Microsoft Band isn't just a fitness gadget. It's also a full-featured front-end to the productivity features of your smart phone. Here, I explore some of Band's non-fitness functionality, including its ability to handle phones calls and text messages.
Note: This tip is based on content in my free e-book, Microsoft Band Field Guide, which I'm currently writing. You can always find the latest version of this book—which will be updated as Microsoft Band is updated—at the Field Guide Books web site.
Band works similarly with both types of messages. When a phone call, voice mail or SMS text message arrives, your Band will vibrate and display an alert which includes the person or number that contacted you and, in the case of the text message, the message itself. If the message is too long to fit entirely on screen, you will only see the beginning of the message, and you will need to visit the Messaging tile.
Regardless of which type of event occurs you can dismiss the alert or you can reply using text messaging. You set up these replies using the Quick Responses user interface in the Microsoft Health app on your smart phone. There are different sets of responses for both calls and text messages, so you will need to separately visit each to configure them as you wish.
You can use your Band to view recent text messages and calls, and see whether anyone has left any voice mail messages at any time.
To view your recent text messages at any time, tap the Messaging tile on your Band: it will display a number overlay if there are one or more text messages you've not seen. You can scroll left and right to switch between the available messages. If a message is too long to fit entirely on screen, you can scroll up and down to read the entire message.
To view your recent calls and voice messages, tap the Call tile: it will display a number overlay if there are one or more phone calls or voice mails you've not seen. You can scroll left and right to switch between the available calls.
Note: Call and text notifications will only fire if these tiles are enabled on your phone and you've not configured something—like Do Not Disturb or sleep monitoring—that gets in the way of notifications.
