How to fix Microsoft Band sync and Bluetooth problems

The Microsoft Band 2 is an amazing fitness tracker, which not only improves various aspects from its predecessor, but it also includes a slicker and more comfortable design with its curved display, materials, and repositioning of the battery pack.

Recently, I bought the fitness tracker taking advantage of the recent (temporary) price cut, but after a few days I began noticing that most current data wasn’t available on the Microsoft Health app on my phone or through the web dashboard.

While it was a little frustrating, it wasn’t anything that a simple troubleshooting steps couldn’t fix the problem. After performing some of solutions commonly recommended by Microsoft, the band immediately started syncing, and best of all, not only I was able to sync the latest data, but data from previous days as well.

As such, in today’s guide, you’ll learn to troubleshoot your Microsoft Band in those cases you don’t see your most up-to-date data on your phone or web dashboard, your phone can’t connect to your band, or cannot change settings on your fitness tracker, so you can quickly go back to tracking your health.

Fixing Microsoft Band sync and Bluetooth

1. Reboot your Band and phone

Many times you can resolve syncing issues by rebooting your Band and phone.

To turn off your Band, simply press the power button until you get the “Turn Power Off?” message, swipe to the left, and tap Yes.

To restart, simply press and hold the power button until you feel a small vibration and the screen turns on.

To restart your phone, please refer to your phone manufacturer manual. Usually, you simply press and hold the power button until you get the choice to turn off or restart your phone.

2. Check for updates

You should always check and install all available updates for your phone and the Health app. Here are some general instructions to update your phone:

Windows Phone: Go to Settings > Phone update and tap Check for update.
iPhone: Go to Settings > General > Software update and tap Download and install.
Android: Go to Settings > About > System updates and tap Check now.

Here are some general instructions to update the Health app:

Windows Phone: Go to Settings > Applications > Store and tap Check for updates.
iPhone: Open the App Store, tap the Microsoft Health app, and tap Update.
Android: Open the Play Store, tap Options > My apps, tap the Microsoft Health app, and tap Update.

3. Verify Bluetooth settings and connections

Bluetooth could be the problem why your Band isn’t syncing with your phone and cloud. To check if Bluetooth is enabled in your fitness tracker do the following: Press the power button, swipe left, tap Settings > Bluetooth and make sure Bluetooth is On.

You should also check the Bluetooth settings in your phone, but for these instructions you need to refer to your phone manufacturer support web page or manual.

If your phone can’t see your Microsoft Band and the Health app shows a “Still wearing your Band? Make sure it’s close by and Bluetooth is turned on” message, then follow these steps:

On your phone, go to the Bluetooth settings, and turn Bluetooth off and then back on.
On your fitness tracker, swipe left, tap on Settings > Bluetooth, and turn Bluetooth off and then back on.
If both devices don’t reconnect automatically, then remove the Microsoft Band from your phone Bluetooth’s list:
- Windows Phone: Tap and hold on your Band’s name (e.g., “Mike’s Band c1:65”) and tap Delete.
- iPhone: Next to your Band’s name, tap i and tap Forget this device. Repeat this step with the entry name ending in LE (for example, “Ada’s Band c1:56 LE”).
- Android phone: Next to your Band’s name, tap the gear icon and tap Unpair.
On your fitness tracker, swipe left, tap on Settings > Bluetooth > On, swipe left again, and tap Pairing to put your Band in pairing mode.
On your phone, tap Settings > Bluetooth, and tap your Band’s name.
On both your Band and phone, make sure that the pairing PINs match and tap OK or Accept.
iPhone only: Tap the entry under Other Devices with five digits followed by your Band’s name (e.g., “04321 Mike’s Band c1:65 LE”) and tap Pair.

4. Turn off Airplane Mode

If you have Airplane Mode on, then Bluetooth will be automatically turned off. To turn off Airplane Mode, on your Microsoft Band, go to Settings > Airplane Mode > Off.

5. Verify Wi-Fi and cellular data connectivity

The Microsoft Health app, as most apps, uses your phone Wi-Fi and cellular connections to sync data to the cloud. If the app can’t connect online, it’s impossible to sync your Band’s data. Refer to your phone manufacturer manual or support web page on how to troubleshoot your online connectivity.

6. Hard reset a Microsoft Band to factory default settings

The last solution you could try before calling support is to do a hard reset of your Microsoft Band to factory default settings. This process, similar to a hard reset for Windows 10 Mobile, will erase all the data stored in your band and reset the firmware and settings to factory defaults.

To hard reset your Microsoft Band tap the gear tile to access Settings, swipe left, tap the Power button, swipe left, on Factory Default, tap Reset Device, and on “Erase all data” tap Yes.

We just look to a number of ways in which you can troubleshoot your Microsoft Band when data isn’t syncing to your account. If everything fails, you should contact Microsoft support for further help and for more info visit the Microsoft Band support page.

Note: The solutions offered in this guide applies for the Microsoft Band and Microsoft Band 2.

Have you encounter any syncing issues with your Microsoft Band? Let us know in the comments below.