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 

[SantiR]

@Hockey1982 Thanks for your reply and for sharing your feedback. I'm sure that customer support will be able to get to the root cause of this and will provide the best solution available for you to get you back on track.

@Lawsonjake Welcome to the Fitbit forums! Thanks for reporting that you are also experiencing the same with your watch.

I went ahead and contacted you via PM. Please keep an eye on your Community inbox. 

Keep me posted! 

[Hockey1982]

It would be nice but I don’t think they seem to care. They know it don’t work right I have to charge it 3 times during the day can’t ever use the sleep tracker. Seems like they would want the watch to do testing on it. It would only help them improve there product further down the road.

Sent from my iPhone

[Cac833]

I had it replaced under warranty. So far so good with the new one but I
have no idea if this one will start to have issues in 7-10 months from now.

[Hockey1982]

I’m happy for you but very upset they would replace so many others and not mine it’s mind boggling 

[PunzunLtd]

Mine just started having this problem. And this morning I woke up with no clock face and an error message telling me to get a new clock. A month ago it lasted 5 days on a charge; now it lasts about 20 hours.

[SantiR]

@Hockey1982 Thanks for your reply and for sharing your feedback! Is there a reason why they are not replacing yours?

@Cac833 Welcome to the Fitbit forums! Thanks for sharing your experience wit us. I'm really glad you got a replacement unit that is working properly so far. I'm sure it will continue to work like that.

@PunzunLtd I hope you're doing well! Thanks for sharing the experience you are having with the battery power.

There are some things that may be draining your battery quickly. Check this article for more details on this.

Certain clock faces may drain your battery quicker, please change your clock face and let me know how it goes.

Keep me posted! 

[lmpres]

I have had my Fitbit since March.  It was doing fine till this last weekend.  Then all of a sudden my battery went from full charge to 0 in less than 4 hours while doing nothing.  I charged it and again full to 0 in less than 4 hours.  Did a factory reset (Which I hate to do!).  And the same problem.  Full charge to 0 in a couple hours!  I am starting to again hate this watch!

Moderator Edit: Format

[PunzunLtd]

No, but, see, the clock face didn't change until it crashed. I've had the same clock face for almost the whole time I've had the Ionic. The battery drain problem started within the last few days. Before about mid-last-week, it drained around 20% per day (100% down to 80% next morning, down to 60% the following day, etc.)

I've turned off all-day sync and constant connection. Yesterday I used the GPS chip for a 40-minute walk, which didn't drain the battery any faster than its already rapid discharge rate.

I remember having a similar problem with my Blaze that resolved with a firmware update.

I write software for a living. This problem appears to be either (a) a process that isn't sleeping when it should, or (b) a dying battery. Since I've only had the Ionic for 8 months I strongly suspect (a). That so many others are having this problem reinforces that belief.

[SunsetRunner]

Hi my ionic isn't keeping charge can someone please contact me

[SantiR]

@lmpres Welcome to the Fitbit forums! Thanks for sharing the experience you have had with Ionic's battery power. Thanks for trying those steps in order to sort this out. 

I went ahead and contacted you via PM. Please keep an eye on your Community inbox.

@PunzunLtd Thanks for your reply and for sharing those details about the battery. Thanks for sharing your experience on this thread.

I went ahead and created a case with customer support in your behalf. Please keep an eye on your email inbox for next steps.

@SunsetRunner Welcome to the Fitbit forums! Thanks for also reporting the situation you have experienced with your Ionic's battery power. 

Please check these tips to improve the battery on your watch. You should find this helpful!

Keep me posted! 

[lmpres]

Santi, you asked if they resolved my issue in the PM you sent me.  NO THEY DID NOT!  

I was offered a 

50% off a future purchase.  Are you kidding me?  You can't get this purchase right and I'm gonna buy something else from you?

