Battery life after firmware update

[JPollard]

Has anyone else experienced a reduced battery life since the update?

My watch used to go for 3.5 days between charges but since the update it won't go for a day.

I charged it at 10pm last night and by 11am it had 30% battery life left!

The only things switched on are notifications and heart rate. Exactly the same as before. I have reset and checked everything.

Watch is now useless as with this level of charging I should have got an iwatch!

[JPollard · Accepted solution]

@BramblepieI have spoken with customer services via email and after they reviewed my watch data remotely they confirmed that the battery was not operating correctly and have offered a replacement watch.

Can't fault the service they gave me so i would recommend sending them a mail.

What about battery life? 

I unplugged my watch last night at around 10 when it was at 100% and now when I woke up at 6am it has used 40%! I have it set up so I don’t get notifications at night but all other settings are the same as I was using before.

it is almost like gps is on? Can’t seem to find a way to check.

This level of battery usage will cause me to ditch the watch, i was really pleased with it before (music transfer process excluded!)

Giving up on the Ionic now as battery needs charging after 15 hours with only notifications and Heart Rate are on.

Moderator edit: merged reply

[Glennsfit]

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@chris-bit wrote:

I am not keeping track of the battery life and it is early to tell but it seems that after the update the Fitbit Ionic is draining a little bit faster.
Beside how much you are interacting with it pushing buttons, playing music, etc. I think it depends a lot on the type of phone you have and how it stays syncs with it.

It could also be a problem with the battery calibration. The percentage that is shown may lie. It may says 100% but the battery is really charged only at 60%.
I noticed on phone and other devices, the software it is usually better to sense the battery real charge if you charge the device up to 100% when it is death or almost death.
Careful, because lithium batteries do not like to be fully discharged but if everything works  well the circuits should prevent it. i.e. It says 0% but the battery is really 10% charged and it just shut down the device to prevent damages.
When the charging circuit is calibrated, it should charge the battery until it is really completely full and know what the real charge is. If it is not calibrated, it can charge to the real 60% but it says it is 100%.

The fix is sometime a few complete full charge and discharge cycles. Try to let the Ionic run out of battery or, if you are afraid, down to 10% and immediately recharge it to 100%. Do it for 2 or 3 times and see if the battery life improves.

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I agree my watch seems to be discharging quicker since update but not as bad as the original post. But I have changed my clock face to a brighter clock face. I also have noticed it’s taking longer to charge too. 

[Pnstester]

I noticed this as well.

I let the battery drain out and did a hard reboot of the watch (left + bottom right buttons pressed for 10 seconds) and then did a full charge a couple of days ago. Seems to be slightly better now (45% after 2 days) though it's still too early to tell.

[wookietim]

Wow... So you didn't install a lot of apps or anything and it still discharges that quickly. I'd say "Bad battery" as my main guess.

You you had installed a lot of apps or something that want to talk to the outside world over bluetooth or wifi, then that would be my guess. But since you didn't it sounds like a hardware problem - maybe as you last charged it it was hit by some sort of surge and damaged the battery or something.

That's something to look at - did the update for some reason flip the GPS to always on? I know it didn't on mine but this is fitbit we are discussing... who knows if their update was stable enough that it works the same way on every watch.

Also a couple of the watch faces display weather info. The weather info has to come from somewhere and it has to know where you are... I have no idea whether that comes from the phone or if the watch is using GPS but you may want to try using a different watchface just to see if it does anything (?).

Moderator edit: merged reply

[Bramblepie]

I have done a factory reset and fully charged the watch so will see what happens. I have emailed Fitbit and they will monitor the way the battery discharges. As an interesting side issue has anyone else found that the pin lock has stopped working? My app says it is still activated but th watch is always unlocked.

[IamDefiler]

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@Bramblepie wrote:

I have done a factory reset and fully charged the watch so will see what happens. I have emailed Fitbit and they will monitor the way the battery discharges. As an interesting side issue has anyone else found that the pin lock has stopped working? My app says it is still activated but th watch is always unlocked.

