Ionic suddenly died

[KipPrd]

I've come to think it is unethical to recommend that anyone, for any reason, buy Fitbit watches. Beyond their other problems (like the brace of different cables that all do the exact same thing, but just have to be entirely different), they die. They just quit, totally and forever, for no reason. Well, except bad design and construction. 

Like so many others, I've just experienced Fitbit sudden death syndrome. For the second time, personally. Of the 7 we've owned, 3 have just died for no reason.

The Ionic had just been charged about 3 hours before, was working fine all day. I turned my wrist to check the time and thought, "Wow, sunlight must be really bright... I just can't see the screen AT ALL."

Yeah... no such luck.

My Charge 2 died this way. My brother's Blaze also. 

Why we kept buying these things, I have no idea. I know none of us will make the mistake ever again. 

This is on top of having to deal with the constant hassle of a entirely separate charging cable for EVERY DIFFERENT MODEL. Even if the rest of the family has Fitbits, you have to make sure someone has your specific model if you want to borrow their cable

Why? They all do the same thing. They're not even complex chargers. Just to force you to buy more of their cables, obviously. 

And then there were the regularly cropping up bluetooth sync problems. 

I liked the Ionic for it's sleep tracking and it's swimming features, along with some others.

But now this Ionic has failed, the second Fitbit I've owned personally to do so, the third in our family. These haven't had rough treatment at all. They just die. A lot of people have this happened. Some get replacements, only to have those die, too. 

I've tried all the steps I could find searching all through forums - resetting, factory resetting, resetting then connecting cable while holding buttons down, etc.

It's just dead and gone.

Well, not gone - still sitting here, reminding me of how stupid I was to buy keep buying Fitbits, and wasting money on stuff like bands. 

I think mine is less than a year old, but I can't find the receipt. 

And much the reason I'm so annoyed and cynical here is that, reading through the MANY, MANY others who've faced this same problem, over multiple Fitbit models, it looks like the best I'll get is a discount coupon to buy another one, another hunk of junk that'll day around the end of the warranty period. Or, even if it's within, I'd better be able to find that receipt, or I'll be SOL. Again.

Or would be. Fool us twice, shame on us. Fool us three times... what the heck is wrong with us? 

Fitbit should replace something that just dies for no reason. They should stand behind their products. I'm so disgusted that they don't. 

I'd like to think I'll receive something other than a "Warm welcome", but I'm pretty sure that's all I'll get, and it'll have all the warmth of somebody pissing on my leg and telling me it's raining. 

Moderator edit: updated subject for clarity

[SilviaFitbit]

It's great to see you around @KipPrd. Your feedback is appreciated, we're always working to improve our service and provide you with the best service. 

Sorry to hear that you've experienced this with your Ionic. I appreciate the time that you took to share detailed information on what you're experiencing. 

Our Support team reviews each case individually and the option that's provided is based in the Fitbit Warranty. I can confirm that your feedback is always passed along and we're always striving to continue improving based in your comments. 

In this case, I've shared your post with my team, they will continue assisting you and letting you know the options that they have for you. 

I'll be around if you need further assistance. 

[KipPrd]

Hahahahahah!  Phew, that's a good one!

Not only did no one contact me, but clicking the warranty link gives you a contact link, and clicking that takes you right back to the home page. Over and over!

I tried a couple of different browsers, but 

https://contact.fitbit.com/

just sends me to the fitbit home page. Over and over. Yay.

I managed, through a different click sequence, to get to the return tool page, but that asked me for an order number.

Do I have an order number? I bought it at Target. I don't even have the receipt.

The things is within the warranty period, because that's supposed to be 2 years, and it hasn't even been out that long. 

But there's no way to contact anyone about it?

Anyway, don't even know if I have the receipt. 

[SilviaFitbit]

Thanks for getting back @KipPrd. I appreciate that you mentioned that you bought it at Target.

In this case, we only refund orders that were bought through Fitbit. That's why it's asking you for an order number. You will need to ask for a refund through Target if you would like to receive a refund. 

Our Support team should contact you shortly, I've created a case with them. 

I'll be around if you need further assistance. 

[Vader32]

Just happened to me last night  Any hope or is it fully dead?

[Vader32]

From what I have read it does not look promising, all things from any possible restoration to any type of refund or repalcement.  Fitbit will lose returning customers in this manner.  Mine lasted 1.5 years.  If this is dead and gone as it appears,  it looks as though I will move on.  Hope it is not the case as I did enjoy the Ionic but not with these type of deep issues

[Sheep_Dog · Accepted solution]

At this time, there are at least 7 different current  threads reporting the same issue; an ionic that has suddenly died. A quick look reveals several others that have been closed.  Unfortunately, I've now joined the ranks of dead Ionic owners.

