Ionic battery short life after firmware update

[Cragjock]

Hey all,

After updating to the Ionic device firmware, version 72.1.9 , my battery life has gone from about 6 days down to 3 days with the same activity level.

And, when the Ionic gets to about a 40%, it drops to 10% in less than an hour!

So, what can I do? Can i revert back to the prior firmware version? It seems something in the new firmware version is using excessive battery power. I cannot see what is running in the background. I do not turn any features on or off yet the battery life declines quickly.

Please help. I like this watch! 

TNX

Steve 

Moderator edit: subject for clarity 

[shipo]

I upgraded my Ionic on Friday and I have yet to notice any accelerated battery usage.

[LiliyaFitbit]

Welcome to the Fitbit Community, @Cragjock. It's nice to see you around, @shipo.

@shipo I appreciate your participation in the Forums and sharing your experience. 

@Cragjock Thanks for the details shared in your post. I understand how you are feeling about this situation. While you can't revert back to the prior firmware version, I recommend double checking our charging instructions and trying our tips for preventing battery drain since battery use is affected by various factors and settings. 

Hope this helps!

[Cragjock]

@LiliyaFitbit,

Thanks for the suggestions. They did not help.

As I mentioned before, the only event that occurred was the device firmware update. All other items, charging, my usage etc remain the same.

This week, the watch was charged to 100% on my Monday morning as was at 44% that Monday evening (and I did not do any exercise events nore GPS that day!)

tnx

Steve 

[LiliyaFitbit]

Thank you for your reply, @Cragjock.

I am sorry to hear the issue persists, thank you for your efforts and the additional details. The best way to get help for this problem is to chat with us online or give us a call. Our Support team will evaluate your device's behavior and help you with this matter. Click here to get connected. 

See you around.

[Scottishpenfold]

I also have updated my ionic at the weekend. I usually can go at least 6 days between charges. I had charged it on Sunday evening at tonight at dinner I noticed it had died already. 
A friend had mentioned that he has also go the same issue as well.

[Hammer64]

I chatted with Fitbit and all they did was offer 35% off a new device because mine was out of warranty...the Ionic is no longer available.

I am positive the software update caused this issue, I wish Fitbit would own it, send me another Ionic..New Old Stock. They can't get me another one but I can but a new one on Amazon!

[LiliyaFitbit]

Welcome to the Fitbit Community, @Scottishpenfold @Hammer64.

@Scottishpenfold Thank you for joining the thread and sharing that you're experiencing the same issue with your watch. I appreciate the additional details and if you've already checked our tips to maximize your Fitbit device's battery life, please get in touch with our Support team for further assistance. 

@Hammer64 Thank you for sharing your experience. I understand how you are feeling and appreciate your feedback as it helps us to keep improving. I am sure our Support team tried their best to help you, each case is reviewed individually and a solution that's being provided is based on the Fitbit Warranty. I appreciate your understanding and hope to keep you in the Fitbit family.

See you around.

[Peter786]

---

@Cragjock UPSers wrote:

Hey all,

After updating to the Ionic device firmware, version 72.1.9 , my battery life has gone from about 6 days down to 3 days with the same activity level.

And, when the Ionic gets to about a 40%, it drops to 10% in less than an hour!

So, what can I do? Can i revert back to the prior firmware version? It seems something in the new firmware version is using excessive battery power. I cannot see what is running in the background. I do not turn any features on or off yet the battery life declines quickly.

Please help. I like this watch! 

TNX

Steve 

Moderator edit: subject for clarity 

---

It could also be a problem with the battery calibration. The percentage that is shown may lie. It may says 100% but the battery is really charged only at 60%.
I noticed on phone and other devices, the software it is usually better to sense the battery real charge if you charge the device up to 100% when it is death or almost death.

[LiliyaFitbit]

Welcome to the Fitbit Community, @Peter786.

Thank you for joining the thread and sharing your thoughts. I appreciate your time and efforts. I am sure this information will be helpful to other users. More tips about the battery charging can be found at What are some tips for charging my Fitbit device?

See you around.

