Ionic not working

[UH60guy]

So this morning I got up and everything was working fine with the watch, went downstairs to watch some TV. At some point I checked it, and the screen would not come on. It continues to be unresponsive to any button press and the screen was black (off). Resets do not work, neither the two or three button press combos even get the logo to appear. I put it on the charger all morning but still no response on the button press. 

This is happened as far as I can tell not related to any use, it just died. Any troubleshooting ideas? I’ve had it 13 months so of course the warranty just expired. 

Moderator edit: Updated subject for clarity 

[GeoJet]

If you are out of warranty, Fitbit’s corporate position is they have no obligation to do anything. Caveat emptor.

[JCM801]

Annoyingly, the device warranty explicitly excludes damage caused by software. Ethically and legally such clauses have not held up in the face of blatant negligence, which I believe the 3.1 app to be.  I've seem scores of accounts on this and the Ionic boards about problems with this release. I wish FitBit would own up. Even with a 50% discount on a new Ionic (which is a good deal on a device with those capabilities), I am not sure it wouldn't be throwing good money after bad just to extend another 16-20 months.

From the FitBit warranty web site:

EXCLUSIONS AND LIMITATIONS

Fitbit does not warrant that the operation of the Product will be uninterrupted or error-free. This Limited Product Warranty does not cover software embedded in any Product and related services provided by Fitbit. See the Fitbit Terms of Service for details of your rights with respect to use of the software and related services.

[frankmch]

YOu are absolutely Right. However in order to get a response from Fitbit it will have to be a massive complain. By the way the lino in the Fitbit website for “broken band file a complain” is being down for days, at least i can access it. 

[frankmch]

If these were a dollar store item or a five n below item I wouldn’t mind, but these are expensive products. Plus my ionic was fine until the update Fitbit forced to do via their app, to my eyes is like they broke it... 

[Carllai611519]

This is the latest response I got from Fitbit below. Totally irresponsible, they take us all as mug (stupid). Let’s tell all our friends and families to stay away from this thieving company. Any one got any recommendation for an alternative tracker???

Hi Carl,

We understand where your discouragement is coming from.

To answer your question, we'd like to inform you that we currently do not have service centers available to assist customers with repairs and the only the option that we can choose from is replacement within the warranty period. This is because our production is centralized in order for us to protect our products from being compromised which may affect customer experience.

Also, we’d like to share with you that it should not break normally within the short period of time. Though our trackers are made to last, due to some factors that are beyond human control, materials that these devices are made of also reaches its limitation. Same with other devices, it may encounter a manufacturing issue that we can only determine once the customer has experienced it. With this in mind, we are adopting new materials for our trackers as well that have improved durability. We'd like to thank you for the feedback provided, since the key to our improvement and development is our customer's voice.

Apologies if this is not what you wanted to hear, Carl; as much as we'd want to give you the offer you would've loved, doing so is beyond our jurisdiction as we must comply with our policies and warranty procedures.

Hoping for your understanding. Always feel free to ask us other questions.

Sincerely,

FrancisJohn and the Fitbit Team

[SunsetRunner]

Sorry to hear that; however, I fully expect to get my own version of it soon since I sent a rather lengthy letter to Support stating what I think that they should do in order to keep me as a customer (and it's not what they are going to do based on the reply that they sent you).  I am not going to pay for another watch for several reasons: (1) It has failed due to either faulty mechanical parts (most likely the battery), a faulty OS, or a combination of the two--both of which were not my fault, so I shouldn't have to pay for anything. (2) How do I know that the replacement isn't going to fail given the rather short lifespan of my original, and finally (3) a company which does not stand behind its products (like making sure that they live up to expectations and that they have a lifespan longer than a mosquito) will no longer get my business.

[Jacqionic]

Exactly the same thing has happened to mine yesterday.  And this is my replacement I received from the support team.  I wouldn't mind so much if it had a hard life, but I don't get it wet, I look after it, and all I'm getting is a very faint 'glow' from the display.  It is fully charged.  Just packed up.  Tried the reset instructions I got when the first one went wrong, but that hasn't worked.  I will also need to log another call!

[Jacqionic]

Hi, can you report my post as well, please.... exactly the same thing happened to mine yesterday.  This is the replacement the support team sent me almost a year ago.  To say I'm very disappointed is putting it politely.  It doesn't bode very well for me continuing to want to use a fitbit device with two having gone wrong.  They only seem to last just under 12 months.  That's not a good advert.

