Apparently ionic has a lifespan of about 3 years and then it stops working

[AL.C]

So my ionic started to mess up about a year ago by nit reading my heart rate accurately and sometimes it didnt read it altogether. It was all down hill from there. Fast forward to present day, it has lost one of its basic functions which is counting steps. The only thing still working is the time..every other sensor stopped working. So not i have a useless “smart watch”.

i done everything that could be done from hard reset to software update to factory reset and still nothing.

keep in mind that i take real good care of my watch, never did it get any impacts i don’t even wear it when going into the shower.

good luck getting any help from anyone in fitbit in regards to that, it would be a waste of your time.

Excuse my rant but its just frustrating

[JResnick4]

I am really frustrated with Fitbit as well. My Ionic died after about 20-months. I am trying to figure out my next steps. I am seriously considering a Garmin instead. 

[AL.C]

Yeah so am i. For the price you might as well throw in a few more bobs and buy an apple watch. At least they keep upgrading softwares

[Guenther3]

GPS usage is the real battery drain, offering you about 10 hours of battery life. Four days is around what you'll see from Fitbit's standard fitness trackers, so it's impressive the company has managed to maintain that sort of stamina, especially with the display used.

[Guenther3]

Four days is around what you'll see from Fitbit's standard fitness trackers, so it's impressive the company has managed to maintain that sort of stamina, especially with the display used.

MyCCPay

[AL.C]

I have no problem with the battery. Watch runs fine. It is now a standard digital watch and even that is a failure sometime, i have to go back and sync it manually to get the time back.

the whole thing is a mess, none of the sensors work and even the screen is starting to die as you can see it failing at the edges. I’m expecting the watch to die any minute now.

i was impressed with the watch the first few months and then the band started to wear off. Thats when i realized that the watch is not a quality product for its cost. 
i was better off buying an apple watch with the money i paid for it

[GabrielleLalond]

My problem as well! 3rd fitbit I purchased was my ionic. It will be my last! I love the look of the new designer gorjana for Fitbit Luxe and considered buying it...but I still have to deal with the fact that Samsung 20 +5G isn't compatible. So disapointed!

[Zackydog]

I’m having the same issues.  Frustrating! 

[Wdoc · Accepted solution]

My experiences have been between 20 and 30 months of life.
Between my wife and I, we've bought 5 fitbit devices.  3 of them failed and were replaced in warranty.  None of the devices, those replaced in warranty nor the originals that weren't replaced in warranty, lasted longer than 30 months.
I bought my wife an Ionic in 2018 and spent $20 for a Squaretrade 4 year warranty.  That Ionic was replaced in Fitbit warranty for heartrate sensing failure so it's in ST warranty now.
I bought an Ionic Adidas in 2019, along with a ST warranty, and its heartrate sensing failed in June 2021.  ST can't replace the tracker so they paid me the full value.
I just got a Sense, with 4 year warranty.  Fitbit is a better device for fitness, IMO, so just figure in the minimal cost of warranty.  It's still less than the competition. 
If I need to get the current model every 2-3 years for no cost, that's minor.
The i device may be better quality but the fitness results aren't as slick and there's no way I'm going to charge my watch ever day...that's ludicrous. 

[Flammo97]

Have had the same issue with my ionic. Had it replaced 6 months ago and now this one has stopped syncing but Fitbit aren't interested. They know this model has syncing issues but are not prepared to help. They just say that it is now out of warranty. £279 for a brick. I won't be returning to the Fitbit family

[Wdoc]

It's a real shame that Fitbit's support attitude is pushing people away.... they could be a lot better if this was resolved.
Fitbit pretty much has the data presentation and metrics to a point where they are easy to use.  I believe this may be why they are so lax in taking care of their customers in the area of hardware failures.
I've had a couple instances that my FB would no longer sync and after I did all of the usual things, I reset the device to factory and reloaded it, which restored operation in both cases....just suggesting, in the case that you haven't tried this yet.

Because of FB attitude to hardware failures, I evaluate the alternatives, costs, etc. before buying each new tracker and each time, have decided to use the FB system with extended warranty to protect myself.  Thus far, this approach has been successful with no extra cost since original purchase.
I could get all obstinate and say Fitbit doesn't deserve my business, which they may not, but this is about what I need and until I see an alternative 'system' that presents the data the way I want it with smart wearables that have about a week's worth of battery, I'll stick with FB for daily health/fitness monitoring and figure in the cost of an extended warranty.
Appears you are in UK so you should have access to what we do in US, regarding extended warr.

For a bit more detailed cardiac workout data, I use Cardiogram, connected to the FB datastream and use EliteHRV with a Polar H9 sensor (free app, USD$30 chest sensor) for closer look at heart rate variability, which Fitbit isn't capable of actually doing, regardless of what they present.
I don't have very much invested here....around USD$200, as I'm only trying to maintain/improve health as approaching 70 and am not a fanatic about it.

Of course, each of us must do as they feel best so good luck with your new direction.
I'm not a Fitbit fan-boy nor married to the FB system, so, for certain, if someone finds a better system I'd love to hear about it.
Cheers

[greengrass49]

Same here, this is my second ionic and now it just does not charge anymore, and tried to contact the fitbit but their solution is getting a new one

[Pkumar]

The 3-4 years seems to be a magic number. It costs a fair bit of coin down under and it’s simply not done. They should last more. Started troubles with Fitbit coach being decommissioned. That put a dent in my fitness routines. The new app does not have programs close to the Coach. Then the heart rate got erratic and died altogether. And now it stopped tracking distance and steps. Not ideal when one is at the peak of training for a long distance run. I bough this one as it was a better choice in fitness with GPS and battery life plus the coach and tracking. Was so much a fan that my entire family has Fitbit devices. Regret it now.  Time to take the Apple plunge with Series 7.  They haven’t disappointed me since 2008. 

[Pkumar]

Update - I thought I’ll ask Fitbit support inspire of all the negative comments. After the usual trouble shooting exercises, they offered to replace it for free. Now that’s standing by the product (or the Australian consumer law which gives us rights beyond warranties). And when I went online it offered me just that and an option to buy the latest for 50%.  So I just ordered the sense as it has comparable battery life. While Apple may have been able to **ahem** physics they still haven’t progressed the battery life. Overall happy that Fitbit stood behind their product.  Back to outdoor running. Yay