After receiving my Band (a look at retail packaging HERE and a look at hardware HERE) and taking it through its first day of fitness and sleep activities, I’ve found a few bugs. I’m sure there will be plenty of bugs exposed over time, most of which Microsoft can provide fixes through software and firmware updates. But, I thought it’d be nice to keep a tally of the bugs found. None of these are reasons not to purchase Band v2, but are worth knowing about.
-
Kcal to mile calculation is off. Total calorie burn will differ between body types, different weights, effort, etc., however, you can generally count on around 100 calories burned per each mile you walk/run. Biking, of course, is a bit different because the effort isn’t as great since you’re using mechanics and it has less impact on the body. In my testing, what normally burned over 600 kcals (over 6 miles running) with Band v1, the same distance and effort burned around 500 kcals. This can be fixed with a software update.
-
Battery life. Band v2 seems to chew through battery much quicker than Band v1. Band v1 users will remember a firmware update earlier this year that improved battery life immensely. Band v2 needs a similar fix. A simple sleep tracking session took the Band v2 battery down to 50%. A sleep session with Band v1 would barely dip the battery below 90%. Granted, I used the new Sleep Smart Alarm function and that could have something to do with extra battery soak. I'll be testing the difference tonight to verify if the Smart Alarm function could have something to do with it. This can be fixed with a software update.
-
Run pace gets frozen. When I run, I constantly check my split pace to make sure I’m on track and that I’m working hard enough. It’s a real-time counter that I’ve grown accustomed to using. However, with Band v2, this real-time value gets frozen. During my first run with Band v2, even though I purposely sped up to test, the real-time pace value never changed. Band v2 eventually told me that I had completed a 7.30 split, but the Band v2 real-time pace value never budged off of 8.12. This can be fixed with a software update.
Interestingly, none of these bugs were exposed by those to which Microsoft chose to deliver pre-launch evaluation devices – even though they had a little over two weeks to test. My tests identified bugs the first day. That’s not to say that I’m better at finding bugs, just that I tested Band v2 for what it is truly meant to be – a fitness tracking device. I could care less about Band v2 as a fashion device, though that is much improved.
I’ll report more as I find them. I run quite a bit, so most of my bug finds will be in that area. I know a lot of you that use the Band for biking. So, if you’re a biker, make sure to take special notice of bugs for that activity and let me know what you find.
Found a bugs yourself? Drop me a note in the comments or on Twitter (@rodtrent) and I’ll add them to the list.
