Ionic dies quickly when using GPS

[RHPower]

I got my Ionic this past Christmas and have been generally happy with it. Lately I’ve noticed my battery not holding its charge, particularly when using GPS.

I fully charged my Ionic this morning and went for a hike with GPS on. At the 1 hour and 45 minute mark, 7km in, my battery died. I wasn’t using music control or anything like that, just typical notifications. 

I’d expect it to last longer than that even with GPS running. Is this typical? 

Thanks! 

Regan

[RicardoFitbit]

Hello @RHPower welcome to the Community Forums! It's a pleasure to assist you with the difficulties experienced with your Fitbit Ionic using GPS.

Seems odd that your Ionic battery life only lasted 1:45 minutes using GPS, our Fitbit Ionic was designed to last up to 10 hours when tracking an exercise using GPS connection. That said, to better assist you with this, can you please let me know if this battery drain situation occurs only while using GPS or with regular tracking as well? If you haven't already done so, I recommend you to restart your Ionic and try again to track an activity with GPS. 

I'll be around, let me know how it goes. 

[RHPower]

I went the last couple of days without using exercise apps and battery life seemed normal. 

Today, I used it for a 25 minute walk with GPS on and the battery dropped about 25% in that time length. One thing I noticed was the screen stayed on the whole time during the exercise time. Could that be contributing to the accelerated loss of battery life?

Regan

[RHPower]

This continues to be a problem for me. Can anyone recommend a solution?

[RicardoFitbit]

Hello @RHPower thanks for your reply and update, my sincere apologies for the delay in responding your post.

Thanks for the information that was shared with me, I appreciate your effort and patience with this situation. Let me share with you that I've contacted our Customer Support team on your behalf to receive further assistance directly with them. That said, please keep an eye to your email because they'll be in touch with you in a short period. In the meantime, don't hesitate to contact me back if you need anything else.

See you around.

[TFAussem]

I went for my long run this morning 01/10/2020, close to 15 miles, and the battery which was 99% charged when I started, died when I still had a little over 2 miles left.  Time was approximately 2 hours and 33 minutes.

[RicardoFitbit]

Welcome aboard @TFAussem, sorry for the delayed reply.

I appreciate the details that were shared in your post. To better assist you with this, can you please let me know how many times you experienced such inconvenience with the battery life of your Ionic? Does this occur when you use GPS only or when your device is tracking your stats too?

Looking forward to your reply. 

[TFAussem]

Ricardo:
Thank You.

To my recollection so far the battery has only died on me 2 or 3
times when I have used the GPS for a run over 2.25 hours. When I have done
a run over 2+ hours but have not used the GPS, I like using the GPS so it
can be put on my Strava account, the battery has not died. If you need any
additional information let me know.

Thanking you in advance:
Aussem

Moderator edit: Removed personal information 

[RicardoFitbit]

You're welcome @TFAussem, it's a pleasure to continue assisting you.

Seems odd that this is affecting the battery life of your Ionic only when using the built-in GPS function. To move forward with this, the next time you go for a run that will last more than 2 hours, please use the GPS function and let me know if the issue persists. The battery of your Ionic was designed to last 10 hours when routing your exercise, therefore, if your device isn't working in such way we will move forward with this.

I'll be around.

[TFAussem]

Ricardo:
Thank You. My next long run is scheduled for tomorrow. Will let you know.
Thanking you in advance:
Tom Aussem

[RicardoFitbit]

Your reply is appreciated @TFAussem, sorry for the delay in responding your post.

This post is a followup to know if you experience the battery drain issue with your device during your run. I'll be looking to your reply so we can move forward with this situation.

Keep me posted..

[TFAussem]

Ricardo:
Just got home from a long run. Battery dies after 2 hours and 10
minutes. Know I had done the first 9 miles in 1 hour 50 minutes. Battery
indicated it was 99% charged when I started the -GPS around 9:15 AM. looks
like I am doing something incorrect. Maybe I need to shut the notifications
off or something.

Thanking you in advance:
Tom Aussem

[TFAussem]

Regan:

      I have been having the same issue.  I did the Oak Island Marathon on Saturday Feb 15 and even without starting the GPS the battery died after 11+ miles. Approximately 2.5 hours.  

Figure that if no-one can give me an answer I will have to switch to an Apple watch.

Thanking you in advance:

Tom Aussem

[TFAussem]

Did a 7.6 mile run today. One hour and 30 minutes.  Charge on Fitbit went from 99% to 45%.   So I either I am doing something incorrectly with the settings or I have a BAD Fitbit.  If nobody has a feel then I will need to talk to friends in my Saturday running group to see if I should buy a Garmin or an Apple 4 or Apple 5.

[TFAussem]

Folks:

     Did a 4.5 mile run this morning. Took just shy of 50 minutes.  Charge went from 95% down to 77%. Seems a little better but guess I will have to wait until I do a run that is over 2 hours to see. Still feel I will need to make a decision after the Cherry Blossom 10 mile run in DC on Palm Sunday.

Thanking you in advance:

Tom Aussem

[RHPower]

Tom,

I originally posted this question last summer. What I found to be causing the issue with mine was the screen was staying on while in exercise mode. Also had frequent buzzing from distance notifications (it was doing it every 200 meters). Once I changed those settings, it did make a difference on battery consumption at the time. I haven't done an extended workout in a while because winter exercise for me tends to be primarily in a hockey rink and the Fitbit doesn't track skating well :). Don't know if either of those suggestions help.

Cheers,

Regan

[TFAussem]

Regan:
Thank You. Believe I modified the brightness setting to DIM. Guess
my next "Long Run" will be next Monday. So will see if what I did makes
a difference. Appreciate your help.

Thanking you in advance:
Tom

[TFAussem]

Folks:

Appreciate Regan's response. FYI. Did a "LONG RUN" earlier today 9.5 miles - 1 hour 52 minutes.  The battery went from 97% to 67% so if I updated the settings using Regan's suggestion it definitely helped. So if the battery usage would be consistent then the battery would have lasted for approximately 5 hours and 45 minutes.