Does your Ionics GPS cause your music to dropout / skipping / pausing

[Glennsfit]

I'm having a lot of issues with my Ionic with the music dropping in and out while running. Its not all the time which makes it frustrating but seems to be getting worse. I tested the watch on 2 sets of Bluetooth headsets and the problem was their with both my Plantronics back beat Go2 and backbeat fit. On 2 separate occasions the music was dropping out on every backswing of my arm which made me think it was a sensor interfering with blue Bluetooth and also because if I held the watch/arm up flat/horizontal the music had good connection. But in saying this, I could go for a 20min run and it would play up on the first 10min and be fine for the next 10min. The drop outs can vary, be every 1 or 2 seconds to 1 or 2 every 30sec.

 Today I finally went for a run with the GPS turned off (and at a time it was playing up) and the problem was gone! BUT this will need to be tested on a few more runs to confirm its the issue. I also just noticed my watch battery is at 30% and do wonder if that interferes with the Bluetooth strength as well.

Any Help and Feedback would be greatly appreciated 

Glenn

[hinkjus32]

Update: This morning the connection worked perfectly. I couldn't get it to skip by even covering the watch and placing it behind me. The only difference in situations was that it was 20 degrees warmer this morning. Yesterday it was still above the recommended operating temps I've seen somewhere of -4 F but not by a lot so maybe this issue for myself could be tied to temperature. I will continue to monitor. The next few days will be warm so I can test this more.

[Treverer]

I have a similar issue performing a run (GPS-ON) and listening to Music (BT-Headphone Plantronics backbeat-fit): After running approximately 5-6km, GPS stops recording. While the run-activity continues, the GPS is disconnected once of a sudden (remains in state connecting). This behavior is reproducable, without listening to Music, GPS is recording fine without interruption. To me this looks like a GPS-Stack issue in combination with BT-Audio, maybe a memory leak?

kind regards,

Lars

[Glennsfit]

I ended up exchanging it for  a New Ionic as it ended up being unusable to listen to music.  The New Ionic works much better , only had a few drop outs that lasted a sec or 2. 

[Beaulieu_5150]

I have been reading about your issues with the ionic. I know the posts are old, but I was wondering if you ever found a real “FIX”? 

[hinkjus32]

I have not found a fix. I unfortunately have just stopped using the music feature all together. The poor headphone connection, missing notifications, multiple notifications on email chains, inability to recognize google play music for music controls on the phone, etc... really make this watch a pain to own. I feel like everything I want to do with it and should be able to will be met with resistance. I sure do miss pebble.

[Beaulieu_5150]

Thanks for the info. Before I bought this watch I was debating on the Apple Watch or the ionic....... sadly I have come to the realization that I made the wrong choice.

Sent from my iPhone

[Jeff2016]

I have the same problem too. I contacted Fitbit tech support and they said they never heard of this kind of problem. I also use two different Plantronic Beat headphones. I returned my old ionic and got a New one and it was doing the samething. The problem is the gps. When I’m running outdoor with gps the problem exist but when running indoor without gps the problem is gone. 

[Jeff2016]

There is no fix. You have to keep exchange your ionic until you found a good one. My second ionic will only skip music on the first 20 second of the run and then it will work fine. My first ionic will consistently skipping. I also notice when the weather is wormer the skipping also reduced. I am very disappointed with Fitbit. 

[ealthoff]

I also have the Fitbit flyers and wear my watch on my left wrist and have had drop outs. My flyers we're fully charged and only about a week old and my ionic was above 50% battery. The first mile of my walk was fine the remainder 3/4 of a mile was like listening to a record player skipping all the time. I even took the watch off and put it in my right pocket which helped but did not truly alleviate this problem. Does anyone know if the Garmin with music has this problem? 

[ealthoff]

My pebble watches were awesome. I too wish they were still around. 

[Jeff2016]

I’m having the same problem. I have switched to a different Ionic and Bluetooth headphone but they are all doing the same thing. I don’t think Fitibit is going to fix this problem.

Jeff

Sent from my iPhone

[ealthoff]

Jeff,

That's my fear.

⁣Sent from BlueMail ​

[AdamMSC]

I had the same problem for a while; my headphones would connect at times, but sometimes it wouldn't. Even when it did, it occasionally would drop out; however, I have done two things that seemed to fix that completely.

First- I got a new set of headphones. I have the mpow flame bluetooth headphones from Amazon. I have yet to have a connection issue with them. Second- I  started turning my music on first, then allowing the run-detection to kick in. It recognizes the run, and I accept it. I have never had a problem while doing this, and I am currently putting in a lot of miles. Prior to that, I would stand still and wait for the gps connect, then try to connect the music, then run and hope there wasn't a connection issue. 

 Before both of those changes, it was hit or miss. I often had to stop and blah-- you know the story. 

[ealthoff]

Funny thing I have the Fitbit flyers which are only two weeks old and are
supposedly the headphones that work the best with the ionic.

Sent from BlueMail

[NovaKane1]

I also have the Flyers. I bought them hoping they would fix the skipping issue. No such luck. The flyers work fine running with my iPhone so I don’t think the problem is environmental. I think it’s a legit Ionic flaw. 

[Akcosmo]

I am using the Fitbit Flyer also and experience the same issue. However, all I'm doing is yard work  it is very annoying. After reading all these messages I guess I will file a case, too.

[Graniteabs2014]

SAME PROBLEM.

I also have notied that when I am indoors at the gym on treadmill no issues at all, but when outside with a slight bit of wind it jumps none stop Its clear to me that the bluetooth signal from ionic is VERY WEAK.

Also when outdoors with GPS on its useless.

Like you I purchased this for the music and GPS but has been a total waste. I undertand now why apple is so huge. The release Good quality products that do as there suppose to..

GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER FITBIT, you lost me as a customer.

[Zookeepertony]

I've tried every suggestion on here to make the skipping stop.  Luckily I bought a 2 year plan through Best buy....so Fitbit....if I can't run with my music....you will have to go.  

[SunsetRunner]

Bose soundsport free earbuds

what I've found is I need to have my ionic at full charge and on my right wrist (ear-bud antennae is on the right).  Then I can listen to music while I run with GPS without the drops.  If I don't have my ionic at full charge, it will skip very badly.  if the ionic is under 50% charge, the earbuds will completely loose the connection and disconnect.

I go thru a routine to ensure it works:

fully charge ionic

stop Bluetooth on my phone

restart ionic

connect earbuds to ionic

start music

start GPS app, wait for signal

start run

since the problem starts as the power level drops, my best guess is this is a powersaver problem.  I just wish I could disable what ever power saving its trying to do during my run.

[jwebb72]

No, I've never had the music cut out or drop out on the Ionic with or without GPS on during runs or walks. Always a good connection. Using SoundPeats Q34 ear buds.