Fitbit Ionic Bluetooth headphone problems?

[Tunah85]

I just purchased a set of HBQ-i7s Bluetooth earbuds (knock off air pods).  They work great with my phone's bluetooth, and the sound quality is fine, but when I sync them with my Fitbit IONIC I get horribly crackly music, and the earbuds are out of sync - even playing at different rates!

I know it isn't the earbuds themselves as they play fine on every other device I connect to.

Is this a common problem with Fitbit Ionic's Bluetooth?

[Climbcovey]

Please do, If that fixes the issue I will order a new blutooth as well. However, I believe I have a bluetooth 4, ill have to double check


Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone

[jack.]

It doesn't help in my experience. I've used my Ionic with my BTS Pros which are Bluetooth 4.2 and my Jabra Elite 65ts which are 5.0 and they both have the same audio dropouts when I'm running outside with GPS on and the watch on my left wrist.

[Carroll777]

Wow - incredible. Sorry to hear that.

[Asfridur]

@ jack - That's like super depressing to read 😞

I had hoped it would help.

Had to order my headset from Europe, so it will take a while before I receive it. Typically 1-2 weeks.

I'll let you all know if my attempt to fix the issue, was a fail as well.

Reading various topics I noticed some mentioning deactivating GPS?? Like what?

Just to do a test, I did. Hasn't helped one bit.

@ jack have you tried to deactivate GPS using the Jabra Elite 65ts?

[Climbcovey]

Ok, good to know. Thanks for the feedback. Probably saved me some money.  Really hope fitbit comes through with a fix..


Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone

[Asfridur]

Contact us has informed me that their aware of the issue and working on a fix.

Apparently older Android phones has an issue with low performance energy on Bluetooth.

I've got a Samsung Galaxy S8+ and the old Jabra Sport+ I have, what can I say beside i LOVE the darn thing. The sound is great, and it never disconnects, but the Ionic hates it.

A friend of mine has a Jabra 65t - so I decided to see if I it made a difference - it didn't music still getting cut off.

Astonishing Europe must have used speed hoppers to deliver my parcel. I got the Optima NuForce BE sport 3 headset yesterday. Had to charge it for quite a while (2+ hours). But are you guys ready?

IT WORKS!

The music is crisp and bass decent. Not quite as heavy as I'd like, but I've got it connected to my Ionic. And the connection stays until I decide to stop it. Running, jogging, walking, exercising.

Going to test the JayBird X3 in a few days. I'll keep you guys posted.

[Carroll777]

Deactivating the GPS is silly - I only use my Ionic music when I run - that was the point in buying it, so I didn't have bring my phone. 

Finger crossed for a fix, soon.

[Asfridur]

Indeed rather amusing suggestion isn't it.

Crossing fingers that it works. Carroll777!!

Going to pick up the JayBird X3 later today.

[Ralph1973]

I Test since 2 days the Anker SoundBuds Flow they Work without Problems. I
will wrote here If something goes wrong.

Greetings

[Carroll777]

@Asfridur thank you for the update! I will be looking those brands.

[Asfridur]

@Ralph1973 great to read you’ve found a brand taht works as well.

@Carroll777 did the RBL work?

[Carroll777]

Hi @Asfridur, No, I am afraid not. 

And I have read that other on this board, but not this tread are having trouble with some pretty high-end earbuds. My were USD 50 - (TOZO T8 not cheap, but don't work with the Fitbit), but a lot less than Bose or even the better Sony.

I have read also that some thought it maybe the bluetooth version, for example, most are 4.0 - but some are 5.0, but this had no bearing on the lack of success....

[SantiR]

Hello everyone! Thanks for your participation on this thread regarding the connection between your Bluetooth headphones and Ionic. Also, thanks for sharing your experience and knowledge with some headphone brands and how they are working with Ionic. I'm sure all of this information will be helpful for other users too. 

If you haven't done so already, please try the workaround that has helped other users in the past:

• Unpair Bluetooth headphones.
• Restart Ionic.
• Pair headphones back to watch.

Also, I've seen that wearing the watch in the other wrist has helped other users. Please try that out and let me know if it works for you as well. Another thing I have seen is that when there are other Bluetooth devices nearby, they may interfere with the signal between Ionic and headphones. So, make sure to turn off Bluetooth from other devices or to not have any nearby. Bluetooth connection needs to have a solid connection for this to work, so the environment in which you are running is very important. Are you running in open areas?

