Customer Ratings & Reviews

I read hundreds of comparisons, reviews, and tech articles before heading to Best Buy for an activity / health tracker. Heart rate, running distances, & sleep monitoring were my "needs". I had narrowed my choices to Garmin Vivosmart HR, Microsoft Band 2, & Jawbone UP3. Hubby immediately talked me out of the Jawbone for the lack of display. When running, pulling my phone out of my running belt to check my heart rate would be awkward at best & the death of my phone at worst. Good point, instantly narrowed to the 2 with displays. Cranky kids were quickly getting crankier so we bought both. I loved the look & fit of the Garmin plus it had all the features I wanted and several other nifty tricks but that's where my love story ends. I really wanted it to last forever but it just wasn't meant to be. The Garmin was not easy to pair & configure with my Note 3 (though on paper, they are compatible). Eventually I got it to work & started testing it out. It didn't take long to realize new text alerts were displaying but I couldn't read them (not by design - was not functioning properly). Hubby & I are both in IT so we're no strangers to figuring out how to make geek-stuff work. We fiddled with various settings for about 30 minutes & in that time, we were prompted to verify security the pin & re-pair my phone no less than 5 times. The brightness never got bright enough for my old, tired eyes to clearly see without squinting... not even inside a dark room. Meanwhile, on my other wrist was the Microsoft Band 2. The Band paired in about 60 seconds flat without blinking an eye. It worked flawlessly without any tweaking any settings, the display was clear, bright & easy to read under bright & dark conditions, and it never dropped the connection to my phone. Not even once. The Band 2 was less *cute* & slightly more bulky but the Garmin went back into the box & back to the store. We exchanged the Garmin for another Microsoft Band 2 to upgrade the hubby's old Samsung Gear. My final advice - if your wrist size falls between 2 sizes, go for the smaller size. The estimator band on the store display hit right on the line between small & medium. Medium fit but on smallest setting. When I went running (sweating), I had to scoot the Band up my forearm to keep it snug. It kept slipping back down & losing the lock on my heart rate. Bought hubby a small & swapped him for my medium.

This has replaced my polar heart rate monitor & watch. Almost as accurate, but also has GPS, altimeter for stairs etc. Its a little bulky, but it is worth it for all the features it has. the curved glass is great, it syncs great with myfitnesspal so again great for tracking exercise, meals/calories, steps, miles run and more. If it was a little thinner and displayed more of my emails I would give it 5 starts. Great value for the $$.

Coming from the original MS Band, this is a major improvement. Nice vibrant screen, much more comfortable, and charging is much improved. However, there are annoying quirks. While I've read of issues with the strap tearing and some physical problems, most of the limitations I've personally seen are software related, tied to the ongoing development of Windows 10 mobile (which I have this Band paired to). For instance, notifications for email, texts and calls are great, but responding via the on-band keyboard is spotty with regards to connecting. The running tracking with in-Band GPS is fantastic, but getting a GPS lock is erratic, sometimes taking a few minutes, other times close to instantaneous. Until a recent update to the Win10 software, battery life was horrible (6-12 hours) due to unnecessary chatter with Microsoft Health, however that's now fixed and I get 24-36 hours/charge, depending on use. I'm a heavy user of the guided workouts, but twice I needed to factory-reset to alleviate issues with calorie tracking going dark. For the price, it's overall a good product, but I'd wager that improvements in Windows 10 will yield additional stability, and further bet that the 3rd Band iteration will close a lot of the design flaws.

When searching for a smartwatch I knew I wanted a heart rate monitor and GPS tracker included. This has both of those as well as all the other features you would expect with a smartwatch. The GPS isn't perfect and there aren't many apps that work with it. However, I really like being able to read and reply to texts without pulling my phone out. I also like the Microsoft Health suite that works with it. I enjoy this watch!

I really like the band I bought. I tried a Fitbit first, but like the extra functions that the Band has. I have been using it more as a smart watch though. The heart rate feature works great, and it is comfortable to wear. The band is susceptible to scratches, and sometimes it seems like it doesn't sync with my phone. I like this and would recommend it.

This is my second Microsoft Band. The previous version was good and I used it every day for 8 months, but the band was a bit clunky and the charge contact area had corroded a bit. The previous version also required a screen protector (I used two over that time period). The new band 2 does everything right. It is smaller and lays flat so I can wear it under the cuff of a dress shirt. It has Gorilla glass so I do not have to deal with screen protectors. It has better sensors and a more solid charge connector. Because of recent software updates, I can now get on my bicycle, ride, and the watch's GPS tracker uses a power saving mode and it has auto-pause. When I stop at a red light, the counter stops. The Band 2 also measures elevation during a ride. Since I live in Washington Heights, the highest point in Manhattan, the built-in barometer-sensor is not entirely meaningless. I am equally enthusiastic about the Band as a running tracker. With the Microsoft Health app I am able to review distance, splits, and heart rate. I love to walk and I am able to track daily/monthly distances and pace. In terms of a phone companion, the watch tells me when I get a phone call, a text, Whatsapp message or anything set up to alert me. Discreetly glancing at my watch, I am able to decide whether to get my phone out or not in the social setting I am in. The built-in timer/stopwatch is great for keeping track of laundry progress or for accurate long exposures with my camera. In summary, the Band 2 is a fantastic product that meets more of my requirements than any competing product. Inclusion of a GPS tracker, missing from Apple Watches, was another deciding factor. And the price is very competitive. And if a particular functionality is missing, I can always download the Band SDK and create my own tile. On a recent trip to Europe the bicycling and running functions worked flawlessly as well. The snail that popped up during long conversations with friends and family exhorting me to work out was greeted with "next time it pops up we put it in the oven with garlic butter"

