Ionic Firmware Release - 32.10.20

[CarlosCFitbit]

Fitbit Update 08/23/2018: Hi everyone! 

Just wanted to thank you all for your participation in this thread. 

Since the majority of Ionic users have successfully updated to OS 2.1.1 (v32.10.20) I have decided to close this topic to further posts. 

If you still have not updated your Ionic to OS 2.1.1, check out this post for some best practices on how to update your device. 

If you are experiencing an issue with your Ionic unrelated to the firmware-up process, I invite you to start a new topic on the community or find a related topic. 

Thanks again to all the great feedback we have received on this firmware. Looking forward to the next Fitbit OS update! 

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Fitbit Update - 6/7/18: Fitbit OS 2.1.1 has been released to 100% of Ionic users!

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Hi, everyone! 

I am excited to announce the release of Fitbit OS 2.1.1! (Firmware Version: 32.10.20)

We've started to roll out this update to 30% of Ionic users. This is a progressive rollout, and all Ionic users can expect to have it within a few weeks. We roll out releases in phases as a cautionary measure so that we can monitor performance closely and make adjustments if needed. 

You can find the release notes for this new OS version by following the link, here.  

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

As a reminder, I recommend updating your Ionic over a home Wi-Fi network as this can greatly reduce the time it can take to get set up. For more information on connecting your Ionic to Wi-Fi, check out this article. 

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

Looking forward to hearing everyone's feedback on the latest release. If you have any questions, feel free to post them in this thread. 

[Shastaski]

jharla1,

I received mine as a gift for Christmas which was purchased at Kohl's, so it should not be having battery issues already either way, software or hardware.  Yours sounds more like a Hardware issue which is tough to chew on considering how much you pay for these things.

Thanks for the details!

⁣


Sent from Blue ​

[Gryzor]

The fact that battery life is not only halved with this update, but is also getting *worse*, is extremely worrying. I'm awaiting for my replacement Ionic to arrive (it was replaced due to screen problems), and I think my current one lasts shorter every day that passes, and this makes me wonder whether I should even attempt updating the new one when it arrives!

If true, it could mean the new firmware actually... damages the watches? Physically, I mean?

This is such a huge fail. It's good that someone from FitBit saw it fit (heh) to reply, but it'd have been so much better if they actually acknowledged the problem instead of repeating the same mantra over and over again...

[mr_manager]

No. It means the code is inefficient. As they work to make the functionality better, the battery life will suffer. 

[Gryzor]

That would be true if battery level was lower, but steady. Going from 4 to 2, say. But going from 4 to 2 and then KEEPING going down is another thing altogether.

[mr_manager]

Shut it off completely and restart it once a day. See if that changes anything. If there are zombie processes running, that would explain why it "keeps" going down, by which I imagine you mean the rate of battery level decreases more rapidly as time goes on since the last charge.

[jharla1]

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@Shastaski wrote:

jharla1,

I received mine as a gift for Christmas which was purchased at Kohl's, so it should not be having battery issues already either way, software or hardware.  Yours sounds more like a Hardware issue which is tough to chew on considering how much you pay for these things.

Thanks for the details!

⁣


Sent from Blue ​

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Let's hope it isn't hardware.  A day one user just got them end of September.

I imagine it's firmware as others are commenting similar experiences even since our posts.  If you're down to just under 2 days, it's going to just keep getting worse, unfortunately.  I didn't even think to check GPS, though come to think of it notifications were spotty.

[bIonicman]

I updated my Ionic a bit over a week or so ago, and at that time I posted about the experience, and the trouble I ran into.

The biggest issue I had was notifications, which did not work at all anymore. For whatever reason, they are working again. I can't quite say it is 100% reliable (which it never has been), but 95% of the notifications I want to see on the Ionic are there.

I have not had any issues with battery, as a matter of fact, it is starting to look like it actually is doing a bit better rather then worse after this latest update.

That to me means that the basic code Fitbit has release this time may not be the issue of the battery issues reported by others. This could point to specific application you may be using or even e.g. the watch face you use. (I had this last one happen early on when I just got my Ionic).

Those with battery issues, you may want to stop using some things you use now, or make a change (one at the time) to sort out what the root cause is ? 

[Shastaski]

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@bIonicman wrote:

I updated my Ionic a bit over a week or so ago, and at that time I posted about the experience, and the trouble I ran into.

