Fitbit OS 4.0.2 - Firmware Release (27.68.9.15)

[MattFitbit]

Fitbit Update: 10/9

Hi everyone,

We’re excited to announce the release of Fitbit OS 4.0.2, available for Ionic (Firmware Version: 27.68.9.15). 

We've begun releasing this new firmware to customers. This is a progressive rollout which means everyone will receive it at different stages until it has been completely released to all users. We roll out releases in phases as a cautionary measure so that we can monitor performance closely and make adjustments if needed. 

*Firmware releases are not distributed based on region or location and can reach anyone no matter where you reside. We do not recommend performing a factory reset to force the update to your device as your data will be lost and you may not get the update. Please be patient and wait until you see the update banner inside of the Fitbit app to begin the firmware download.

WHAT’S NEW AND FIXED

 
This release includes bug fixes and improvements.

HOW DO I UPDATE?

Step by step instructions for updating your Ionic can be found here. 

If you run into any trouble updating your Ionic, I recommend reviewing these troubleshooting tips. 

We appreciate your patience while we work to roll this out to everyone.  

[Sfaynor]

@aumannjoy 

Dont do emails. Do the chat support on their support page. I did all that I was requested in the chat and was patient and respectful. End of the day, respect goes a long way. 

[NEq1Guy]

Good news, even though it was out of warranty they replaced my bricked Ionic.  Good news, the replacement arrived this afternoon. Bad news, the installation process refused to go through without applying the update. So now I have an Ionic running 27.68.9.15. It installed perfectly fine, thank god, so I thought maybe I was in the clear. It arrived about 70% charged up. I let it charge up to 100% before wearing it. I put it on my wrist at 3:00 pm. I've done absolutely except sitting around the house watching TV and socializing with friends etc for a total of less than 2000 steps. In the original configuration with my favorite face in three hours the batter was down to 73%. I shut off all day syncing, notifications, put the original watch face in, set the brightness to "auto", and set the watch face turn on to manual. Now at 8:30 pm, 5.5 hours later the battery is at 56%. Assuming it is still a relatively linear scale that means the watch life even with everything turned off will top out at 12-13 hours. One of the things I loved about my Ionic over Apple Watch was that it lasted for days between charges if I needed it too even when having 10K+ step days (although I wouldn't do that unless forgot it on a trip).

Fitbit, you have got to get this Firmware update pulled. It is a disaster. This looks like a brand new watch that now won't hold a charge for more than 13 hours even with most of the features turned off except heart rate. I never had to turn heart rate off before and in fact a fitness tracker without it is useless to me at this point. I'm going to wear it through the night and see how it is tomorrow and then charge it back up to 100% to see how things go. So far it's not looking promising though :(.

[Fanwoman426]

Shortly after updating my ionic  the screen stopped responding. Later the screen would darken so  you couldn't see anything on the screen and when it would show anything it was vignetted and dark. Now my screen is completely black. This was not an issue before updating. Tried restarting but that didn't help at all. Anyone  else have a solution? 

[Jonno34]

Helps me not 1 iota.  Ridiculous comment. 

[ptbruiser]

I’ve had my fitbit ionic for about 2 years. I’ve never upgraded the firmware because it never worked when I tried.  Meaning, the firmware downloads then during installing process it just hangs.  It gets about half way done then doesn’t move. It stays at that point forever.  The longest I’ve waited was about 12 hours but it just stays in the same spot. Please help. 

[DCFYI411]

The recent software update bricked my iconic. What are my options?

[Fanwoman426]

Update bricked my ionic watch. It was working perfectly fine before the update. Won't reset. Watch face is completely black. Tried to contact support chat and it won't open.

[fpasceri]

What a nightmare. Trying to update this for two days now. Horrible.

Only had the ionic for 2 months and its a pain to maintain.

[malar]

Day-2 after update.  All still working well and holding charge.

I suggest you all contact Support.

Best.

[bluedand]

How strange, all of these problems are happening, now we see the announcement this morning that Google is acquiring Fitbit. Does Google realize they are buying into a major problem with all of these bricked Ionics?

[Banel]

One week after update...notifications work most of the time, while before about 50% of the time I didn't get notifications, so there an improvement here. Still, that drawer on top of the notification drawer is annoying.

Anyway, although the update was positive for me, I am very disappointed about how Fitbit managed the release and communication for this update. 

[YojanaFitbit]

Hi everybody, thanks for letting me know about the outcome of the steps that you've tried to update your Fitbit Ionic. Sorry for the issues that you're having your Fitbit watch.

In case that your Ionic is not responding, please confirm that you've followed the steps suggested here: Why isn't my Fitbit device's battery charging? If you need more help, we'll be more than glad to keep assisting you with this.

@ptbruiser thank you for reporting the issues with your Fitbit Ionic. You did a great job troubleshooting your Fitbit. This is not a current issues affecting iOS users. I've requested to our support team to create a case on your behalf. You should soon receive an email from customer support. This is not a current issues affecting iOS users.

