Ionic battery short life

[SunsetRunner]

I bought my Ionic during the first week it has been available, and up until now, it has been working just fine.  I have been taking it off and charging it when I have gone into the bathroom to take a shower, every morning before I head out for the day and every evening before I head to bed.  Usually, after a charge to 100% in the evening, it has been down to the mid-90's in the morning -- 94 or so.  During the day, after a charge to 100% in the morning, it may be down to around 90% or so in the evening.  Bottom line, it was always quick and easy to get it back to 100% while I was in the shower.

But just a few days ago, I started seeing the battery percentages in the low 80's.  Then the low 70's.  Yesterday, after a 100% charge in the morning, the battery was DOWN TO 51%.  If this keeps it up, my Ionic will not last a full day without needing to be charged.  At which time I might as well toss it in the trash and move on to some other company's technology.  I am NOT happy to see this three-hundred-dollar purchase utterly die as I watch it over the course of one week.

I have NOT been doing anything strange that seemingly made this happen.  It didn't happen "right after a firmware update" or anything like that -- I have been updating things as they have happened, but the last one was months ago.  I did NOT install any new apps or anything like that.  It was just functioning normally, and then it went to hell in a handbasket one day, and it just keeps on getting worse, every day.

I have been doing daily "reboots" with the Ionic.  I have uninstalled every app that I could uninstall.  I am using a very simple watch face.  I have fully uninstalled the Fitbit app on my phone, and reinstalled that.  Nothing has helped.  It simply appears that my Ionic's battery is going to die within the next week or so.  By all means, if you can suggest anything else I could do, I would appreciate it, but I think I've gone through the gamut of what can be done with the thing, already.  I can tell you one thing, though -- if this thing dies on me, I sure won't be buying a new Ionic, given how this thing hasn't lasted much more than about six months.

Moderator edit: Updated subject for clarity 

[N8teGee]

Sounds like the battery may be faulty or damaged. I've had mine since launch and I lose around 10-15% every 24 hours. I would definitely get in touch with Fitbit support, this should be covered under warranty. 

[MaginB]

Welcome to the Forums @SunsetRunner! 

Thanks for your patience to this matter, I've gone ahead and escalated your case to our Support Team. Soon you'll be getting an email with the next steps, keep an eye on your email inbox. 

@N8teGee Thanks for your help! 

Catch you later! 

[SunsetRunner]

Thanks everyone for your help.  I have indeed contacted Fitbit Support, and after their prescribed testing, my Ionic's battery lasted for right around 10.5 hours.  So, this is a warranty issue, and we are moving forward with it.

Thanks again!

[MaginB]

Hi there @SunsetRunner! 

Thanks for sharing the update, I'm glad to hear that you'll be back on track soon! Have you checked our Discussions board? There you can share your story, find some fitness tips, recipes and more! Give it a look!

See you around! 

[Colinm39]

@N8teGeeSince the OS2 update my battery life is dropping dramatically. I have had the Ionic since launch, nearly 6 months and have been getting 4-5days between charges..until today. My OS2 update was a few days ago.

I have changed nothing, I use the "Always Connected" when I open the App and the Nautical watch face, and wear the watch 24/7.

When I went to bed last night the battery was at 81% and on awakening it was 39%, so it dropped 42% overnight and then the battery dropped another 13% in an hour.

I have restarted the watch and it's now charging.

[Colinm39]

@N8teGee Only dropped 1% in the last hour. Maybe it was the 66 emails that loaded onto the watch about OS2 issues. I have unsubscribed on that topic.

[Colinm39]

@N8teGee Now 3 hours since charge and still 1% down.  So a watch restart and the lack of OS2 notifications

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@Colinm39wrote:

@N8teGeeOnly dropped 1% in the last hour. Maybe it was the 66 emails that loaded onto the watch about OS2 issues. I have unsubscribed on that topic.

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[driver111]

My battery almost down to 50% after 24hours of use. 

Only text and email notations enabled. Including a 1x 40min workout with music, no gps. 

Surely that isnt right?

[Colinm39]

@N8teGeeLooks like I'm back to normal now. Only 26 emails when I awoke.. and the battery is down 15% in 28 hours.. Definitely back to normal.. So I will never know if it was sudden drain because of the 66 emails or a restart of the watch. Now approaching 6 months and many updates on the App and some on the watch.

Now waiting for App 2.68..

