I recently purchased a Fitbit Ionic watch to replace a previous model that had stopped working on me. Last night, the watch completely stopped working again as a result of a recent upgrade THEY issued - not a mechanical issue caused on my end. As a result, I searched the internet for possible solutions and tried all of the options presented.
Today, I spoke with their customer service team. Unfortunately, my watch is "past warranty" by 3 months. This is understandable, although a little ridiculous that they will not honor something that is just barely past the end date. I do not believe that a 1 year life span is an acceptable timeframe on an expensive electronics item.
However, the concerning part is their absolute refusal to stand behind their product.
The first major red flag - they do not have a service department. I cannot even send the watch in to prove that it was caused by a mistake on their end. It isn't even an option in their process to consider that it was something they may have caused.
The second major red flag - this is a widespread issue that seems to be getting ignored. For your reference, here is a 7 page thread from their own community discussing this problem (https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Ionic/Ionic-screen-won-t-turn-on/td-p/2939167/page/7). You will see numerous accounts experiencing the exact same issue that I had. In nearly every situation the company would not stand behind the product if it was even a DAY past the warranty end date. Additionally, a quick google search for "fitbit ionic won't turn on" returns 143,000 results. This is not an isolated incident. Furthermore, it does not appear that they are even intending on resolving the issue.
The solution offered to me was to purchase another watch at a discounted rate while spending EXTRA MONEY on an extended warranty. My request was to extend the warranty period, for free, for at least 3 years - an acceptable enough lifespan on an electronic product. This offer, of course, was denied. This tells me, as a consumer, that they know they have issues with the product, but do not want to stand behind it.
This is a very serious issue that many of us are experiencing. I would be very wary of this product, if not all Fitbit products.
I am very concerned that there is a known faulty product being sold to consumers, with no plan to resolve the issue and a complete unwillingness to stand behind the product.
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