Vital Bracelet FAQ- Includes Various Info for Tech, App, Requirements, etc.

[MarcFBR]

Bandai has put up (2) an FAQ with various details about the Vital Bracelet, Dim Cards, and the connected app.

It includes a number of items that have been of interest to people (connectivity requirements, Dim Card usage, battery, etc.) while some other details regarding worldwide usage are 'at best' gone over minimally, if at all.


We've done a quick translation of the entire FAQ. It will be cleaned up later as we are able to:


Vital Bracelet FAQ

Device Specifications

Waterproof- It is not waterproof or drip proof.

Batteries- Can last up to 18 hours per day even with 1 hour play and sensors/clock functions are on during sleep mode
Charging time- 4 hours for fully charged.

Cleaning method- Wipe with a soft, dry cloth. Do not use alcohol, etc.


Dim Cards

Once inserted into a Vital Bracelet, a Dim Card will not work in another Vital Bracelet. In the case of a device failure contact Bandai Customer Service to have it reset.

They can't guarantee that lost data will be recovered.


App

Scheduled for mid-March

Compatibility
Android- Android 8.0 and above. NFC equipped model is necessary.
iOS (iPhone only)- iOS 13 and above. NFC equipped model is necessary.

Schedules are as planned for now.
Compatible terminals will be announced on teh Vital Bracelet website later.
iPad's are not compatible because they don't have NFC.
Terminal compatibility will be based on ones they've tested in house. The app may or may not work properly otherwise. The product can be enjoyed alone, the app is an extension to the features.


Data Backup via application
The app does not have the function to save the data of the Vital Bracelet itself. Only the Digimon data at the current time will be saved.

Training Days/Status/Evolution History/Battle History/Vital History
Mental Status/Exercise Level/Vital Value/Number of Trophies Won
Adventure Mission Progress/Special Mission Progress


How to return Digimon data to the Vital Bracelet from the app
You will need both the Vital Bracelet and a Dim Card that contains the data from the saved Digimon.


Registration
To use the app, you will need to register with a BNID- https://www.bandainamcoid.com/

Recovery of Application Data
If you have a BNID you can recover data when changing models.



Information is as of December 2020. Specs/info may change without notice.



A lot of relevant info, and also confirming the question about if the device would have any alternative to NFC for people who might not have it on their phones.



Various recent Vital Bracelet links from WtW:
Black & White versions & Dim Card Pre-orders
version Special Pre-orders & Info
V-Jump info
DigiNavi Info
version Special Pre-order change

 

[Bancho]

not being warerproof is a letdown but I expected it and it's understandable, same for the 18 hour use time from a full charge and the app only working on NFC phones, letdowns but understandable.

DIMs being usable only on a single VB though is something I definitely did not want to see. I was really looking forward to trading DIMs with friends but even beyond that this means if you have two devices you need to buy the same DIM cards twice or if something goes wrong you can just lose that DIM you spent money on forever. Yeah, I have big concerns for that note, especially as I was interested to rebuy a VB when an English release comes later but having to rebuy every DIM shoots that idea down. It also hurts secondary reselling of this device say a decade later from now.

At least it backs up app data.

Not a great start to Christmas lol

 

[Vicehero]

To clarify the battery thing. It's has an 18 hour life for play and rest. It'll vary how much you use it. It takes an hour to charge it enough to play but 4 hours for a complete charge.

Also I'm kinda glad about the dims. I already see people out there trying to scalp dims they're gonna use first.

 

[MechaMadness]

More or less what I expected on all accounts, including the DiM bit. It's unfortunate, but I had a sneaking feeling this would be the case considering they probably don't want some guy to buy a DiM and then share it with the rest of the neighborhood, so it does make business sense in that regard. Gonna make things like Black Roar and Ancient Warriors real obnoxious if they stay exclusive and don't get a second run later though, and same would go for all the DiMs later once they're out of production. By extension, this makes me more hesitant to take the plunge and import one considering I'd have to double dip on all the DiMs if it gets an English release later.

 

[Sarabande__]

A few things I'm dissapointed about but I just have to sit here an accept it. I will still love it and enjoy it. I also just made a Bandai ID.

 

[DigiGrader]

Woow
all these specification sure is very disappointing.

not being waterproof make it susceptible to sweat and rain
While the long charge time does not bother me too much, the battery only last for 18 hour? Is that taking into account that the VB will be used for the battling function?

The DIM being only one time use only is also a scummy practice
Not to mention that the data cannot be backed up which means if we get an error (which sounds to be a matter of time since it is not sweat proof), we might lost all data including the DIM used.

edit:
For an activity tracker priced at $60 I expect more from this device...

Hopefully it will not be as bad as what I wrote.. but I think it is better to remain critical about this.

 

[ProdigiousPlays]

I'm not sure why people are surprised about drm on the chips. Especially when people were already planning the very reason they would institute it.

