Ionic GPS Inaccuracies

[MP4]

Hi, 

I'm a new Fitbit user, bought an Ionic on Monday and I'm having some issues with the GPS. Went on a couple of runs (at a track) and the gps seemed to be completely out both on the distance travelled and pace per kilometre.

I'm a long time strava user so yesterday I went for a run with both the Fitbit Ionic going and the strava on my iPhone running at the same time. Here are the results:

Strava - 7.9km   @ 4:15/km

Fitbit - 7.2km     @ 4:34/km

The difference of 0.7km is quite big and the difference in pace is also worrying. I waited till both had connected to gps before starting the run and I run in London where gps signal should be good. 

Is my Fitbit Ionic GPS not working correctly? Any help/advice would be appreciated. 

Thanks

Matt

Moderator Edit: Updated Subject for Clarity

[tonny123]

Nice that there is a new firmware. Unfortunately it will only address some running issues. My issues were related to non-running usage and I was pretty happy with it's running performance. As a whole - I'm glad that my local shop did a refund on my purchase so I no longer need to worry about Fitbit Ionic accuracy. Garmin is the king and until all bugs are fixed I won't even consider Fitbit again. It's very, VERY sad that Fitbit Ionic is such a disappointed. It looks gorgeous and have all the tech. But lousy programming killed the product.

Good luck to all of you here! And good luck to Fitbit solving all the issues with otherwise great product. If you still can - RUN! Avoid this product and use Polar or Garmin. Not to mention that your smartphone can do most of the stuff.

[tonny123]

@emmahyde98 If you need an accessory - then sure get this watch. But bare in mind that it's just a stylish step counter that can occasionally be used for running. All depends on your plans. Fitbit products are good start if all you want  is just to get you moving. If you plan to train - look elsewhere.

If you plan to run/bike then Garmin Forerunner 235 is the best alternative. For more serious usage Garmin FR 935 or Fenix 5 series are one of the best. Not to mention that old models (like Garmin FR 610) are very discounted right now and you can can get an amazing watch for 1/3 of the price. Also Garmin has support for both ANT+ and Bluetooth sensors.

[tonny123]

10.5 km drive

Fitbit Ionic Run mode in a nutshell: 10.5 km ride recorded as 0.00km with 3264"04' pace.

Or did you think that GPS watch will actually record traveled distance according to GPS!? Not with Fitbit Ionic...

[Tex52]

@SantiR when can I expect to see this update in the US? Texas specifically. I am not showing any updates available in my app.

[bmw54]

---

@tonny123wrote:

10.5 km drive

Fitbit Ionic Run mode in a nutshell: 10.5 km ride recorded as 0.00km with 3264"04' pace.

Or did you think that GPS watch will actually record traveled distance according to GPS!? Not with Fitbit Ionic...

---

@tonny123: to continue the experiment, why don't you drive the same course in ionic's Bike mode?  When I run using the Bike app I get GPS for pace and distance. That's the only way I've gotten ionic to reliably work for me.

[JT200SX]

I got the firmware update yesterday and just ran.  Here are the splits with the Ionic and my normal phone/Wahoo Fitness/Strava combination.  Total miles = 6.24 vs. 6.30, not too different.  Splits varied by 2-13 seconds/mile.  The Ionic lost GPS for most of mile #6 and the Samsung didn't, perhaps that's why the gap is largest in that mile.  I need to get a Garmin to wear on my other wrist to have a third data point.  🙂

[tonny123]

@bmw54 The reason is simple - it doesn't work either.

18km drive is being measured as 11.89km in the bike mode.

According to my Garmin watch and google maps distance is 18km.

18km drive in Bike mode

P.S. measurements are done prio latest update

[Denodan]

Dont know why you guys think goscis not accurate?

Often bike riding i use my Garmin bike gps. Samsung gear sport and iconic and all are within the same distance over 10km. Maybe slight differinces but .2km, so all are close enough not to worry about.

[pedris]

I find Strava can correct the distance of activities using the recorded GPS info, so it seems that the problem is not with the hardware or underlying data, but rather Fitbit's software.