The biggest issue I had was notifications, which did not work at all anymore. For whatever reason, they are working again. I can't quite say it is 100% reliable (which it never has been), but 95% of the notifications I want to see on the Ionic are there.

I have not had any issues with battery, as a matter of fact, it is starting to look like it actually is doing a bit better rather then worse after this latest update.

That to me means that the basic code Fitbit has release this time may not be the issue of the battery issues reported by others. This could point to specific application you may be using or even e.g. the watch face you use. (I had this last one happen early on when I just got my Ionic).

Those with battery issues, you may want to stop using some things you use now, or make a change (one at the time) to sort out what the root cause is ? 

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That is what I am doing now, have removed all apps and turned off notifications to try to isolate it.  At this point in the day, it appears it is not making a difference as the drop in battery life is greater than it had been.  I will try changing my Watch Face to one from FitBit.

[jharla1]

fwiw I made sure I used a fitbit watch face.  Actually had to change after one I had been using stopped working.

Didn't help.  If you haven't contacted support you might as well now, because they're going to make you go through all of these steps again.  You're going to just have to placate them.

Also suggested by them was to use an iphone charger with your fitbit cord.  So try all that before you contact them, as well as manually syncing every 3 to 4 hours (because you should turn off sync as well).  May keep you from having to play email tag with them over a few days.

[Shastaski]

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@jharla1 wrote:

fwiw I made sure I used a fitbit watch face.  Actually had to change after one I had been using stopped working.

Didn't help.  If you haven't contacted support you might as well now, because they're going to make you go through all of these steps again.  You're going to just have to placate them.

Also suggested by them was to use an iphone charger with your fitbit cord.  So try all that before you contact them, as well as manually syncing every 3 to 4 hours (because you should turn off sync as well).  May keep you from having to play email tag with them over a few days.

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Thanks for the help!  I had this hoop jumping with them once before on a previous update that fouled up the Exercises and their tracking.  Anyway, I will turn off the sync as well but I don't have an iPhone, so thus I don't have an iPhone charger (which really should not make a difference for maintaining a charge), but whatever.  The fact that the voltage varies among charge adapters I think should be more of a concern, but again, whatever, I am not an Electrical Engineer.

Thanks again for all your input!  I kind of figured I am in for a long haul.

[mr_manager]

One odd observation... the iPhone charger. Assuming they suggest that because it's 2.1 amps... When I try to charge mine on a 2.1 amp outlet, the watch charges, but it gives me the message that it is NOT charging.

[PaulAvo]

Maybe someone from Fitbit could theorize on here, why the suggested new firmware update seems to render some Ionics useless, when others, including my own and two other family members who puchased their's in the last few months are fine and functioning o.k. There are three possibilities 1. Owners are doing something very wrong. 2. The data flow from Fitbit servers to 'phone then bluetooth to Ionic is failing due to packet losses. 3. There is a problem with various batches of the device.

[jharla1]

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@PaulAvo wrote:

Maybe someone from Fitbit could theorize on here, why the suggested new firmware update seems to render some Ionics useless, when others, including my own and two other family members who puchased their's in the last few months are fine and functioning o.k. There are three possibilities 1. Owners are doing something very wrong. 2. The data flow from Fitbit servers to 'phone then bluetooth to Ionic is failing due to packet losses. 3. There is a problem with various batches of the device.

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My parents both have Ionics.  One updated is fine.  The other isn't as "gifted" in the tech department so I told them not to update given the issues I was having.

I've been through numerous theories.  This was the first update I ever did over WiFi.  Usually the two hour long bluetooth process.  So once I noticed the battery was degrading and wasn't lasting more than a day I did the factory reset, and then did the update via bluetooth.  Made no difference, though I guess the battery proceeded to worsen.

I also thought maybe just because I was a day one user the batteries were dropping out, but comments from others here prove that wrong (unless inventory sticking around everywhere).

So got me.  But it's obviously widespread.  Like I said, you fall in 3 categories:  works, GPS/notifications broken, or battery degradation (sometimes combo of the latter two).

Glad to hear yours works.  Loved mine up until the update.

[jharla1]

Shastaski,

I'm sorry, you did indeed mention you had android.  They will probably tell you to use whatever base you use for your android device then (as opposed to USB).  The next text will be what they emailed me, hope it helps!  (and keep in mind this was them also responding saying that I was using a third party cord)

Customer support as follows:

Your Fitbit Ionic Watch's battery should last up to 4 days. Upon checking our back end tools we see that your Ionic is still being charged with a charging device that is not adequate.

