Ionic in Salt water

[blodsbror]

I'm often swimming at the beach, including surfing. Is the Ionic, fine when it comes to salt water? I of course won't be going very deep with the watch, but knowing that it can withstand waves and saltwater is rather important. Any feedback would be great, before I order!

[eXsurfa3]

Went boogie boarding last weekend for 2 hours at Manresa State Beach.  Tracker was ok for about an hour after I left the ocean.  However, then about an hour later, I start seeing my Ionic behave strangely, the Fitbit logo on it starts blinking.  I press the button to view my Fitbit, but it doesn't come on.  When I get home I connect it to my charger, and no response.  I try to sync up to it with my phone, but the app said no tracker found. 

I was only in waist deep water, and most time my wrist was not immerse in the ocean water. 

Is there a warranty to replace my Ionic tracker? I paid over $300 for it this year. 

eXsurf3 now without his tracker. 

[Flabbyone]

Thank you

Sent from my iPhone

[Allie_1534]

Does this also apply to the Charge 3 

[Cordie]

I wouldn’t even attempt it I broke number one five months after I got it swimming in a pool with a patient I now broke number two sitting in my bathtub 

[RBnow]

I read your post too late.... I participated in an aqua workout in a saline pool and while my Ionic worked well for the first 1/2 hour it stopped working during the second half of the workout.... BUMMER- Piece of Garbage

[Cordie]

Oh noooo so sorry to hear this some not too smart man commented on my post about breaking two of these hunks of junk within a year that it he didn’t understand how one person broke two ionics must be the person... no the ionic is junk and it should not be advertised as waterproof 

[Allie_1534]

Ok I'm not going to risk it at the beach. But I went swimming in a pool the other day and it work perfectly I have had any problems since.

[SilviaFitbit]

A warm welcome to the Community @Allie_1534. Just as mentioned before trackers and watches that are water resistant up to 50 meters. They can be for use in the pool, ocean, shower or rain. The recommendation would be rinsing off the salt water after an ocean dip to prevent salt buildup, as with any other device.

You can learn more about it by checking this article How do I track my swims with my Fitbit device?

I'll be around if you need further assistance. 

[DrThundah]

Similar to some others on this thread, my Ionic Addidas edition died after a 20-30 minute swim in the ocean.   I had been in a salt water pool and showered with it - and didn’t have any issues in the 3 months leading up to it dying.  I just exchanged it under warranty.  I’ll see how it does.   

[Shardknox]

So...mixed results..

Good to hear some positive feedback, I wonder what the differences were...maybe luck? 😞

I just got mine, and had my first scare yesterday when my Ionic died in my saltwater pool.  It had been about 5 days since I charged it, and thankfully that's all it was, but man was I scared (I figured it would have some kind of charge reminder?)

I hope this one withstands the oceans here...and I wonder if it depends on the locale, depends on the salinity levels, temperatures, etc..

Some things I learned from past ocean proof attempts... I'm going to avoid pushing the buttons underwater, I've heard and experienced problems, and it kind of makes sense since...

Also be weary of the fineness of the sand... I live near a fine sand beach and it totally trashed one of my pebbles (both in the super shallow and digging in the sand).

Also, I think surfing/boarding has it's challenges.  The waves can pummel it from any direction, and you go through some weird pressures inside of the wave, and I theorize it could be enough to mimic deeper than 50m pressures (without doing any math or research).

I'm going to follow those principles I've learned, and hopefully you never hear from me again.

[Sensfan16]

Did fitbit send you a replacement? 

[katzstyle]

Yeah, they sent me a replacement - but the process was a pain in the **ahem**,
from proving to them that it was indeed faulty to getting it shipped back
to me. It probably took three weeks round trip, from returning the watch to
them, and then having a replacement sent out. If you haven't bought the
watch yet, and you are dead set on buying it - then buy from Costco, if you
can. They have a 90 day return policy, so you can try it out in water,
then if it dies - you can easily get a replacement. I don't know, maybe
their new versions are better - but I found that it will not last in salt
water.. so beware.

Good luck,
Josh

[RicardoFitbit]

Let me give you a warm welcome to our Community @DrThundah @Shardknox @katzstyle , and give a hand with your concerns. I'm glad to see you again @Sensfan16..

@DrThundah thanks for sharing your experience with your Ionic, I'm happy to see that your device was exchanged based on our Return Policy and Warranty, I was informed by our Support team that your case was resolved. 

@Shardknox I want to appreciate your comments and suggestions for our Community users, this information might be helpful for new Ionic users that are concerned about the same situation. I would like to gather more information about your device to resolve your concern. Can you please let me know if you already tried some troubleshooting steps that might resolve this matter? If not, I recommend you to check this article and then restart your device. Please keep me posted.