From Strava: "If there are GPS inconsistencies from your device on your activity, you can override the distance your device reported with corrected data."

[Smackems]

I got the new firmware update yesterday morning.  It was perfect timing because I had a speed workout on the schedule for yesterday.  7 total miles.. 1 Warm-up.. then miles alternating between 7 and 8 minute per mile pace.  Prior to the update a workout like this would never work with the Ionic it would be way too slow to adjust to the paces and the distance was wrong. 

After the update I can say I'm pleasantly surprised.  I think they took a huge step in the right direction.  The watch was quick to accurately move my pace as I would speed up and slow down.  The distance was right on the money as well.  I have a normal run today so I'll provide another update on how it works with it.  

The only issue I continue to have is that for the first half mile or so the HR reported is crazy high, like 195 BPM, but then it settles in and tracks accurately.  

[MattyW]

That's incouraging. The lag when I picked up pace was one of my biggest
gripes too

[groberge]

I'm glad to hear such a positive review of the new update.  I'm anxious to try it since I'm currently in the middle of half-marathon training.

Maybe your higher heart-rate was your excitement at trying the new firmware???...lol.

[Smackems]

Here's a screenshot from the fitbit app.  Obviously the pace chart has a wide range, so it's not as easy to see but did pretty good speeding up and slowing down with me.  

[SimonRJ]

I just went for an outdoor ice skate on a 1.75km trail loop.   I used HIKE mode and unfortunately like others have mentioned, the GPS appears to only been used to trace the track, while distance was attempted to be calculated using steps.  Even when uploaded to Strava, the distance was still about half of what I actually covered . Of note, while I was gliding along, the watch showed a pace of 0'0" .

[Smackems]

I've done 2 additional runs since my last update.  I did a 5 mile run at a comfortable pace and a 8 mile run at a comfortable pace.  Both runs had their distance measured accurately and the pace on the watch generally seemed correct.  It jumps around a little bit, but in comparison it does a much better job of showing what I'm actually running at the time.  Maybe they could still make some improvements, but for the first time I actually feel confident enough to train with my Ionic.  

Another thing is that during the 8 mile run I streamed Pandora.   That used to not work right for me either, it would constant cut out, however; this time it worked perfectly.  For once the watch did everything I had hoped it would . 

[Denodan]

Still see no update avaiable

[SantiR]

Hello everyone! I hope you are all doing well! Thanks for your participation on this thread and for sharing your experience with the Fitbit Community.

I'm really happy to see so many positive comments on this thread regarding GPS functionality after the updating Ionic to its latest firmware version.

If you haven't received the update already, remember this is a progressive roll out and it should be available for all Ionic users within a few weeks!

The update includes an improvement in the way your distance gets tracked when you're running with GPS. 

Feel free to update its firmware as soon as you get it. Please check this post for more details about it.

Thanks for your patience. Keep me posted! 

[NikPark]

Still having GPS problems even after the update. My Ionic seems to think I have bought a helicopter and can fly in a direct route over houses and roads. It's not great for the premium price paid for the watch.

Anyone else with this problem???

As you can see ionic has taken a direct route, but you can see the real route taken on strava.

Would be great if it tracked my ride properly. This is not the only time it' done it.

[Giampi71]

First run with the new firmware .29 and the GPS tracking is even better than excellent earlier results. Particularly I found more accurate the instant pace.

Anyway this time I used at the same time: 

- Ionic (on my left wrist): Distance: 10.03 km, AVG HR: 153

- Polar m600 (on my right wrist): 10.08 km, 152

- TTRunner 2 cardio: again on my right wrist: 10.13 km, 154

- Runtastic on Google Pixel: 10,04

I also attach a portion of the comparison of the 4 devices. You can see that Fitbit and TT are very similar (although TT smooths the trace a lot so it is more pleasant to see) while Polar is really terrible for being a dedicated running watch. TT HR detection is however the worst while Fitbit and Polar are very similar.

Overall definitely happy about my Ionic.

[krkirkham]

I agree. Almost picked up a Garmin instead but if we all review the watch that makes a difference. Many co-workers have been asking my opinion of the watch as they look to buy a new one. I'm going to be honest when I tell them.