Ionic showing too many steps

[PDeshpan]

So I got my fitbit ionic yesterday and today when I woke up it showed 70k extra steps. Without reason. Cant understand why. Tried restarting the watch but it shouldnt be so bad. I mean its a **ahem**ing $300 watch.

[Truefreedom]

Fitbit support engineers are the only ones who can identify what exactly is going on.

[Mommyadvocate]

Yeah, well right now, I'm having a problem with Fitbit, not the other
brand. So, "**ahem** happens" is not a good enough reason for me to get no use
out of a $300 watch. I expect my "**ahem**" to work like many others who drop
their dollars on a Fitbit. If I wanted a piece of "**ahem**", I could have paid
a lot less.

[Truefreedom]

I was only indicating that going to another brand of tracker could just as easily result in similar issue(s) as opposed to staying with fitbit and helping to support their development of better quality products and quality assurance through constructive feedback on products that do not meet their expected quality.

[andrewilliamson]

Now that you've reset, is it continuing to add steps? Not the ones it already did - those you can edit manually.

[Mommyadvocate]

Well, what would you suggest I do? This is my third Fitbit product and
I've never been so aggravated like this about a watch in my entire life.
I've searched several forums and read reviews to see if others have had
this issue, which many people have. I've followed trouble shooting steps.
I've called Customer Service. I've lost all of my data from factory
resets. I've completely uninstalled and re-installed the software on my
phone. I am still getting the same problem. So, understandably so, I can
get another tracker and have the same problem. I can also get another
tracker and NOT have the same problem. But right now as a consumer, I've
done everything on my end I can do. And as I've stated prior, after
connecting my old Charge HR under another freshly created profile, I'm
still getting the same 75K steps for today! There is no way for me to
manually go in and correct the steps or even erase the steps. Meanwhile,
I'm in a workout challenge and I needed this watch to work.

I

[Truefreedom]

More than frustrating and disappointing for you and even the rest of us, I am sure. The 75k steps that were registered... How do they look on the detailed graph. Did they accumulate within the 15 min period or over 30 min?? Is it possible some equipment in close proximity to your watch is emitting a frequency of sound (vibration) that is adding steps? If you haven't yet done so, can you have their support escalate your watch issues to a higher/engineering support so you can have a conversation describing all the troubleshooting with someone who is in a position to be able to provide support that is require. If Fitbit hasn't done this for you yet, then I would say their support process is waning. Regards


Ken

[Lee_P]

My Ionic, less than 2 months old, did this yesterday and I called support who confirmed that this happened and the nice lady said that they would send me a new unit at no cost as soon as I confirmed where I purchased my Ionic and answered a few more questions about the issue. This morning I got an email stating that because I bought my Ionic from a non authorized reseller, ie. not directly from Fitbit or someone on their list, the warranty specifically states that it's not covered.  How many of us buy a fitness watch and read the entire warranty before we buy it?

If you didn't buy your Ionic from Fitbit or their hand picked resellers, even though you bought it brand new, prepare to be suckered for another $300 to get the problem fixed.  Beware of buying a Fitbit without checking with them first to see if the place you are purchasing from is on their list.  They know about this problem, and according to the support lady I spoke to, replacement is the only fix.  I think the fix is to buy from a manufacturer who doesn't sell defective products with a warranty that you can apparently count on to only apply if you buy directly from them, unless you check with them first.  I used to be a loyal fan of Fitbit, but there is no excuse for selling a defective product without plainly stating in their advertizing that they know it's defective and that their warranty won't cover it unless you buy from them or check with them first to determine if the place you buy from is on their list.  What a shame, since the concept is a great one for the Ionic.  

Don't bother with other fixes as they admit the fix for this issue is replacement.  Call support and start a case.  Hope that you bought your Ionic from Fitbit or someone on their list.  Beware where you buy Fitbit products, or you will find yourself where I am, with an email asking me to purchase from Fitbit.  

[Jennyfx]

Mine started  this 4 days ago.  Very upset. $300.00

[andrewilliamson]

I only had the problem once or twice. Resetting the unit solve the problem.
Left and lower right buttons at the same time.

