? The tech at the Microsoft store told me to charge it daily, but now I wonder.

 

[sharpuser]

Yes, Microsoft Band has "1,000 complete recharge cycles, and cannot be replaced"
So suppose you completely drain, then charge the battery every day for three years? That would be when the battery falls under some kind of spec.
That's why I'm not worried about it.

By the way, though Microsoft does not have any postings about it, many experts put the Surface Pro 3 battery at 900 - 1200 cycles. Apple rates the iPad Air battery at 800 cycles .

I charge every couple of days. Only twice in the last month did my Band tell me it was hungry.

Again, not worried.

 

[VickiFL]

Yes, Microsoft Band has "1,000 complete recharge cycles, and cannot be replaced"
So suppose you completely drain, then charge the battery every day for three years? That would be when the battery falls under some kind of spec.
That's why I'm not worried about it.

By the way, though Microsoft does not have any postings about it, many experts put the Surface Pro 3 battery at 900 - 1200 cycles. Apple rates the iPad Air battery at 800 cycles .

I charge every couple of days. Only twice in the last month did my Band tell me it was hungry.

Again, not worried.

Do you use it with Watch Mode on? I thought about using Airplane Mode because it only needs Bluetooth when it needs to sync data to my Lumia, once or twice a day.

I'm not getting as much life from my battery as you. It could be that I run the Daily Heart Rate all the time to help calculate the calories I burn.

 

[sharpuser]

I do not use "Watch Mode" very often. It is a battery drain, because it continuously shows the time. Use that only when you need to watch the watch!

I do use the Heart Rate setting on all the time.

Also, there is no need to manually sync to your phone very often. This also is a battery drain every time you do it.

 

[VickiFL]

I do not use "Watch Mode" very often. It is a battery drain, because it continuously shows the time. Use that only when you need to watch the watch!

I do use the Heart Rate setting on all the time.

Also, there is no need to manually sync to your phone very often. This also is a battery drain every time you do it.

Ok, thank you. I'm still getting used to my Band. I've already made some changes, after making sure I had a 100% charge. I'm curious to see how battery life will be affected. This device is so new, I feel like a beta tester. LOL

 

[fuzzy2651]

I use watch mode and because of my charging routine, it doesn't make much of a difference. I like not having to press a button to see the time. Having a "gesture" like flicking my wrist to show the time would be cool though.

We are kinda beta testers as the Band is a proof of concept device as well as a consumer product. Just like the original Surface was full of cool stuff and features, it was a little rough around the edges. It got better with v2, and they hit the Pro 3 out of the park. I love my Band now, I can't wait to see what Band 2 has in store. This is coming from a guy who had an original "brick" Zune haha

 

[VickiFL]

I decided to turn off Watch Mode, and I turned on Airplane Mode while I was sleeping last night. I think I'll be able to hit the 48 hour mark with this method, but we'll see.

 

[VickiFL]

I have completed my battery testing for my band.

I had continuous heart monitoring turned on the whole time. I decided to stay away from Airplane Mode, however. It gave me wifi Bluetooth connectivity problems. Keeping Watch Mode OFF seemed to be the most helpful in saving battery power. I was able to go 2 days without charging, and was still at 50%, but decided to give it a charge anyway. I really need to just let it go and see how many days I can get. I'm happy I will not be charging my Band daily any longer.

Thank you for all the suggestions.

 

[sharpuser]

Awesomeness, @VickiFL
It is my favorite 'band'.

 

[VickiFL]

Since my changes in how I use the band, I can now go more than 2 days between charges! Turning off Watch Mode helped a lot. Even after 2 days, my Band is only at 50%, but I charge it anyway. I guess because I'm afraid it will die overnight on the 3rd night.

 

[sharpuser]

Hope it lasts through all nine of your lives.