Fitbit Ionic feedback

[jmorrow1973]

After only having this thing for a dew weeks the display is off and will not come back on, even when plugged into a USB.  Was charged and is just not coming back up- please help- reset procedure?

Moderator edit: Updated subject for clarity.

[SunsetRunner]

Performed a factory reset on my ionic as per the steps outlined in the forums and Fitbit help. Now my ionic is blank and will not respond to the turning on process (left and bottom right buttons held together for at least 10 seconds).

Spoke to Support and they kept asking me to set up my ionic on my iPhone app.  Could not grasp concept that the watch would not turn on so won’t be able to be set up on the app.  Watch was 87% charged at time of factory reset, and has been on charge for nearly two hours, and still not response to a restart.

Any suggestions......?

cheers

[MoeHaulin]

Hey Parker calling customer service and explaining your situation will help Fitbit expedite the process of you getting back on track.  Fitbit is notorious for taking care of their customers.  I bought my first Ionic last year and it was defective because things happen.  I was sent another one tracker and that tracker was bad then another and finally we have been issue free for sometime now.  Bottom line.  Call Fitbit customer service and watch them take care of you.  

[SunsetRunner]

Thanks for the advice!

Rang them this morning and within hours I had an email advising me that a replacement ionic was being sent to me. Awesome customer service. 

[SantiR]

@SunsetRunner Welcome to the Fitbit family! Thanks for taking the time to share the experience you have had with customer support regarding Ionic not turning on.

I'm really glad to read that at the end they were able to replace it for you and that you are back on track now.

@MoeHaulin Welcome to the Fitbit Community! Thanks for sharing a great piece of advise. It was very helpful and I'm sure other users will benefit from it as well!

Also, take a look at the Discussions Board as you will find a lot of interesting things there. Feel free to post on any thread you want. If you are looking for Fitbit friends to compete with on challenges, check this thread to add some! 

Keep me posted! 

[Kirran1102]

I had exactly same issue with my ionic, they kept telling me to try setting
it up and doing reset, i tossed mine on side and it powered up, now
everytime it turns itself off I tap it hard with my fingers and it comes
back on try that and let me know if it works, not exactly a conventional
method to sorting it but it works great with mine having same problem

Give it a tap on the kitchen side sounds weird but had exactly same issue with mine and it turned on straight away

Moderator edit: updated post.

[Kirran1102]

Give it a tap on the kitchen side sounds weird but had exactly same issue with mine and it turned on straight away

[DavideFitbit]

Thank you for sharing this suggestion @Kirran1102, it's always good to know about other user's experience. I had some difficulty to interact with the Ionic display at the beginning, but I sorted it out with time as I learned how to interact with it. 

[kokorae]

I had the same issue and after exhausting all avenues I called customer service where they told me that they would not be able to help me and because it is out of warranty they couldn't help me, but they were willing to offer me 25% off my next purchase. Ridiculous! I will not be purchasing another fit bit product. It worked absolutely fine until I turned it off to sync my new phone. I hope you have better luck.

[DavideFitbit]

I'm sorry to hear about this outcome @kokorae, I am aware the product has one year of warranty from the data of purchase. Thank you for sharing your feedback about the quality and what you've experienced. 

[SunsetRunner]

New Fitbit ionic arrived today. Can’t wait to start using it.

[Spookly]

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@kokorae wrote:

I had the same issue and after exhausting all avenues I called customer service where they told me that they would not be able to help me and because it is out of warranty they couldn't help me, but they were willing to offer me 25% off my next purchase. Ridiculous! I will not be purchasing another fit bit product. It worked absolutely fine until I turned it off to sync my new phone. I hope you have better luck.

---

Same EXACT problem for me. I've had this for over a year with ZERO problems.  All of a sudden the screen went black last night, even though it's still vibrating and green lights light, and it's syncing to my phone.  The screen is blank.  I have tried everything.  I am so glad after spending $300 on this watch to get the privilege to spend another couple of hundred dollars to replace it.  I thought Fitbit's customer support was supposed to be so great.  I guess not.

[Whistler888]

“Ridiculous! I will not be purchasing another fit bit product. It worked absolutely fine until I turned it off to sync my new phone.”

”I thought Fitbit's customer support was supposed to be so great.  I guess not.”

This is constant theme.  Many longtime Fitbit users have decided to never buy another device from them.  But understand.  Seems very much like planned obsolescence.

As noted many times -> the key takeaway is to call Tech Support during the warranty period and get a replacement device for your defective product sold to you.  There should always be “zero tolerance” for any defective product sold.  No need to ever suffer with one.

[Spookly]

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@Whistler888@Whistler888 wrote:

As noted many times -> the key takeaway is to call Tech Support during the warranty period

---

and get a replacement device for your defective product sold to you.  There should always be “zero tolerance” for any defective product sold.  No need to ever suffer with one.

I'm not sure I am following what you are saying here.  I absolutely would have contacted support if it stopped working within the year warranty timeframe, however I'm just out of that by a two months.  I just feel like I spent $300 on a watch that it should last at least work until the new version (ionic 2 or whatever they may call it) of it comes out.  Especially since I've taken very good care of it (it's never not had a screen protector and bumper or case on it). Literally there is not a scratch on the thing.  It is also not like I was abusing or misusing the product - but literally one minute it was working and the next it has a blank screen.

