Ionic's swiping working when in ziplock bag

[KingBengals]

About a week ago I noticed my Ionic was off. I had a hard time getting it to turn back on. By holding the 3 buttons down I got it to turn on. I would notice the same random turn off issue kept happening 1-2 times a day. I noticed each time the HR sensor was on so it wasn't actually turned off. I did a software update, a recalibration it asked for. Same problem. Then I noticed the swipe gesture was only working partially. It would struggle to move screens or select buttons. I talked to FitBit tech support for a while & tried a full factory reset. I even took the Fitbit app off my android phone. I reinstalled everything like it was a new Fitbit. I got it up & running to at least the home clock screen. Now I noticed I could not swipe at all no matter what I tried,  Fitbit said there was nothing more they could do but offer me 25% off a new Ionic. I wanted to try 1 more thing. I fixed an old iPhone once by putting it in rice & a zip lock bag. I tried it with the Ionic main piece (no bands). The next morning I messed with the device in the plastic bag & presto the swipe worked again. I was very excited!! I thought I fixed it. I took the unit out of the bag & darn the gesture wouldn't work. I put it back in the bag & 10 mins later it worked! I took it out & it didn't work. I then put it in a smaller ziplock bag with no rice. 10 mins later it worked. I took it out & it didn't work. If I keep it in the bag I can make it work nearly perfectly touching it thru the plastic, The moment I take it out the swipe no longer works. Its the strangest thing. I'm not even kidding I can send you a video of exactly what's happening.

Has anyone experienced this?

Any idea why it works in a plastic bag but not out of it?

Thanks!

Moderator edit: Updated subject for clarity 

[SilviaFitbit]

@KingBengals Welcome to the Community. Thanks for the details mentioned and the troubleshooting tried.

I appreciate that you mentioned you contacted our Support team. It's pretty weird that your Ionic's display is only working when it's in the zip lock bag, if you put it in rice this usually works if you leave it around 24 hours in case it has any water on it. I can confirm that each case is reviewed individually and the option provided is based in the Fitbit Warranty. 

Hope someone else can jump in and share their experience. I'll be around if you have any additional questions. 

[KingBengals]

Hi,

     I wanted to do update you on the ever crazier situation with my device since new things have been happening to it this last week after my original post. So I left the "pebble" I guess its called in a ziplock bag for 24 hours. The longer I left it in the bag the longer I could get the swipe gesture feature to work.  I finally thought ok at least it powers on & tracks step, HR & time so that is decent. But it got humid & warm here in OH last weekend & I checked my Ionic & the swipe was working. Everything works almost normally for a handful of swipes & button presses. (BTW the screen seems to turn itself off a couple of times a day. Generally, it comes back on but sometimes I have to hold the home & bottom right button down to get it back on). So I thought it might be fixed! I went into the house & a few mins later no gestures worked. again. I read on some forums to let the battery drain til it's dead & recharge it to see if that fixes all the bugs. I did that this morning & to my shock, I could not get it to charge. The screen was dead. I held all the buttons down for 1 min a couple of times & nothing. I noticed not even the green light on the back was coming on. It always came on even if the screen was off. I left it plugged into a wall outlet for an hour but no changes. So I assumed I really really killed it this time. Letting the battery drain didn't fix anything, it totally killed the unit.... I thought. So as the feeling of saddest came over me that I would not have the tracker anymore I had a thought. What the heck put it back in the plastic bag & see what happens. There is no reason this should work but it kind of did last time. I put the pebble in a small zip lock bag & left it for 30 mins. I happen to pick it up,  low & behold the green light was back on! I hit the home button & the screen came on. It had somehow charged 13% during the time I thought it was dead but it was still plugged in. It's now up to 50%. So I think I brought it back from the dead sorta. I'm happy at least it powers on & charges. So I have some theories.

-The issue is outside temp or humidity or both. The device is in very good condition with no cracks or holes I can see. However, inside a controlled environment like in the bag, it seems to work.

-I'm going to test the swipe gesture in a hot environment to see if it works then.  The problem has to be external environment since when in the bag in a controlled atmosphere & my hand heat making it a tiny bit more humid it seems to work nearly normally.

So now you have all my info from the week I spent testing the unit.

Any feedback would be great!

Thanks!

I have not tried it but if I was in the shower or steam room I bet the swipe works.

[KingBengals]

Hi,

     I wanted to do update you on the ever crazier situation with my
device since new things have been happening to it this last week after
my original post. So I left the "pebble" I guess its called in a ziplock
bag for 24 hours. The longer I left it in the bag the longer I could get
the swipe gesture feature to work.  I finally thought ok at least it
powers on & tracks step, HR & time so that is decent. But it got humid &
warm here in OH last weekend & I checked my Ionic & the swipe was
working. Everything works almost normally for a handful of swipes &
button presses. /(BTW the screen seems to turn itself off a couple of
times a day. Generally, it comes back on but sometimes I have to hold
the home & bottom right button down to get it back on)./ So I thought it
might be fixed! I went into the house & a few mins later no gestures
worked. again. I read on some forums to let the battery drain til it's
dead & recharge it to see if that fixes all the bugs. I did that this
morning & to my shock, I could not get it to charge. The screen was
dead. I held all the buttons down for 1 min a couple of times & nothing.
I noticed not even the green light on the back was coming on. It always
came on even if the screen was off. I left it plugged into a wall outlet
for an hour but no changes. So I assumed I really really killed it this
time. Letting the battery drain didn't fix anything, it totally killed
the unit.... I thought. So as the feeling of saddest came over me that I
would not have the tracker anymore I had a thought. What the heck put it
back in the plastic bag & see what happens. There is no reason this
should work but it kind of did last time. I put the pebble in a small
zip lock bag & left it for 30 mins. I happen to pick it up,  low &
behold the green light was back on! I hit the home button & the screen
came on. It had somehow charged 13% during the time I thought it was
dead but it was still plugged in. It's now up to 50%. So I think I
brought it back from the dead sorta. I'm happy at least it powers on &
charges. So I have some theories.

-The issue is outside temp or humidity or both. The device is in very
good condition with no cracks or holes I can see. However, inside a
controlled environment like in the bag, it seems to work.

-I'm going to test the swipe gesture in a hot environment to see if it
works then.  The problem has to be external environment since when in
the bag in a controlled atmosphere & my hand heat making it a tiny bit
more humid it seems to work nearly normally.

So now you have all my info from the week I spent testing the unit.

Any feedback would be great!

Thanks!