Ionic no longer working

[kevinpars]

This post is not a request for help but to provide feedback about my fitbit experience.  I hope this is the correct place to post it.  I had called support to voice my concerns and they said in addition I should provide feedback in the forums.

My Ionic stopped working on Monday morning.  I purchased it on 2/13/18 from Amazon so it is out of warranty but under 2 years old.  I am a big fitbit user and this was my third watch.  I previously had the Blaze and the Charge HR.  I went ahead and ordered a Versa lite because i decided that I did not use all the features that are in the Ionic or Versa (I use phone for music, and am not so much concerned about stairs tracking). Basically, I use the fitbit for steps and exercise tracking and as a watch and alarm.  I also use it to easily turn down annoyance calls.  So the Versa Lite will cover those features.  And since I have years of data tracking, I did not want to go to another brand.

I had liked the Ionic and was pleased with the updates and the large number of clock faces, apps and other features. But I am disappointed that the Ionic  only lasted for about 18 months.  My expectations for a device that cost more than $200 dollars is that it would not fail in that short amount of time.  Especially when i had not had any major incidents with the watch.  No major accidents at all led to it dying - I was sleeping when it just stopped responding and it still had about a 30% charge.  Of course I did all the recommended steps to try to reboot, charge, etc.  but it is just dead.  So I wanted to just let you know that while I will continue as a fitbit user, I was not pleased that the top of the line Ionic did not last anywhere near as long as I hoped or expected.

[frankmch · Accepted solution]

I had exactly the same situation.

my ionic was less than 2 years when started failing, first it stopped syncing with my iPhone Fitbit app to then after applying a factory reset and doing a mandatory upgrade in the watch it suddenly died while doing the upgrade. best solution Fitbit costumer support gave me was a 25% discount coupon on an new Fitbit product. these are disposable products that will stop working around the 18 month of use. definitely don't worth the $300 they are market due to their short lifespan.

if you take the time to read the forum posts you will see that our cases are not isolated cases, this is a know issue with hundreds if not thousands of people affected. my complain posts get constantly deleted by this forum moderators since they are Fitbit employees trying to cover the company flaws.

[Winni2018]

My Fitbit ionic lasted only 15 months, it just stopped working out of the blue... battery was 95% and also did whatever was recommended to resuscitate it😩. I have decided to move on to another brand that can support their clients. I spent so much on that Ionic to be told to just buy a new one since it was out of warranty 😒. 

[michellelw]

My Ionic (Adidas edition)  failed after 6 months. I have had many different Fitbit and have been a loyal customer, they all have failed on me. I thought that if I invest the money (230.00) for the Ionic that I would get my money's worth. I have been disappointed yet again. It was working fine all day yesterday I put it on charge after I took it off charge the screen showed colored lines. I tried to factory reset and then the screen went blank. I contacted customer service and thankfully they are sending me a replacement. I am thankful it failed within the year warranty however, I have little faith it will last. I had also requested to purchase a two-year warranty and they told me no. I am a nurse I wear it every day and feel lost without it but I think next time I will get an apple watch or Garmin. I was going to buy my two older children a Fitbit but I have changed my mind.  I am very disappointed that I spent this money and yet again failed. I have no complaints about customer service as they have sent me replacements every time I have had an issue but all my Fitbits have failed within a year's time. I guess I should learn my lesson earlier. 

[bjohn34se]

I have my Fitbit Ionic for almost 18 months and it was replaced twice already. Now, I guess it is about to replace again when it get stuck after doing factory reset. Main reason I did that is because the notification is not working for a couple of weeks. 

To be fair with the customer support, they are helpful compare to other bigger brands out there. Fitbit products is good (if there are no issues). I like how it provides info whenever I use it daily - at work, when I go to the gym, cycling, and even hiking. However, the firmware itself felt so bad that it would break your tracker. I still want to use my Ionic until it becomes obsolete. But I guess, this is going to be the last time to buy a tracker from Fitbit. It's good that I did not proceed with buying two trackers for my kids. 

I love Fitbit more than Apple watch. But because of the bad experiences with your Ionic, I will find a different brand to satisfy all my tracker needs. 

[theLauraK]

I am in the same situation.  I purchased my Ionic (Adidas edition) less than two years ago.  I've had the watch replaced once under the extended contract when the battery died, and the replacement hasn't lasted the rest of the year.  I am absolutely flabbergasted that there is nobody we could even pay to replace a battery or reset whatever software/firmware keeps breaking in these things.  

It seems unconscionable to me that the replacement units are made available to the one company that handles the service contracts, but it does not look like fitbit offers any way for us foolish users to purchase replacement parts after spending over three hundred dollars (including service contracts and fees to use them) on these temporary products.