The biggest concerns for me is the drip proof but I'm not sure how serious even that is. Phrases have standards with them and it may just be that it doesn't meet that standard. That doesn't mean it'll break from set or occasional water liquids on it. My keyboard is by no means water proof but it didn't break when I spilled some diet Dr pepper on it.

"Device Failure" is also an interesting term but I also think too read into. Probably just stated to ease concerns for the off chance that something does happen. Little brother dropped it a bit too hard and it glitches? I mean it's the same with game redemption codes. A friend way back when fallout 3 came out had the code used by somebody before he even opened the game. They're just saying that you can probably just send proof of the device and dim tied to it and they'll reset it.

Edit: Also the cheapest fitbit is the ACE which is simplified for kids and that's 70 bucks.

 

[Tofu]

There's a huge gap between 1 hour of play (assuming this means if you keep the screen active for a full hour) and 18 hours while asleep with sensors on.

Usually v-pets turn their screen off after it's been left alone for a certain amount of time so I imagine the same applies here, but I wonder if I should think about getting a portable battery or something??

 

[raharaha]

That DRM are very inconvenience. Hope that those DiM cards will be tied to the Bandai account, and we can freely move those account between devices like they said in that faq (it is a bit confusing because of the translations, well guess should check the source). If it is not, that black roar and ancient warriors will be so valuable and expensive when they are arrived. Can we do something about this or maybe someone already create petition to Bandai?

(admin, thank you very much for reminding me )

 

[Gigamon23]

These specs (specifically: not water-proof, one-time use DiM cards, and a less-than-ideal battery life) definitely push me toward the "not buying" side of the fence I've been sitting on about them. The more I had read about them, the more I was tempted, but my wallet is grateful these specs are not flattering for the device.

 

[raharaha]

for the battery life, if I'm not mistranslating it by reading the source, it didn't mean that if you play with the device you will only get 1 hour. What I got was "you will get approx. 18 hours battery life per day (with watch and sensors active) if you were playing with the device for around 1 hour"

 

[ProdigiousPlays]

for the battery life, if I'm not mistranslating it by reading the source, it didn't mean that if you play with the device you will only get 1 hour. What I got was "you will get approx. 18 hours battery life per day (with watch and sensors active) if you were playing with the device for around 1 hour"

I mean that seems perfectly reasonable. You're not wearing it 18 hours a day (assuming you get 8 hours of sleep) and it has a lot more communication than regular health monitors I would imagine.

 

[Vande]

As i've now removed three posts about it, we do not allow discussion of emulations/hacks and the like as per the forum rules.

 

[e105zeta]

It not being even drip resistant means it’s kind of useless as any other then a pedometer given that intense exercise tends to not be a very dry activity

 

[ProdigiousPlays]

It not being even drip resistant means it’s kind of useless as any other then a pedometer given that intense exercise tends to not be a very dry activity

I'm curious as to what makes it not drip resistant (which I had to google since it was such a low rating)? Did they not bother to rate it? Is it that touchy? What open electronics are there for water to come in through?

 

[BlankShell]

Hmm, definitely not as many good specs as I was hoping. The lack of waterproofing is a bummer, especially for where I live.

Still waiting on any app localization news anyway, so we'll see. I imagine they'll be working on an upgraded version at some point given how popular it seems to be. (Imagine Apple Watch compatibility!)

 

[MarcFBR]

Cleaned up the translation regarding the battery.

'18 hours' per day, which includes an hour of play time, and the sensors/clock being on the rest of the time during sleep mode.

 

[Tortoiseshel]

I understand why people are disappointed about the Dim cards being single-use, but I sure hope no one's surprised about it. If they weren't single-use, people could just buy one of each to share among their friends and Bandai would lose out on a lot of money. At least, in Japan anyway, where statistically, you're much more likely to live near/come across other people who also have a Vital Bracelet... or even know what Digimon is.

 

[RogueX4]

These (DiM being one time use and not having some sort of waterproofing) are very disheartening news. My excitement for it has dropped pretty harshly. Making the DiM one time use is really scummy.

I was imagining that the DiM’s would work like the old Code Crowns for the Xross Loader. In which you could only load up one at a time. I really wanted to go out and exercise with the VB, but due to “no waterproofing” it sort of dampers that plan. Specially if the DiM are a one time thing, imagine if the memory gets wiped... just the idea of losing the Black Agumon from the Black Roar is saddening.

I guess due to the back up of the app it’s probably better to wait for the overseas version.

 

[KhanadianGeek]

Yep. Got a refund. I was really excited, but I'm certain now that it'll go global. So I can actually just wait. One day I intend to have it waterproofed myself whenever that can happen. But yeah. I would strongly feel the need to buy a black version on top of the Veemon one anyway since I CANNOT work with that yellow one. It's awful.