Ionic screen went black

[Sroper]

Hi all

Long time FitBit user got the Ionic at Christmas to replace a Garmin for running and training.  Have had a great experience with it until yesterday at the start line for my first half marathon.  Battery in the 90s.   Went to exercise app and initiated a run to get the GPS started. The gun fires and i go to start the run app, the screen is black and nothing will work.  I tried a hard reset (yes I googled while running) to attempt to fix it.  Nothing.  BUT the HR monitor light is flashing.  Essentially it was a brick on my wrist.  The last sync on my phone before it failed shows a full battery that morning.

Finish the race and get back to hotel, tried to charge it just in case that was the issue.  No response to the charger.  Still essentially a brick - but green light still flashing.  

Toss it in my bag and continue with my day.  Get home several hours later and try to charge it again.  Finally something appears on the screen  0% battery.  Charges up and works fine two hours later.  

Anyone else deal with this??   Worst timing ever for a failure.  I had started to run without my phone in some scenarios.  Now I don't trust the Ionic.  This type of issue moved me away from the Garmin too. Help!!

 Moderator edit: updated subject for clarity

[WendyB]

Yeah that is the worst time ever for that to happen.

Mine did something like that yesterday but it came back on after it reset itself.

Just keep a close eye on it and if it happens again I would contact support

[JasonMichael]

Mine did the same thing when I was in the Gym last week. Yesterday I was tracking an exercise and it when back to the main screen. I haven't had any issues with the Ionic till the last update. 

[Cantryboy]

That's a bummer it happened on the start line 😧

[MarreFitbit]

Hi guys @Cantryboy @Sroper @JasonMichael @WendyB, it's great to see you here! I haven't faced something like this so far, but I'll keep an eye on my Ionic's behavior. 

If the screen goes blank and the green lights on the back are still flashing, I'd recommend restarting the tracker as my friend @WendyB advised:

1. Press and hold the back (left) and bottom buttons until you see the Fitbit logo on the screen. This should take less than 10 seconds.
2. Let go of the buttons.
3. If your Fitbit Ionic doesn't work normally, use the instructions in How do I turn off my Fitbit device? to turn your watch off and on again.

Also, if you try charging your device and nothing comes up in the screen I'd double check if the contacts on your tracker or charging cable are not dirty. Dust and debris can accumulate over time and prevent a charge. Try cleaning them by following these instructions.

Have you checked if by any chance the USB port or outlet is faulty? If you haven't done so, try a different port. A UL-certified wall charger will also work. Don't use a USB hub.

If so, plug the charging cable into the USB port on your computer or a UL-certified USB wall charger. Hold the other end of the charging cable near the port on the back of the watch until attaches magnetically.

Hope this helps, I'll be around if you need further assistance! 

[Sroper]

Thanks everyone for your messages and suggestions

@MarreFitbit Appreciate the thorough list of fixes!!

**I tried the hard restart that @WendyB mentioned multiple times with no success.

**Based on the instructions in How do I turn off my Fitbit device? that simply wouldn't have worked since the screen was blank and non responsive I could not navigate to settings to manually shut the device down

**The device would not charge initially but later in the day did - different wall plug but since the battery was full that should not have been the problem.  

Its been working fine since I was able to get it going Sunday night.  I did have the 0 sleep issue posted able but was able to edit sleep log and trigger a calculation. Looks like that's the suggested work around. Its puzzling but seems like there's a system/OS issue since multiple folks are experiencing it.  I'll save these tips in case I have another issue. Cross your fingers I don't, especially at the start line.  THANKS!

[Lullabug]

@Sroper, this is precisely what happened to mine. Owned for 3 months. Took a flight to California, got up in the morning, device was A-OK. Synced at 6 am. Showered, walked to breakfast (5 min?) - by the time I got there, brick. No response at all. Not entirely sure what happened. Support walked me through a bunch of steps and had me take a video, then had me send in for replacement. I'm hoping the 2nd one works. It arrives today and I'll try to update.

[ChantellB]

Mine is doing the same thing .I try to restart it and it just sits with the fitbit icon on the screen . I can't shut it down because it doesn't respond.. I tried all troubleshooting steps and still no solution. My last fit bit did the exact same thing, one day it just stopped working .. I love my fitbit but I'm pretty disappointed that I've had it for 3 months and it's already having issues . 

[Lullabug]

@ChantellB - this may not work, but it's worth a shot. This was the advanced troubleshooting version I got when mine bricked:

1. Plug your Ionic into the charging cable.
2. Once the watch is connected, please hold all of its three buttons at the same time for about 15 to 20 seconds. 
3. The Fitbit icon should appear and the watch will start charging. 

[Town]

mine just went black last night too. Weird the heart rate light goes on bit screen is black even when plugged in.:(

Moderator Edit: Format

[ChantellB]

I am only able to get the fitbit logo and very rarely the clock will display but the screen and buttons are unresponsive. The minute I push a button the screen goes black again. It's still syncing though .. 

[Lullabug]

@ChantellB definitely sounds like a job for the support team. I will say they managed to get me a brand new device in under 3 weeks when mine died. 

[ChantellB]

@Lullabug I chatted with support this morning and they are escalating the issue for further review. I am waiting for an email. I really hope they can either fix it or replace it. 

[ToniT75]

I am having the same issues, flashing logo, unable to shut off because it's not responding...

[doggmommy]

This has now happened to me twice since I got my tracker in May 2018. Luckily it has restarted both times. Is this an ongoing problem? Is there going to be a fix? Seems like a programing glitch of some sort. Need an update!

[ToniT75]

Called the technical support #, they tried to help, couldn't figure out the problem,  ended up emailing me a return label, I sent my ionic back and they sent me a new one.. 

Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android

[ChantellB]

I contacted tech support and they wound up sending me a new one. I haven't
had any problems with it since.

Let me know if you have any questions or need help with the process.

[TatumU]

I've had this same thing happen and none of the recommendations have worked (will not reset, cannot turn off manually bec the tmscreen doesn't work, had it plugged in to working outlet overnight-cleaned connection prior to that). Still just a black screen and periodically the HR lights will be on. I dont use it in water (no swimming or showering with it on) so I'm not sure why this happened all of the sudden. 

What do I do next? 

[doggmommy]

This has happened 2xs to me. Both times I had to hold in the left and lower
right buttons until the Fitbit logo appeared and it reset. If this doesn't
work for you and your warranty is still in effect ask support for help and
they may give you a new one.

[TatumU]

Thank you for the response. I was hoping it was an easy to fix glitch or
something. I will contact costumer service.