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!

[kaszëba]

my battery stands for 7 days (no GPS) 

[SantiR]

@kaszëba Welcome to the Fitbit family! Thanks for reporting the battery life Ionic is giving to you. 

GPS is not the only feature that will drain your battery quickly. There are other features that may be causing this like:

• Changing clock faces very often
• Syncing very often
• Music
• Fitbit pay
• Downloading and using apps

There are other things that may be draining your battery too; please check this helpful article to get some tips to increase the battery life on Ionic.

Hope this helps. Keep me posted! 

[kaszëba]

---

@SantiR wrote:

@kaszëba Welcome to the Fitbit family! Thanks for reporting the battery life Ionic is giving to you. 

GPS is not the only feature that will drain your battery quickly. There are other features that may be causing this like:

• Changing clock faces very often
• Syncing very often
• Music
• Fitbit pay
• Downloading and using apps

There are other things that may be draining your battery too; please check this helpful article to get some tips to increase the battery life on Ionic.

Hope this helps. Keep me posted! 

---

I'm really happy with 7 days 🙂 it's more than enough however I would like to know when SPO2 will be active 🙂 thx

[SantiR]

@kaszëba Thanks for your reply! I'm very glad to hear that you are happy with the battery life! 

I was researching information about the SP02 sensor and I was able to find this:

• SP02 for Ionic

It is categorized as "Under Consideration". However, I don't have any more information about it. I'd recommend checking that space for further updates.

Hope this helps. Keep me posted! 

[CW11]

They had me reset my watch hours before the update. That was yesterday afternoon. So far no difference in life at medium after 1 1/2 days  Was hoping to get more usability. Will see if battery life is better or worse. cw11 

[SunsetRunner]

Hi Matt,

since the last system update my Ionic has lost charge at such a rate that I have to take my charge lead with me to plug in!

Prior to this the specified 4-5 days was standard, I have followed the re-set and testing steps that other users have experienced, what else is being done? Is the fitbit team looking at updating IOS to correct the issue, sooner rather than later?? Frustrated!

[SantiR]

@SunsetRunner Welcome to the Fitbit family! Thanks for reporting the situation you are experiencing with Ionic's battery life.

By any chance are you using Wi-Fi often? When Ionic is connected to Wi-Fi for a long period of time, the battery can drain very quickly. This usually happens when you are downloading a large music playlist or multiple apps at once.

Try using Wi-Fi only when downloading music, using apps that require Wi-Fi, or updating the firmware on your watch.

Also note that battery can drain even while the device is charging if connected to Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi should turn off automatically after 1-2 minutes of inactivity.

Keep me posted! 

[SunsetRunner]

Hi, thanks for the welcome 😁
My Ionic was fantastic until recent system update, WiFi is off unless downloading music files, had already decided that activity was by choice than automatic.
I have reset the device numerous times and find marginal difference.
Any other tips?

Sent from my iPhone

[SantiR]

@SunsetRunner Thanks for your reply and for providing that information. Also, thanks for restarting your watch. How many days is the battery lasting on your Ionic.

It can last up to 5 days, but it may vary with usage and other settings. Are you using apps constantly? Maybe GPS activities?

I'd recommend checking all of the factors that may drain the battery a bit faster on this help article. There is a list of them which you may find helpful. 

Try that out and let me know how it goes! 

[SunsetRunner]

Hi, thanks for getting back to me.
About 24 hours now, most functions are set to off, dim or lowest possible settings.
I’ve even logged off from the app, that slowed loss down to 8% battery drain over 2.5 hours.
Even at this rate, it’s still significantly under performing. Will let you know what the % of battery is at 0900 on 26th June without further charge. Last charged 1800 hrs on 25th June too 100%.


Sent from my iPhone

[SunsetRunner]

Hi,

Update: battery level now at 58%, been on my wrist whilst sleeping.

12.5 hrs = 42% battery drain

Sent from my iPhone

On 25 Jun 2018, at 23:59, Neil Thackeray <neil.thackeray1@icloud.com> wrote:

Hi, thanks for getting back to me.

About 24 hours now, most functions are set to off, dim or lowest possible settings.

I’ve even logged off from the app, that slowed loss down to 8% battery drain over 2.5 hours.

Even at this rate, it’s still significantly under performing. Will let you know what the % of battery is at 0900 on 26th June without further charge. Last charged 1800 hrs on 25th June too 100%.

[SantiR]

@SunsetRunner Thanks for your reply and for sharing the information about the battery level on Ionic.

I went ahead and contacted you via PM. Please keep an eye on your Community inbox.

Keep me posted! 

[SunsetRunner]

Hi all at Customer Service, 

thanks for your help in resolving my issue, unfortunately it meant a unit replacement.

well that’s the bad news!!

The absolutely great news is that my New unit holds charge for at least 7 days!!! 

Over the moon, thank you

[SantiR]

@SunsetRunner Thanks for your reply and for providing those details! I'm so glad to read that your replacement unit is holding its charge for at least 7 days. That is simply awesome. Glad you are back on track now. Customer service is great. 

Also, take a look at the Discussions Board as you will find a lot of interesting things there. Feel free to post on any thread you want. If you are looking for Fitbit friends to compete with on challenges, check this thread to add some! 

See you around! 

[MneimnehMo]

a short battery life is very alarming.. i want to upgrade from charge 2, but i don't want to trade lower batter for better specs..

[SunsetRunner]

Hi, my replacement Ionic usually lasts 7 days between charges, it has gone 9 days on two occasions, couldn’t recommend the Ionic more 😁

Sent from my iPhone

[SunsetRunner]

Good evening,

Once again having a problem with my Ionic. After last issue the device was replaced and worked perfectly until around 1400 today 21st August...my Fitbit has died now, gone from  being 62% charged around midday to completely shut off without taking power from charging.

I have tried different plug sockets and no change, been on charge for around 3 hours. Still unresponsive. 

Love the device,  it's part of my daily life... 

Help....please 

[ArlFla]

Sorry, this is not actually a solution for most people. The problem seems endemic since the update. They aren't going to replace everyone's device.

[Guzzbinkles]

Yup - very well known problem which is not being ignored by FitBit - rather they are capitalizing on it by offering people 30% of new purchases.

There is a growing body of evidence based on their lack of resolution and preferred response that this is possible a deliberate action following Apples recent court case loss for deliberately slowing down their old phones and draining batteries to force people to purchase new models.

Highly illegal in Australia with consumer protection laws and Europe - will be sending report to EU commissioner who deals with this.

Its a known issue and at the absolute very LEAST needs to have a product recall to be fixed and or replacement offered.

No way this is legal in many countries - probably ok in USA but not others with consumer protection laws.

[Jers43]

nope it did the same thing to mine ran great until the firmware up load