How to repair an ionic stuck in a boot-loop

[ionicuser30]

My Fitbit Ionic is stuck in a boot loop. The only thing that I can try is a factory reset (three button minus right bottom release after 15s and vibration) and it doesn't seem to work at all. Tried it over and over many times. It never shows up to pair and is constantly stuck at the splash screen. This happened after a firmware update. 

Fitbit support will not send a replacement because I did not purchase the item for an "authorized retailer", which is really unacceptable. It's a software issue and I have no way to reflash the mcu firmware to solve the problem and this really violates the principle of the "right to repair". Is there any way I can get the watch fixed, free or otherwise? Or should I make a decorative necklace out of it?  Happy to listen to creative ideas on how to make use of a malfunctioning ionic watch as well. 

Moderator edit: subject updated for clarity 

[DavideFitbit]

Hi, sorry for the late reply. 

Thank you for your feedback about the product and your experience with this @AngelDeath, let me know how the replacement watch is performing and if you continue to experience any difficulties.  

Than you for your comments as well @ruthhitchcock, it is particularly difficult when the device is no longer covered by the warranty, but even tough Support is eager to help with any problem you may experience with the product, they do need to adhere to the official warranty policy, this would start counting from the original date of purchase. 

Let me know if you have further questions. 

[AngelDeath]

Actually I have to say this by far beats the other, and I dont know why. At first to sync it was a complete pain to my account and to my phone, but since then, the battery life is unreal compared to the previous one. I dont have every feature turned on or whatnot (Didnt have it turned on on the old phone either) but my previous watch I would get 4 days at max before having to charge it, this one goes 7-8 days before having to charge it, which blows my mind, but truthfully though, I have about 7 days to go before I know I am in the clear with the watch as my issue occurred between day 35-37 when I noticed the issue of it being 30 mins behind and loss of access from my phone. We shall see.

[dzoehler]

I am having the same issue, it started refusing to sync with my Fitbit app, then the time went all crazy, one day it was 15 minutes behind, the next day, it was an hour and a half ahead, so I tried rebooting the watch, nothing was fixed, so I tried factory resetting it, and now it's stuck in a boot loop.

[AngelDeath]

Wait for the battery to die, after its dead and the watch turns off, plug it in to charge, and once it has enough power it should be back to the welcome screen to setup again.

[RL7]

This just happened to me today.  The touch screen has stopped functioning. I attempted to factory reset the watch. A boot loop ensued. I was able to get out of it. No idea how, just kept holding down buttons and I’m back to the watch showing the time and date but the touch screen is still unusable. 

[edwardsnjd]

I'm afraid I'm another disappointed Fitbit Ionic owner with the boot loop problem; after the recent Ionic update, a restart has led to my device getting stuck in a loop of briefly showing the Fitbit logo then a black screen.  The 3 button reset does not break the device out of the loop.

I have raised a support ticket and hope that support find a way to fix my device.  With the recent unstable iOS app updates and now a firmware update seeming to destroy some devices I'm sad to say that Fitbit have lost my confidence.

[AngelDeath]

@edwardsnjd you need to let the ionic's battery die, let it go through the cycle and once the battery dies, then you can plug it into the charger, after about 2 hours it should come back to life, either by itself or by you hitting the left button. And yes it is the update that is doing this you are right, mine is losing time currently mine is 25 mins behind real time and I have to constantly factory reset my watch everyday if I want to sync once or twice in a day cause it doesnt sync or anything anymore.

[edwardsnjd]

Thanks for the advice, @AngelDeath.  I have already tried letting the battery run flat but ended up back in the same reboot loop.  Since you have had success with that path I'll try it again though.  Hopefully my battery wasn't quite dead the last time, this time I'll leave it an extra week to be sure!

[AngelDeath]

@edwardsnjd 

Mine in June was boot looping, and I let it burn itself out (Battery died) then all I did was put it back on the charger and a couple of hours later it was back to the setup screen (I did a factory reset), but it didnt fix anything, Fitbit's firmware update killed the watch same as this update has and they had to replace it back in July of this year, and yet here we go again.

[SunsetRunner]

Tried that, No luck.

[raphaeltm]

I'm currently having this problem on an Ionic that's 14 months old. The support team said I should just buy a new one with a 25% discount code. For a $330 device, I feel like it should last longer than that.

Did you ever find an actual fix? 

[dzoehler]

Yours lasted 14 months?! Lucky you, mine didn't even last 3. No, I never
did find a fix, and you're absolutely right, I think a 90% would be more
appropriate, especially considering how many people have had the exact same
problem, and Fitbit never provided a fix or effective support.

[DarinD]

i just bought an ionic on ebay worked fine but didnt seem to count floors so i figured i would do a factory reset.. bad idea because its junk now just flashes fitbit logo.. ive let the battery die and recharged and still same thing..

[Mister-emiel]

I have ditched the fitbit and got a Garmin. Problem solved.

[DarinD]

how do you like the garmin Mister and and what model did you get.

[tonupkid]

@DarinD  when fitbit broke my ionic with this latest update, i borrowed a Garmin vivoactive 3 music, it was so good that i bought the vivoactive 4, its awesome, no syncing issues, no problem upgrading firmware, and ive never had a single drop out on the gps while running or cycling. Also Garmin have a system where they change the battery when it fails, with fitbit youre left with a dead watch. 

Some on here have bought apple watches, so i guess it depends if you want a smartwatch or a fitness watch, if fitness is youre interested in , then have a look at the Garmins.

[DarinD]

thanks mainly just for fitness and as a watch so no need for a apple watch.. i really like the clock face changeability on the ionic. only got to play with it a couple hours, till the firmware update killed it

[tonupkid]

Garmin has changeable clock faces too, stored on the device, I currently have 9 watchfaces on mine, ionic only allows 5,  but its a different display to the ionic, however its always on, which is great as i no longer have swing my arm around or tap the screen to view the display. win win 

[Mister-emiel]

I got the garmin instinct as it has everything the phoenix 6 has ( except color screen and topographical maps) at a quarter of the price. I love the all week battery life with using gps once an hour a day. Compass, alrimeter, waypoints and trackback feature just like any handheld gps tracker are handy as well as i go to remorlte areas in the bush often. If you are in the bush for a month a small travel battery would keep you recharged.



Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.

[BallymenaBob]

I had exactly the same issue when updating the Operating System.

i did several hard resets (the three button one) and eventually got the red X “data not cleared” message.

at this point I logged off my Fitbit app and to my amazement when I logged on again, I was able to set up my Ionic. No only that, but it saved all my data.

Phew!