Pricewise this is better than fitbit as you get a fitness tracker band and somewhat a smart watch together. It has a good display with good interface. Steps and floor count accuracy is not as good as Fitbit's (I used Fitbit HR before) but its not bad as well. Only a little less accurate than Fitbit. Battery lasts a day and its not waterproof but that's pretty standard for all fitness trackers. I used Mi band and for $15 that is far better value for money than all these pricey fitness bands.

I had band 1 and loved it so I bought the band 2. The band 2 is much more improved as far as design and comfort. I admit the band 1 wasn't that comfortable and it was something you had to get used to. With band 2, it was comfortable from the start. All the notifications are still there as in band 1 so thats great. The screen is a bit bigger though which I love. Some people complain that its a big too big but for a bigger guy, its perfect. There have been complaints of inaccurate step counting which is normal in my opinion. The band 1 suffered the same thing. At the end of the day, in my opinion, the total count is looks to be near where it should be. Every fitness tracker has the flaws with step counting, I've researched all other trackers before going with band 2. If the band 2 has motivated you to get healthier, then its done its job and then some. I definitely recommend!!

As a user of the Microsoft Band v1 I can proudly say that Microsoft did a fantastic job with the redesign of v2. It is infinitely more comfortable. And for us runners, they fixed all of the glitches that would plague us during a run (i.e. runs stopping for no reason, stopping a run by accidentally brushing against the display, etc.). Also, you can utilize many different screens and customize it to one's needs. I'm not a cyclist, but my cyclist friends report that the cycling feature is awesome as well. If you are an Apple iPhone user, the Microsoft Health app works flawlessly. If you are a Windows Phone user, such as myself, it works flawlessly. The Starbucks app works great too. Many a barista asks me what the heck is that when I pay with my wrist LOL. My only knock on it is the sleep feature seems to not register deep sleep as accurately as v1 did. v2 seems to have some issues with recognizing deep/restful sleep. Otherwise, I would have given this 5/5 stars. I would not let this detract you from purchasing this device as this can easily be fixed via a future firmware release.

I had a Fitbit and this has been a much better purchase. It's more advanced and I believe more accurate with steps taken. It's been a much better motivator and I like a lot of the features. Two things I would change so far are the battery life. I have to plug it in daily, which has worked out ok, but would be nicer to have a couple day charge. As well, I'd like to be able to rename the tiles, or have a few more options that apply to me and my lifestyle.

So I love the new band vs the old one. Display is great and functions are perfect for fitness and also crosses over to information for cell phone for email, alerts, texts and other things. Yes Microsoft is always the last to get apps and have people integrate programs with them but you can wear this band comfortably and still have your favorite watch on your other arm. This is what I love about it. Works well without the cell phone with built in GPS and I think it is gaining popularity with other as seeing apps integrating and can't wait for them to really take ahold of this market with Microsoft Vault.Have recommend this to 3 other friends who all have bought it and are using everyday for over a month an love it. The left Garmin, Fitbit and IWatch to join me and all say they love it.

Awesome band, has a glance option for the watch, or leave it on constant. tracks sleep, steps, calories, weight, various workouts (Strength, bike, run, various courses, etc. Also receive email, txt (and you can reply via band) calls, calendar, facebook, notifications from your phone. Control your music on your phone via Bluetooth, get weather and UV notifications, maps local golf course, distance to pin, hole distance, etc. Load your Starbucks card to pay via band. Lots more. Lasts about 2-3 days on a full charge.

This is a great band for all-around usage. Pairing it with an Android phone leaves a few things to be desired; for instance, using the Hangouts app for texts will only show up on the band as a notification, leaving the on-device keyboard pointless. From an exercise/health perspective, the reports available on the phone or website are concise, though as a result, lack really detailed data. Great form, function, and looks otherwise.

I bought the band because I wanted a gps watch for running. I wanted a heart rate monitor without a chest strap and I wanted something that would sync easily with my fitness pal and map my fitness. The band syncs very nicely with both. I tried several different activity trackers before deciding on the band. I've had my band for about a month now and while I like it okay, I'm not sure I'd purchase another one. It runs big. I am 130 pds and I wish I had got the small. Also, not thrilled about the accuracy, but I think overall it's okay. The stats are really cool and I like knowing how far I've run which is what I mostly use it for now.I don't trust the actual heart rate reading or calories burned. Also, the battery sucks, especially if you use the gps feature.

