Permanent Fix for the Bluetooth Activity Bug for the Microsoft Band

I accidentally happened upon a permanent fix for the reported Activity bug last night and today and wanted to share. The fix is not out of the ordinary, but surprising and an easy repair.

If you're not privy to the supposed bug, after last week's firmware update the Run activity would pause automatically between 20 and 25 minutes anytime Bluetooth was enabled for the band. After working with Microsoft Band support, they agreed a problem existed, submitted it as a bug, and then offered THIS workaround, which solved the problem. The fix provided was to shut off and then turn Bluetooth back on for every activity, which can be tough to remember to do. This didn’t just affect the Run activity, but any activity that keeps time, i.e., workouts, guided workouts, biking, etc.

Earlier today, I told you about an issue I was having where my MeTile background would change on its own. I pinpointed the cause as something that the Band Companion app does and I provided a workaround for those that want to continue using the Battery Status indicator feature. As part of my troubleshooting, I realized that, if you turn on the Battery Status feature, Band Companion syncs periodically to pull in and store battery stats. Guess what? Band Companion tries to sync battery stats every 20 to 25 minutes. I went back through the provided history, tracked it back to my run periods, and sure enough, Band Companion was the culprit. As long as there's a Bluetooth connection between the Microsoft Band, your smartphone, and the app, Band Companion will try to sync battery stats and shut down your fitness activity.

I uninstalled Band Companion for today's run, kept Bluetooth running, and the 40 minute fitness activity kept chugging along without error. So, the issue is not with last week's firmware update at all. It's the functionality of an app. Seems we can't get away from 3^rd party Windows-type software bugs even in the IoT world.

So, bottom line, don't use Band Companion if you use your Microsoft Band for fitness activities. Or, if you just can't live without having a battery status indicator your MeTile, continue using Microsoft's supplied workaround of shutting off Bluetooth every time.

I've already called Microsoft Band support so they can update the ticket with the new information.