When contacting customer support, they should be able to file your case regarding this. So, it is also a good thing to do as it helps Fitbit to collect data regarding this.

Keep me posted! 

[Naomijoy83]

I've tried all your recommendations amd nothing has worked.  I'm not going to spend hundreds more on a new Bluetooth headset.




How about you actually fix the bluetooth problem / do are recall, considering how many people are having problems with this 'amazingly expensive watch'




Seems pretty ridiculous




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[techfresh]

X-post from Flyer forum as this is probably the more appropriate place to post:

First off I'm a huge fan of my Ionic - it helps me track the things I want most, GPS tracking for my runs, general exercise, and sleep.  The only capability I'm waiting for is to be able to leave my phone at home on runs.  The only thing preventing this is music cutting out on my BT headphones.  I was using Senso BT headphones purchased from Amazon and on my run had the music cut out every 2-3 seconds.  I thought it was the cheap headphones, and returned them, but after reading this thread it looks like the Ionic is the culprit.

I was planning on buying the Flyer believing I had a bad pair of Senso headphones, but I still don't see a confirmation in this thread that the issue is resolved.  The release notes from the latest update did not mention any detail of what was fixed and isn't much help: "This release includes bug fixes and improvements." Come on Product Mgrs! Transparency builds customer trust!  At least tell us if fixes are being worked on so we can make our decisions and move on.  Should I still hold on to the hope that BT headphones will work well with the Ionic and I will be able to leave my phone at home?  Or should I buy that fancy new phone holder I've been eyeing?

I'll still keep my Ionic, its still that good.  I'll just be sad if I have to buy the "new and improved" Ionic next year to get a better BT function.

[dyzzle]

I have to tell people to stop giving me FitBits as gifts. I hate that someone paid as much as this Ionic costs to have Bluetooth issues. If I wear the watch on my left wrist, audio is unusable while running.I might as well run with my phone in my hand to hear music. Is this something FitBit can fix with a software update? Why pick the wrist in the software as my non-dominant wrist, but I'm exercising with the watch on my dominant wrist. Frustrating!!

[scarr44]

I am also experiencing the issue with the audio cutting out on my bluetooth earbuds.  I shouldn't have to move my fitbit to my right wrist (closer to the receiver) every time I run.  That's absurd.  Of course I've tried all the other steps that tier one support guy has mentioned in this thread, but this is obviously a problem with the Ionic.  I'm hoping it's not a hardware problem.  If it's a software problem, it needs to be fixed asap.  It's kind of ridiculous that in 2018, a bluetooth enabled device on a wrist 2-3 feet from the earbud receiver is cutting in and out with the swing of an arm.  This feature is the main reason I bought the Ionic.  Please pull it together folks fix this issue!

[skpretty]

Not only is the connection crackly, it disconnects after 30 minutes every time.  We shouldn't have to restart Iconic and re pair bluetooth everytime we use it... Very frustrating.

, 

[JarrodR]

I am having similar issues with my Fitbit Ionic, but with a slightly different leadup. I have had zero issues with the audio cutting out on my headphones for the first 6-8 months that I have owned my Ionic, but now am experiencing audio issues. I have done what the moderator has suggested, by re-pairing the BT headphones, and switching the Ionic to my dominate wrist to be closer to the receiver in the headphones. That has helped slightly, but I still will get the audio cutting out occasionally.

My other issue is that almost everyday, when I turn on my BT headphones to pair...the Ionic will not pair. I have to manually restart the Ionic, and when it comes back up, it will pair instantly. I would have thought that it could have been the headphones, but I have a couple of pairs connected to the Ionic "just in case one pair will not work."

I only run in the gym, so the BT should be able to connect to my headphone receiver a couple of feet away, in doors, without an issue...but alas, this doesn't seem to be the case. The fact that I bring multiple pairs of BT headphone so that I can troubleshoot on my lunchbreak before I work out seems ridiculous to say the least. I actually like this watch for everything that it does right, but the whole music connectivity was the main selling point for me. I could have saved a lot of $$ by buying a charge and just using my phone.

[skpretty]

I just got the Apple Watch. It’s pretty amazing. Music plays with no issues... totally worth the $$.

Sent from my iPhone