Ionic Firmware Version 70.7.14 Bugs and strangeness...

[FLAJIM]

I've owned my Fitbit Ionic since just after it first came out.  At some point (3 months after my year warranty), it would no longer take updates.  I spent DAYS on the phone and email with tech support but got nothing.  The last support person on the watch said there was nothing we could do and I needed a new phone but they'd offer a 20% discount on a new watch.  I was angry because the watch just wasn't that old.  Then soon after, it stopped tracking my heartrate (it would do it seemingly randomly, even though I cleaned the sensors.)  It also stopped telling me the weather...  odd.

Regardless to all this, I took it upon myself to get current with the OS one way or another.  Here's what I did:

1) removed Ionic from iphone bluetooth

2) removed Ionic from Fitbit app

3) performed a factory reset from the WATCH in Settings --> About --> Factory Reset.

4) setup the watch as new

5) performed update after update

I managed to get all the way to update 70.7.14.  However.  Here is a few problems:

1) Health - It no longer tracks my heart rate at all.  It's just two gray dashes under BPM.

2) Steps - It said (currently at this current time) I have 16 steps for the day.  I do more than that going to the bathroom.  It's obviously no longer tracking steps (worth anything anyway).

3) Calibration - Now it keeps asking for a calibration but it can never actually complete it.  I've done everything including removing the wristbands, turning on lights, putting it on its face...  nothing.  It asks about it all the time.

4) Update - The iPhone says there's an update from 70.7.14.  It supposedly downloads, installs (I get a green screen with the Fitbit logo (not a checkmark) but it's still the same version and then two minutes later it announces that there is an update...

5) Screen Wake - Although I set this for Manual (Button), it still wakes on motion and drives me nuts at night.  This also helps to kill the battery.

6) Battery - I can't peg this to 70.7.14 but I do know my battery only lasts 2 days MAX.  It used to last a WEEK!

I have all the neato wizbang things such as the clock face swap and Starbucks but the bugs make the watch nearly impossible to use.  At this point it IS just an electronic watch... (for as long as that works)  I would likely be better just factory resetting the watch and never updating.

My equipment:

iPhone X - OS 13.3.1

Fitbit Ionic - OS 27.70.7.14

I just don't want to spend another week on the phone trying things with tech support only to have them tell me I need a new watch...  That is unacceptable.

[MrSilence]

I had a same issue with my fitbit ionic. End of february 2020 it stopped tracking steps, measure heart rate, and it kept saying there is an update when I already had the latest version. Out of the blue after alot times resetting and factory resetting it worked few days later again.

Now yesterday I had again problems. Again no heart rate anymore and the battery drains verry fast empty . Please fix this issue and give us a new firmware that keep working.

[FLAJIM]

Dear Fitbit,

Can you folks see that this is not an isolated issue?  Whomever is in charge of the release of firmware needs to be sacked.  You'll see more people complaining about the same thing.

I have a suggestion.  I am willing to SEND YOU my Fitbit Ionic so you can experiment to your hearts content.  It doesn't do much for me anyway (I got it to tell time again by resetting to factory but it immediately took that stupid update...) so maybe you can figure it out.  Send it back to me when you're done.  Hopefully you will have fixed it and have a solution for others...

Jim

[DonaldMReif]

I'm having troubles with the watch taking forever to lock onto GPS, which it's been doing for a month. I feel ready to throw in the towel and get a Galaxy Watch Active 2. And I've had the watch since it came out in September 2017.

Fitbit, you really need to do better. You have consumers complaining about a problem, you should make an effort to fix the problem. If it's not within your ability to do so, escalate the problem through your channels until you find someone who's capable of solving the problem.

[Schnorkel]

Since the app update before last (iOs), my ionic refuses to accept a Custom Max Heart Rate. It defaults to your formula (age only) and will not let me input the one I use, based on what I consider a more accurate formula for my physical condition. As a result, my Heart Rate Zones (which I use for tracking my training progress) are all wrong. Out of desperation, I disconnected the ionic from my iOs app an used my PC app to reset it, then reconnected my iOs app. It worked properly for a few days, then reverted. repeated procedure, worked for a few days, then reverted. Now, when I try that, it doesn't do anything. I never had anything like that happen with my older Garmin.

Please advise. Being able to manually set my Custom Max Heart Rate is very important to my training program. 

[FLAJIM]

I don't even wear my Ionic anymore.  It's pretty worthless at this point.  I not only don't recommend Fitbit to people, I tell them my story and let them know there are better options out there.  Fitbit does not support their product.  Oh sure my watch was out of warranty by about 3-4 months but are you telling me your product is so crappy it only lasts a year?  Mine didn't even have a scratch on it! 

Regardless, fire your programming staff or at the very least your QA team!  They STINK!  The amount of bugs allowed to get past is completely unacceptable.

My real thought is "are you going to take this seriously or brush it off as someone just ranting"?  Look at all my posts.  Look at how detailed they are and tell me I'm just ranting.  I couldn't wait to get my Ionic and now that I know how terrible the support is, and how EASILY YOU DROPPED THIS THREAD, I am sad.  You know, they say it takes a lot of money to get a customer but a lot less to keep one.  You should have learned that mantra.

[Golfgalsd]

I’m sorry but think you might be right. Not sure Ionic was ever ready for prime time. Maybe focused on other simpler products. Perhaps they’re not providing good os info & updates to app developers. I know they don’t have consistent congruence between updates. Two updates ago their update caused a massive number of crashes with their own os, not just developer apps. I was an early adopter & excited they were giving Apple a run for their money. Makes me sad to have Ionic just wimp out.

Elizabeth