Ionic is paired to Moto G5 Plus but Reset PIN not working

[AJRandall]

My ionic is frozen...Device lock enabled...but the PIN got entered incorrectly 10 times accidentally from the screen brushing against some materials...it's paired with my MotoG5plus...but everytime I go to device lock to reset the PIN and enter a new PIN, a message comes up saying "error connecting to ionic" after I have entered the new PIN and it tries to connect? How can I fix this problem?

Moderator edit: updated subject for clarity

[MarreFitbit]

Welcome to the Fitbit Community @AJRandall!  Thanks for already troubleshooting this inconvenience with the PIN... let's fix this! 

Is the Moto G5 Plus the only device you've been using since the very beginning with your Ionic? I'm afraid to say that this mobile device is not yet a supported one by the Fitbit app. So, I'd say that this would be an explanation why your Fitbit Ionic stopped working properly.  

The developer team is aware of the need to add new devices to the list of compatible devices (click here to check the list). There are some users who can synchronize with non-compatible devices. If your phone meets the requirement of Minimum Supported OS (Android 4.4 KitKat) maybe that's why it has been syncing so far.

Note that we don't guarantee that the synchronization would be will be successful as we are still testing on this phone model. However, since you've been syncing with it, there's a chance that some troubleshoot steps might work.

As you know and you mentioned, If you enter an incorrect PIN code 10 times, you're prompted to unlock your Fitbit watch with your paired phone.
 

To unlock your watch with your phone:

1. From the Fitbit app dashboard, tap or click the Account icon > your device image. 
2. Tap or click Device Lock.
3. Find the option to reset your PIN code. 

Note that after you reset your PIN code, you must add your cards to Fitbit Pay as if you were setting it up for the first time.

If the steps above don't work, please turn off everything that is Bluetooth enabled.  Tablets, PC, other phones. Wireless headphones hanging around - power off.  You don't want any stray 'signals' effecting this process.  Then, remove your Ionic from your phone.

• Go to the phone's Bluetooth settings and remove your Ionic from there
• Then, open up the Fitbit app on your phone.
• Select the 'account' icon in top right corner of screen.
• This shows "your account", which should have your Ionic under 'Devices'.
• Select "+ set up a device".
• Replace Ionic. You will need to agree that you are indeed replacing your Ionic on next screen.
• Continue through all instructions.  You are basically pretending to add a 'new' watch to this app.  Follow all instructions.  You will get a 4-digit code to input during the process (this is not the 'unlock' code).  

Give this a go and let me know how it goes! 

[AJRandall]

Unfortunately this solution did not work.  It took about 30 minutes  I had to put in the new pairing code, and it seemed like it was working, and then updated firmware.  Once completed several messages directed me to begin as if it was a new ionic, and it gave me tips to begin.  Once I got through all of that, the watch was still showing itself to locked.  I tried to go to the device lock area and set a new PIN and again it failed giving me an error message.

[Chrism71]

I too have tge same issue. The fitbit Ionic updated OS today which too about 7 hours. My phone is locked too and nothing I try will unlock it. Tried all the same steps. What now? Warranty replacement?

[Chrism71]

I have a Samsung S7 Edge

[AJRandall]

Removed the fitbit app and reinstalled it

Set up the ionic again.

Device still locked, and still getting error message "error connecting to ionic"

No idea what else to do...should I take the ionic back and ask for a new one?

[Chrism71]

I signed out of my account and enrolled it on my girlfriends phone. Finally got it unlocked when she enrolled it

[MarreFitbit]

Hey @Chrism71, it's great to know that you were able to unlock your Fitbit Ionic after trying your girlfriend's phone. Did you go back to your S7? If so, do you have inconveniences when using your phone and the Ionic? Like Fitbit Pay?

I feel you my friend @AJRandall!  But please keep in mind that the G5 Plus is not compatible with Fitbit. I know you can sync and maybe other stuff with your tracker and Fitbit app, but we don't guarantee that they will work flawlessly due to the incompatibility. 

By any chance you have the opportunity to try what @Chrism71 did? If you have any friend or family member who may have a compatible device listed here, try doing the steps I've shared to see if by using a compatible device you can unlock your Ionic. Let's try with this and see where the issue is coming from, whether from the phone or the Ionic. 

Looking forward to your response! 