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@Colinm39wrote:

@N8teGee Now 3 hours since charge and still 1% down.  So a watch restart and the lack of OS2 notifications

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@Colinm39wrote:

@N8teGeeOnly dropped 1% in the last hour. Maybe it was the 66 emails that loaded onto the watch about OS2 issues. I have unsubscribed on that topic.

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[N8teGee]

@Colinm39 Good to hear, glad you got it sorted. 

[RunTrails]

Now and then the battery will drop rapdily, like 50% in one day with not much activity.  It looks like it's running something and is stuck, draining the battery, because this doesn't happen often, maybe once every couple weeks.  Usually it's 10-20% drop a day if I don't do a gps run and listen to music.

I just updated to the OS2.0 so hoping to not see this anymore.

[SunsetRunner]

Here's an update:

I finally received my warranty replacement Ionic today.  I connected it to the charger and charged it up fully before doing anything with it, and then finally started the routine to move over to the new Ionic.

I had actually switched over to my existing Charge 2 over the past several days, as I would otherwise spend half the day charging and charging the old Ionic.  So, using the Fitbit app on my Android phone, I removed the Charge 2, and then chose the "set up a new device" option, which started the whole routine.

I learned the hard way back when I originally set up my first Ionic -- set it up with your phone, don't even try it via a computer.  I fought with it for DAYS when I used a computer the first time, but everything went smoothly via the phone today.  The installation routine installed the new update, so I spent a bit of time figuring out what had changed and moved around.  But, after that, and setting up all of the alarms and other settings that were lost in the process, I'm back up and running with the new Ionic.  Now, all that remains to be seen is how the battery life will go with the new Ionic.  Hopefully it will be "back to normal."

[Maverick67]

Hi.. I'm having same issue with my ionic battery lasting less than 24hrs!.. How is the replacement you got holding up with charge time?

Thanks 

[SunsetRunner]

The thing to understand is that the Ionic has a 12-month warranty, at least here in the US.  And if your battery life is going downhill fast, then it's time to contact Fitbit support, and have them work with you about it.  I had to go through a bunch of questioning and checking settings and such, and then they had me do a battery test to see what my actual battery life was.  At the time of that test, my battery lasted right around ten and a half hours.

I have only had the warranty replacement since yesterday afternoon, which was enough time to charge it up and then set it up -- it was the whole setup routine that took a good half-hour or more.  I charged it up before I went through the routine, and then I started wearing the Ionic and getting back to my normal usage.

And my normal usage is to take it off and charge it, usually twice per day -- while I go into the bathroom to take a shower and get ready in the morning, and when I go in and take a shower before I head to bed at night.  So, I charged it last night, and then it was down to 94% this morning -- which is 100%, absolutely typical of my previous, original battery life.  We'll see how it goes over the day today, but usually I would be down to around 90% at the end of the day, after charging it to 100% in the morning.  But that remains to be seen with the replacement.

I hope this helps!

[Jamaicangirl81]

Ever since I got os2 mine had been doing the same as well . Barely a day.. It's at 75% already

[Tony.r]

Hi @N8teGee

How long are you getting from your Ionic battery since the firmware update?

I have noticed my battery consumption  has increased, I was getting a full 4 days out if it including some GPS use and that was with all day sync applied too.. Now I am getting just 3 days.

Hi @MattFitbit just thought I would ask if your tech guys have had any reports of an increase in battery consumption since the firmware update?

[N8teGee]

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@Tony.rwrote:

Hi @N8teGee

How long are you getting from your Ionic battery since the firmware update?

I have noticed my battery consumption  has increased, I was getting a full 4 days out if it including some GPS use and that was with all day sync applied too.. Now I am getting just 3 days.

Hi @MattFitbit just thought I would ask if your tech guys have had any reports of an ncrease in battery consumption since the firmware update?

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After around 81hrs off of the charger, my Ionic is sitting at 56% battery remaining. I can't say I've really noticed any difference post update.

Just to add I've not used GPS, but have manually tracked some workouts (all without GPS). I have all day sync enabled, auto brightness and notifications turned on. 

[Colinm39]

Last night I went to bed with the battery @21% and when I woke up 0%.  I created a HR activity and the HR stopped 2 hrs later. This charge I got 3+ days because I had 2 x 10 minute walks where the GPS was continually trying to connect.

So for me once the battery gets to 25% there is a sudden drain. I don't have All day set.

[N8teGee]

@Colinm39 I've also noticed the battery percentage reading decreases in a non linear way. Like you, the lower percentages seem to drop very quickly. I tend not to let it drop below 30% because of the unpredictability.