[Lee_P]

I have tried doing a factory reset and it worked for a while, but I think it's a software or firmware issue that Fitbit isn't addressing. Instead, they offer a 25% discount which is just asking for more money to buy another defective item.  I hope that doing a reset, which is easy, or a factory reset which is much more involved, will help you.  Yeah, $300.

[Lee_P]

I am glad that works for you.  I tried that, and I tried doing a factory reset as well, but the problem is still there, but intermittent.  I don't understand why Fitbit doesn't figure out a fix.  I suspect that a software or firmware fix is possible if they put some effort into it instead of begging for those affected to buy another Ionic.  They don't seem to get it. At least you are able to depend on your Ionic.  That's how it should be.

[Mommyadvocate]

It's a mess. The watch completely stopped working after about a month. I
gave it to my brother when I received my replacement and although it wasnt
no longer logging erroneous steps when he was using it, the touchscreen
completely stopped responding. I have since purchased another smartwatch.
I'm done with Fitbit. And I'm surprised at the number of people who've
experienced the same exact problem.

[MadeinDK]

I just noticed mine over counting this morning, but I think this might have been happening since I got it a week ago. One morning I woke up with 400 steps??? I don't sleep that crazy..

This morning I got 800+ steps while putting on face oil (patting motion), doing my hair (hair drying + brush) and getting dressed.. If it's THAT sensitive I think it's an issue. I had over 1,500 steps by the time I left my house at 8 AM - NO WAY that's even close to what I really got! I don't want to go back and "erase" steps - that's not why I got the watch. I got it to have a simple way to track my activity, but I think this skews the picture of what that really looks like..  

[Lee_P]

Support engineers, Truefreedom?  You must be kidding.  They don't appear to have any engineers or be interested in fixing this issue.  You have a much better grip on the issue than Fitbit support.  They don't have a clue, and when you ask for escalation, they just send you to a customer service supervisor who offers a 25% discount to buy a new Ionic.  They have no intention of addressing this from an engineering standpoint or developing a software or firmware update to fix this well known issue.  If a watch is so sensitive that wearing it near an open window or outside when the wind is blowing or in a car, that it adds thousands of steps in minutes minutes (all of these were suggested to me by Fitbit support, although I was simply sitting still the first time it happened to me), then they had no business releasing this product for sale to begin with.  Fitbit knows this happens and they don't care because they think that a discount will make a loyal customer buy another defective Ionic.  It's not good business.

[Lee_P]

I don't get it either.  People are complaining but they must not be complaining in the right places.  Maybe leaving poor reviews for the Ionic is one way we can get the word out.   I used to be a loyal customer but Fitbit support convinced me that they aren't interested in fixing this issue, but only in trying to sell me a new Ionic when mine was less than 2 months old.  A 25% discount on another defective Ionic isn't a bargain and it's not a solution, even though they said that my warranty would start again with a new watch.  I think that they could fix these issues with a software or firmware update if they gave it to engineers instead of blaming it on random vibrations.  If a fitness tracker/watch can't handle normal environmental stress, Fitbit should never have brought the Ionic to market.  They aren't fixing it but I am sure they will come out with a new version that proposes to be more reliable, and charge more for it without testing to ensure that it works properly.  I am sorry that you had to deal with this.  I agree with you.  It's a shame that Fitbit has come to this.

[thewire247]

Emailed fitbit support as this happened to my (newish) ionic even when not charging. They immediately issued a replacement without question. I assume they know it is an issue.

To be honest this looks more like a firmware issue rather than a hardware one. I'm surprised they don't issue an update for them rather than spend loads replacing everyone's fitbits. 

I guess the more people that report this the more likely it is that they will look at a permanent fix. They won't want to keep replacing everyone's watches.

[AmandaRoche]

Some days my steps would be way off others more....the other day 150k no exaggeration....please help I love my ionic and need it to work correctly

[Victorselariu]

did you get this problem solved? this happened to mee last summer when i bought the suunto spartan sport HR and after a shower had +250 steps, and also woke up with 150 steps, and ended up with me sending it back..Im right now looking to buy a fitbit ionic, but if this happens then i dont wanna have it

[andrewilliamson]

I only had this happen once. I was able to make a manual adjustment at the time. Hasn't happened since.

[Momo8oh8]

Hi! I haven’t had the problem since. I love my ionic. Good luck!