Fitbit Ionic dead

[rolf1976]

I got my ionic almost 2 years ago and the other day it went dead. tried charging it the usual hoping the battery was drained (never removed the watch unless i need to charge it) so left it for more than 1 hour and still nothing. transferred the usb charging cable and still the same. Tried all the Fitbit troubleshooting tips and still not working (wondering if ionic battery life last only 2 years). Any thoughts?

[michaelmerwitz]

so after 20 min on the phone with customer service, the official fitbit response (to a customer who is  on their 4th device upgrade, has been using the service for 5+ years, and has been generally happy enough to evangelize the product) -- "here's a 25% discount - please go and pay us more money for new version of our (obviously defective) product. and by the way, it may or may not fail again 'cus we have no idea (or wont say) what the problem is.

fitbit has some systemic issue with ionics that they are just summarily failing like this.  this is not a gen1 product, and it's not like they don't have the r&d dollars to develop & test.

completely unacceptable.

i think i see an apple gen4 in my immediate future.

[buckeyebandguy]

I just found that there is a caveat to all the tips on resetting the device, whenever you hold down the buttons to soft/hard reset the watch make sure your watch is NOT plugged in. I can't tell you how many times I tried resetting while it was plugged in and nothing happened, only to have it boot right up after unplugging it and doing the same thing. SO weird. 

[CDCan]

In total agreement except I had the patience to sit there for 40 minutes and and get the same run around. Our history with Fitbit is very similar. Apple, here I come. And I will tell 10 friends and I will encourage them to tell 10 friends.....

[Michel-nl]

You where lucky our did not start, I thought I buy a good brand with service and guarantee. Always thought Fitbit is one of the best you can buy, but so disappointed no repair center or spare parts, and no customer support. So disappointed and you can assure I will tell everyone on my gym, never buy a Fitbit, maybe beter a Apple watch or Garmin

[Jpereiro]

Yes, me too. I responded with the offer that I couldn’t believe they offered to let me pay more money for a device that failed and had been a fit it user for 10 years and would be moving on to Apple and making sure every one of my fitness friends, family members, and colleagues would know about fitbits failing devices and failure to stand behind them! Then they sent me a 50% coupon. Oh, yay, thanks for giving me the opportunity to waste more money! 😡

Sent from my iPhone

[RicardoFitbit]

Hi again, I'm happy to continue providing assistance, sorry for the delay in replying. 

I appreciate all the information that was shared in your posts regarding this situation, my apologies for the inconvenience experienced with your Ionic devices. My best advise will be to take in consideration the information that was shared on my previous post. If after trying such steps your devices remain unresponsive, please get in touch with our Customer Support team to receive further assistance directly with them. You can also contact me back so I can create a case with them.

For the ones who already contacted them regarding this situation, please keep in mind that they refer to our warranty policies when it comes to a warranty-related procedure, therefore, please check our policies for a better understanding of your cases outcome. Let me share that we are always striving to improve the Fitbit experience with our products and services, therefore, the feedback that is provided here in the Community Forums is always helpful for us.

I'll be around if further assistance is required. 

[Kmho2007]

I bought my daughter an iconic for Christmas 2018 new- today the screen is black and didn’t respond with hard reset. Am I understanding that because it is more than 45 days old all we are offered is 50% off a new device? I had a garmin that stopped working that was over a year old and they replaced it. 

[JYCNYC]

Common problem but Fitbit has no intention in fixing it. Fitbit sends out the same email to "fix" the battery issues many of us experienced, but unfortunately it is NOT the solution. Stay away from Fitbit and go with other brand. 

[rolf1976]

@RicardoFitbitnot to be rude or something, but the solution/s being provided does not solve the issue with Ionic's going dead for no reason. It was already escalated to your fitbit team and since its out of warranty, they cannot do anything. So to cut the story short, Fitbit devices are throw away devices since Fitbit confirmed that they do not have repair centers nor spare parts/components which again shows how bad Fitbit company is.

And I do think this forum is very helpful for those who are experiencing problems with their Fitbit. Keep away from a company who doesn't take liability and responsibility for devices that are faulty without any explanation.

[rolf1976]

@Kmho200750% off? what a joke. well want to hear something funnier? I wasn't offered anything since, well my IONiC is almost 2 years and it just went dead flat.

