Anyone Tried to us Magic Band after 1.5 years?

[Jetapss]

Hi. I've seen several threads on the long-range RFID magic band battery life. However, I'm wondering if anyone has tried to use an old magic band 1-2 years later? Did it capture your ride photos? I'd like to know how many have used it & how many still worked. I'm going to Disney this summer with bands that will be 1.5 years old but wondering if buying a new one is a must for the ride photos? TIA

 

[NashvilleMama]

never had any issues with mine and some are older than that.

 

[DGsAtBLT]

Mine was maybe 19 months old last time we went. It worked fine, I kept my new one as back up in my backpack. They both picked up the ride photos.

 

[Jetapss]

You guys are awesome! That's exactly what I wanted to hear!

 

[Boopuff]

Good to know. I like the idea of taking a backup!

 

[Alesia]

The battery should work for 2 to 3 years

 

[TwoHeartsBeat]

Used one received in August/September 2017, in December 2019 without issues.

 

[skippytx]

I have a 45th anniversary Tiki Room band that still works properly. That came out around June 2017, no problems so far.

 

[sharadoc]

I have the first round of magic bands, I think the first one was 2013 and still work fine. Those batteries for admission work forever. I just used a couple of them this past December. I have one of every color so I can match my outfits

 

[eliseisawkward]

I have the first round of magic bands, I think the first one was 2013 and still work fine. Those batteries for admission work forever. I just used a couple of them this past December. I have one of every color so I can match my outfits

They actually do not need batteries at all for admission. The battery is only for long range things like ride photos automatically appearing on your account.

 

[2Lunds]

My boss has a first-generation MB (so...2013? ) and I suggested he try using it during his most recent trip (October 2019). It worked just fine. I don't think that's an anomaly because a CMs at the airport told me in September that she has Canadians using first gen ones all the time for skipping the paper check in at DME.

 

[Fangorn]

Memo from the DEPARTMENT OF REDUNDANCY DEPARTMENT:

Magic Bands should work forever for any function that requires you to tap the band to Mickey's head. The chip in the band that handles those functions does not need a battery as it gets the tiny bit of power it needs directly from Mickey.

There is a second chip that contains a short range transceiver. It is this chip that comes into play for ride photos and special messages that sometimes show up on rides (ala IASW). That chip does have its own battery which should last about 3 years - although YMMV.

Steve

 

[sparkle78]

My husband has over 20 bands connected to his account. Some from split resort stays , others are special ones he bought. We did encounter a minor problem during our trip in nov. 2019. His band wouldn’t open our room. They wouldn’t say for sure, but the front desk suggested he deactivate 2 or 3 really old ones. We did that and had no problems going forward. So maybe the max number is 20 on one account,

 

[miksicnarf]

I bought the DVC Dooney & Bourke limited edition MB in Sept. 2018; in Nov. 2019 the long range RFID chip no longer worked...I didn't get any ride photos . It worked fine for all "tap" functions--resort door, park tapstiles, purchases, and Photopass photos where the CM scanned the band.

 

[Tomh]

MB will always work for park entry, and anything that has a touch point such as dining credits, FP, room doors etc. What will eventually fail is long range, which is your on ride photos.

I have used 2 year old MB's quite a few times with no problems. Past two years, I wouldn't trust them unless ride photos aren't important to you.

 

[HappyDisneyWife]

My husband has over 20 bands connected to his account. Some from split resort stays , others are special ones he bought. We did encounter a minor problem during our trip in nov. 2019. His band wouldn’t open our room. They wouldn’t say for sure, but the front desk suggested he deactivate 2 or 3 really old ones. We did that and had no problems going forward. So maybe the max number is 20 on one account,

This same thing happened to me on our last trip. I was so thankful that the cast member thoroughly explained the issue to me! I had nearly 20 active bands on my account and he told me I could keep amassing them if I’d like, but to have no more than 9 active bands at one time if I wanted to have all of my magicbands working properly. Basically, every time you tap, the system only recognizes “the top” 9 active bands and the one you’re using must be one of those 9. But! The next time you tap, the system has shuffled your active bands and a new 9 are on top. This is why re-tapping generally solves the problem with a glitchy band.... it’s just got to be shuffled into the top 9 and then it works!

You can, of course, deactivate and reactivate your magicbands easily through MDE... you never have to kill one off permanently. So, although there is no limit on how many you can own, you should keep an eye on how many you have active.

 

[MelanieRI]

Memo from the DEPARTMENT OF REDUNDANCY DEPARTMENT:

There is a second chip that contains a short range transceiver. It is this chip that comes into play for ride photos and special messages that sometimes show up on rides (ala IASW). That chip does have its own battery which should last about 3 years - although YMMV.

Steve

Well, I guess this explains why I never get my ride photos anymore. I have a Orange Bird one that I luv but I no longer get ride photos. I guess I'll have to actually pick out a new one for next trip.

 

[RossS]

Interesting. I have one that I bought in 2016. Not sure if it would work for the photos though.

 

[glocon]

Well, I guess this explains why I never get my ride photos anymore. I have a Orange Bird one that I luv but I no longer get ride photos. I guess I'll have to actually pick out a new one for next trip.

I say wear the orange bird band and let someone else in your party wear a current magic band

 

[babyruth]

perfect. thanks for the info just what I was looking for.