Ionic black screen

[Simplyskully]

Been at work today, noticed my screen was black, no flashing lights, tried reset, charging for 5 hours nothing. Seems the ionic has died. Many threads saying exactly the same thing. What did people do?

Rested, cleaning contacts, change chargers etc all wont work!

Any help?

Moderator edit: Subject for clarity

[Emilytan]

I had the same problem.  I am frustrated. Nothing worked. I use my watch for many things but have a heart condition so I watch my heart rate while exercising.  I have not contacted support yet but given the problems I read about on other forum threads and I have little hope my issue will be resolved.  

[Michelem11]

I had the same problem. I called when it was 11 months old and was told to update it. It worked for another few months. Completely broken now and Fitbit is useless. They are offering a 25% discount. No thanks. I’ll take my business elsewhere 

[lars-atx]

Mine is dead as well.  After swimming with it for a couple hrs it acted wonky for a couple weeks now is unresponsive. Got same discount resolution from support. So, $300, then $200 for replacement of defective product, it’s ridiculous. 

Ive decided to go look at apple and garmin. Sad because  i have spent years in the fitibit world. 

So disappointed fitbit is responding like this. Good luck everyone. 

[Emilytan]

I already went to Apple.

Emily T

Moderator edit: Removed personal information

[Simplyskully]

Thanks for your replies so far, this doesnt look promising. Looking at other threads I'm now more alarmed as it seems staggeringly common....and what's worse is fitbit font seem to have an answer and simply shut down the topic. Has anyone had a good experience of sorting this out?

[Whoswho]

Nope, no word from the company. You know they are well aware though if you google, "fitbit stock".

There is a lot of speculation about this. After reading that mega-thread; it doesn't seem like there is a sure fire solution yet. Customer service reps are either bots or copy pasting out of sheer muscle memory now. 

But to cut it short, it seems like their only solution is a 25% discount if you're watch is out of warranty, or wait weeks/months to receive a replacement if it's still covered. 

I already started looking at other brands.

[Revrac]

This issue is growing and FitBit keeps burying its head in the sand, hoping it will go away.  The company is losing sales left and right...they can’t keep up with the big boys (Apple and Garmin) in quality and features and can’t beat the cheap price of models made in China...”In the Q&A portion of the latest FIT conference call, Mr. Park indicated giving devices away for free was “definitely on the table” and a move like this, while risky, should be seen as a positive sign the company understands how poorly its pricing strategy has been.”

it it is clear they have no idea what they are doing...just leaving existing customers with a bad taste in their mouths and reasons to leave.  Probably not the best way to handle the issue and the declining sales are proof.

Moderator edit: Format

[Emilytan]

No. I am off this and now have an Apple Watch.

Emily T

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[lars-atx]

completely agree.  this latest rash of poor QA is pushing me away as a customer.

I dont know what I will do with my overpriced paperweight now.

[lars-atx]

Nice.  I am not far behind you.  Need to save up and decide Apple or Garmin. 

[Simplyskully]

UPDATE: I have checked where I bought the fitbit, and fortunately I bought it from John Lewis (big Department store in UK) and they have a 2 year guarantee! I was covered!

I took it into the shop and asked the chap about it as I had read on line and with your help, about the on going problems, he said:

"Well I'm not allowed to comment on individual companies, but let's just say I'm very comfortable in the process of exchange" - says it all!

Fortunately with John Lewis I could swap it for a new ionic or take the money back and use it to another device.....so having done lots of online reading it seems fitbit havent got control of the situation, so with a heavy heart I swapped to the Samsung Galaxy Watch.

Actually...so far it's fantastic!!!!

Finally its seems a sad state of affairs, I have been with fitbit for years...having had 4 different devices over the years, upgrading to the next better model each time, it's the inadequate response to this issue that has driven me away and it seems in not alone.

[Emilytan]

My husband gave me his Apple Watch because he just uses it as a watch. LOL but I would have done the research just like you.

Emily T

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[BWM57]

This is my third Fitbit device but I may now go to Apple too. 

Too bad, I really don’t like Apple much. 

[Emilytan]

I totally loved my Fitbit but it is too expensive to buy another.

Emily T

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[YojanaFitbit]

Hi @Simplyskully @Emilytan @Michelem11 @lars-atx @Whoswho @Revrac and @BWM57. Thanks a million for sharing your feedback. My apologies for the delay.

Your comments are really important for us, please know that our team takes this information to improve our services and products. Thanks you all for checking your options with customer support. Each scenario is different, but I think that you can use the option available according to your warranty information, as it was mentioned by our support team. If you need more information about your case, please keep communication open with them.

If you've tried the steps suggested here. If this doesn't help, please let me know so I can request a case for you.

I'll be around, please keep me posted.

[Emilytan]

I bought this Ionic on 1-15-18 through a third party vendor. It was my understanding of the warranty that it was no longer in effect. I have taken over my husbands Apple Watch because I was so disappointed that the ionic only lasted 18 months. Is this planned obsolescence? Seems so;however, people are more likely to be loyal to a brand is an expensive purchase lasts longer than 18 months. What a shame that I can no longer recommend Fitbit.

Emily Tanzillo
Sent from my iPhone

[AlejandraFitbit]

It's great to see you around @Emilytan.

I am sorry for the delay in respond, I understand how are you feeling and appreciate the feedback provided. As mentioned previously, each scenario is different, but I think that you can use the option available according to your warranty information.

Let me know if you need anything else.