Feedback about Fitbit Ionic

[MelissaRN]

I've never owned a Fitbit product.  I recently began using the Fitbit app as a way to log water, food and steps and I am enjoying it and finding it motivating.

I'm thinking about making the plunge and purchasing the Fitbit Ionic.  (I also was looking at the Blaze.)

So question, would you buy the Fitbit Ionic again?  Do you regret it?  Love it?  Think it's worth it or not?

Any feedback is appreciated.   Thank you in advance!  

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[TomDuke]

I've only had the Ionic since Christmas and it's my first experience with wearable tech and a fitness tracker.  So far, I'm relatively pleased with the device as it seems to do what it's supposed to and sync's well with my Android phone.  I think it overestimates my caloric count and steps walking but underestimates my running distance on treadmill (haven't tried outdoor running with GPS to validate distance).  The Fitbit software is another matter. One of the main features that compelled me to purchase the Ionic was the music storage feature which I cannot get to work.  The app on my new Windows 10 laptop cannot seem to find my WiFi router (and it's a compatible WiFi service) no matter what I do.  The app on my phone can find the WiFi just fine but the laptop app does not even see it.  Without that link you cannot transfer any music files.  Not a deal breaker but disappointing, I'd buy again given the rest of it works OK.

[mr_manager]

If I had it to do over again, I'd probably go with a Garmin Fenix. Or maybe even a Samsung Frontier. This Ionic showed some promise, but it's kind of been a false start.

[jambrz]

You can compare them by yourself via using Ray's product comparison tool:
https://www.dcrainmaker.com/product-comparison-calculator?type=watch&ids=79642%2C82830#results

[Nettuno]

We did several tests with ECG cardio bands and other LED devices (which measure the change in blood vessels).  Fitbit Ionic was a real disaster with PurePulse.
This is the result of a 5 round test between the Polar H10 LED Cardio and the Fitbit Ionic, you can see the 5 moments of effective fatigue

[tobingj]

@Nettunodid you test via other watches? Results on a website? Would like to see that for garmin and Tom Tom suuntos etc. Cheers.

[Nettuno]

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@tobingj wrote:

@Nettunodid you test via other watches? Results on a website? Would like to see that for garmin and Tom Tom suuntos etc. Cheers.

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Hello, we actually tried 2 Ionic ... and tested with Garmin Vivoactive 3, Polar H7, Polar H10 and Suunto Spartan at a gym in Pisa - Italy ... all gave similar values and same calorie consumption, the Fitbit gave high values at rest and fakes during training; This is very serious because if an athlete overcomes the heart beats allowed at his age, ionic must alert ...

[Nick248]

Yes, I have the same problem. I have a ionic and it too won't sync. I am being told my samsung sky won't work, however it did when I first got it. I wonder when this new warranty was put in effect because they did replace my charge 2 that was purchased thru ebay. 

[Nick248]

I purchased a ionic thru ebay and it has stopped syncing, I have tried several times thru fitbit to try and get it to work however all attempts have failed and fitbit won't replace it because ebay isn't an approved dealer, so just beware

[Nick248]

Not to mention they won't replace it if you bought it thru ebay ! Don't buy a fitbit

[EWC115]

Absolutely regret it. The syncing issues on this watch makes it useless. I will probably never buy another Fitbit device again.

[iamPooh]

My answer is NO! 

[DyvrDan]

No way in hell.  And probably no Fitbit products again either.

[Donnamt16]

No.

I got it on release so had all the software issues

Today it is a 300 quid brick. Totally dead 😞

I wish i had stuck with the blaze or got a garmin instead.

[soccersnaps]

definetly YES , ive had no syncing issues, my music loaded easily and pair's with the flyers without fail, i still use my charge 2 for work and the ionic for exercise and i turn the ionic off inbetween sessions so battery life is good. i love the fact i dont have to carry my phone on runs/bike rides or have wired headphones. My ionic has performed faultlessly since christmas including after software updates. 

i would love to use the watch to pay small bills but i think were not on this yet in the uk

[FaBBry]

No, me neither.

First Ionic was died after 3 months. Fitbit replace my original Ionic with another one. 

Apart from this, that can be happen with any brands of smartwatches, mainly reasons for no are:

• In Italy you can't use many apps (payment apps, music apps)
• There are still problems with swim app (actually on Android app is not able to recognize the swim style)
• Software is too raw and there are many missing (easy) features (for instance: the amount of KM swum from day 0 to actual day - like steps does)

[Nick248]

I totally agree, They won't replace mine because I bought it thru Ebay !

[Nick248]

No, they won't replace mine because it was bought thru Ebay !

[USAF-Larry]

"Would you buy Fitbit Ionic again?"  Yes, in a heartbeat!  I have never had a major problem with my Ionic, and since the firmware update I have not experienced any tracker crashes during exercises while using the workout mode.

@Nick248, since Ebay is not an authorized retailer, Fitbit cannot accept devices sold there as warranted items. I have seen warnings about that posted in nearly every device forum.  Ebay is a "buyer beware" site.

[pedris]

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@DyvrDanwrote:

No way in hell.  And probably no Fitbit products again either.

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Same here. We're approaching 6 months on and the Ionic is still buggy. I can't play music (I'm using Android, Chromebook, Spotify, Audible). No Fitbit Pay in Germany.

The GPS lasts about 6-7 hours for me, never close to 10 hours. This is particularly annoying as I bought it for an ultra in June where I'm expecting to take 9 hours (plus time driving to start, waiting in my 'pen' etc.).

I've lost all confidence that Fitbit is going to fix the device with software updates. I imagine they'll release a "new-and-better" device at some point and urge Ionic users to upgrade.

Likely to switch to Garmin in the next few months as the Espon RunSense 347 I was interested in isn't available in Europe.

P.S. What's happening with the SPO2 sensor?

[MattJ71]

On the whole.... no, I would not buy it again.  The reason for this is that it can't do the main thing it is supposed to do, upon the basis of which everything else is based, tracking heart rate accurately.  The entire foundation of calorie tracking, active minutes, cardio fitness, etc., is based on heart rate.  If the heart rate was off by +/- 5%, this wouldn't be a big deal, but I'm convinced that it's off by a lot more than that!

It's quite disturbing that the Ionic records elevated heart rates and awards active minutes for things that I would hardly consider active.  When I get up, have a coffee, take a shower and drive to work, I may have already racked up 10 active minutes!  This never happened with my Blaze.

Also, with my Blaze, I would rarely burn 3000 calories per day (around 2500 - 2800).  With the Ionic I hit 3000 calories by 9:00 PM, and by bedtime I've "burned" 3300 - 3400.  This lulls me into a sense that I can eat more.

Long story short, ever since I went from my Blaze to Ionic, I've been gaining weight, even with a 500 calorie/day deficit set!  You do the math.

Fail.