Smart watches are an indispensable assistant for people who play sports and take care of their health. Anyone who purchased this smart gadget is wondering what to do with the Honor Band 4, how to connect this device to the phone and start using it. By following the instructions, you can connect the fitness watch to your smartphone and display all the basic information on its screen.
Comparison of characteristics of Honor Band 5 and Honor Band 4
| Characteristics | Honor Band 5 | Xiaomi Mi Band 4 |
| Display type | Color AMOLED | Color AMOLED |
| Screen size | 0.95 inch | 0.95 inch |
| Screen resolution | 240*120 pixels | 240*120 pixels |
| Sensor type | Touch screen | Touch screen |
| Battery | 100 mAh, up to 14 days of battery life | 135 mAh, up to 20 days of battery life |
| NFC | Yes, optional | Yes, optional |
| Water protection | Water resistant up to 50 meters | Water resistant up to 50 meters |
| Gesture control | Eat | Eat |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 4.2 BLE | Bluetooth 5.0 |
| Oxygen level sensor | Eat | No |
| Accelerometer | 6-axis | 6-axis |
| Sports modes | 11 modes | 6 modes |
| Dimensions | 43×17.2×11.5 (body) | 46.9 × 17.9 × 12 mm |
| Weight | 22.7 grams | 22 grams |
How does the Chinese version of Honor Band 5 differ from the global one?
There is no fundamental difference between the Chinese and global versions of the device, apart from the inscriptions on the box and the language of the instructions. But, at the moment, the function of measuring blood oxygen saturation level is not active in the global version of the bracelet. But the sensor itself is available and this function should be activated a little later. This function works in the version for the Chinese market.
What can Honor Band 5 do?
- Show time, date and day of the week.
- Measure your heart rate automatically or in real time.
- Determine the level of blood oxygen saturation.
- Assess sleep quality (with division of sleep into phases and recommendations for improving it).
- Track 10 sports modes (outdoor running, treadmill running, walking, outdoor walking, cycling, stationary bike, elliptical, rowing machine, swimming and free workout).
- Count steps, distance and calories burned.
- Notify about calls, SMS and messages from social networks.
- Remind you to be active.
- Show weather forecast for the current day.
- Control the smartphone camera (only for smartphones with EMUI 8.1+).
- There is also an alarm function (regular and smart), smartphone search, timer and stopwatch.
Before we move on to connecting the bracelet and setting it up, let’s look at charging and turning it on/off.
Notification of the need to move
When this option is activated, the smartwatch is capable of step-by-step activity tracking throughout the day. When set by default, the clock checks hourly. In this case, the gadget’s display will turn on and emit a vibration signal. This means that in the selected period of time, it is necessary to make a movement. This option is needed to maintain a balance of activity throughout the day. To disable the option you will need:
- Open Huawei Health.
- Click on the “Health Monitoring” section.
- Next, by clicking on the line “Notification of the need to move”, you can turn off the function.
The gadget will not vibrate if the Do Not Disturb mode is set or during sleep.
Smart watches send alerts about necessary movement from 8-00 to 12-00 hours, and from 14-00 to 22-00 hours.
How to charge?
For charging, a proprietary charger is used, which is attached to the bottom of the bracelet. A short microUSB to USB cable is included. One end of it is inserted into the charger connector, the other into the USB port of a computer, laptop or any working power supply with any amperage. The charging process to 100% takes approximately 1.5 – 2 hours.
Autonomy
Compared to the previous generation of HONOR trackers, the battery capacity has increased from 100 to 180 mAh. The manufacturer promises the official HONOR website that a full battery charge will last for 14 days of normal use or 10 days of active use.
Apparently, the real figure is close to the declared one. We tested the device for 10 days at a fairly high intensity: every day we recorded various workouts, measured heart rate, stress and SpO2 levels, and tracked sleep. In addition, we turned up the brightness to the maximum level and turned on the screen without going off for 20 minutes. As a result, the gadget was discharged from 100 to 18%. The bracelet charged back to hundreds in exactly an hour. Thus, a full charge takes approximately 75 minutes.
