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

[InkyMyCat]

I am to the point now that I will never buy another Fitbit watch again.  Anytime anything goes wrong with the watch I always have to do a hard reset.  Today my watch was resetting every 5 minutes.  I did a hard reset on it and started reinstalling the firmware 3.0.  I was 50% through and my blue tooth connection to the watch failed or shut off.  I tried to reconnect and it failed.  I reset the phone and app an not luck.  I shut the watch off and now it will not turn back on again.

What a piece of crap watch.

[huckshuman]

Don't waste your money.  My first Ionic worked fine for 2-3 months and then refused to sync.  Numerous support techs tried to tell me it was my fault, and one even said I had downloaded a clock face (from Fitbit's own website) that Fitbit didn't support.  Finally, after over a year of frustration and stiff-arming by techs, I got a tech who understood and she sent me a replacement.  After four months of perfect performance (Oh, this is what Fitbit is supposed to be like!  I love it!) Last night the screen went black and the thing is dead.  The app says it is still syncing, but the tech I got this morning says the unit is gone.  That's two bad units out of two.  They offered 40% off on a new one, but why would I spend $ on a product I know is going to fail?  Too bad.  If they worked, they'd be great.

[Nick248]

No, mine was junk from day one, it never did sync consistently, and they wouldn’t replace it because I bought it from Ebay. Luckily I sold it as is and was able to buy a Versa directly from fitbit, it’s worked without any issues, it’s about a $ 100 cheaper too !
Sent from Mail for Windows 10

[Sasqch]

InkyMyCat that is exactly what happened to my Ionic.  After 18 months of near flawless performance it started to shut itself down randomly where I had to do a hard reset to get it back on.  It started doing it once a day and progressed to doing it 3-4 times a day over a 4 day period.  After following the recommended fix procedures from Fitbit I did the increasingly more invasive procedures until I got the procedure to remove the app from my phone and completely reload the Ionic Firmware on the watch.  It never completed and hence "bricked" my Ionic.

I do have a theory and maybe others can confirm if this matches anyone else's experience leading up to your Ionic's failure.  I took an airplane trip in the week before all the problems started.  When I got to New Mexico (from Minnesota) everything worked fine, but it started malfunctioning after the return flight.  My suspicion is that something related to the low pressure of the flight cabin and/or the quick pressure changes on ascent and decent when flying.  I know the watch has a sealed (since it is water proof) air pressure sensor to be able to count flights of stairs, but I'm not sure how well the watch and battery cells may handle the low pressure changes as opposed to high pressure underwater stress.

[Jillccc]

My fails were unrelated to anything like a plane trip. Just fails.

My husband has a more basic one, forget the name, and his has been replaced
at least three times by Fitbit for problems. My Ionic-- the first and its
replacement all had problems.

My 2 cents is to buy the cheapest version and use it to generally track
your activity levels. If it fails, see if they'll send another. If bot,
you're not out a lot of $.

I run with a small Palm device (android). It stores music, can get any
music app, works with Nike run (which I prefer to Strava, the only one
compatible with Ionic), and is small. Doesn't do heart rate, but I dont
care. It's dependable.

Peeps, do NOT buy a Fitbit from Ebay. Chances are it's a defective one.
Fitbit doesn't require you to send in the defective device. If I had no
scruples, i could sell the defective one on Ebay as it's problematic are
not immediately detectable. But I do have scruples, so I won't. I tossed
it.

[motoscribble]

I have owned mine for about 2 years and it continues to work. Failures? Yes, syncing to the app is not immediate unless location is turned on. It still syncs but it can take multiple takes to get it to sync but eventually is always does. If you do not use location the low battery notification email will not be sent to your email acct (LAME), I never turn on the location and I never will (to **ahem** invasive). Bluetooth issues constantly and battery life is terrible and I find it has to be charged every couple of days, it is on the charger now! (The battery issue alone is why I will not buy another Iconic).  If you go shopping and push a cart, it does not count steps. No battery indicator on the main screen is lame, put it on the main screen!!!! Instead of having to scroll up to see where your battery life is. DUMB!!! There is a lot to like about this watch but a lot to hate about this watch. Bought my wife the new Samsung Gear Fit2 Pro, great watch but to use it as with the Iconic requires location turned on. Works perfectly as long as you do that. I tested the Iconic with the location turned on and syncing never failed to sync, yet I find having the location turned on to be  to invasive to leave it on. Wife turns the Samsung on to sync on then off. If Fitbit does not improve the Iconic and it's battery life and removing the must use location to sync I won't be buying another one or any other fitbit products. My Iconic was bought at Kohls new.

[TomDuke]

I've had the same experience as 'motoscribble'; have had mine for 18 mo's and it's worked relatively well.  The music feature was a joke and I gave up on it after about a week of frustration.  Battery life is acceptable; it needs charging twice a week.  I agree, having to keep my phone's location setting turned on all the time is a no-go for me and failing that synching the Ionic is a problem.  I have to manually turn on the location for my Pixel 3 then open the Fitbit app and force the synch, then turn off the location.  Notifications for Gmail and Google Calendar, and Verizon Messaging works most of the time, but it's glitchy and sometimes it requires a forced synch to make the notifications resume working.  Overall I'm fairly satisfied with my Ionic but it certainly could be better.

