Bluetooth drops out when 1m away from speakers.

[SunsetRunner]

I have had my ionic since the first gen, I have noticed since the last firmware update, every time I connect to any type of Bluetooth speakers or headphones, even Fitbit flyer, if I’m about 1m away from the speakers or closer, if I put my hand over the watch or move the watch behind my back the music stops. This is very annoying when running, because evertime my hand moves back the music stops. I thought it might be the headphones at first, so I connected them to my phone and I could be 5m away and never had a problem. It has gotten to a point that I don’t use my watch for music anymore, because it drops out all the time. Which was one of the main reasons I spent the money on buying a Fitbit.

Is anyone else having this problem, or is my watch got a problem.

[MarreFitbit]

Hey there @SunsetRunner, it's nice to see you around the forums!  I have seen this before and there is a workaround that has helped other users in the past:

• Restart your Ionic.
• Unpair the headphones.
• Pair them back again.

Try using them once again after doing this process, it should be better.

It also sounds possibly like a Bluetooth conflict. I'm assuming you’ve got your headphones paired with your phone as well. Try turning off Bluetooth on your phone while listening to music on the Ionic, or any other device the headphones might be paired with.

This just happened to me once. My headphones were paired with my phone as well as my watch. I was running out of the zone for my phone. Not so much an Ionic issue, as the way my headphones handle loosing connection to a device. I've removed the pairing to my phone and now it's all good again. 

Hope this helps, let me know if this works for you too! 

[SunsetRunner]

Hi Marre,

I have tried that work around around and it fixes it for about 2 days then it starts to play up again. 

It’s got to a point that I’m over the watch not being able to play music, which is the main reason I bought the watch so I could go for a walk or ride and didn’t need my phone. 

It’s like buying a phone and it hangs up the phone call every time you move. 

I’ve searched forums and the web for a solution but can’t find one. 

To be honest it’s left me wondering if I’ll ever buy a Fitbit again. 

[BMS_01]

This is most definitely an Ionic issue. I've had the same problem with two sets of head phones now. My first head phones had the Bluetooth on the left side, which is the side I wear my watch. I found that when running, the audio was mostly fine. But when walking, it would start to cut out because my arm was now down at my side. I could easily replicate the issue over and over by raising my arm.

Once my first set gave out, I mistakenly forgot to check which side the Bluetooth radio was on my new headphones, and it turned out to be the right. Sure enough, during my first run, the audio was terrible. So now I have to move the watch to my other arm for running.  And I still cannot listen to headphones when walking.  I do not have this problem listening to audio on my phone, but I DO NOT want to carry my phone when I run.

I believe I've seen it mentioned here before that the Bluetooth radio on the Ionic is very weak, and this seems to confirm that. I don't know if a firmware upgrade can fix that or not.  Ironically, I have no problem syncing the Ionic to my phone from a much greater distance, so it should be possible to fix the headphone issue. Frankly, I'm willing to place my watch on my phone to sync, if that's what it takes to make using headphones acceptable.