@DCFYI411 and @fpasceri Sorry about what happened to your Fitbit Ionic. Thank you for contacting our support team. I've checked with our Support Team and apparently they already took your case under their wings. Please keep an eye in your email inbox.

@bluedand I really appreciate your feedback, this is the best way to make your voice heard. Comments from users are always useful to continue to improving the quality of our products and services. 

Let me know if you need anything else.

[bluedand]

I spent the better part of the afternoon on the phone with Fitbit support. I talked to a supervisor. I got zero satisfaction from anyone I spoke with. I explained that my watch was doing great, often lasting 4-5 days on a charge, no degradation on performance...until the firmware update. After that, the watch bricked and no matter what I tried worked. They claim the watch is obviously old and will not do anything about it. So terrible that THEY destroyed my watch (with all the added bands and accessories) is now totally useless and will do nothing to make it right. Terrible way to do business. 

[malar]

keep pushing the to replace it.

[malar]

@KEHBELLIf your is less than one year old (as mine was). Call support. They should replace it under warranty as they did with mine. 

[NEq1Guy]

I have a status update on the brand new Ionic that they shipped me two days ago. Recall above that my first day with it I charged it up to 100% when I first got it and noticed that the battery life was not going to break 14 hours even with most features turned off. I woke up yesterday morning with it having died very early in the night. So I charged it up to 100% again hoping that maybe a charge cycle would fix it. I put it on my wrist at 11:12 am. My day was mostly sedentary. It's battery was totally trained just before 11:12 pm, after me going a total of about 2232 steps. As I wrote all notifications are off. The screen was almost never turned on and was set to manual mode so that it didn't accidentally activate. I never used any timers, stop watches etc.. I didn't use any apps. I didn't do any exercises. All day syncing is turned off. Essentially the only thing it did was track my mostly sedentary motion and heart rate and it lasted just a few minutes over 12 hours. I've never seen an Ionic drain this fast. Ever.

I'm honestly not sure what to do next. I guess it's possible that this new watch has a defective battery but I would imagine it wouldn't pass QC checks if that's the case. So if they send me a new one it'll be stuck in the same boat. I think I have to stop using Ionic until they fix this. My spouse has an Apple Watch I used for the past two days and my biggest problem with it was that the battery only lasted 1.5 days so needed a good 1-1.5 hours of charge time per day versus the 15-20 minutes I needed to keep my Ionic topped up each day. As it stands right now that is still 4x better than a brand new Ionic with the firmware update on it.

I know not everyone is having this battery problem so I'd like to help them diagnose it but I'm at a bit of a loss. This is a factory Ionic essentially with no additional things installed or running on it. I had a different watch face on for the first couple hours but switched back to the default in case it was the fault of the developer. That's not the case obviously since all of yesterday was the default watch face. I'm not using any of the smart watch features. I'm not even using a bunch of the features that I've used for almost two years of owning an Ionic. So how is it that a brand new stock Ionic with most settings turned off, mostly indoors, and with out using any exercise settings is dying so much?

[Geonewf]

I also now have a bricked device. Everything was fine on my Ionic, which was about 4 months past the one year warranty. The day I did this update it stopped working. 

I have had many emails with support regarding this and the only solution that they are offering is a discount for me to purchase a new device. This update damaged the device and they want me to pay for it? That makes no sense. 

How is that a company can send out an update that damages users devices and then say to the customer, well, you can always purchase a new device and with that, you even get a new warranty. 

No thanks Fitbit. Take responsibility for the damage you caused and replace my device. 

[lashazza]

My Ionic was working fine until the update. It won’t power on now. I’ve tried to hard rest and tried charger it and I get nothing. I’m convinced that this releases broke my functioning Ionic and now it’s a table paper weight. SMH

[lashazza]

I tell you I swear this company be running a scam on people. Based on the previous post I called customer support and I hate when they act like that this is the first time that they’ve heard the issue and give you stocked responses. You already know that your update has turned perfectly working Fitbits into paperweights and now you want more money out of me with no guarantee that the next item you send is going to work. Time to seek a much better company with a much better tracker SMH.

[Sfaynor]

@lashazza I was here posting quite a bit about how angry I was with regards to my bricked ionic. It was out of warranty and this happened due to bad firmware on fitbits end. 

I did not call them. I chose the chat option. Respectfully, I told them everything about what happened. The first time they offered only a 25% discount. About a week later, I chose the chat option again. Respectfully again, I told.them everything that happened, I also requested that they stand behind their product. I had more than 50% battery before the firmware update, I had zero issues with my watch. 

Fitbit then agreed to replace my Ionic. 

Simply put, keep trying. I know people are upset here because the watch is pretty great. I know that is why I was upset. And I looked at the alternatives. Spending the money I did for fitbits firmware to end its life was shocking to me. 

So again, keep contacting fitbit, and I reccomend the chat support option. Do the diagnostics they request, "again",  and be respectful, remember, the agent you speak to, did not destroy your watch. Its fitbits management team that is to blame here, not the agent you speak to. 

Being kind goes a long way. 

Good luck to you all in getting replacements