In the Microsoft Band communities (one good community HERE) I’ve seen this question asked quite a bit from those who are having to get their Band replaced for one reason or another, and believe it’s worth clarifying.
I have a replacement Band on the way. Do my months of personal calibration sync to my account and back to the new Band or do I have to start from scratch?
As I’ve noted over and over through my coverage of the Microsoft Band, using sensors, GPS, and smart data processes, Microsoft’s fitness devices learns you. Over time the Band becomes smarter and more tailored to your movements and fitness habits. But, here’s the catch – it’s not the Band that becomes smarter, it’s Microsoft Health that does the work.
As you continue to feed more and more data to Microsoft Health through the app on your phone or through the desktop sync app, Microsoft Health accumulates more and more information from which to make meaningful adjustments. So, the Microsoft Band is just a tool used to capture the data in real-time, it does not store your fit personalizations onboard. When you have to swap Bands for whatever reason, the first time you sync with Microsoft Health your new Band is just like the old one.
Your Microsoft Health profile is the important piece and will transfer automatically between Bands. Your profile contains what the Band needs to function specifically for you. Your profile is a culmination of your manually entered information such as height, age, and weight and the data that Microsoft Health has used to calculate your specific fitness summary.
So, there’s no need to worry about getting a Band replacement – except, well, for the fact that it can take up to two weeks. If only Microsoft could develop an instant replacement service…
