First Update for Microsoft Band is Now Available

Microsoft quietly issued the first updates for its Microsoft Band fitness tracker and associated Microsoft Health mobile apps for Android, iOS and Windows Phone. The update doesn't provide any major functional changes to either, but it did at least provide a first peek at how the Band update process works.

I'm not sure if the new version of the Microsoft Health app is a prerequisite for the Band update, but I didn't see the Band update prompt until I updated the Health app.

When you agree to the Band update—and there's no way to put it off, apparently, unless you plan to never use the Microsoft Health app again—you just need to stand by for a few minutes while the app downloads the Band update, syncs the Band data, restarts the Band, and then installs the update. The whole thing took just a minute or so for me.

As for what's new ... not much.

The Microsoft Health app receives "general app fixes and improvements," according to Microsoft. And while the firm hasn't yet described what's in the Band update, readers tell me it fixes some issues where certain Band features didn't work properly unless you told it you were in the United States. So now you can use your own locale.

I will be updating the Microsoft Band Field Guide today to describe this Band update process. You can download the latest version of this free e-book from the Field Guide Books web site.