Ionic Hardware Failed

[Lullabug]

😞

Bought my Ionic in late January. Worked fairly well but had the Pay bug (constantly turned on the Pay app and had to be frequently reset). That was ok. I loved the device, which made it worth it. But yesterday the device synced at 5:51 AM. I walked to breakfast. When I checked again at 6:15, Black Screen of Death. Totally unresponsive. Had 78% charge when it died. The reset (left and bottom right) button push does nothing. No lights. No ability to charge.  It's been almost exactly 60 days. I've heard horror stories that people get refurbished, damaged/scratched or iffy devices with warranty replacements. I'm ready to cry. I don't have the $ to replace it and if this is common,  what happens after a year! 😕 I'm confused as to why the device up and died. Any ideas? What in the world did I do wrong?

Moderator edit: updated subject for clarity

[NellyG]

Sgop listening to horror stories and contact Support. Link in my signature.

[Lullabug]

Thanks much,  did before I posted. Presently driving cross country with limited internet/cell service.  Emails can take 2 days to get a response. We'll see about next steps. Updates to come.

[DramaQueenDiva]

You could try cleaning the contacts of the device (sometimes this helps when connecting the charger to the device) and then try charging it one more time.  Once there is a charge on it, try doing a Factory Reset by pressing all three buttons at the same time.

[Lullabug]

Thanks, but there was no charging issue. It died while fully charged. 78% one minute,  dead the next.  Screen just turned off and didn't come back. I've literally tried everything. 

I suspect the device doesn't tolerate much. Was on a flight prior to failure. I've had lots of app issues/constant freezing. Not great. 

Hoped it would revive after 2 days of cleaning, attempted charges. No dice. It's well and truly dead. 

[Lullabug]

Just as an update, Customer Support asked for a few videos of the behavior (which is actually a little humorous, because it's more like total lack of behavior). They were great about explaining what to do, show, and where to ship the non-working device. Nice and easy. 

It will take somewhere between 2 and 3 weeks to get the replacement, based on how fast my device gets to them. Once they receive it, it will be 5 days for them to send back, plus shipping time. I'll post the timeline once I have it, in case anyone is curious.

In the meantime, switched over to a Samsung Fit2Pro. Can't complain. Love some of the features and it's more intuitive, BUT the battery life is abysmal. To get the continuous HR, I have to charge every day. Profile is a little easier to handle than the Ionic (less bulky). Sync is better, too. We'll see how it performs swimming every day. This is giving me an interesting opportunity to review devices, so that's a bonus. 

Hopefully Support will tell me what went wrong with the device. I strongly suspect it had to do with altitude change from Chicago flight to Sacramento. Device went dead shortly thereafter. Also going to need to buy a new wrist strap, as it failed as well. 

Not super happy so far with the Fitbit's general design. Love the app and the features, but the actual construction is questionable.

[Lullabug]

Update - Support advises they received the device and I should get my new one by the 14th. Pretty good turnaround. 

Having had the Gear Fit2Pro now for a few weeks, I'm curious to see them side-by-side. I miss the Fitbit's interface for fitness things, but it's weak compared to the Fit2Pro for everything else. 

[sylvesri]

Experienced the same thing Monday this week after only 4  months of use! My Fitbit last synced at midnight and was on about 83% when I went to bed. When I woke up (late as my Fitbit was meant to alarm) black screen of death. Contacted Fitbit Support but they are taking forever just to send a returns label so I can return the device for a replacement!!! Not impressed right now.

[Lullabug]

Out of curiosity, did you swim with yours?

Sorry to hear it's taking so long to get the label. They sent me a link to print mine out, is that something you can do where you live, or is it not an option?

[sylvesri]

Nope my Ionic hasn't seen a pool as yet I've literally just been wearing to and from work and to bed. Haven't got it to track any of my exercises yet.

I can print label, when they send it! Glad you'll be getting yours soon though, hopefully you'll get one from a better batch this time.