Photo: Dmitry Troyanovsky / Lifehacker
Unlike previous generations of HONOR Band, the device has convenient magnetic charging, consisting of only one wire. In previous generations, in addition to the cord, the charger also included a small docking station.
How to connect Honor Band 5 to a smartphone?
To fully use all the functions of the bracelet and configure it, you will need a mobile application. It's called Huawei Health. It is not possible to connect the bracelet to third-party applications (after connection, it is possible to send data from Huawei Health to Google Fit and MyFitnesPAl).
Depending on the brand and model of your phone, you can download the application from the App Gallery, Google Play, or the App Store. You can find it in application stores by name or download it from this link for ANDROID smartphones, or from this link for iPhone owners.
Since May 2021, Huawei Health from the Play Store has stopped working normally on smartphones from a number of manufacturers. The problem is solved by installing the “Health” application from Huawei’s proprietary application store – AppGallery. To do this, you will first have to install AppGallery (from here: https://huaweimobileservices.com/appgallery/) on your smartphone, and then download Huawei Health from it.
In Huawei and Honor smartphones, the “Health” application is usually already pre-installed, but before pairing with the bracelet, it must be updated to the latest version, otherwise the bracelet may simply not be in the list of available devices.
After installing and launching the application, you will need to register an account or log in if you have already registered an account. The app will then prompt you to review its rules, agreements, and privacy notice, and ask for location and calling access. We give all permissions and you can proceed to pairing the bracelet with your phone.
- Click add device (plus in the upper right corner of the screen).
- Select “Smart Bracelet” from the list.
- Select Honor Band 4/5 from the list.
- Click “Pair” and accept synchronization via Bluetooth.
- In a new window, select a bracelet from the list, confirm pairing by touching the icon on the bracelet screen and click “Done.”
- Now all that remains is to update the software and you can proceed to the settings.
After pairing and updating, the bracelet will automatically be translated into the language installed in the smartphone. If your phone is set to a language that is not supported by the bracelet, the menu will remain in Chinese. In the case of my copy of Honor Band 5, after updating the software, the interface remained the same as that of Honor Band 4. The situation was corrected by connecting via VPN and updating the software.
If you can't sync
Let's look at the popular reasons why Android wear devices do not connect to a smartphone. The first thing you need to check is your Internet connection – whether data transfer is enabled. If yes, let's look at 3 more reasons.
- Updating the operating system and Google applications. Please pay attention to device compatibility. Smartwatches for Android wear connect to phones and tablets running Android 4 and higher. Check this setting. In addition to the OS, the device must have Google services 7.3.28 and later, Google search 4.0, and Android Wear 1.0 application.
- See if you forgot to turn on Bluetooth on your phone (In settings, section “Wireless networks”).
- The smartwatch should not have airplane mode enabled. Go to device settings and check.
These are the main points when a smartphone or tablet does not see the device. If the operating system and programs are of the required versions, airplane mode is disabled, and bluetooth is active, restart both devices. Resetting the settings also helps.
Go to the gadget settings, select the “System” section, and then “Disable and reset settings”.
If your phone still doesn't see your smartwatch, uninstall and reinstall Android Wear. Repeat the synchronization process.
Setting up Honor Band 5
Honor Band 5 settings can be divided into two parts: profile settings and function settings. The first ones are performed in the “I” tab. Here you set goals for the number of steps and weight, and also indicate personal data such as gender, date of birth, height and weight. This data is needed for more accurate calculation of activity parameters.
The following settings can be made in the same menu:
- ON/OFF automatic data synchronization.
- Automatic search for devices for pairing is activated.
- Notifications about goal achievement (steps) are configured.
- Heart rate warning and heart rate threshold setting.
- A system of measures is selected.
- Data synchronization with cloud storage is configured.
To go to the bracelet function settings, you need to click on the bracelet icon in the upper right corner of the “Home” tab or select the bracelet in the “My devices” section in the “Me” tab.
The Honor Band 5 settings are as follows:
Dials . The previous version of the fitness bracelet currently has a limited choice of watch faces to 4 options. For Honor Band 5, the choice is much larger - about 40 options.
