Ionic stopped working after swimming with it

[tomorourke2]

Fitbit markets the Ionic as a waterproof watch. It is not and they will not replace it after the warranty (1 year) has expired. There are so many posts on this but Fitbit has a "head in the sand mentality" regarding the misleading marketing of their products. I understand warranties but I don't understand spending $250 for a watch that was marketed as waterproof. I was swimming with my 1 1/2 year old Ionic (first time I ever did this with the watch) and it is now dead. Support will not honor their marketing statements and refer to the warranty. They acted as if they were doing me a favor and sent me a 35 percent discount on a new Fitbit. I don't have stupid on my forehead and have purchased a $35 smartwatch that has features which run circles around the Ionic. It's even waterproof and I tested it. Now I know to just spend $35 on something that works over wasting $250 on something that uses misleading marketing to sell the product.

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[Odyssey13]

Hi @tomorourke2  the Ionic is water resistant, not waterproof. See page 64 of the user manual - click to see. 

[unagisan]

@Odyssey13 the Ionic isn't waterproof, or water-resistant. I swam with mine after owning it for less than a week and it died during my first lap. A replacement won't be here for at least another month, and that's if they decide to honor the warranty. The marketing for these is extremely misleading. 

[PaulMe]

@Odyssey13,

 the Ionic is water resistant, not waterproof.

It's barely showerproof. The problem "Odyssey13" is that the Ionic and Versa are being marketed as swimproof.

Even company representatives on this forum had said in posts that the Ionic/Versa are waterproof to 50 metres, which is so horribly WRONG and misleading. These devices are so far removed from SCUBA diving devices that ARE designed for recreational depths (40 metres) and beyond.

Unsuspecting purchasers are falling foul to this marketing. Just read the hundreds of posts across the forum. Many have been deleted - but still plenty showing how un-waterproof these devices are. I've mentioned my own experience with two Versa devices in the family. It appears the Ionic may be worse. 

I'll suggest to you to do some research into the WR50 certification. Clearly not enough for a device marketed to active water sports customers. Read; swimming, surfing, snorkelling, body surfing etc, etc.

WR100 should be the certification.

[SilviaFitbit]

@Odyssey13 Thank you for your assistance in the thread. 

@tomorourke2 Welcome to the Fitbit Community. Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with our Support team. Sorry to hear about what happened to your watch after you swam with it. 

Our Support team reviews each case individually and the option provided is based in the Fitbit Warranty. If you have any questions about it, please reply to the case that you have with them. 

@unagisan @PaulMe Thank you for your input. 

As mentioned by @Odyssey13 Fitbit Ionic is water resistant up to 50 meters, more information about it can be found in the Product Manual and this article. 

Last but not least, let's keep in a friendly environment in the Community. 

I'll be around if you have any additional questions. 

[unagisan]

@SilviaFitbit sadly the Fitbit is not water-resistant in any amount of water as can be surmised by the many many posts in this forum. It's important for people to know that. It's also important for people to know that regardless of the age of the device, Fitbit appears to not honor the warranty. My device was less than a week old and I was told that it is still within warranty, yet, Fitbit refuses to send a replacement despite me sending photo evidence of water damage and shipping the device back to the warehouse. The only thing about this forum I see that isn't friendly is misleading people.