Can we bring magicbands that were used years ago

[cottontail]

Hello: I have read that there is a shortage of magic bands. Is it possible to bring a magic band from a few years ago and have it recalibrated for the new trip?

Deb.

 

[loves to dive]

As long as the MB is linked to your MDE account you are good to go, no matter when it was obtained or last used it. If it's real old, like maybe 3 or 4 years, it's possible you might not get ride photos but otherwise, it will work for everything else. I have had to have a CM at the front desk of a resort reset mine for some reason but that doesn't happen often nor does it happen with every MB. I have them all the way back to when they were first testing them with just a few resorts and all of them will get me in my room and into a park. I rarely look at ride photos so I'm not sure how my oldest ones work for that and I don't charge to them but from what I understand, even the oldest ones will work for that.

As far as a shortage, only the nonMB+s are in short supply. If you want the new ones, you can find those everywhere.

 

[AprilsZoo]

As long as the MB is linked to your MDE account you are good to go, no matter when it was obtained or last used it. If it's real old, like maybe 3 or 4 years, it's possible you might not get ride photos but otherwise, it will work for everything else. I have had to have a CM at the front desk of a resort reset mine for some reason but that doesn't happen often nor does it happen with every MB. I have them all the way back to when they were first testing them with just a few resorts and all of them will get me in my room and into a park. I rarely look at ride photos so I'm not sure how my oldest ones work for that and I don't charge to them but from what I understand, even the oldest ones will work for that.

As far as a shortage, only the nonMB+s are in short supply. If you want the new ones, you can find those everywhere.

The old ones — MagicBand and MagicBand2 — will work just like normal at any tap point, so the entry gates, queue entrances and resort room doors will be no problem. Those functions do not require a functional battery in the device. The thing you are tapping has power to read the chip in the band, the chip in the band is associated with your MDE account, so the tap point uses the info from the chip to access your MDE info in order to perform its function. A MB+ with an uncharged battery will work the same as the others above.

For ride photos to *auto load* to MDE, you need a MB2(§) with a functional battery or a MB+ that has sufficient charge at the time of use. This is because it uses a radio signal to “talk” to sensors that allow it to associate the person wearing the band to a particular photo. That takes power in the band.

You can still get the ride photos however. You can either:

• go quickly to the monitors at the ride exit, find your photo, take a quick picture with your phone, and then later go into MDE under the Photopass tile and choose the option to enter the number/code manually.
• Or if you miss seeing the photo at the exit and want to have it associated with your MDE, as quickly as possible after exiting the ride, take a selfie of the members of your party who rode (or have a nice guest take your group photo) and email guest services later with the selfie & the approximate time you were on the ride (found in the timestamp of your selfie). They have lovely CMs who will look through the ride photos taken around the time you give, and using the faces and clothing of persons from the provided group shot, (and a little patented Disney magic ) they will find your ride photo and associate it with your MDE account. It’s important to get that selfie (with something identifiable from the ride in the background will help you remember later which is which) asap so that you have an accurate time to give the CMs doing the search.

Hope this helps. Have an awesome trip.

(§)Original MBs will not have a functioning battery anymore barring some miracle.

 

[_19disnA]

Magic bands perform 2 functions at Disney, one uses the battery while many other do not. The battery will eventually stop working and can't be replaced (they are sealed units not designed to allow for changing the battery). The functions not requiring the battery will continue to work regardless of how old the MB might be.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

As long as the MB is linked to your MDE account you are good to go, no matter when it was obtained or last used it. If it's real old, like maybe 3 or 4 years, it's possible you might not get ride photos but otherwise, it will work for everything else. I have had to have a CM at the front desk of a resort reset mine for some reason but that doesn't happen often nor does it happen with every MB. I have them all the way back to when they were first testing them with just a few resorts and all of them will get me in my room and into a park. I rarely look at ride photos so I'm not sure how my oldest ones work for that and I don't charge to them but from what I understand, even the oldest ones will work for that.

As far as a shortage, only the nonMB+s are in short supply. If you want the new ones, you can find those everywhere.

If it is not linked simply stop at the resort desk and they will link them.