I have had the Blaze and Charge prior to this.  The only issues I had with those were the charge's band broke - stupid design that you can't just replace the band instead you must replace the entire thing.  And the Blaze wasn't counting steps properly and had some issues with the connected GPS.  But those lasted much longer than this thing and at more than half the price I paid.

Honestly I was so excited for the Ionic/Versa to come out just because they were waterproof.  I like them both for different reasons but ultimately chose the Ionic because the GPS feature was more important than the looks of the versa.  Unfortunately for me, I had zero issues with this watch during the first year (taking aside silly things like bluetooth and notification issues that were easily remedied).

I'm just so peeved that this seems to be an issue with both the Ionic's and Versa's and customer supports response is here's 25% off?  It's just a little baffling. 

[Whistler888]

“I'm just so peeved that this seems to be an issue with both the Ionic's and Versa's and customer supports response is here's 25% off?  It's just a little baffling.”

It seems many Fitbit devices last only until the warranty period expires.  Then they die.  Kinda like planned obsolescence so you need to buy another.

As well many posting on here have their device crash and brick immediately upon updating firmware.  Again kinda like planned obsolescence after the warranty expires.  Really makes one question how durable this product is -> and if this product lifespan is designed like this on purpose.  Is really disappointing how many problems this product has with so many on here.

My first one was deemed defective within the first week.  So that was my experience with the brand.  It was a dud.  Point was to let others realize if they have a defective product -> make sure to get a replacement or get a refund while they can.

Many longtime Fitbit users end up ditching the brand for something more reliable.

[rbfituser]

Very interesting to see all these similar posts here. I also have had my Ionic recently go dead on me. I have had my Ionic for a year and a month so it is just out of warranty. It went completely dead on me and will not do anything. It will not respond to any of the resets that customer support have supplied and seems to be totally inoperable.

It is well taken care of and has no physical damage or scratches. It has never been in the water or subjected to any abuse. Customer support has also offered me a 25%-40%  discount on various Fitbit products but no way to repair or replace my $300.00 watch (bought it before discounts were offered). I use it every day but I would expect it to be made to take that regular use.

You would think that a watch this expensive would last longer than just over a year. This is my 4th Fitbit  (Surge,Blaze,Ionic, and just gave one away for a Christmas Present -we will be returning that one before the 45 days are up.) and probably my last. I can not spend this kind of money each year for a fitness watch. No way for repair seems very unfair and the fact that the life of this unit is just over a year seems like it is an issue that many others are experiencing. Shame of Fitbit for producing a product with such poor quality and no remedy for its customers except to invest more money in a product that seems to have known issues. We trust you to be an investment in our health and fitness not just to take our money.

[DBub2017]

Exactly... they offered me a 25% discount. I said you can throw that in the trash. I will never buy another one from fitbit. Would much rather buy from Apple, Garmin or Samsung.

[Sherylcat]

Exact same problem for me. Had my Ionic for just over 13 months. The screen went black after doing the factory reset. Looked like it was updating fine, then got the message that it didn't sync, looked at the watch and it was totally blank. It does nothing and they can't do anything. I call this a 366 day product. Super irritating, but I'm so used to the messages on my watch. Don't know what to do.

[A-Jeffrey]

I had the exact same issue and the reset wasn't working while it was plugged in. Just tried leaving it plugged in for awhile then UNPLUGGING it before trying the reset. Worked great and my ionic is back to normal.  

[Baggie76]

Interesting coming across these posts.....this must be a known issue for fitbit that needs looking into.

My Ionic passed away peacefully while I slept a couple of weeks ago. I had charged my Ionic before going to bed, and put it back on to track my sleep, but by 5.00am, it had gone off and never to be able to be switched on again!! It was 10 months old, well used but well looked after, and up to this point, I never had an issue with the Ionic (or with the blaze that I had before the Ionic with the exception of a broken screen!).

After jumping through several hoops, I managed to get fitbit support to agree to the watch being dead, and was happy with a 'new' fitbit ionic being sent out. On receiving the new (refurb) unit, I was looking forward to being back on track, but after the initial set up, the unit would only sync after I restarted the bluetooth on my phone (Samsung S9 - worked perfectly with the old Ionic and Blaze) and after I reset the phone. Once the initial sync was done, it wouldnt connect to the phone again.

After attempting to reset things, deleting the app, re-installing the Ionic, another call to support....again, after jumping through more hoops, I finally got them to understand that the replacement wasnt fit for purpose, so am awaiting another new unit. I really do hope this one works.....I'm getting very frustrated with it all now as I have seen the fitbit working correctly and I love the watch...well worth the £240 I paid for it. Its just that £240 for a paperweight is a bit expensive!!

[knittinnana]

They replaced mine twice after I jumped through the hoops several times and sent photos of the broken watch the first time.the second time I had to jump through the hoops again and send videos of me jumping. The third watch still doesn’t work. As you say a $300 paperweight.  At least my Apple Watch works. Fitbit has lost my business!