Microsoft Band Tip: Even Quicker GPS Lock

About a month ago I gave you a tip that was supplied to me that helps the Microsoft Band connect to GPS satellites quicker. And, while this is still a great tip and works great, I’ve found another way to ensure a fast connection. The previous tip required that your smartphone be close by and the Microsoft Health app was running in the background. Essentially, the Microsoft Band would use the smartphone connection to boost its GPS connection capability.

A couple weeks back I tested and reviewed a pair of Pyle Flextreme MP3 player headphones. This enabled me to leave my smartphone at home or in a hotel room when out running, since prior to the headphones I was using my smartphone to pump music into my ears over Bluetooth. This week, I’m at a conference near the Mall of America in Minnesota and testing another pair of MP4 headphones, this time from Sony. So far, the Sony Walkman headphones have proved even better than the ones from Pyle. I’ll have a full review posted next week – so stay tuned.

One thing I noticed while testing the Pyle device was that my Microsoft Band 2 connected much quicker than when I had my smartphone at hand. I thought it might be a fluke but after a firmware update (which erases cached GPS locations) while traveling and running several times already in a different geographical region I’ve found that it continues to lock GPS at an incredibly fast clip. Each connection takes less than a minute.

It’s almost as if the Microsoft Band times out if the paired smartphone is near, but when it can’t locate the smartphone connection it goes directly to triangulation.

Try it out yourself and let me know if you experience the same. Obviously, if you use your smartphone to stream music, the earlier tip will probably be your best bet.