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Mine has had the opposite effect on the lock. Mine asks to be unlocked all the time now instead of only when sensing being taken off or put back on, which is how it used to be pre-firmware upgrade.

I also, contacted support via chat and a ticket has been opened for tracking. I was told the following from support.

( 21m 53s ) Juan P.: Thanks a lot for considering it, Michael. Now, for the test, please first avoid using the music feature, also, fully charge your Ionic with your computer instead.
( 23m 16s ) Juan P.: Afterwards, please sync your watch at least 3 times a day until the battery completely drains out.
( 23m 29s ) Juan P.: That will create new records in our system for us to further investigate into this issue.
( 23m 31s ) Juan P.: Sounds good?
( 24m 23s ) Michael: What about working out? I.e.Runs using GPS or having the screen on during gym sessions?
( 24m 57s ) Juan P.: Sure thing, the screen feature can be still be sued, however for this test, when going for a run, please avoid using the GPS.

So, I believe fitbit is definitely aware of the issue and actively investigating.

[suziespeedy2]

I charged mine overnight last night. It was at 100% at 7:30am. By 7:45pm it was at 12%. Wore it all day with an hour yoga class.  Just started having this problem last Thursday.

[MattFitbit]

Hi all. 

Thanks for taking the time to report your experience with Ionic's battery life after updating to OS 1.1. 

If your battery is draining quickly, I would recommend performing a restart to refresh your Ionic's system.  

Additionally, I would also recommend checking out this article for some best practices on how to improve battery life. 

If you continue to notice the Ionic's battery is draining quickly, please charge it to 100% and let it deplete to 0% while syncing at least 5-6 times per day to see how long it lasts. 

If you have downloaded any apps or clockfaces which you believe may be contributing to your battery drain, please let me know which ones. 

I appreciate your help with this! Let me know how it goes. 

[Allivie1]

Hey there!  Did u by chance purchase ur ionic from Fitbit directly?  I was online with them for 6 hrs with 7 different Fitbit employees and not once would they just let me send it back!  Not once!  It was 15 days old

with original receipt and packaging!  Thing is I absolutely loved the watch and will likely purchase another I’m just trying to figure out who will have the best return policy?!  Thanks for any advice!

@JPollardHey there!  Did u by chance purchase ur ionic from Fitbit directly?  I was online with them for 6 hrs with 7 different Fitbit employees and not once would they just let me send it back!  Not once!  It was 15 days old

with original receipt and packaging!  Thing is I absolutely loved the watch and will likely purchase another I’m just trying to figure out who will have the best return policy?!  Thanks for any advice!

Moderator edit: merged reply

[Hila_jes]

Hello unfortunately I’m very disappointed 😔 not only that the ionic is not accurate but also your latest update didn’t even try to solve the heart rate monitor problem...I already presented my problem with the ionic: inaccuracy of heart rate monitor To the point that when I am standing still it’s show as if I am running (140bpm). I did a reset 3 times,  I tried to change hands ( where at on my dominant  instead of non-dominant ), tried to turn it of and on, tried to do a shot down and start up but noting seems to work!  Right now my feeling is that I have a very expensive “plant” the ionic simply doesn’t deliver and no one can give me a  straight answer when  does this issue going to be  settled ?

[wookietim]

Dude, no. The Ionic costs $300 - it shouldn't need that many restarts just to function with anything close to accuracy. So kinda cut that out - if a person needs to perform restarts that often on a $300 item then that is a fault in the item and not a valid workaround.

[IamDefiler]

Just giving an update on my battery drain issue and what I believe the problem is...

Here are the things I have noticed after the latest firmware update. I have always had the screen set to turn on automatically and would get 3-4 days before needing to charge my Ionic. But after the latest firmware update, I noticed the screen turns on A LOT when it shouldn't. Many times I have looked down while my watch was at my side and the screen was on as well as when I woke from sleep in the middle of the night. Sometimes, I would manually turn it off and it would immediately turn back on.