@Sensfan16 to resolve any doubt or for any inquiry about a warranty replacement process you can always refer to Return Policy and Warranty for more information and details.

@katzstyle Thanks for sharing your experience with the return process our your Ionic with our Support team, I'm glad to know that your concern was resolved. We're always striving to improve our procedures for the satisfaction of our users, therefore, your feedback is appreciated. Please note that a warranty replacement process is based on our policies so it will depend on the specific case. 

I'll be around. Let me know if any additional questions are still unanswered. 

[eXsurfa3]

I had a similiar problem. I went surfing near Santa Cruz.  I was in the water for over 3 hours.  When I got out I noticed my Ionic display was not there.  It appeared dead.  I called Fitbit for help.  The person showed me how to reset the watch. That helped resurrect my Ionic. Maybe I was lucky.  However, I plan to go surfing soon.  Not sure I will wear it this time. 

Mike

[RicardoFitbit]

Welcome aboard @eXsurfa3, I appreciate for your post.

Thank you for sharing your experience with your Ionic watch while surfing near Santa Cruz, your comments are appreciated. I'm glad to know that our Support team assisted you with this concern and that it was successfully resolved after the restart process was done.

I want to suggest you to visit our discussion forums and participate! There are several users who are interested in fitness, healthy eating, better sleep, among others and share many tips. They will be happy to meet you there too.

Let me know if you have more questions 🤓

[CJaySnyder]

I bought my Fitbit Ionic in the month of June 2018. While I have worn it in the shower on many occasions I took it for its first swim in the pool two days ago. A few hours after my swim I noticed the screen would not come on no matter what I tried.

Even the factory reset that I have had to process when the unit would not come on after not being charged for a long period of time did not work.

After contacting Customer Support and discussing the problem and what was done to try to get it to function again it was determined that they need to replace the unit.

Hopefully, the new unit will resolve the problem. It is my understanding that the new unit will be warrantied for 30 days or until the warranty on the original unit expires(whichever is longer). 

If I take the replacement unit swimming in my pool and the replacement unit dies like the original, Is the replacement unit covered for another replacement even though the original warranty has expired but the replacement is still covered under the 30 days stated?  If the replacement is replaced, is the most current replacement covered for 30 days also? How many replacements are allowed? I want to be able to use all the functions of the watch that were advertised by Fitbit.

Thank you in advance for your time and reply to my concern.

[RicardoFitbit]

Hi @CJaySnyder a warm welcome to our Community Forums for you. I'm glad to respond your inquiries, my apologies for the delay in responding.

I'd like to appreciate the detailed information that was shared on your post regarding your experience with your previous Ionic device and the service that was provided by our Customer Support team. I'd like to let you know that a replacement device is covered by a 30-day return time-frame. If you have any additional questions about our limited purchase warranty, I recommend you to check our policies here: Return Policy and Warranty.

Let me know if you have any additional questions. 

[Cordie]

Your original ionic is covered for 1 year. I had two replacements within my year after that you’re out of luck. How disappointing Fitbit makes a substandard product then cuts you off from getting anymore replacements as if it’s your fault their product is no good. Why advertise your product is waterproof two replacements within a year tell me it is not!! I broke one while swimming in a pool with my patient and the other in the bathtub nothing fancy no diving fifty miles down just ordinary tasks. I now remove my Fitbit before swimming and taking a bath. Once this breaks I’m switching to an Apple Watch they have much better customer service. 

Moderator edit: Format 

[kvhook76]

Swam in ocean along shore line. Ionic was never more than arm's length below the surface. Ionic died a couple of hours later. Thought this device is water resistant up to 50 meters. Can anything be done to revive it?

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@SilviaFitbit wrote:

A warm welcome to the Community @Allie_1534. Just as mentioned before trackers and watches that are water resistant up to 50 meters. They can be for use in the pool, ocean, shower or rain. The recommendation would be rinsing off the salt water after an ocean dip to prevent salt buildup, as with any other device.

You can learn more about it by checking this article How do I track my swims with my Fitbit device?

I'll be around if you need further assistance. 

---

[RicardoFitbit]

Hello! I'm here to continue providing assistance. Welcome aboard @kvhook76. It's nice to see you again participating in our Community @Cordie.

@kvhook76 I'm sorry to know that your Ionic is not responding after a swim activity. Before I move forward with your situation, can you please let me know if the steps from my previous post were already tried? I'll be looking for your reply.

@Cordie Thank you for sharing your experience with us, the feedback that was previously posted and the one from your latest post are appreciated, note that we're always striving to improve our products and services.

I'll be here if you have any additional questions.