GPS not connecting on Ionic

[Al700]

Dors anybody else have an issue with GPS not connecting on thier Ionic. Mine is 8 months old. It used to connect straight away when I went for a run. Now it keeps saying connecting.....connecting and will not connect? I don't live in a hugely built up area and it used to be fine. Any ideas??

Moderator edit: updated subject for clarity

[pk78731]

since the last update, my gps has been acting wonky, my last two bike rides did not show the map but did record mph, and distance. both gps and bluetooth seem to be broke....

[SunsetRunner]

Today when I went cycling it took less than 30sec but few days ago during my run it took 2,5 minute to connect. Sometimes it connects faster, sometimes not. Workaround ( because counting on Fitbit to fix anything is like waiting for pigs to fly ) is to pause activity and wait until it connects, then unpause.

[monionic]

Yes. I have had nothing but trouble with this watch. It works spuratically and has a lot of trouble connecting to gps. It's really one of the worst products I've ever purchased.

[Jonty-123]

Having the same problem! Watch is only 6 months old & worked perfectly for the first 4 months. It now takes at least 5 mins to lock onto GPS & the last few runs it just randomly stops tracking at all... very annoying during a race😡 have you had any success in fixing yours? 

[Al700]

It seems to be working okay. I removed it from the App and then totally reset the watch. I then linked them back up.
I don't try and connect it to gps until i'm outside and ready to run. Still doesn't connect straight away like it used to but it does now connect at least.
Good luck 👍

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.

[Tri10p]

So I too have seen this problem come and go.  The Satellites can create all kinds of effects based on their orbit (they are not Geosynchronous) in terms of lock time and what your GPS knows at that second.  Another possibility is that the GPS module may need to download the satellite almanac (assuming it actually has need to do that, a normal Garmin GPS does).   Also, the last place you used the GPS can also (potentially) cause lock delays.  If you are far away (in location) from the last place it locked, sometimes it takes longer to lock (Again something you can see with a Garmin).  So there are a lot of variables to think about in context to the problem.  A good thing to try is to get it to lock via starting a run/walk or something (however long that takes); stop it (don't move); wait a minute or two and try again to start an exercise.  In theory, if its a GPS thing, it should lock pretty quick, if not, then maybe there is something funky in the Ionic hardware or firmware...

Btw, I'll one up you on a GPS problem, starting two days ago, if I TRY to connect to GPS via starting an exercise, my Ionic Freezes for about 10 seconds, then restarts itself...if I try it again, it does the same thing...so at last YOURS WORKS! 🙂

Update: oh just in case somebody says, but my cell phone is so fast: two things, cell phone can get the almanac over the network (which is much faster than a satellite download), AND it can use the cell network for position quickly...your Ionic probably doesn't have that advantage... 🙂

[Shaun88Smith]

I have the Map app downloaded on my Fitbit to check to GPS and it works on the app just not on the exercise/walk app.. could be software or something I only got it yesterday and it's not connecting once.

[MarreFitbit]

Hi everyone! Sorry to hear about the inconveniences you've been having with the GPS on your Fitbit Ionic. Thanks for taking the time to share your experience with the GPS accuracy so far.

As you may already know, the GPS requires a direct path to the satellites in order to receive their radio transmissions, and there are several reasons why GPS data could be negatively affected.  The accuracy depends on both your environment and the weather; the GPS signal could be affected because you're underground, near many tall buildings, or as a result of atmospheric effects. 

I'm aware that you probably already tried all the basic troubleshooting steps, however, it won't harm to take a look at all the information here about the requirements, error messages and troubleshooting steps that could help to improve GPS accuracy.

Give this a go and let me know the outcome! 

[marecekch]

I had the same problem. I restarted my Ionic and after that it works better. 🙂

[LimpEmu]

All the GPS problems with my Ionic, which is a little over a year old, started after the last update.

I have already given up on recording bike rides as 90% of the time they stop recording, and I only get a partial ride, so I am only recording runs now, and ever since the December update, the Ionic has trouble connecting. I have tried to not start the run until I see that it's connected, but if the wait is longer than a couple of minutes I give up. Today, nothing at all recorded. And yes, it's raining today, but my Wahoo and Garmin record fine in the rain. Why would the Fitbit be affected?

