Heartrate sensors not working and battery dying quickly

[NicoleCritt]

I've had my ionic since Dec 2017 and have loved it! About a week ago, I noticed my battery was draining quickly and was having to be charged on a nightly basis. I have a standard clock on the face, no animation, and no extra apps added. Then, the heartrate has completely stopped working. So, I read some articles online, turned the ionic off/on, and tonight performed a factory reset with no luck. The heartrate sensor lights do not even come on. I checked on the ionic and the heartrate is set to on. Any ideas would be much appreciated. Thank you!

[SilviaFitbit]

@NicoleCritt Welcome to the Community. Thanks for the details mentioned and the troubleshooting tried. 

I would like you to try the tips mentioned in this article: Can I extend my Fitbit device's battery life? 

Regarding your Ionic not showing heart rate, please try the following: 

• Tighten the band so that it doesn’t slip on your wrist. For more information, see How do I track my heart rate with my Fitbit device?
• Heart-rate tracking may not work with certain accessory bands, especially if they’re loose fitting. For best results, use the wristband that came with your device.

Let me know how it goes. 

[barky81]

My Ionic is from December 2017 as well. It suddenly this week started dying overnite. It won't hold a charge 6 hours with all syncing and notifictions turned off (I mean sitting on a shelf with no display, from 100% to Zero in a few hours.)

Did the factory reset, and reinstalled the firmware, went through the update process...NOTHING.

Went through support and they said, "Too bad. Have a 25% off coupon for your next device (with limits and exclusions)." 

I am done. Downloading my data archive now.

Google is going to be in for a surprise when all these devices start dying....wonder if that's why they sold NOW?

[barky81]

So my 23-month-old Ionic went from working perfectly to Daily Dying overnite! No warning signs at all.

Did the whole, factory reset, reinstall firmware, update firmware, etc. NOTHING HELPS. It's done.

Went through Support, and they basically said, "Too bad, here's a 25% coupon on your next device (with exclusions and limitations)." 

I am sure this is because, now that I search through the forum, there are LOTS OF DEAD OVERNIGHT Ionics.

The "lucky ones" had devices that didn't make it a year, apparently. And the first few (unknown number) of technically out of warranty owners also got refurbs...but apparently there are just too many now.

I am quite sure this is a product defect (or undisclosed product limitation). They knew (and know) that these will die.

If you had an Ionic die overnight, please post your story here so we can collect them in one place.

[barky81]

Mine just died overnite as well, after 23 months. I believe they are defective and Fitbit is using the 1 year warranty to tell us "Too bad. Here's a 25% coupon (with limitations and exclusions)."

[Odyssey13]

Hi @barky81   your posts were merged into this thread where you posted previously. I don't use the Ionic, but a family member has one which is more than two years old and doing well. Sorry you're having problems.

[barky81]

So even though I was posting about battery drain on posts about battery
drain, you moved my posts? Why? So people can't see the issue that Ionic's
clearly have.

[barky81]

Also, it is not surprising that you also deleted my new topic post on this subject! Clearly, you should have merged them all there if it's so important to "clean up" the forum.

But why did you delete my new topic without explanation?

(Thanks for your "concern" for my "problems"-- meaning a defective device)

[NicoleCritt]

Thank you @SilviaFitbit for the articles. I actually did read up on both of those links. I reset my watch back to factory setting, so my display or watch face is the original one. I also took off my notifications for email and only left text messages and calls on. I do not listen to music on my ionic either, and my brightness is set to auto. The battery is still unfortunately draining extremely quickly. It is puzzling to me how it just started draining quickly in just a few days. It had been working great for almost 2 years now. As far as the heart sesnsors go, the lights aren't even coming on anymore. I have had different bands on the watch, but I have been using them for over a year now with no problem. The watch has not been damaged in any way nor been in any extreme weather conditions. Are there any other options available? I really have loved my ionic since I've had it. I purchased the ionic primarily for the heartrate technology as I have heart issues, and it allowed me to monitor my heartrate on a daily basis both with and without exercise. 

[SilviaFitbit]

@Odyssey13 Thanks for merging the posts here. 

@barky81 Thanks for getting back. I've shared your post with our Support team and they've mentioned you already have a case with them, please continue the communication through email, they will continue assisting you. 

@NicoleCritt Thanks for getting back. Sorry to hear about what you're experiencing with your Ionic. I've shared your post with our Support team and they will continue assisting you through email, check your email inbox. 

I'll be around if you need further assistance.