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Fitbit Ionic Screen has gone black, unresponsive?

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‎12-11-2019 04:15

‎12-11-2019 04:15

I have owned this Ionic for about 1 1/2 years, I woke up this morning and the watch seems completely unresponsive?  It was at about 87% charge when I went to bed, so I know it is not the battery. I have read the forums and have tried multiple resets with nothing working.  The screen is black, there is no blinking green HR monitor light, just nothing.

 

I cannot believe a watch this expensive would have such a short lifespan?  

 

Any thoughts or suggestions is greatly appreciated.

 

 

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7 REPLIES 7

‎12-11-2019 04:43

‎12-11-2019 04:43

@Rdoxy have you tried long-pressing all 3 buttons to turn it on? 

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‎12-11-2019 04:53

In response to James.P

‎12-11-2019 04:53

Yes, I read through the forums and seemed to have tried all options.  I just got finished with a live support chat as well, which seems to have determined that the watch has died.  All that Fitbit is willing to do is give me a 25% off discount on a new watch.

 

Have to admit, I have gotten more and more frustrated with Fitbit as time has gone on and I think this is finally the last straw.  I have owned the original Charge, the Charge HR, the Blaze, and now the Ionic.  I have also bought my wife an Alta and an Alta HR.  None of the watches have lasted much longer than a year and a bit.  Seems to me they should be having a much better lifespan than that. Makes me realize why they only give you only a year warranty on them, because they know they would have numerous returns if it was longer.

 

Frankly, I think I have finally had it with Fitbit.  There are far too many good alternatives on the market now.  I don't see why I should be forking over another $250-$300 for a watch that history has proven to me will only last a year.

 

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‎12-11-2019 04:58

In response to Rdoxy

‎12-11-2019 04:58

I just looked at the link they sent me. Even with the 25% discount they say they are offering, the watch is still more than the current sale price at the local Sport Check.  This is just laughable.

 

 

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‎12-11-2019 05:07

In response to Rdoxy

‎12-11-2019 05:07

@Rdoxy sorry upon hearing that. The software bricked the watch  which is very regretful and unfortunate.

 

What have they asked you to do? Did they ask you to turn it all with 3 buttons while charging it? I am just curious what kind of advices they offered

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‎12-11-2019 05:17

‎12-11-2019 05:17

I had the same thing happen. I finally found that if I put it in brighter light, it was actually on. I then went to settings on the watch and changed the brightness setting to anything but auto and it was fine afterwards. As a side note, I reported and demonstrated this to support 2 years ago...hmmm.

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‎12-11-2019 05:19

In response to James.P

‎12-11-2019 05:19

They had asked what happened when I connected the charger and if I had tried more than one different USB port.

 

I told them I have tried three different ones and have two different Ionic charging cables (both official Fitbit ones). I have tried them, along with two different USB wall adaptors and on directly to my computer with nothing.

 

They then asked me to clean the connections with a little bit of rubbing alcohol on as swab. I tried that with no difference made.

 

They then asked what ways I have tried rebooting it.  I told them I have tried what I have read on the forums, holding the left and the lower right button with no result. I then also tried all three buttons for a hard reset with again no result.

 

That was all they mentioned, then looked into my warranty, which since the watch is 1 1/2 years old, it has expired.  It was then they offered me a 40% discount on a Versa, or 25% on any other watch. Uncertain how they think the Versa is equivalent to a built in GPS tracker like the Ionic, so that's not even a realistic offer.  And the 25% discount on an Ionic through the Fitbit website is no different than what I can buy one for on sale currently at the local Sport Chek.  How they consider that a discount to someone who has been a loyal Fitbit user is pretty poor customer relations.

 

Sorry if this is coming across snippy, it just frustrating to spend so much overt the years on these watches only to have them continually last no more than a year or so.  It is not like I am hard on these watches either.  Even through the Ionic is waterproof, I don't think it has seen water more than a couple times at the most. 

 

Just a frustrated user I guess. Time to look at some alternatives.  

 

 

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‎12-12-2019 15:39

In response to Rdoxy

‎12-12-2019 15:39

Well, I’m done.  Tired of continually putting money into Fitbit and giving them my loyalty for products that just don’t last and nothing being done but being offered a fake discount on a new watch.  I went and bought an Apple Watch 5 today, never plan on looking back at Fitbit ever again. 

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