Kind Regards,
Richard

[Lullabug]

Thanks for responding, Richard! Sounds crazy but I'm glad to know that it wasn't the water. I was worried I'd be always afraid to swim with it because it failed once, which stinks, because I otherwise loved the device. I really do suspect there are "good" and "bad" batches based on some of the complaints I've seen (HR inaccurate, dies in a pool, dies randomly, buggy). Every time someone complains, 2 others say "wow, I've never had any issues for a year!" 

It's really a shame about the manufacturing, because as an interface goes for fitness tracking I thought the Fitbit was really easy to use. And way, way more comfortable than the Fit2Pro, which is presently making me INSANE as I try to type on this keyboard. Though it wasn't as powerful as a smartwatch as the Fit2Pro is.

[sylvesri]

That's ok :-).

I don't think I'll be swimming with mine anytime soon after this. Definitely think we're the unfortunate ones.

Totally agree with you on their interface, I can't fault it. My only gripe is that that display the weather only on Fahrenheit where I reside we use Celsius, so works like to see them again that option in at some point. The synching and notifications where sometimes to be desired also.

Kind Regards,
Richard

[joe3175]

@sylvesri - There must be a way of changing the temp to celsius, as I have it on my watch. Have never had to change it.

[sylvesri]

@joe3175 I looked through the watch and even on the Fitbit app, couldn't see anyway to change it! More than happy to be proven wrong ;-).

[joe3175]

@sylvesri-Sorry I couldn't help. I assume the reason I have Celsius is because I am in Australia and we use the metric system only. Perhaps it could be put in as a suggestion for the fitbit team that they could give people the option of either. 

[MarreFitbit]

Hey there, hope you're doing great today!  Have you gotten your new Fitbit Ionic @Lullabug? Thank you for the thorough feedback for the Fitbit devices. This has not gone unnoticed and be sure that I will pass this along.

What's the return process going my friend @sylvesri? Is your Ionic on its way? We don't want to create frustration in our customers. Fitbit has been designed to provide motivation and help you to reach your daily goals to success. Please know that we provide feedback to our team based on community posts and we are always working on improving our devices and overall environment based on that feedback. 

You're right @joe3175! At the moment whether you get Fahrenheit or Celsius depends on your profile settings for the units. If you have chosen metric (kilometers) then you get Celsius but if you have chosen imperial (miles) then you get Fahrenheit.

I'd recommend checking out our Feature Suggestion Board if you haven't already. This is a space where Community users can post features, ideas, and suggestions that they'd like to see in future Fitbit products, accessories, and software and top-voted suggestions get relayed to our product team for review.

I'd also recommend up-voting and commenting on Enable Celsius units on weather app without having to change distance to kilometers feature suggestion since it is very similar of what you're looking and asking for.

Let me know if there's anything else I can assist you guys with. 

[Dutchy68]

I have the same problem. My Fitbis (adidas edition) was only 10 days old.... The screen remains dead. Pushing buttons, charging the Fitbit, nothing helps. I have contacted customer support and I hope they can help.

[Lullabug]

@MarreFitbit, not yet. Shipping keeps getting delayed 😞 Original delivery was supposed to be yesterday. Then Monday. Now Wednesday! It's in a facility I could DRIVE to in less time than that, but I can't fault FitBit for FedEx practices.

I'll definitely update once I receive the device and get back on track.

I will say that the thing I miss most is the accuracy of the calorie counts. The Fit2Pro doesn't seem to do nearly as well for that. Depends on what you need, but since I was having such amazing results with the Ionic for losing weight/counting calories, I really want it back!

[Lullabug]

@Dutchy68it seems to be a pretty common problem. I mean, I understand to some degree that as we get more complex in our tech, we will see more issues like this - smartwatches and trackers are actually scientifically and technologically pretty amazing considering there weren't even cell phones when I was a kid. But at the same time, it's concerning and frustrating to spend hundreds on a device that dies like that. They really do need to be real-world ready before release.

[sylvesri]

@MarreFitbit I got the return label emailed to me on Friday so I'll be sending back my dead Fitbit tomorrow. Hopefully it won't take too long for the replacement to be sent out. 

In regards to getting Celsius or Fahrenheit, illI look into changing my profile settings. Any timeframe on when they'll allow you to change it inpendently?