Ionic continuously restarting and showing clock error on screen

[codyo]

1 year and 3 months.

That is how long I've had my Ionic - and aside from that common notifications bug (where it doesn't always push notifications along), it's been remarkably trouble-free. 

That changed this morning. I put it on the charger, came back half an hour later and it seemed to be restarting. Then restarting again, and again.

Mostly it's showing either the white or teal Fitbit logo, and occasionally I get to a screen that says "Clock Error" - although it displays the time in small text in the upper corner. I had Fitbit's simple clock face installed. I then tried to change it to Fitbit's Moment clock face while it seemed to not be restarting and could seemingly connect to my phone. 

Then the restart cycle started again and again. 

I got on with customer support, and while they were nice and helpful - they basically told me 2 ways to restart the device and said that was all the support they could offer. Restarting by holding all 3 buttons, or just the two didn't seem to work at all. 

Then she looked up my warranty and apparently I was "in luck", she could send me a 25% off offer on a new device since the warranty was only for a year.

While I don't expect Fitbit to simply say "oh, let me mail you a new one", there has to be more than "turn it on and off again" for support. This was a $300 watch, add in the bands I bought, not to mention the Aria scale I purchased, and the two previous beltloop devices, plus more for family presents. I feel like I've been hugely invested in Fitbit, talking about them with friends, advocating for them. 

The Ionic with its notification issues already had left me feeling pretty flat about Fitbit. Toss in the whole "we have an oxygen sensor and will turn it on soon" bait and switch. 

Currently, I'm waiting for the battery to drain, and hope that maybe when I charge it, maybe I'll get lucky and it will work. 

This sucks Fitbit - and honestly, I can't see myself putting your coupon to any use. 

January 2012 is when I got my first device, will February 2019 be when I've used my last one? 

[N8teGee]

Hi @codyo, I'm sorry to hear of the issues you're having. 

I'm not sure if you've already tried it, but at this stage it might be worth trying a full factory reset. As you can't get into the settings app on your Ionic, you would have to use the hardware factory reset method (button combination).

On the watch, hold all three buttons for about twelve seconds. This will trigger the 2-button hardware restart after about eight seconds.

- When the Fitbit logo appears, then disappears, release the bottom right button, whilst continuing to hold the left and top right buttons until you feel a strong vibration. This indicates the factory reset was initiated.

- This process may take several seconds, and eventually, the Fitbit logo appears and the device boots and displays go to Fitbit.com/setup.

- If you fail to release the bottom right button in time or otherwise don't follow the procedure precisely, the Fitbit logo reappears quickly and boots without factory reset.

[codyo · Accepted solution]

Hi Nathan, 

thanks for your response.

the hardware reset (2-button) and factory reset (3-button) approach wasn't working - I was familiar with this having to do it a few months back to upgrade the OS. The device just kept showing the teal or white fitbit logos, occasionally flashing on the clock error screen.

I did seem to work out a solution, documenting it below. 

After it finally powered down this morning, I gave it a little charge and managed to get back to the clock error screen, and noticed I could swipe over to my installed apps. (Side note, my phone would sync when it was in this clock error state -- odd). 

I navigated over to the settings app and was able to do the full factory reset - which was time-consuming, but at the moment my Ionic is working again - WHEW!

While I would say that this solution worked and we can mark this as resolved - this is really problematic, and Fitbit really needs to get back on the ball because, at this point, I can't see recommending their hardware to friends or buying another device. 

Here are some things that would help gain my trust back:

1. Restarting the device and failing to help me through a factory reset is barely customer support, no matter how nice your service people are.
2. How about some more helpful articles combatting these issues?
3. The Factory Reset takes a long time and is a frustrating process. This is the second factory reset I've had to do, it's easily an hour of my time, probably more - and a lot of frustration checking and re-checking settings. While this is a solution, it's a really frustrating solution. Could this be quicker and easier? Is there any way to optimize this process?
4. A one year warranty for a $300 watch might need to be re-examined. Maybe a limited warranty after the first year? A factory refurbished option for cost might be nice?
5. There has to be some in-between customer support. It can't just be: turn it on and off again, that didn't work, "oh, but I have some great news, here is 25% off your next purchase with us". What about some drop-in hours at your office? Something...
6. What about coming clean about the oxygen sensor. Something simple like "hey guys, we really tried to get it to work, it wasn't offering reliable results so we didn't want to release it". Everything I've read about this seems to hide the fact that it even exists at this point. 
7. Better support for notification issues - again, some honesty and clarity would be good here. 

I bought my first device in 2012, I've easily spent well over $1000 on devices, accessories, and services for myself and family. I've selflessly advocated on your behalf. And I'm not looking for you to just replace my watch, but I need more - we all do.

Help me become a fan again! 

Cody