Wearing an older Magic band

[Disneywarrior]

I ordered the red magic band for our trip next week. I have a Spaceship Earth skin that covers the entire band except for the Mickey head which is red. I'm not crazy about how the red band looks with it and would rather just wear either my old blue or grey band with the SE skin. I think that would look better. My question is, Can I take one of my old bands to wear for the trip instead of the new red one? Thanks in advance.

[Fangorn]

Yes. All of your active Magic Bands are interchangeable. Think of the bands as "keys" that access your account. Nothing is actually stored on the band. All your data (room, FP, ADRs, charging, etc.) is kept in your account on Disney's servers. As long as you have not deactivated a band it will still work.

Depending on how old it is, the battery that powers the tracking piece could be dead, but that only affects you getting ride photos and Disney's ability to locate you. Anything you actually have to touch your band to (tickets, room) will work just fine.

I have numerous bands. They all work.

Steve

[Ed]

Depending on how old it is, the battery that powers the tracking piece could be dead...

Actually, there's no battery in the bands, just an RFID chip. All the power to read the chip is in the reader device, not the band. Think of them like the little white security chip that many stores have embedded in the packaging of high value items.

[Fangorn]

Actually, there's no battery in the bands, just an RFID chip. All the power to read the chip is in the reader device, not the band. Think of them like the little white security chip that many stores have embedded in the packaging of high value items.

There are two RFID chips in the bands. One doesn't require a battery - that's the one that works by touching the Mickey heads together. The other chip also contains a short range transceiver which does require a battery. Disney has often talked about the approximate 3 year battery life of the bands. It's this chip they're talking about. It's only needed for tracking purposes, but Disney uses it for those magical ride photos and some of the new customization on the rides (end of Small World, for instance).

The "normal" RFID chip should work indefinitely.

Steve

[Goofy4TheWorld]

I ordered the red magic band for our trip next week. I have a Spaceship Earth skin that covers the entire band except for the Mickey head which is red. I'm not crazy about how the red band looks with it and would rather just wear either my old blue or grey band with the SE skin. I think that would look better. My question is, Can I take one of my old bands to wear for the trip instead of the new red one? Thanks in advance.

Your question was well answered, I just wanted to say I almost choked on my Oreo when I saw "Tracy City, TN" above your post.

Howdy neighbor

[Polynesian Dweller]

There are two RFID chips in the bands. One doesn't require a battery - that's the one that works by touching the Mickey heads together. The other chip also contains a short range transceiver which does require a battery. Disney has often talked about the approximate 3 year battery life of the bands. It's this chip they're talking about. It's only needed for tracking purposes, but Disney uses it for those magical ride photos and some of the new customization on the rides (end of Small World, for instance).

The "normal" RFID chip should work indefinitely.

Steve

Just in to provide support. This is absolutely correct, there are two chips, and am afraid Ed didn't get it right.

[Ed]

My bad. I had seen quite a few bands under x-ray and never saw a well defined battery. I'll have to tear one apart and get a first-hand look at the "guts".

[Disneywarrior]

Your question was well answered, I just wanted to say I almost choked on my Oreo when I saw "Tracy City, TN" above your post.

Howdy neighbor

Wow! It's a Small World" (pun intended)! Hello neighbor!