CODEWITHSUNDEEP
androidbluetoothmicrosoft-band
Ethan Nadler
Ethan Nadler

Reputation: 33

Can I connect to a Microsoft Band without the Microsoft Health App

I am attempting to write an app that makes use of the Microsoft Bands sensors (Heart Rate, Skin Temperature, Pedometer, etc.) but will be used on a shared band, not tied to a specific user. At the moment I am unable to find a way to connect the band to a device purely by bluetooth, as the band must first be connected to and registered with the Microsoft Health app. Does anyone know of a way to do this using the newly released SDK?

SDK Documentation

Upvotes: 2

Views: 4875

Answers (2)

Mark Thistle
Mark Thistle

Reputation: 1871

It is possible to pair a band with any phone after the setup process is complete.

There are some caveats. These include:

  • iOS and Windows Phone do not need Microsoft Health installed for the Band to work with a 3rd party app using the Microsoft Band SDK.
  • Android needs the Microsoft Health app installed on any phone you pair the band with since the Microsoft Band Service used to communicate with the Band is run via the Microsoft Health app.
  • This means, you can pair the Band with any Microsoft Health on any supported platform to get past the Band setup. Then only Android will need Microsoft Health installed on a phone for SDK use.

If that works for you then here are some rough steps to do this. These are not supported use cases but with some experimenting with the flow below you should be able to achieve what you asked.

The steps:

  1. Pair Microsoft Band with phone 1 using the Microsoft Health App.
  2. Once pairing is complete and the Band is past the setup screens you can enter the phone's Bluetooth Settings and unpair the band in the Bluetooth settings app of the 1st phone.
  3. Now, get the 2nd phone and enter it's Bluetooth Settings screen and begin looking for devices to pair with.
  4. Enter the Band's Settings app and navigate to the Bluetooth icon. Choose that and then select the Pairing.
  5. The Band should now appear in the 2nd phone's Bluetooth Settings as a device you can pair with.
  6. If on Android or Windows Phone pair the Bluetooth classic connection (Band name) for the Band.
  7. If on iOS, you will see 2 entries for the Band, one for Classic Bluetooth (the Band name) and the other is for Bluetooth LE (Band name with LE at the end). Pair the classic and then the LE. - This sometimes does not work on the first try and may need multiple attempts.

Once completed, your Band should be paired with Phone two.

Upvotes: 1

Phil Hoff -- MSFT
Phil Hoff -- MSFT

Reputation: 2016

Only the Microsoft Health applications (across the various supported platforms) can take a Band from its "factory reset" state to its "setup" state and that involves registering the Band to a Microsoft Account. There is no requirement, however, that the Band remain registered to that account. Afterward, registered or not, you can connect to the Band using the Band SDK from any phone, merely by Bluetooth pairing the Band to that phone.

Upvotes: 1

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