[Neehar]

Same here Mate mine started having issues when it was in warranty back in March.. I called them but they were not able to understand the issue.. kept telling me they are not responsible for 3rd party clock faces.. when I infact was facing issues while syncing my watch.. after 4 or so emails and a call I gave up.. My watch completely died in August and this time they didn't even entertain me.. they knew my warranty was up so.. basically told me not our problem.... atleast some people were offered 50% off I was told there is absolutely nothing they can do.. I asked several times .. honestly I am happy I won't buy a fitbit any more.. because they do not care.. atleast let's start a twitter handle for Fitbit #FitbitDontCare #FUYourWarrantyIsOver love Fitbit 

[tcsmith800]

I am having the same issue 1 year and 5 months after the purchase of my Fitbit Ionic and my wife is having the same issue with her Versa 1 year and 3 months later. I was referred to the Warranty by the support team also. They offered me a 25% coupon code that had to be used in the next 30 days (What a slap in the face to put a time limit on the coupon code). My Ionic cost $270 and was basically disposable. I will never vouch for Fitbit or buy another Fitbit product every again. To pay that type of money on something disposable hurts bad and I will make sure I do not let others make this mistake. 

[Talthian]

We need to start getting the message of Fitbit killing their devices out to the fitness publications.  Ionic's up and dying has been a known problem for some time.  Fitbit refuses to acknowledged the problem.  They have an R&D team so you know they have a good idea as to what the issue(s) are.  They have simply decided its cheaper to disappoint their customer then to solve the problem.  Individually you cant solve the problem but you can certainly hit up any of the review publications and let potential buyers know what you have experienced.  They are about to release the next generation Ionic so there will be many new reviews to comment on.

This is on Fitbit.  They have had over a year to address the issue and they continue ignore it.

[Jpereiro]

     I agree!! It sickens me to know how many people are spending good money on products only to be told “sorry, you’re out of warranty, I’ll give you a discount on another gamble though.” We all expect to get what we pay for, and I feel

like I’ve got a cheap knockoff brand at a Fitbit price. I really should have bought a cheaper device.

     And we don’t all have several dollars laying around to just go buy a new device. I’m mean, think about all the people that saved up to buy one, only to be let down by poor quality and poorer customer service.  

     Fitbit should stand behind their products!! It’s not like they aren’t making enough money to provide better assistance. 

     How can we get this out? I mean, I’m posting to fb and twitter and telling EVERYONE I know, but how do we get this out to everyone?

[greg4]

Mine (Ionic) has also died. Was my second Fitbit, had the Blaze first. Very disappointed. Had it for about 20 months. It started playing up a few months prior to its final demise. The screen went all hazy and was difficult to see when outdoors. It died while I was sleeping and I haven't been able to get it to work again. I have tried all the suggested solution, but it's dead. Not sure if I will buy another Fitbit.

[PieterVC77]

Same hete, after instelling the update for the fitbit app, the watch doesn’t sync anymore...

[RyanInKC]

I've had the same challenge.  I previously had a Charge2 that stopped working in less than 15 months.  Wanting to upgrade from an older Garmin running watch (which still works well after 7 years), I decided to take a chance on the Ionic.  It worked fine, including a longer run last night.  I awoke to a watch that didn't this morning.  And like everyone, I was offered just a 25% discount on another purchase. So this is now 2 Fitbit device failures after less than 15 months of individual use.  I liked the watch, and understand Fitbit has no requirement beyond their warranty.  I also understand electronic devices sometimes fail and don't last forever.  But after two device failures in consecutive years, I hope Fitbit understands consumers have no requirement to stick with a company that won't do more to stand behind their products.

[RicardoFitbit]

Hello again, it's a pleasure for me to continue providing assistance about this situation. My apologies for the delay in replying.

I appreciate the details that were shared on each of your posts, sorry for the difficulties that were experienced with your Ionic devices. Thanks for the feedback that was provided, such information is really helpful for us. My best advise will be to check my previous post, try the troubleshooting steps that are specified there and take into consideration the information about our warranty policies. Please check them out for a better understanding of the outcome of your cases with our Customer Support team.

I'll be around if you need anything else.

[Jpereiro]

This definitely must be an automated response as the last one said the exact same thing.

Sent from my iPhone

[rolf1976]

probably a bot..i think this fitbit  community forum is just a witch hunt..nothing is being resolved..