Huawei TruSleep . Enabling this feature allows you to get the most out of your sleep with breath analysis, diagnosis of 6 types of sleep problems, and tips for improving your sleep from Harvard Medical School. Without TruSleep enabled, the bracelet also monitors sleep, but in this case you will only see the duration of sleep, divided into light and deep phases. Enabling TruSleep increases the energy consumption of the bracelet.
Reminder . When you enable this option, the bracelet will vibrate every hour to remind you to warm up.
Continuous heart rate monitoring . There are several modes of heart rate measurement options:
- Single measurement. The measurement is started from the bracelet.
- “Smart” mode. The bracelet automatically measures your heart rate depending on your activity.
- In real time. When this mode is enabled, the tracker measures your heart rate 24/7, providing the most detailed data. But this is the most energy-consuming mode of operation.
Alarm . In the application you can set up to 5 alarms, one of which is “smart”. The latter monitors the phases of sleep and wakes up the owner at the most favorable moment (in the REM sleep phase). That is, if you set the alarm for 6 o'clock, and the alarm clock recorded the REM phase at 5:50, then it will wake you up at that time. The time difference can be limited to 5 – 30 minutes. Judging by the reviews, the smart alarm clock does not work for all users.
Do not disturb . When this mode is activated, the screen will not turn on when you raise your hand, and the bracelet will not receive notifications about calls and messages. You can set a schedule for turning on Do Not Disturb mode, and also select one of the mode’s operating scenarios.
Notifications (turn on notifications on the bracelet and select applications for which notifications are allowed).
Weather reports . To display the weather for the current day on the bracelet's screen, you must activate this function and allow the application to access geodata.
Bluetooth disconnect notification . By activating this function, if the connection between the tracker and the smartphone is broken, the bracelet will notify you of this by vibration.
Setting up functions . In this section, you can change the order in which function icons are displayed on the bracelet screen and delete unused ones.
Activate the screen by raising your wrist.
Turn to switch . By enabling this feature, you can switch interfaces by rotating your wrist.
Automatic download of update packages via Wi-Fi.
Software Update.
Reset.
Disabling the bracelet.
Animated watch faces
In order to take advantage of this opportunity you will need:
- Open the Huawei Health add-on.
- Then click on “Devices”.
- Find and click on the name of the desired gadget.
- Near the “Dials” line there is a “More” sign.
- Then clicking on “Recommended” will open an animated watch face. It needs to be installed.
Controlling the Honor Band 5
The tracker is equipped with a touch screen. On-screen commands are performed by tapping, swiping, and holding with your finger. For convenience, there is a button to return to the main screen at the bottom of the display. All control logic can be seen in the image below.
The bracelet menu consists of the following items:
- Main screen.
- Pedometer. When you click on the icon, 5 options are displayed on the screen:
- Number of steps
- Calories
- Distance
- Average-high load time for the current day in minutes.
- Activity hours. For example, 8/10 means that you spent 8 hours actively, and 2 hours there was no activity.
- Pulse. To start a single heart rate measurement, you need to press the button and wait a little. The measurement takes approximately 45 seconds and the values are updated every 3 seconds.
- SpO2. The oxygen sensor is one of the main differences between Band 5 and Band 4. Many people think that this feature is just a marketing ploy, but this is not entirely true, and for some users it can actually be useful. The norm is values from 90 to 100%. If the oxygen content is between 70% and 89%, you should rest, and if the value is below 70%, the manufacturer recommends contacting a specialist.
It is very easy to check that the sensor really works. Just exhale and hold your breath for as long as possible. After a few seconds, the percentage of oxygen will begin to decrease, and after breathing resumes, the percentage will begin to rise.
- Sleep (duration of sleep over the current day). There is no need to manually activate sleep monitoring. The bracelet itself will record the beginning of sleep and awakening.
- Training menu. Honor Band 5 allows you to track 10 types of workouts: outdoor running, treadmill running, walking, outdoor walking, cycling, stationary bike, elliptical, rowing machine, swimming and free workout.