[AlbertoBar]

I have the same suspicion, I got a dead Ionic shortly after a long flight... I got a replacement under warranty, and probably not going to use it again when flying....

[motoscribble]

I have flown 4 or 5 times with my Iconic and have not had the problem that you guys are describing. Maybe I got lucky ...... knocking on wood.

[bmw54]

Over the 15 months I owned an Ionic I was in these forums daily trying to determine if Fitbit would ever debug it. The answer became obvious: Never.

Though marketed as such, the Ionic was not designed for competitive runners. 

My best Ionic moment was the day I replaced it with Garmin.

My next-best Ionic moment was the day I deleted the Fitbit app from my phone.

Months later this topic popped into my inbox. Like a  fitbit zombie.

[pedris]

"Though marketed as such, the Ionic was not designed for competitive
runners.

My best Ionic moment was the day I replaced it with Garmin."

Same story here. Haven't looked back since replacing mine with a Garmin
Fenix 5 Plus. Gave my Ionic away and said goodbye to the Fitbit ecosystem.

[SilviaFitbit]

Hey everyone! Thank you for participating in the forums. Sorry for the delay. 

I appreciate that you've shared the experience that you had with our Support team. I can confirm that our team reviews each case individually and the option that's provided is based in the Fitbit Warranty.

Remember to keep a friendly environment in the forums. If you have any question about the option that you were given, you can contact our team back by replying to the post. 

I'll be around if you need further assistance. 

[Johnkey]

My fit bits have never been great at syncing with non apple products. My Ionic has suddenlt stopped syncing with mt Samsung S7 and Ive tried resetting my phone and my ionic very frustrating considering the cost of the ionic.

[sko_tang]

I do not have an Ionic.  I would never spend that kind of money for a general smart wearable without any specific walk / run metrics.  Granted it has a built-in GPS.  I previously used an inexpensive  Xiaomi Mi Band 3 which I was 90% satisfied.  Xiaomi took customer feedback seriously and corrected the few bugs I reported quickly during regular app / firmware updates.  And at that price most users will be very forgiving.  I gave it to my daughter after 6 months because I bought a Charge 3 to track daytime sleep / nap and to track floors climbed with the altimeter.

While the sleep tracking works well for me the floor counts are erratic and erroneous.  I read somewhere that the exaggerated floor counts do not affect the calories calculation but it has been going on for months without solution.  Today after checking many of the close to 200 threads in the Charge 3 forum I decide to take a look at the Ionic forum.  And surprise, surprise loads of Ionic users are reporting the same floor counts issue for months!  I will next check the Versa forum and see whether there are reported issues about faulty floor counts too.  But it seems this is a widespread issue across different Fitbit products and seemingly without any fix!

So while this seems to be off the topic about a review of Ionic I just cannot resist leaving this post.

[instantsneaker]

No - this is my first and last fitbit purchase. I bought it today and couldn't regret it more! I have had nothing but issues with it from the onset and will be returning it tomorrow.

[bookgrub]

Unfortunately I would not. When my Microsoft Band 2 failed and replacements were no longer available under warranty I wanted a device that had onboard GPS, sleep tracking, and worked with my Windows Phone. The Ionic was the only option, and I was looking forwards to it.

My first device lasted less than 8 weeks before developing an uncorrectable screen fault. The replacement lasted less than 8 weeks before developing an uncorrectable (different) screen fault.

While the third device has, so far, worked well (needing only one hard reset to complete a firmware update) the dual failure, the painful warranty process, and the availability of alternatives now means when this device fails or degrades too much, I'll be going elsewhere.

I'm not "never buying Fitbit again" but I'll need more than good reviews to purchase again. They'll need to demonstrate a clear strategy and a commitment to improved customer service before I part with any hard-earned again.

With each smartwatch purchase lasting me a couple of years, though, I expect it to be at least 2022 before I even think about Fitbit, and if whatever I buy next works well they may never even enter the frame.

[Silkester]

Definitely not!! I had an alta HR which I loved so upgraded to an Iconic which was a complete waste of money. I an unable to use my AirPods with it. I live in the Uk and the banks it supports are few and far between and not commonly used banks. The swimming app is poor and doesn’t log correctly and only gives you an average time for each 100 and you can’t see splits. A disappointment all round that does not do what I purchased it for.  So I now have to look at buying new wireless headphones and not being able to use the pay or purchasing another watch that is not Fitbit 

[Bigfrank1]

I think I would buy a lonic again. So far I've had a few complain. I can't
get the steps working right. I have two pedometers besides the ionic. Both
of them show the same number of steps. The ionic shows less.

[MS_2017_12]

Hi Melissa,

I loved the Fitbit while it lasted.  Unfortunately it didn't last as long as you'd imagine it should.  Details here:  https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Ionic/dead-fitbit-ionic/m-p/3612561/highlight/true#M102752

Long story short.... its short life does not IMHO justify the price paid.

[MJS9999]

I loved the Ionic - but beware mine stopped working 2 months after the 1 year warranty period expired.  When I contacted Fit bit they basically said "sometimes our watches don't last as long as they should .. sucks to be you.  We hope you understand. Oh, and we're looking forward to you buying another Fitbit."