My best friend had the first Band, then he bought the Band2. He raved about it. I wanted an activity tracker I could wear, not just use a phone app. I wanted a sleep tracker, as well. The interface isn't that great. I'd love to just be able to see my heart rate when exercising, but no, one has to punch and slide through a menu to get there. Reading the watch means flicking ones wrist up, to see a basic digital time. In daylight, it's not easy to read. The heart rate rarely locks on, a frustration when one has been exercising, stops to check the HR and after monkeying with the menu, it displays "65" - obviously not tracking. It takes upward of a minute for it to "decide" to try to lock on to the HR, finally displaying "locked", but still showing "65" for a while before it will pop up to "132", or what ever it determines. I guess I expected more, thus the three star score. It is comfortable and the sleep tracking is valuable. But the "syncing", when I open my iOS app, takes over 2 minutes. 2 seconds, I get, but 2 minutes+ just seems wrong. There can't be that much data. Call it a work in progress. I hope firmware updates fix some of the performance issues. It's such a promising platform.

I purchased a MS band for my wife and I. We love all the cool features. HR monitor, read text messages, accept/deny phone calls, access to cardio routines, HR Zones etc. Even though its MS It has seem-less integration with my iphone 6. There are downsides though. My band (large) seems inaccurate. I run a lot on the treadmill and it is often off from what the treadmill says. When I do 4 or 5 miles it becomes really off. Like I ran an extra mile off! My Nike band use to let me make manual adjustments and I haven't figured out yet how to do that on this band. If you run outside its a little more accurate because it has a GPS, but the GPS uses a ton of battery so after a few miles your band is dead. However, walking and elevation is very accurate. Overall, I love this thing. I've just learned to compensate on the running side by going with the treadmill reading. All the other features are well worth it!

After several months with the Microsoft Band 2, I can report that it's overall a very compelling device, especially for the fitness lover. Not a full-featured smartwatch, but it has enough functionality to be compelling (notifications). The biggest let down is battery life - if you aren't good about charging devices, this will die on you. Pros - Sleek screen and overall design (a bit awkward at first, but fits well once adjusted - HIGHLY recommend you wear it with the screen facing inwards, on the inside of the wrist - it's much easier to read that way) - Great features - Accurate heart rate - Good GPS - Ability to track multiple activities Cons - Poor battery life - on this note, mine started to die after mere hours with no warning, so I am sending it in for service... - Not very full-featured as a smart watch, definitely a fitness device - Ok mobile app (but great desktop app - lots of good insights)

I did want a fitness Band that could read heart rate. The Microsoft Band looked to me the best. The features are great specially I like the sleep monitoring heart monitoring feature. I will use this Band also for bicycling, again the combination of the heart rate and GPS location features are great. Another very good feature is message notifications, and even the ability to read messages on the band. Email, Text messages work, I was not able to get messages from WhatsApp on the Band yet but am convinced this will happen, if it is not a setup issue on my end. The Band also has a microphone and I did see the Volvo commercial to starts a car using the Microsoft Band. I think this is a very good example that Microsoft as a company will add features over time. Would be nice to control home lighting or other appliances and integration with XBOX fitness etc.

This would be my first smartwatch that I have had, never used the Fitbit but I heard that the Fitbit was pretty good overall but I prefer the Microsoft Band's interface since it is easier to swipe and use than the Fitbit. Some flaws would be that it is still updating with other features that should have already been built into it, such as the GPS Power Saver, Auto Pause for Fitness, Music Controls, Microsoft Health app Live Tile, and other features that it would be missing. It'd be a shame if Microsoft would come out with the Microsoft Band 3 after making all of the appropriate features for the Band 2, hopefully they postpone their release for Band 3 and stick with Band 2 for quite some time. Another feature this band should have is that it should be waterproof for swimming fitness, I don't swim a lot but it would be nice to have when I actually do go swimming to track my cardio fitness within the water. This smartwatch is pretty useful for checking up updates without having to look at your smartphone for notifications immediately, such as e-mails, text messages, Cortana updates for News, Finance/Stock market watching, and seeing who is currently calling without having to pull out your smartphone to see who it is while you're busy with something hands-on.

This device is great. The battery lasts approximately 36 hours with heavy use. The ability to reply to texts, see emails, is a great addition to the fitness tracker. The fitness side is beyond great. Combined with the windows phone makes this device a great companion for fitness. It tracks hour run, heart beat and uv. Cortana integration is great. The ability to activate it and set a appointment with out pulling out my phone is a great convenience. The music control addition is pretty cool though id prefer the ability to load a few songs and play direct from watch as I still use a Zune and not phone for exercising. Overall a great product that has great potential.