MUSE 2: Headband Meditation Tracker and Monitor

This headband has been so helpful in getting my sleep right! I love the "journeys" before bed (especially the underwater one). The battery life lasts through the night (between 7-9 hours of sleep) and in the morning I just plug it in to charge up for the following night (usually close to three hours for a full charge). This has been the best sleep that I've had in probably a year. One of my New Years resolutions was to meditate at least 2x/week. I'm definitely surpassing that goal now! I meditate every day. One thing I was worried about was the band size. I have a super tiny head and I found that I was able to size it to be nice and snug. So if you have a tiny head like I do, fret not! Lol. Bonus points that it even fit my boyfriend's melon head (he likes to use it from time to time too, maybe I'll have to buy him his own lol). I love is all the data. I have been meditating inconsistently for years. One reason I've been so inconsistent is because I didn't actually think I was doing well. Muse helps me to see how much I'm improving and knowing how much I'm improving helps keep me motivated and on track and more consistent! There's also a section for journaling after each session. I find this to be a nice place to detail anything in particular from the meditation. If you have long hair like I do, I find that it's easier to tie it up before putting on the headband so all of my hair is out of the way so the sensors can have skin contact. Another thing I was very impressed with was the packaging and unboxing experience. It was very luxurious and incredibly impressive. In fact, I still haven't thrown the packaging away because I like to put the pod and headband back in their boxes when I'm not using or charging them. I found that the Muse synced seamlessly to my phone and that the app has a lot of fun meditations and sleep aids to try out. The app is super intuitive to use and it's very well organized. If you are tech illiterate like I am, that shouldn't be a problem! This app was definitely created with all people in mind. There are few icons at the bottom of the screen for easy navigation, and you just tap where you want to go! One icon for sleep, the other for meditation! In all, I'm super happy with this and would 100% buy it again and I am definitely buying one for my best friend for her birthday that's coming up shortly! She's also going to love it too! :D

I love the concept. It's terrific. But according to the neurologists I've spoken to, it doesn't have enough leads to provide accurate information. And experience bore that out. I had moments when I was as anxious as heck, and it still gave me a ton of birds (meaning: the device indicated I was calm). And I had moments of true, genuine peace - and it gave me not birds (meaning: the device thought I was stressed). I think it's probably a gimic. I'm sure the device will improve over time - but for this generation of Muse - it's a hard pass. I'm sorry.

The interface is sparklingly beautiful and some of the sound programs are pretty good. I am pleased to be able to see graphs of brainwave functions and gain an intuitive sense for when the app and I both assess my mood as being calm. Troubleshooting is maddening and a recent version update of the app has caused a repeatable problem: the head band does not communicate with my iPhone. I can hold down the little button until there is a connection, but when I select any meditation program, the headband disconnects without telling me. I'll meditate and get none of the measurements or feedback from the headband. It's no better than listening to music or meditation soundtracks without any headband at all. The "troubleshooting" guides start by telling you to make sure you are running the latest version of the app. But I can find no place in the app that shows the latest version. It asks you which headband you have. But I can find no place on the headband that indicates which one it is. It instructs you to read online troubleshooting guides, but I cannot see these without reading glasses and glasses interfere with the electrode connections above the ears. It's not that I cannot complete the troubleshooting steps: it's that I have no hope of starting. My initial impression of the build quality was "this would be a nice toy, if it sold for $50." I used this headband several times per week for about four months before the connection problem manifest, and I would have given it maybe three or four stars. But since it has become unusable, my opinion is lower. ---- Update two days later... After about forty minutes of mucking around with it, including reading the instructions on my desktop computer because they are too small to read on my iPhone, the thing started working. Long story short I had to upload the new version of the app, quit every app on my phone, navigate Me-> Tools -> Firmware Update. Then, surprisingly it worked, even though my iPhone never did report this as Bluetooth device. So... how the iPhone communicated with the headset without bluetooth access is evidently magic.

I bought the Muse S because I wanted an EEG sleep tracking device to use as a reference to see how accurate my Galaxy Watch 6 Classic and Pixel Watch 2 were compared to an actual EEG device. After doing Google searches and using an app called Vetted, I came across the Muse S headband, which seemed like a good choice. However, I’ve had nothing but issues, and it just doesn’t seem to work correctly. When it does work, I assume it’s accurate because, according to the website, NASA and IBM use this device, but that hasn’t been my experience. The setup was easy, and the device is comfortable to wear at night. I haven’t used the meditation features much because sleep tracking was my main reason for getting it. The battery isn’t really a problem for me, but I could see how it might be for others if they forget to charge it. It still uses micro USB, which is pretty outdated in 2024, when most devices use USB-C. When it works, it’s fine, but it often stops tracking in the middle of the night. Sometimes it only records 30 minutes, and other times it quits for no reason. One night, I even took my phone with me everywhere I walked to keep the device within Bluetooth range, but it still didn’t track my sleep correctly. And it’s not like it stops tracking when I wake up because it thinks I’m awake—no, that’s not the case. Sometimes it stops tracking while I’m in the middle of sleeping. It often stops tracking between 5:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m., even though I don’t wake up until 7:00 or 8:00 a.m. It rarely tracks the entire night. I reached out to Muse’s support team, and they told me that the problem could be related to my device. I’m running the latest version of the Android 15 beta and update regularly. They said that the battery optimization on Android 14 kills the Muse app because of high RAM usage. They suggested a few steps, like disabling updates, closing other apps, and keeping the Muse app in the foreground all night. To be honest, their advice seemed pretty ridiculous and not really helpful. Another issue is that the sensors on the headband are already starting to wear out. You have to buy the headband where the sensors are located, and replacements cost $79.99, which takes 4-7 days to arrive. This really shouldn’t happen so soon. Even though this device claims to be used by NASA and IBM, I’ve seen a lot of people with the same problems, and I’m having them too. I bought this to compare the sleep tracking to my smartwatches, but I’m really disappointed. The idea behind it is great, but the execution just isn’t there. I’d give it 2 stars. It’s not worth the price with all these issues.

One of the best products with most accurate sensors for sleeping, meditation and tracking. This band senses the sleep cycle automatically and switches of meditation mode. The band feels super comfortable. With all the dashboard items and the startup video, I could seamlessly use the band with all the features like meditation with digital sleeping pills. The results are made simpler to understand using the graph. Super happy with the accuracy of the device having used this for 3 weeks now.