I am actually puzzled what that December update did. It changed the information shown, but to the worse. Now I keep sliding up to see some of results, and it just keeps cycling to the steps/heart rate/etc. information. Also, each time I update, the clock changes and the apps I don't want come back. The Strava app never ever works, whoops, I am getting side tracked I guess.

I will research a new device later today, very disappointed with the lack of reliability of the Ionic.

[LimpEmu]

To be fair, I have to post an update.

After the problems with the GPS that started after the last update, I did all of the following:

• turned GPS Off (that is done on the Run screen!), restarted Ionic
• turned bluetooth off, restarted Ionic
• turned bluetooth on, restarted Ionic
• turned GPS On, restarted Ionic

I also restarted my Android phone at the same time as I did the last Ionic restart. For all the runs after all this, the Ionic connected within 30 seconds of starting the recording and recorded the runs completely (for some reason it now gives me vibration alerts every half mile, but that's ok).

I have no idea what helped, but I am happy that things seem to be functioning properly again. 

[Bassplyr]

The GPS on my Ionic quit working right after the last firmware update as well. After two rounds with customer service they agreed it was defective. But, since I am two months past one year of purchase all they would offer is a 40% off retail discount. Very disappointing and I will never purchase a fitbit product again. I have tried the factory reset, tuning GPS off then back on, BT off/on and all I get is "searching".

[SunsetRunner]

@Bassplyr for me it started almost 2 weeks ago so well after firmware update. It's not happening all the time though. Until now I had to episodes of not locking onto the GPS at all. Both were runs. This way I lost data of 15km and 6km runs. But not really eager to contact customer support.

[Tri10p]

I haven't had any problems with my GPS since I got a new Ionic, but one thing I have noticed is a find that I lock onto the satellites faster if, after I hit start, I hold my arm us such that the watch face is pointing directly upwards into the sky.  Usually syncs within 10-15 seconds if I do that (Note where I do this I am mostly surrounded by very tall trees).   I have had times where when I just start going and it doesn't sync well.  This has now been part of my routine when I start a GPS session.

If the GPS is broken, it won't help you any, but you may find it does sync faster if you try it.  

Just something to try.

[zinctalc]

Me GPS stopped working a well ago after working perfectly since I got it in December. On my Ionic, it says that GPS is on for running. On the app it says that it is not on for running, and I can't figure it how to turn it on. It used to automatically track my runs and show my splits, which is what I got this Fitbit for. Any suggestions? Super bummed. Thanks.

[msg270]

I understand this is old but I just ran into this problem. Now I have a question about the support article you link to above. It mentions that "the ionic works with the GPS sensors in your phone" and you "need to bring your phone with you". Excuse me but the ionic was marketed and one of the reasons I purchased it was because of a "built-in gps reciever". Can someone explain this to me? Something is not adding up here.

[Bjørnar]

I've had several Ionics and YES they have a built in GPS, so you DON'T need your Phone.
BUT, if you plan on hiking for more than 8 hours and don't want to drain your FitBit battery you may turn OFF the GPS function on your Fitbit and use the GPS on your mobile phone if you want to, though I don't see the immediate advantages of a flat battery on your mobile way up in the mountains and a fully charged Fitbit 🙂

The general GPS issues people (including me !!@%&&?) have, is that the Ionic GPS works fine for a while and then uses a looooooooooong time to connect (get a GPS-Fix), if it connects at all!  This is rather frustrating, and I'm searching for a solution myself.

[msg270]

Thank you for your reply. My issue is not with battery life. Their own sopport article says that in order for GPS to work you need your phone. Why? Either they need to fix their documentation or they lied. Which is it?

[Tri10p]

So not really sure which article you're talking about.  The one linked in this thread says nothing about your phone unless you're on the Charge 2....etc tab.  The Ionic tab doesn't mention a phone.  Now that being said, you'll need your phone or a sync dongle for your computer to actually download the GPS tracks and such for viewing...