[Cragjock]

Thanks all for the replies

Hammer64, I agree with you. It would be nice if Fitbit "would own it" and maybe even fix this issue. But being an older product, it is doubtful that they will invest any time in Ionic product line now.

LiliyaFitbit, thanks but your link provided no new information and does not say much. As I have mentioned, this issue occurred AFTER the firmware update.

tnx

[Schoenu82]

They replaced mine last summer under warranty conditions. I received the replacement which has now battery issues after using it for 6 months. Of course warranty is out because the period is from the old purchase date. So I went through 2 devices in a year and I receive a 35% discount on a new purchase. This doesn't get my hopes up that the new device will not have the same issues. 

Especially seeing here that I am not the only person seemingly to have the issue. 

[Roughdiamond]

My Ionic turns off, "no battery power" and soon as it's plugged in, it immediately shows 35 to 40% battery which is what it was before it turned off. 

Contacted customer service and got a 30% off offer. Complete and utter joke, 30% off rubbish still gives you rubbish.

This is my 3rd model of Fitbit and my last.

[Cragjock]

All,

Do not get me wrong, I really like Fitbit products. They work well. Again, my battery discharge issue occurred AFTER the firmware upgrade. It would be nice for Fitbit to confirm that there is an issue. There are other postings with this issue on Ionic. 

The watch functions as I need it to. Just have to charge it more often. If I had the pinout on the watch case, I would "zap" the battery to possible reset the battery.

tnx

[CaptSingh]

Hi, 

So I am not the only one here suffering with the same issues. 

Now we all know that these Multi national companies will force you to update and will install a bug in your app so that it slows down. 

After few days, your heart rate will also stop. 

Welcome to Real Fitbit. I contacted their customer service and they did nothing. 

They should accept their fault. You can't expect me to buy a watch every six months. 

Any replacements they send to you are faulty ones. 

That's how they steal your money. 

I hope god still  blesses them. 

[Cragjock]

After playing around (experimenting/comparing as my wife has an Ionic that has NOT had the firmware update), it seems that the firmware update (version 72.1.9) changed something in the GPS and heart rate algorithms. I wear both watches and compare battery life before exercising and then after. Or, they redid the battery life prediction algo.

tnx

[SunsetRunner]

Steve, I am on my 4th Ionic.  In my experience, rapid battery drain is a precursor to total battery failure (irrepairable - only option being to get another Ionic).  All 3 of my previous Ionics lasted aporox. 12 months.

You had better pray your Ionic is still covered by its 12 month warranty.

As and when my 4th Ionic's battery fails on me I will be switching to another brand of tracker (more known for its Sat Nav products than trackers!!!).

Seems like Fitbit are trying to get all we Ionic owners to switch to a newer model.  Call me cynical but was there something in the most recent update that has broken our Ionics I wonder?

Moderator edit: merged reply

[shipo]

Hmmm, I'm wondering; my update worked perfectly well the first try and I suspect others have been successful as well.  I wonder if the issue is older devices are maybe not able to take the new firmware, or maybe some folks have environmental issues with their WiFi devices.  I know when I first got my Ionic I had issues updating it at work where the WiFi had a pretty low bandwidth, but once I got home, bang, ten minutes and the whole thing was done.

[SunsetRunner]

Yes, I understand your thoughts. I have a brand new Mesh Wifi which gives
a min. 195 Mbps speed anywhere in my house. Despite this, after the last
upgrade not one but two Ionics hitherto working just fine gave up the
ghost entirely after a few days of rapid battery discharge. My latest
Ionic, obtained yesterday from Amazon is currently doing just fine - but
check back in 12 months?

Personally, I di not think this battery problem has anything to do with
WiFi or upgrades. I think they are poor quality batteries that barely make
it to the one year mark.

Why would Fitbit issue an update that is not compatible with ALL Ionics regardless of their age?

Moderator edit: merged reply

[bikewalkrun]

Howdy,

I'm having the same problem with my Ionic(purchased in 2017). The iPhone6 had similar problems. I'm thinking that with updates and new tech the old batteries can't keep up. 

Well as much as I like(*****) the Ionic which is not my first fitness watch I will be looking into a new one.