In all modes, you can set goals for the number of steps, distance and calories burned. When choosing a workout in an open area, the GPS module of the smartphone is activated. During training, the bracelet screen displays heart rate, pace, time and distance, but only two parameters are displayed on the screen at a time, and it is impossible to configure their order.
You can start a workout both from the bracelet menu and from a special section in the “Health” application.
- Messages. Up to 10 messages are stored in memory. The bracelet has no problems with the Cyrillic alphabet; the message is displayed in full and is quite readable.
- Settings menu (timer, stopwatch, brightness, smartphone search, watch faces, battery status, as well as reset, reboot, shutdown and bracelet information.
- Payment by AliPay. This feature can be disabled immediately, as it is useless outside of China. In your homeland, you can pay for purchases with a bracelet by reading the QR code of the AliPay payment system.
Again, you can rearrange the order of functions in the application and remove unused functions.
Questions and answers
Is it possible to swim in Honor Band 5?
Yes, you can. The bracelet is waterproof up to 50 meters (static pressure of the water column). When swimming mode is turned on, the screen is locked and the bracelet can detect swimming strokes such as butterfly, backstroke, freestyle and breaststroke, as well as record calories, strokes, speed, stroke rate, laps, distance and average. SWOLF indicator.
Does the bracelet count floors (height)?
No, Honor Band 5 does not have GPS or barometric altimeter, so it cannot count steps.
Can Honor Band 5 measure blood pressure?
No, he can't.
What is real autonomy?
With the most active use, the bracelet will have to be charged approximately once every 6-7 days. In the most economical mode, one battery charge lasts about 2 weeks.
Does NFC work in Honor Band 5?
The global version of the bracelet does not have an NFC module. A version with NFC is available for the Chinese market. There, you can use it to pay for travel on public transport, as well as pay for purchases using the AliPay payment system. Outside of China, you can only pay with a bracelet using the bracelet itself :).
Is it possible to control music from Honor Band 5?
No.
Does this bracelet have GPS?
No, there is no GPS module.
Remote control of a smartphone camera
The bracelet can control the camera of a smartphone exclusively on models running ANDROID with the EMUI 8.1+ interface (smartphones under the Honor and Huawei brands).
How to replace the strap on Honor Band 5?
The strap of Honor Band 5 is removable, so it can be replaced either with a new one or with a strap from the Honor Band 4 version. Changing the strap is very simple. Simply pry the plastic latch on the inside of the strap with something sharp and pull the latch up. You can then detach both parts of the strap and replace it with a new one in the reverse order.
Where to buy a strap for Honor Band 5?
The largest selection and best prices for replacement straps are offered by the Aliexpress online site. This seller has the largest selection of silicone straps and metal Milanese bracelets.
How to change screen brightness?
To change the brightness, you need to swipe up or down on the bracelet screen to the “More” screen. Next, select “brightness” and in the next menu “brightness” again. By pressing “+” the brightness increases, “-“ - decreases. You can enable automatic auto-dimming at night by moving the slider.
How to change the watch face of Honor Band 5?
There are several ways to change the watch face. The first is to long press on the main screen, and then swipe up or down until you select what you want. The second option is to select “More” and then “Watch faces”. The third way is to replace the watch face through the application. Go to the bracelet settings, then “Dials”, select the one you like, and click “Install”.
Does the bracelet connect to third-party sports apps?
No, the Huawei Healt app is used to pair with your smartphone. Once paired, you can transfer data to the Google Fit and MyFitnesPAl apps.
How to delete all messages from a bracelet?
Up to 10 messages can be stored in the bracelet's memory. To delete everything, in the “messages” section, swipe to the very bottom and click on the “delete all” button.
Which is better, Honor Band 5 or Xiaomi Mi Band 4?
We made a comparison between Honor Band 5 and Xiaomi Mi Band 4 in this article.
What is the difference between Honor Band 5 and Honor Band 4?
We compared the Honor Band 5 with its predecessor in this comparison.
Where can I complain about the performance of Honor Band 5?
It all depends on where the tracker was purchased. You can check the bracelet by serial number here. You can write about problems here if the device was purchased in Russia, and here if it was purchased outside the Russian Federation.
