Ionic screen not working not syncing or rebooting

[GravitySux]

Hi

Today the clocks changed in the UK. 

My Ionic (which had been working ok until now) had no screen display this morning but was being seen in the app and registering steps.  I followed the process to change the clock - no change. I followed the process to restart the device - no change. I followed the process to reset the device - no change. I can now no longer get into the device because I have unpaired the device and there is no screen display to show the pairing code. 

All the steps followed have come from the Fitbit website. 

The only change has been the Daylight Savings change this morning at 2am. 

Battery is full. 

Big question - why does a full hardware reset not work? This is supposed to be the final step in hardware diagnostics and it will not trigger. 

2nd big question - do I now own a junk device?

3rd big question - why can I not hard reset using the USB cable in a PC and send down a new firmware patch?

Any thoughts greatly appreciated. 

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject and formatting 

[CindyMFitbit]

@GravitySux Welcome to the Community Forums. 

Thanks for the detailed information shared and for all your troubleshooting efforts. I understand that this can be frustrating. Please note that we don't have the exact reason why this happened with the display on your Fitbit Ionic and while there is not a way to restart the device using an USB cable and your PC, I'd suggest trying the following: 

1. Important: Please note that you'll need to reinstall any apps on your device after the reset, and if you couldn’t sync your device, then any data on the Fitbit device will be lost.  
2. On the device, hold all three buttons for about 10 to 12 seconds. 
3. When the Fitbit logo disappears, quickly release the bottom right button, continuing to hold down the left and top right buttons (releasing the bottom right button as soon as the logo disappears is time sensitive). 
4. When the device vibrates, release all buttons. 
5. Wait for approximately 1-2 minutes while the device clears all data. Eventually, the Fitbit logo appears and the device boots and displays fitbit.com/global/us/setup
6. When the device successfully resets, please set up your Ionic as new device. See How do I set up my Fitbit device?

Hope this helps. 

[GravitySux]

Thank-you for a swift response. 

This unfortunately has not resolved the issue. I have followed all of the steps required, and the unit is failing to reset.

The screen does activate, goes off, and I release the bottom button immediately. I get no vibration from the unit. It now does not even register as being on Bluetooth. 

Is it possible the firmware has borked? Failure to complete a full hard reset suggests to me that the device has failed?

[CindyMFitbit]

Thanks for your response @GravitySux. 

I appreciate for trying the suggested instructions. As per the details that you have shared, it seems the device is completely unresponsive so I'm sorry for the inconvenience. In this situation my best recommendation is contact our Support Team so they can look deeper into the issue and help you with this matter. You can contact them through chat or over the phone. Click here to get connected. Make sure to mention the steps you've followed, so they can help you from there. 

See you around. 

[Mike.f46]

Hello,

Mine did just the exact same thing today. I noticed it wasn't vibrating yesterday when I was getting text messages and noticed it wasn't syncing. I deleted it off my Fitbit app, forgot it on Bluetooth, even uninstalled and reinstalled the app. Rebooted my watch and nothing. Then I did a factory reset. It finally connected my phone. And finally said I could update it. It got halfway thru the crediblebh update, the app said it couldn't complete it and to try over WiFi, same thing happened. I cancelled the update and my Ionic shut off. I assume it's dead. It was fully charged. Contact points are clean. I followed every troubleshooting steps on this site. Held all combinations of buttons down for up to 2 minutes just to be sure. Several times. It's insane that we pay 300 bucks for this and all customer support will do is tell you to send it in and replace it. Which is only ok as long as you have every scrap of original packaging. Very poor service. My Ionic is only 3 months old. This shouldn't be happening. 

[Alex_81]

Hello - I had this exact issue as well...is it a coincidence that this issue is happening at the same time for Ionic devices? 

I've followed all reset options as above, but it keeps getting stuck in the start-up phase.  Is there an option to update/sync via USB cable? 

[Hanna8]

It also happened to my Ionic yesterday morning; however, after a couple of hours the screen was working again. But today the same thing happened, and today it's worse. Yesterday at least I could see it was charging, but today it seems totally dead 😞  

[Alex_81]

Mine has been stuck in a reboot cycle for 2 days now. It seems this sis some kind of software glitch. Hopefully someone from the Fitbit team can reach out to resolve 🤞

Alex P.

Sent from my iPhone *Please excuse any typographical errors.

[YojanaFitbit]

@Mike.f46 @Alex_81 and @Hanna8 Thanks for stopping by in the Community Forums and trying to troubleshoot the issue with your Ionic before reaching out.

If you've already tried the steps suggested here:  Why isn't my Fitbit device's battery charging? 

In some cases, when Ionic is not competing firmware update might have issues syncing or charging. Note that occasionally a firmware update will start and stop or otherwise fail. If your watch isn't sufficiently charged before starting the update, you may see an mage on your screen or a low battery message in the Fitbit app. So, wait until the battery is at least 50% charged to start the update and keep your watch plugged into the charger. To check the battery level, tap the screen or press any button while the watch is charging.

• For best results, remove other Fitbit watches and trackers from your phone's Bluetooth settings.
• Before you begin the firmware update, plug your watch into the charger. Make sure your watch is in range of your home or work Wi-Fi network during the update.
• Keep your Fitbit device close to your phone or tablet to complete the update.

If the above doesn't help, try these steps to resolve the problem:

1. Make sure your watch is connected to the Wi-Fi network you want to use. For instructions on how to add a network, see How do I connect my Fitbit watch to Wi-Fi?
2. Move your watch closer to your router.
3. Make sure your router is connected to the internet.
4. Restart your watch. For instructions, see How do I restart my Fitbit device?
5. Remove your watch from your Fitbit account. For instructions, see Can I use more than one Fitbit device with the same account?
6. Remove your watch from the list of Bluetooth devices paired to your phone. On your phone, go to Settings > Bluetooth > find the watch in the list find an option to forget the device.
7. Reconnect your watch to your Fitbit account. For instructions, see How do I set up my Fitbit device?
8. Try again to update your watch.

If the update fails, restart your phone and try again. 

We hope your issue is solved soon.