Silvia and Ricardo, I understand you are moderators and trying to point people in the right direction, but I haven't read about a single person being able to successfully reboot their device. Alternatively, referring everyone to the warranty page isn't helpful either; This device simply should last longer than this.  What we need is for FITBIT to realize that their flagship device is bricking all over the place. Get ahead of this and take care of your customers

[Vader32]

Precisely. I’m disappointed as I loved the device but I won’t go down this path again and I further can’t recommend Fitbit to anyone

Thank you, Michael

[SilviaFitbit]

Hey @Vader32. Thank you for getting back. Sorry for the delay reply. 

I've noticed you already have a case with our Support team, please continue the communication through email. Rest assure that our team reviews each case individually and the option provided is based in the Fitbit Warranty. 

Thanks for getting back @Sheep_Dog. I appreciate your feedback and your comments, we're always striving to provide you with the best Customer Service. We've passed this feedback along to our team. 

I'll be around if you need further assistance.

[Username896]

You are completely correct Fitbit does not value their customers I've now had three Ionic's all of which have either had screen problems and my latest one has just died after charging it. I think the solution is simple buy a new device from a company that provides a better quality product and values their customers.

[Username7856]

I have now joined the ranks of the fitbit sudden death syndrome crew...Wearing my Ionic and everything was fine, looked down to check the time and bam, dead....Screen went black, light stopped flashing on the back...Tried charging it, tried resetting it...Got online with customer service who offered, no help...other than to tell me they could give me 40% off a new one, or suggesting I clean the watch with alcohol - and as soon as I walked away to grab the alcohol - customer service disconnected our chat. I loved my fitbit and this is how it ends, with her (fitbit) dead and me in absolute shock at their total lack of assistance. Guess it's time to hop on Samsung's website and order my new watch there.

[LLT2019]

Tried messaging them on Twitter. What a fail.

[SilviaFitbit]

Welcome to the Community @Username896, @Username7856 and @LLT2019. 

Your feedback and comments are appreciated, we're always striving to improve our Customer Service and we try to implement features based in your ideas and this is why we have our Feature Suggestion board. 

I can confirm that our team reviews each case individually and the option provided is based in the Fitbit Warranty. If there's any issue or bug that our team is aware of, we'll let you know providing you with options. 

I'll be around if you need further assistance. 

[Nordicnut]

I have unfortunately joined those of you who have experienced the sudden death of their ionic.  Mine is 7 months old.  What a piece of garbage.  I wasn’t  too impressed with the functionality in the first place and now this.  I don’t know why I ever switched from Garmin.  I will never buy another Fitbit product again.

[MJS9999]

Silvia,

I understand that you have no power or authority to do anything but tell people to remind people that there watch is no longer covered by your limited warranty.  Given the extensive number of issues with Fitbit watches, it appears to me that this should be elevated to a higher level within the company.  Please share the email addresses of James Park (CEO) and Steve Berczuk (Senior Software Engineer) so that we can raise this to a level in the organization that has the ability to do something about this.

[frankmch]

https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Ionic/Fitbit-Ionics-have-a-mass-bricking-epidemic/td-p/3634094

[Jenski08]

I too have a useless, suddenly dead Ionic!  I tried everything, read every thread and have come to the realization that there is no fix, and Fitbit isn't going to do anything about it because I am outside of the warranty period.  

Funny thing, I also own a pair of Flyer ear buds and they did the exact same thing just 15 days after the one year warranty, they just stopped working, wouldn't turn on, wouldn't hold a charge, nothing!

Since this happened to both my Fitbit made devices I'm starting to think it's not by accident.  Needless to say, I am not going to purchase another Fitbit product, even if they do offer me some measly discount on a new watch.  I think I've had my fill of dealing with customer service and crappy warranties for products that cost over $200.  

I think I'm just going to wait and go without a watch until Samsung releases the Active 2 in September.  

Also, I sent in a tweet to support 3 days ago and never got a reply...thanks fitbit!

[bigaussiefella]

Tell them u know they have issues with other users, the price they charge for a premium product warrants more than a crappy 45 day warranty & u will join others & go public if they don’t refund u!

That’s what I did & it worked straight away

Au revoir!

Dominick Stuart

Moderator edit: Updated subject for clarity 

[cgklingman]

I tell you, you can stand behind corporate policy, it you can admit that these are $250 pieces of junk that were deeply flawed.  Whether it's the hardware, or, as I suspect, issues with software (since they can't seem to get that right at all ... *cough* bluetooth), sticking to the line that you're going to stand by your limited warranty in the face of mass device failure, is short sighted.  Replacing my Fitbit, which would have been the right thing to do, would have been cheaper than trying to convince my friends and family to buy Fitbit now that they've heard about all these problems and the failure to stand behind your products.  

[SadMarkL]

Sadly I am a further Fitbit customer with a dead Ionic.  Had it 18 months, fully charged in evening yesterday, dead and unresponsive this morning.  Tried recharging, cleaning pins, reset and restart suggestions, low power usb charging, all without success.  Amazed and disheartened by volume of other customers with similar issues with the product.  Not a good advert for what I found to be a useable and helpful device.  Without power it does not matter how stylish and intuitive it was designed to be.