Or a replacement of the model I have.  With an 6 to 8 week delay due to my color selection!  I of course complained and they have suddenly found the color I ordered and are now sending it.

I asked for my money back.  The watch is flawed (just read all the posts here and the reviews on other websites).  It just stopped working 6-7 months after purchase.  What confidence do I have that the replacement will do any better? If this was a car, there would be a recall.  But all that will happen with me here is my replacement watch will  work 6 to 7 months and then stop.  $300 for a watch that lasts a year, not a very good purchase.  So I will tell you what I said in the emails.  I will make sure I notify as many people as possible about my experience.  You got my $300, Hopefully I can stop others from making the same mistake.

[Hockey1982]

Yeah they never resolved my issue. I still wear it charge it 3 to 4 times a day and charge all night. It’s a joke. They offered me 40 % off. Not sure I want to buy there product when the one I have works so poorly.  Wish they had ways to resolve issues when they had me test it and they can clearly see the battery is defective after only 6 months old. Not very fun 

[Alicat2104]

I have the exact same issue and am waiting to hear back from Fitbit Support about it.  This is my second Ionic as the first one was replaced under warranty about two months ago and now this, and it's not even a year old yet.

Fully charged battery going to bed, and by morning it's down to around 10%. I charged it fully yesterday morning and didn't even wear it (reverted to my trusty Charge 2) yet the battery was totally dead before I got home from work.

Nothing changed at all, just suddenly started draining. 

[SantiR]

@lmpres @Hockey1982 Thanks for your replies and for sharing the experience you have had with customer support. It's unfortunate to read that the solutions provided by them were not the best for you. Thanks for sharing your feedback regarding this.

@Alicat2104 I hope you're doing well! Thanks for sharing the experience you have had with your replacement Ionic so far.

Have you tried these tips to improve the battery power on your watch? Also, some clock faces may drain battery faster than others. Try changing it to a different one. Also, GPS activities will drain battery quickly.

Keep me posted! 

[Alicat2104]

@SantiR Nothing at all had changed on my Ioinic, same clock face, same usage, same charger, not using GPS on it as I prefer using my phone - just suddenly the battery was draining in a matter of hours, it drained from 100% to 0% while in my bag not even being used.  I emailed FitBit support six days ago and received the standard "we will respond within 48 hours" email response but no one responded yet.  However, once the battery was completely dead (last Friday) I charged it up to full again and it is now, five days later, still on 27%

I don't want to say the problem is solved, but it seems as if letting the battery drain completely may have somehow reset it as it is now lasting longer than it did even when new.

[SantiR]

@Alicat2104 Thanks for your reply and for sharing all of those details regarding your Ionic. Thanks for contacting customer support regarding this.

It is strange that they haven't replied to you yet. Did you used a different email address to contact them? You could also check your spam/junk folder as some of Fitbit email will go there.

Also, I'm glad to read that the battery on your watch is now working better. Thanks for sharing the workaround that helped you out with this. Please do let me know if the battery keeps working like that or if you keep experiencing the same.

Keep me posted! 

[Alicat2104]

@SantiR I used the contact form on the website and included my registered email address, still no response from customer support. Nothing in my junk mail folder.

My Ionic is now down to 11% and the charge has now lasted almost a week. I'll wait until it runs flat again before charging fully and see what happens...

[SantiR]

@Alicat2104 Thanks for your reply and for sharing those details regarding this. Thanks for checking your junk folder too.

Sounds correct Ionic battery lasting a week. Please let me know if it keeps working like that.

If not, I will be contacting support in your behalf so they can check what to do to get you back on track. 

Keep me posted and tag me once you have an update next time you charge the battery! 

[MattJ71]

At 48 hours since my last full charge, I'm down to 52%\

Update: 60 hours (5 days) since my last charge and I'm down to 34%

[SunsetRunner]

Thank you. I actually have let it drain for a week or so n put it on charge
yesterday n I'm about to grab it now lol great minds think alike!!!