Ionic Stopped Working

[Csmccart]

Have had this watch for 18 months, taken good care of it with no issues.  Spent $300 on it at launch, and now I’m told I can spend another 160 to replace it.  Super disappointed with FitBit.  I’ve been a loyal customer up to this point, but unless FB makes this right, I will take my business elsewhere.  Sounds like there’s a big issue with the Ionic.  FitBit should stand behind their products, and either offer a repair service, or a free replacement.  For $300, a watch should last three years at least!

[YojanaFitbit · Accepted solution]

Welcome to the Community Forums @Csmccart! Thanks you for sharing your feedback.

Sorry you feel that way. It's very important for us to have your thoughts in regards our product and your customer support interactions. Nevertheless, I'll pass along your comments. 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 what you share here.

If you need more details about your warranty, feel free to get back to our support team. They are in charge to handle this kind of requests.

I'll be around in case that you need anything else. 

[SunsetRunner]

I woke up  this morning and the screen just went dark...It was fully charged.  I can't believe they will charge 160 for a defect like that.

[SassyFitchic]

I've had my Ionic for 15months and now it won't come on at all.  This thing cost way too much money to not have a longer warranty.  I'm super disappointed. Now I need to go back to using my phone to track my miles this is not ok!

[Csmccart]

I agree.  It’s very disappointing that FitBit won’t stand behind what should be their flagship product.  I didn’t expect to receive a new watch, but some sort of repair service, or refurbished watch should have been an option at a more affordable price point.  Spending 300 on a watch that only lasts 18 months is rediculous, and spending an additional 160 and hoping that it lasts another 18 months is crazy.  FitBit has lost me as a customer.  I bought an Apple Watch last week and am loving it.  Better product, and Apple stands behind their products.  The’ve Also come a long way on the software side, and now have good software for the social aspects of fitness tracking.

[NurseAngieeze]

I am in the same situation after 16 months. I am so disappointed in the service with Fitbit and will never purchase another product from them. Now I own a $300 paperweight.  Time to look into other options for smart watches.  

[SunsetRunner]

Yup...Not only have they lost me as a customer but I am going to tell everyone I know and don't know to never by FITBIT at all.

[SunsetRunner]

Just went through the same thing, mine is 16 months old as well, full charge in the middle of a treadmill session working then not. Been through all the same as all the rest of you and soooo unhappy with now owning a $400 (cost + taxes) paper weight! I've done the support thing like so many others here and received the same "Oh so sorry but would you like to buy another here is a 40% discount". Which I actually might have I loved my Ionic but they won't even allow Canadians to buy extended warranty. What does that say about their confidence in their products? Or maybe it just says something about them seeing Canadians as "marks". They also refuse to even say if they have resolved or even improved reliability in recent production runs which makes me believe they have not. I will be actually very sorry to be leaving the Fitbit community which I have been with for maybe 5 years now. Any ex-fitbit folk here using something else they are happy with? 

[VDPC]

it happen with me too 

[riford49]

 I am in the same boat, my Fitbit stopped working, will not track my steps, I was on the phone a couple of hours with Fitbit customer service without resolving the problem.  Im disappointed with what is happening ionic. 

[gjohnson566]

I had exactly the same thing happen this morning. I put the Iconic on the charger for about a hour to bring the charge level up. to 100% then put it back on my wrist only to find it was no longer tracking either my HR or my steps. Even though I was indoors I activated the exercise "walk" mode and started the timer. As soon as I did it began tracking both the HR and steps. I stopped the exercise mode then walked about 100 steps to verify it was still tracking. I just returned from a 5 mile walk, the Fitbit worked flawlessly. I don't know if this will help you but, OBTW I agree the product should certainly be good for more than 18 months. My Forerunner 305 lasted for 6 years before it's battery died.

Mine is only 3 months old and I just discovered it is NOT tracking my HR
and it is only partially syncing with the Fitbit app. I'm starting to think
the Iconic is a piece of junk.

[NatBennett]

Hi, I seem to be having a similar issue. My touch screen started playing up, i fully charged the fitbit and life seemed great but then the screen faded. I turned it off and did a full factory reset but I'm still having no luck. The device is still syncing but I can barely read the screen. I'm outside the warranty period, what do you recommend I do? I bought my boyfriend a watch from rotary for the same price as the fitbit and it came with a life time guarantee! So the fact it only has a 1 year guarantee and this is clearly a fault that several people are experiencing is ridiculous. 

[gjohnson566]

Well, good news on my front at least. I contacted Fitbit support this
morning and they walked me through re-starting my tracker. I am very happy
to report that the tracker is fully functional and downloading all the data
to both the app and the website.

[NatBennett]

I didn't realise the UK had two year warranty. I've contacted fitbit support and sent them pictures, they were very helpful and because I've only had it 15months they have given me a free exchange and I don't have to send the faulty one back because. Let's hope the new one works!

[YojanaFitbit]

Welcome to the Forums @riford49, @NurseAngieeze and @SassyFitchic! Thanks for posting your comments about the different issues with your Fitbit Ionic. I'll be glad to give you a hand with that.

@NatBennett thanks for sharing your feedback. I've checked with our support team and I noticed that you got a resolution for your case. If you need more information, let me know.

@SunsetRunner nice to see you here. I could confirm that you have a case open for this issue with your Ionic. In case that you need more information about your warranty details, please reply to the last email you received from our team. Or let me know, so I can request a new case for you.

@NurseAngieeze, @SunsetRunner, @VDPC, @riford49 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 what you share here.

@gjohnson566 I'm glad to see that you got help from our support team and you're back on track now.

@Csmccart Thanks for your feedback. I've passed your feedback along to our team. 

@SassyFitchic  I'd suggest to clean the contacts of your Ionic regularly. These contacts can become obstructed by microscopic dirt or debris that prevents them from making a good connection to the charger. Use a toothpick or toothbrush to clean the charging contacts; do not scrape them with anything metal because this may damage the plating and result in corrosion. 

Please try to restart your Ionic, if you haven't do so. How are you changing your Fitbit? We recommend plugging your charging cable into a USB port on your computer or other low-energy device. If necessary, you can use a UL-certified USB wall charger. Don't use a USB hub or battery pack to charge, and only use the charging cable that came with your tracker. Did you have issues before with the charging cable?

Please take a look of these recommendations to charge your Fitbit too.

Let me know if you need more help.

[jeleslie]

Interestingly mine stopped working yesterday as well.  It did not record my bike ride yesterday morning but that could have been on me not starting it.  In the evening I had the vibration that I thought was the 10k steps announcement, but I think it was a death throes vibration.  It died.  Can not charge it from the wall or when plugged into my computer. Cannot restart using the left and bottom right buttons. It looks like it is trying to start as the screen lightens up a bit, but nothing happens and can not see anything on the screen.  Once in a while I see a green light on the back which tells me it is not completely dead but for the most part is worthless right now.  I tried to sync it to my phone and it did not sync.  

[NurseAngieeze]

I tried restarting, doing a factory reset and it has a full battery.. even tried charging again before restarting but it does NOTHING!

[swimminlyn]

I had mine for 15 months and it went out in the middle of a swim workout.  I spent the $160 and bought a new one.  It has been about a month and now this watch is not working.  It is not tracking my steps or my heart rate.

[VDPC]

you should take the watch where you have bought

[Csmccart]

Bought it directly from FitBit, so no luck there