Ionic GPS + Music Cutting Off

[Darksheep]

Hi all! 

Have been using my Ionic for about three months now. The last month I have a very interesting problem. 

When running, using the GPS and Training screen while playing music from my watch, the music starts to falter. It sounds like a sort of buffering error, or stammering. I have the feeling this started since the update to the last version. Systematically I do the following steps:

1. Swipe to music, start music
2. Link Bluetooth headset to watch. Music plays perfectly.
3. Start running app. GPS searching.
4. Start actually running until GPS connects.
5. Start the run. Music plays perfectly
6. Turn my arm away, screen goes black. Faltering starts

Because the faltering is very irritating, I decided to run without the running, but with music only. Steps I did:

1. Swipe to music, start music
2. Link Bluetooth headset to watch. Music plays perfectly.
3. Start the run. Music plays perfectly
4. Watch recognizes I am running, asks me to start the running app
5. I start the running app. Music plays perfectly.
6. Turn my arm away, screen goes black. Faltering starts

The last time I went running I ignored the fact that my watch recognized I was running, and kept on going. It STILL went to falter. Seems I now cannot listen to music without it faltering.  

The weird thing is, this only happens when the screen is turned off. As soon as I look at my watch while running, the screen turns on and the music is perfect. This could mean two things:

- Screen off = battery saving mode, causing the falter

- Looking at my watch = arm stays still = arm movement causing the falter

Things I have tried: 

- unlink headset, restart Ionic, link headset

- Factory reset, update to latest version

Anything I can try before returning it to my supplier? Thanks for your advices!

Moderator Edit: Updated Subject for Clarity

[SantiR]

@Darksheep Welcome to the Fitbit forums! Thanks for taking the time to share the experience you are having with music on Ionic while exercising. Thanks for sharing all of those details and for trying all of those steps in order to sort this out.

I've seen some users that experienced similar issues reporting that when they wear the watch on the other wrist, music stops cutting. Try this out and let me know if there is a difference. 

Also, you mentioned that this happens when the screen turns off, so there are a couple of clock faces that will stay on permanently. This could be a workaround for you. To mention a few: Mionic, Nothing Special, and Ambient are some you can try. If you type "always on" at the Fitbit App Gallery you could find more clock faces with this feature.

Fitbit is currently considering in having this option on the watch itself. It is "under consideration". Check the suggestion here and cast a vote for it. Fitbit just released a similar feature that allows the screen to stay on for up to 60 seconds too.

If non of that works for you; you could try returning it to the retailer and see if you can get another unit and check if the same will happen. Please let me know.

Keep me posted! 

[Darksheep]

So I installed Ambient as clock, enabled Always On + switched wrist. Not a single falter or stammer. Music played perfect! Now the question is, is it the wrist or the clock? 

Next week I am snowboarding, but will be back later with more testing results. So far, thanks alot! 

[SantiR]

@Darksheep Thanks for your reply and for sharing those details.

I'm really glad it worked after changing the clock face! I'm sure a lot of users will find this useful.

I believe this could be happening as a result of using certain clock faces. There are some clock faces that doesn't work well with other features of the watch. Good thing is that there are hundreds of them available so you can always try different ones.

Please let me know your results after snowboarding. See you around! 

[Darksheep]

So this time, I took the same clock, but kept my watch on my left wrist. Stammering started imitatively. Switched my watch to my other wrist, and it stopped. No idea why, but according to this run it is purely switching wrists? Ill run more tests this week.  

[SunsetRunner]

I have had this same problem and have become increasingly frustrated to the point of returning the watch.  I purchased the ionic specifically became it had the running pace and music option.  

I will try changing the clock face to an "always on" option to see if that helps.

@Darksheep when you wore the watch on a different wrist, did you change the setting in the fitt app?  

[Darksheep · Accepted solution]

Hi @SunsetRunner

Very recognizable. I bought this specific watch so I could leave my phone at home, and the GPS in the watch works well.

My last test I only changed the clock face, and enabled the option Always on. No other options were changed. Very curious to hear if this works for you too. 

The weird thing is, we seem to be exceptions here. I’m now down to the point where I suspect it is a specific movement of my left arm that causes the falter. Which would be weird seeing there are no moving parts in the watch. It reminds me a bit when portable CD players still had a buffer, but it would only last 30 seconds. As soon as the product was held stable, the music restored.

[SunsetRunner]

@Darksheep I tried switching wrists this morning with little effect.  It was slightly better, but I mostly just managed to lose steps in the process.  

I reached out to tech support this morning.  They recommended a reset and repairing the headphones (both of which I’ve already done multiple times.  They said “they were aware of the issue and “working to identify a resolution.”  The experience did not inspire much confidence.  

Overall I am more than a little disappointed.  I chose Fitbit over Apple Watch, Garmin, etc...  because I’ve enjoyed many other Fitbit products.  I’m beginning to think I made the wrong choice. 

[Darksheep]

What was the name of the clockface you used? Did you manually enable the Always On function? 

Because I am still in doubt if it is the clockface or the wrist or a combination...

[Darksheep]

So it is purely my wrist. Switching sides solved this issue. Very strange, but so be it. 

If the problem comes back, Ill start a new post.