You can see from my previous update in this thread, I spoke with FitBit support and they requested I charge the battery to 100%, use it as I normally do while syncing at least 3 times a day until the battery reaches 0% and then contact support. I did as instructed and the battery lasted less than 24 hours.

I contacted support, explained what happened. Support looked at the logs and deemed there was something going on with unusual battery drain. I even explained the screen was on all the time when it shouldn't. Support still insisted something was wrong with the hardware causing unusual battery drain. They sent me an email with a URL to a form to have a replacement sent out. I filled out the form and my new Ionic arrives Monday. BTW, I am not required to send the old Ionic back and was instructed to drop it off at a recycling facility. (!?)

At this point, I decided to charge my Ionic to 100% and change the screen setting to manual and see how long the battery lasted. This was around noon 2 days ago. As I write this my battery is currently at 82%. At this rate, I should get around 8-9 days battery life. Here's where I still think it's a firmware issue...

I still feel the firmware made the sensor, for the screen to turn on automatically, way too sensitive and needs to be dialed back or calibrated or something. Also, why would FitBit not want the "defective" Ionic back for investigation?

So, once the next firmware update is released I'll be applying it to both the new and old Ionic. I can almost guarantee, if the sensor was addressed in the next firmware update, the battery drain issue on the old Ionic will go away and I will have 2 fully functioning Ionics for the price of one.

Just my 2 cents. Take it for what it's worth.

[MattJ71]

I had just the opposite experience after the firmware update.  My battery life seems to be no worse (perhaps better).  I can get a full 6 days on a charge.

I have notifications on, but have the screen wake turned to manual.  I took my Ionic off the charger this morning at 10:00 AM.... its now 1:35 PM, and the battery is at 99%.

I usually charge on the 5th day, when the battery is around 25%.  I can easily get 6 days if I had to.

I work out every day for about 45 minutes using "weights" and never use GPS....

[Aurex]

I had the same battery drainage issues after the last firmware update. My Ionic was experiencing a full discharge after a few hours of use. Revising the configuration, I noticed a change in the settings of the activities: the GPS activation for walking was ON when previously it was set OFF. After reverting to the previous setting, the battery life returned to its normal period of 3-4 days between charges. Hope this can help.

[suziespeedy2]

My ionic died the same night I posted. So I took it back and got a new one.

No I got mine from Best Buy with the 2 year service agreement.

Sent from my iPhone

Moderator edit: merged reply

[Allivie1]

How long had u had urs and who did u purchase it through? My first came from eBay but this one I’m waiting to arrive Monday is from Fitbit directly. Sad part was the 14 days it worked correctly I absolutely loved it!!! I ordered a different color this time to see if maybe it will bring me better luck! Haha

Sent from my iPhone

[MattJ71]

My Ionic has been off the charger for 14 hours and is down to 94%.  The Ionic is much better than my Blaze when it comes to battery life.

[SantiR]

Hi @JPollard, I hope you're doing well! I moved your post to this thread which is about battery life and that you have already participated in.

I noticed you got a solution by contacting customer support and confirming the battery was not working properly, is that right? I'm glad you are getting a replacement watch, let me know how that one works. 

See you around! 

[NikPark]

Been having battery issues also, what I found in the end is that it was one of the new clock faces that have been released to us. As soon as I changed the clock face back to one of the first released on the ionic then the Battery went back to holding it's normal charge.

I wish they would do thier research and stop using us as thier guinea pigs. It's very frustrating...:-(

[armonmar]

I think the issue is the battery gage. I noticed that while the battery shows 100% charge. When I take it, it drops 20-30% within minutes. At this point I let it charge for a longer period of time even beyond 100% and then I get a well functioning watch. It may also be the power of charge, low voltage systems like a computer USB works better.
I agree there is something fishy when Fitbit don’t want a defective watch for testing.

Sent from my iPhone