Ionic Black Screen and Will Not Start Up

[OferGrosz]

It seems to be a lot of people with the same problem as of recent. My Ionic quit receiving notifications and then at midnight it would erase the previous day stats from my phone app (It said it was syncing) and I started to look back at the app and the last saved date was 02/05. I also seen there was an automatic update on 02/04. Customer Service says that is not the problem, But my watch was working fine up to that point. I decided to uninstall everything from the phone and factory reset the Ionic and everything was going fine and halfway through the install the watch shut off and that is when my Ionic died. Have not been able to reset/start it since then. Called Customer Service and the person could see I tried everything they would suggest to fix it. So the only option was to offer me 40% off with FREE expedited shipping. I decided to think about it and I went to Best Buy and low and behold They have sold a ton of Galaxy Watches to People like me (YES, I am wearing one right now) due to this recent problem. I have up to 30 days to return it if I dont like it. But so far that does not be the case. Fitbit has not convinced me that this is not a software update issue that caused this. The coincidence of so many other people having the same problem in the same time range......Well enough said. My Galaxy Watch tells me to go for a walk. 

[Charissam]

I have just joined with the same problem as the rest of you.  I have had my Ionic just under the 16-month mark and it stopped working over the weekend.  I started with the Black Screen.  Attempted to charge it and only get the logo flashing on and off.  At first the nodes for the heart rate sensors were lighting up, but now they aren't.  I called support and they offered me a 25%-off coupon!  Are you kidding me.  It's a $300 watch just barely over a year old?  And the kicker...  I just purchased two new watchbands for it (one leather and one rubber).  So NOT happy right now with Fitbit.  They do not stand behind their product.  If it was a low-end model, maybe I could see that, but it isn't.

[Kerlylocks]

Sorry.  I'm not offering a solution.  Just sharing your pain.

I think I'm also into my a year and a half of owning the Ionic.

I'm on my third watch.  The first one, the screen just came apart from the shell.  Just opens up like you're lifting the hood of a car.  The second one, I got the black screen issue.

I'm suspicious, but haven't been able to confirm, the reason is because I used to shower with the watch on.  I figure, if you can go swimming with the watch on, then I can shower with it on.

Then I got the third one.  I keep having to restart the device so that I can get notifications.

Not a happy camper.

[Willar]

They will replace it. They replaced mine and I am wearing it right now despite purchasing an Iwatch which was way more expensive.

Sent from my iPhone

[Charissam]

Since mine was 4 months past the one year warranty, no replacement.  They offered me only a 25%-off coupon. 🙄 Really?!?

[Willar]

😞

Sent from my iPhone

[rainfactor]

And this is not the only thread about this issue.

There are several others describing the same problem but started their own thread rather than posting here.

Ionic seems to be plagued by this mysterious sudden death issue.

Very likely the ones that received refurbs as replacements(including myself) will be ending up in the same situation.

[RickJS]

They said they only warrant it for 12 months and mine is now 16 months old.

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Moderator edit: personal info removed

[Willar]

I contacted them and they tried everything to reboot mine to no avail. Mine was still under warranty they replaced it. Their staff was very helpful. I contacted them on Monday and had the replacement that Friday.

Respectfully,

Willar

Sent from my iPhone

[Cmking]

I’ve had my Ionic for 16 mos and it has worked great up until today.  It worked fine when I put it on this morning and had plenty of battery and then suddenly it’s dead and won’t charge.......NOTHING!!  It looks like this is happening quite often with others!!!  That’s so disappointing!!! I Loved my ionic but honestly cannot afford to pay $200 every 14-16 mos. Not sure what I’ll do from here☹️

[CharlieEth]

So only 12mths warranty in the US but 24mths in the UK .....??

That doesn’t seem very fair

Sent from my iPhone

[BigBlue76]

My Ionic breathed its last breath last night at 12:02 am. Exactly two weeks after my friend's Ionic purchased at the same time faded to BLACK!!!! Both of these were shipped on the first day of release of the Ionic. 

I had a full charge as of 9 am yesterday morning and it last synched with battery indication of full. It will now not charge or reset. It seems that early shipments of Ionic are reaching their END of LIFE (way too soon). 

In addition to special offers for customers that experience this issue it would beneficial for Fitbit to explain the known cause of these issues. I am hesitant to invest in another Fitbit product until I hear a reasonable explanation. 

[BigBlue76]

Fitbit gave me a link to order New Ionic at 40% discount plus offered free overnight shipping plus a free extra watch band. They emailed me a link and told me to order new watch at discount and then call them for the free shipping and free band. Did this twice and both times the order was put on hold with little explanation. 

As of now they are 0 for 2! 

1) They can’t explain the problem with my old Ionic

2) They can’t process the order to replace my Ionic under the conditions that they agreed to. 

Sad to see a company with so much potential implode on itself. 

Please advice of other fitness trackers options that are effective and reliable with customer focus. 

[Cmking]

I called Fitbit today about my ionic. The tech acted like he was unaware of these issues and was very apologetic and offered me 40% off another ionic or 25% off another Fitbit product.  I told him I had charged up my Fitbit charge HR but couldn’t get it to connect with any of my devices and asked for his help.  No luck!! I told him I had already spent over $ 300 on Fitbit devices and neither of them worked so why would I want to spend anymore money on their faulty products.  Very disappointing!

[CharlieEth]

Judging by the number of posts on the forum, I think they are very aware of the issue.
Sadly no response from the company though

Sent from my iPhone

[SparkySteve]

I’ve had my ionic for just over one year and it has been flawless...up until last week that is. Mysteriously died the same day it was charged, complete black screen, will no longer turn on, charge, reset, absolutely nothing. Figured there may be a simple fix for this until I do a google search and find all these forms...not looking good for my ionic at this point. How are you folks contacting Fitbit for service? I would love to call and talk to someone.

[ChrisNoble]

+1 to the random death of an Ionic. It's a pity there's no support for Fitbit in South Africa so I doubt I'd even be able to get a discount on a replacement. I'd consider getting another one because I do like them but it's a bit hard to trust such an expensive device that could randomly die for no reason. I've been with Fitbit for years and am I'm not too happy about losing all my statistics from all the different devices I've had.

[CharlieEth]

Someone from Fitbit contacted me through the forum .....

Sent from my iPhone

[kenchen27]

I am still waiting for someone from Fitbit to contact me

[MattStan0]

Add one more to the trash heap. 17 months of trouble free operation, and then I look down at a black screen that cannot be restarted. Seem's like this failure mode within the 14-18 month time frame is a feature of the Ionic. What better way to sell more devices.

[mikeschratz]

Good Morning,

I contacted them via twitter (which I've never used) and they got back to me pretty quickly. 

They have not come up with a resolution as of yet, but I just contacted them about 30 minutes ago. 

try this link and click on "let's talk" that is how I started my conversation with them. 

https://help.fitbit.com/?l=en_US

And they have been very responsive to this point!

Mike S