We understand that you're using the original charging cable, however, *we'd like you to try to use this charging cable with your original iPhone's charger since these are UL-Certified chargers. We also see that your Ionic has only synced thrice per day and we need more syncs, so we recommend the following battery draining test that has been built just for your specific case:

As a reminder, the following are some factors that have an impact on battery life and may cause your battery to drain more quickly:
1. Frequently checking the Fitbit app, which syncs your tracker
2. Frequently receiving notifications and reminders
3. Frequently checking your stats using Quick View.
4. Using animated clock faces or clock faces not made by Fitbit. (Please setup a Fitbit made clockface for testing purposes).
5. Hearing or controling music from your Watch. (Usind Deezer, Pandora, Music Control or any other app during a prolonged time lapse will drain your battery).
​
For more information about how to improve battery life for your specific tracker, please refer to the following help article https://help.fitbit.com/articles/en_US/Help_article/2004 .

If you still believe your battery is not lasting as long as expected, we’d like you to do a battery test to see how long your battery lasts after a full charge with our instructions at https://help.fitbit.com/articles/en_US/Help_article/1799. After that, please do the following:
1. Disable the features that can impact battery life as described in https://help.fitbit.com/articles/en_US/Help_article/2004
2. Fully charge your Watch and sync it.
3. Sync your Watch 5-6 times a day.
4. Wear your Watch until it is fully depleted. Try to sync it before it turns off.

When your battery is completely drained, meaning that your watch is no longer responsive and you no longer see the low battery indicator, let us know the day you fully charged your watch and the day it was fully depleted.

With this information, we’ll be able to better research how long your watch's battery is lasting.

[Shastaski]

jharla1,

Thanks for sending me their reply!  Most the things I had done, but used the articles to adjust the rest and we shall see what this now "Basic" watch does...hehe.  I even removed Pandora, and oh what a pain that was to finally get that going right.  I am doing a full charge now, will deplete it to zero, recharge and see how long I get out of the charges.  It better be more than 4.5 days as that is what I was getting when it was new and then down to around 3.5 to 4 when I used GPS once per day as well as music and had just a few apps that really weren't internet users.

I will keep the thread posted on the results.

[Shastaski]

jharla,

Have you received your new Ionic from FitBit?

[jharla1]

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@Shastaski wrote:

jharla,

Have you received your new Ionic from FitBit?

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No, just got clearance today to ship it back.  I was in support loop since last Wednesday.

Figured best I post the near final communique for anyone interested so they know exactly what to do.  I got chided for one time when I charged it fully and didn't sync every 3 to 4 hours (I think I synced 4x that day before it died).  Ended up being moot as it wouldn't charge after that.  And so here we are.

[Bikash-s]

Hi Carlos,

I am always very reluctant updating new firmware as old version was working fine, but now that I have updated my ionic the swipe feature is completely unresponsive and it’s so frustrating, I have to restart to make it work for few seconds then soon i ger Fitbit icon and it’s freezes. I have notice that it’s not getting my elavation Stats, no matter how many stairs I climb, and battery draining very fast over 50% without any use of GPS or music.

I have reset to factory setting as advised by the customer support, it was pretty much an hour of waste of time as, as my ionic is automatically updated to latest firmware, couldn’t get option of update pending laterest version. So my swipe feature is completely unresponsive and it’s so frustrating, as now I have lost all my music and apps and I am back to square one. 

Is it an issue to all users or just me? My battery drained 50% today without using any GPS or music. I am not sure if my tracker is faulty or it the update meshed up my tracker, please help.

Thanks 

Bikash

[Cal_2010]

So you factory reset and update, and the issue persists? Mine was acting up the same way and eventually bricked, so...

[Shastaski]

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@jharla1 wrote:

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@Shastaski wrote:

jharla,

Have you received your new Ionic from FitBit?

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No, just got clearance today to ship it back.  I was in support loop since last Wednesday.

Figured best I post the near final communique for anyone interested so they know exactly what to do.  I got chided for one time when I charged it fully and didn't sync every 3 to 4 hours (I think I synced 4x that day before it died).  Ended up being moot as it wouldn't charge after that.  And so here we are.

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Thanks for the response!  It is too bad as I really liked my Ionic, but if I have to go through all of this only after 6 months and paying nearly 300 bucks, I really think I will move over to a different brand.