[tnt_daddy]

Just had the same problem.. put it on the charger overnight and came down to it completely offline... no button response nada

[Jacqionic]

This is sounding VERY suspicious, with us all suffering the same problem!!!!!!!

[EscapeGirl]

Mine just died too.  Battery was low so tried to charge it.  Couldn't get any indicator that it was charging so thought my charge cable was the issue.  Paid $25 + for a new one.  Still can't get the watch to charge.  WTF.  This was an expensive item.  Am I really SOL?

[GeoJet]

I’ve been leaving 1 star reviews detailing Fitbit’s negligence and irresponsibility on as many sites as I can. When I went to the B&H webpage, they list Ionic as “discontinued”. It seems as if Fitbit can’t make this model work and is throwing in the towel. Caveat emptor.

[GeoJet]

Carl, the two that I’ve found so far are the Apple Watch 4 and the Garmin Vivoactive 3 Music.

[EscapeGirl]

I will also be using social media to shout out loud and clear that Fitbit SUCKS.  They only make disposable watches.  I'm so disappointed as I loved my Ionic.  But at $400 I can't afford another that only last a year.  I'm going to try a Garmin.

[bmwz3_diane]

I was just informed one of my post had been removed because I used the "L" word and that I wasn't allowed to discuss that on their forums. Guess what FITBIT, you deserve what comes your way. My next step is talking to Apple since the allow Fitbit apps to run on their phones. I bet Apple won't be too happy to learn that a faulty software killed all the Fitbits. 

[SunsetRunner]

I had the exact same problem on 7/22, which is funny as I am seeing a lot of similar posts about their Ionic suddenly and without provocation failing.  In my case I woke up (couldn't sleep) and checked my watch, which showed 4am.  I fell back to sleep and work again an hour later and my watch was black and unresponsive (I know it was 5am as I checked my iPhone).  Since I don't consider sleeping an extreme activity and know the battery had been charged only the day before, I know power was not the issue.  I tried all of the button press combinations recommended to no avail.  I also tried charging, again to no avail.  I went to BB, where I purchased the watch 18 months ago and they checked out and confirmed that my watch was dead, dead, dead.   When I asked what they could do to help me (a loyal customer) to get this resolved they offered my $35 gift card as they said Fitbit smart watches were basically "throw away" watches.  Wow!  I've never would have spent so much time researching a product and spending nearly $300 (Dec 2017) on something I thought I'd have to throw away in 18 months.  I contacted Fitbit and they offered me a discount to buy another one.  Now that I am seeing all of these posts of others who had the same problem around 7/20-24, I am suspecting Fitbit made a firmware update that permanently crashed my Ionic.   What an "interesting" business model.  (Of course I have no proof) but its an interesting business model -- send out firmware to crash Ionic watches out of warranty then give them a discount to buy another one.  Now why would I want to throw good money after bad!!!!

[IonicFailure]

Add me to the group.  My Ionic died literally the first day the warranty expired.  The dates were confirmed by the Fitbit support team.  However, the agent and supervisor stated they had no options to assist other than offering a 25% and then 40% discount on a new Fitbit product.  Understanding that even the supervisor could only offer a discount, when I asked for an address or contact to escalate, I was told posting to this forum was my only course of escalation.  Extremely disappointed to only get one year out of a $300 device.

[SunsetRunner]

In addition to posting this problem on as many online forums as possilbe, I would suggest everyone let their local big box retailers (especially if you purchased your Ionic from them) know of this problem and strongly suggest they put a warning on their display cases about Fitbit's habit of sending out firmware updates that have a tendency to make your smartwatch unusuable.  My big box store, BB, actually told me when I went into ask for help from them in getting Fitbit to repair or replace my 18 month old Ionic, that Fitbit Ionics are considered "throw-away" watches.  At nearly $300 (when I bought mine), I wish they'd told me that at the time!!!!!

[tnt_daddy]

My firmware is 33.1.30

Sorry for any typos😇 sent from a mobile device

[sportionary]

My wife's died 2 months after warranty, I purchased her a new one.  Thought it was a fluke honestly as we have had the other fitbit models and they have always worked like a champ.  Guess what? My ionic and her ionic got the new update a few days ago and mine has crashed and been dead ever since.  I've contacted fitbit CS via email, and keep getting asked if I've done the hard restart which I've done about 50 times the past few days.  Of course my fitbit is 5 months out of warranty.  It really sucks as I depend on my fitbit.  I guess my choices are to buy another $300 throw away Ionic, or after 5+ years jump ship and get a Garmin.