Ionic touch screen not working

[KajMikael]

My Fitbit Ionic touch screen stopped working this week. I have made factory reset but it still do not react to finger touch? Happy for hints solving this.

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[Vinnair]

Absolutely, it is a planned obsolescence. Clearly many are facing the same issue yet they don't accept it is a defect in their product. They dont even have a repair center either. I am not going to buy another fitbit product in my life ever and will advice others too due to their inability to provide support for an expensive product like Ionic. 

As of now though I am not able to do anything on the watch however it still keeps track of my steps so wait for it to die by itself.

[MrAmbition]

I agree with you 100 percent. I seriously considered switching to a different tracker. Fortunately for Fitbit, I've grown fond of many acquaintances I've made in the Fitbit community. I was very put off that Fitbit had no other recourse, but to offer me a discount off the suggested retail price of a new Ionic😡  For now, I'm staying put. I can't say my patience won't eventually run out, however. Fitbit may very well push themselves out of business though. The concept of a $250 tracker with only a 1 year protection from manufacturing defects is completely ridiculous. At least Apple, Samsung, and Garmin have repair options. Good grief!

[AliZaidi]

Hi,

My started showing the same issue and after going through all the conversation I came to a point that pushing that left and right bottom button will not do anything. 

Is there any possibility to send this trash back to fitbit I donot want to keep junk in my closet 

Moderator Edit: Formatting

[MrAmbition]

Hi,

Surprisingly, they don't provide any options for you to send it back to them.  I'm looking into repairing these devices in the future since FitBit isn't offering that solution.  I find that hard to believe considering the Ionic trackers are experiencing such a large level of problems.  I've been watching YouTube videos of others who've successfully repaired them.  Their design is very similar to cellphones, and tablets.  Since we already repair cellphones and tablets, I figured I'd look into repairing FitBit trackers.  I obviously would have to be able to do it at a price feasible enough for someone to consider the repair though.  I've found a source for replacement screens.  They cost around $30 plus shipping.  If I can repair them for around $80 or less, I think some people would find that worthwhile.  As an IT person, and environmentalist, I recommend you recycle your device at a recycling facility.  Best Buy recycles electronics as well.  I purchased another Ionic on eBay.  It was brand new, and cheaper than I would've had to pay FitBit even with the 'discount' they were offering.  I paid around $118 including shipping.  Good luck to you!

[NicoDuDC]

Your link to "How do I turn off my Fitbit device?" requires a functioning touch screen...

[Mn89]

Hello, i have the same problem, i already restart the fitbit but i can not turn it off because the touchscreen does not work so i can not get into settings or anything in the watch.

[MrAmbition]

Honestly it sounds like the same old song with the Ionic. The screen has died. You can try waiting for the battery to drain. Then let it charge to see if your screen is working. I wouldn't hold my breath though. It seems that the adhesive is wearing off, which allows water to enter the device and shorting out the touch screen. Good luck getting Fitbit to admit that though lol

[AdrianLee]

My Ionic screen has been doing this intermittently for the last 2 weeks and I only bought my Ionic last April. I can’t believe I’m only 2 weeks out of warranty with a device that is no longer functional. 

I thought by buying the “best” device this would ensure a good 3 years or so use - how wrong and “ripped off” I now feel.

[ScottW.]

Can't turn off the device because the touchscreen does not work.

[Iameos]

Worked for me! Changed my screen background for the clock and it worked right away! Thank you!!!!

[Ricsilva69]

how would you be able to turn off and on the Fitbit if the touch screen doesn’t work.

same here, my ionic screen stopped responding to touch.

went through with there reset procedures with there it department several times to no avail. 
warranty just expired and yes they also offered me a whopping 25% off 

thanks but no thanks.    Apple series 5 here I come 

Moderator Edit: Formatting

[MrAmbition]

I don't blame you!  I would have switched teams long ago were it not for my FitBit friends!  My patience has worn extremely thin.  I'm not sure my friends will be enough for me to purchase another FitBit if my latest Ionic fails prematurely.  It'd be different if I didn't take care of my watches, but I do.  They sincerely look as new as the day I purchased them.  Good luck with your Apple!  I'm headed to Samsung when I do finally tire of FitBit's quality defects. 

[Ricsilva69]

How are we supposed to turn off than on if touch screen doesn’t work 

[MrAmbition]

You can't.  All you can do is wait for the battery to drain.  Technically, you could disassemble it and disconnect the battery.  However, that requires the skill to do so.  Either way, odds are the touch feature still won't work after power has been restored.  It's either an issue with the digitizer, or the system board. 

[Ricsilva69]

👍🏽

Sent from Ricky Silva

[RandyDowdy]

I have changed the background (I assume you mean watch face). This did not fix it. I am going to burn out the battery and see if that resets the system. In order to speed up the burn I tried to put it on a GPS exercise but I can't, no touch screen and the buttons do not allow me to select. I will wait until it runs out of power and see if that fixes it. 

[AliZaidi]

I do not understand why people still buying Fitbit and why this company is selling these watches

[MrAmbition]

Good luck with that.  Unfortunately, my luck was not that good. 😞

[RandyDowdy]

Drained battery until the 0% screen disappeared and charged it back up, this did not fix the touch screen issue. Without the touch screen the watch is basically a watch only steps tracking, so I got that going for me. It would be nice if the buttons would allow you to navigate the menus so you could select exercises or reset the watch if needed.

Fitbit may want to check their code as there could be a possibility that changing watch faces could be causing this problem. I never have changed the face until this problem. I had changed it to the Covid hand washing face and later that day I notice the touch screen no longer worked. I change the face several times after that to see if it would reset, but no luck. Not sure what I will do at this point.

[AliZaidi]

Randy Dowdy,

Buy a new smart watch but make sure it should not be fitbit. This what most of us did and this is the only solution we found so far that worked for us.