[Chrism71]

Yes it is now working back on my Samsung S7 edge. Have not tried the fit bit pay since but wi update the post when i do. No other issues witb phone or Ionic

[MarreFitbit]

Great news @Chrism71!  I'm glad to hear that you haven't had issues with your phone and Ionic since then. 

Hope to see you participating in the Community more often since I think it would be awesome for you to explore our Community. You can go ahead and log to any of the topics that might be of your interest in our Discussion boards. Feel free to comment and contribute with your knowledge and experience.

Have a great day! 

[AJRandall]

My GF has an Ipnone 6, so will try to unlock that way, and she also has an ionic and naturally a fitbit account.

No other complaints with the integration with MotoG5plus till this issue occurred with the Device lock feature...all other functionality was working including Fitbit pay.

[AJRandall]

One question...will I need to disconnect my GF ionic from her iphone 6 before I sync my ionic to her phone, or can we simply add another (my) ionic to her phone, and then seek to unlock my ionic.  Not exactly sure how it's done when my GF already has an ionic paired to her ipnone?

[Chrism71]

I would suggest yes. She would need to log out. I dont think you lose any data though.just the period you are both disconnected. Id be interested to know how u get on. Be sure to let us know

[MarreFitbit]

Can you try just logging out from her account and log in into yours? Once this has been done, turn off her Ionic while doing the setup with yours. To turn Fitbit Ionic:

On the watch, open the Settings app > About > Shutdown > confirm the shutdown. To turn the watch back on, press any button, but do this once you've completed the steps I provided before. 

If you have any inconveniences setting up your Ionic, let's say that you get a message saying something like you cannot pair the Ionic because there's another paired. First, make sure that your girlfriend's tracker has been properly shutdown and also that she has logged out of her account. If both are correct, so try unlinking the her Ionic as my friend @Chrism71 suggested, but do not do this on the Fitbit app, do it on the phone's Bluetooth settings. 

I'm posting an image below of where you need to disconnect the Ionic, the option should say  "Forget this Device". I don't think this would be necessary, as you can see in my image I have 2 different Ionics on my Bluetooth settings. 

Looking forward to your response @AJRandall! 

[AJRandall]

Problem solved.  Thank you. My GF left her ionic at home, so I just removed her ionic from her app altogether and connected my ionic.  I did not think to log her out and re-loggnig me in via the fitbit app on her iphone first. My ionic connected to her fitbit app on her iphone 6, then I went to device lock feature and set a new pin, and it worked.  My ionic unlocked.  I then removed my ionic from her fitbit account, and then using the fitbit app on my MotoG5plus added a new device and reconnected my unlocked ionic to my fitbit account. All seems to be working, but I think I will have to go and set up all my apps (i.e. surfline, strava, etc), clock face preference etc...so still a little work to get back to where i was when my ionic first froze.  We will also have to reconnect her ionic to her iphone when she gets home.  Good news...we have a solution to unfreezing ionic's on non-compatible devices...but hopefully fitbit developers add the MotoG5plus and Samsung 7 edge to the ionic list soon as they are both great phones with leading edge technology.

[AJRandall]

This work around does, however, side step the intended security feature of the PIN code.  Anyone that knows this workaround, that gets hold of someone else's ionic, a stolen or lost one for eg, can basically unlock the watch with a compatible device and use the watch for themselves.  Would seem to make the notion of security PIN redundant.  The good news is that the fitbit wallet has been emptied through this process, so anyone that gets the watch and manages to unlock it in this way does not get to use Fitbit pay illegally.  I wont be configuring a PIN going forward with my ionic due to this workaround solving the device lock...seems pointless.

[Chrism71]

It is still a valid ID to keep the pincode because unless you log the phone out of your device noone will be able to pair it to a new device. The could only unlock it if you logged it off your phone. Great news it is working though

[Chrism71]

In theory they would only be able to reset it if you logged the device off your phone and out of your account. So the pun is still a safer option despite the issues resetting it.

[AJRandall]

Correction...all my apps and so on are already on my unlocked ionic...did not need to set them up again.  The only thing that has been removed is my bank card in my fitbit wallet...so that is Good!!!

[AJRandall]

Good tip to anyone that loses an ionic or has it stolen...don't disconnect it from the app so noone else can connect it.