Ionic won't work

[ccortesj]

I've had three different Fitbit Ionic devices. All of them stop working before the sixth month of use. One day they just simply won't turn on anymore,  the screen keeps black. Have you experienced this problem with your Ionic? How you solved it?  

[SilviaFitbit]

A warm welcome to the Community @ccortesj. Thanks for the details mentioned. Sorry to hear that this has happened to you. 

The recommended troubleshooting for this type of issue is restarting the Ionic and if it doesn't fix it. You can contact me back and I'll be glad to continue assisting you. 

Catch you later. 

[ccortesj]

Hi. I’ve done every single step for restarting it, before it went dark it was not tracking the heart rate, so I made a factory reset. I’ve try to turn it on by pressing the three buttons but it isn’t working.

Sent from my iPhone

[SilviaFitbit]

Thanks for getting back @ccortesj. I apologize for the delay in my reply. 

I appreciate the extra details mentioned and the troubleshooting tried. I've shared your post with our Support team, they will continue assisting you. 

I'll be around if you need further assistance. 

[snophus]

I have the same problem. I reset my Ionic a couple of days ago (nighttime heart rate was not reporting). Then I did a hard reset.....after the vibration, it will not wake up at all. This is also my 3rd Ionic - and I’m a premium member.

[snophus]

The reset corrected the reporting issue for 2 days then it stopped reporting again. The Ionic also put itself on the “Dim” setting and would not allow me to change that. That’s when I decided to do the ill-fated hard reset. These aren’t cheap and to go through 3 is not boding well for word of mouth advertising.

[RippedoffJohn]

I have had the same issue twice now with my Ionic and have contacted the Support Team. The first time they replaced my device but this time (eighteen months after receiving the new device) they tell me it is out of warranty even though the warranty is for two years. They say the warranty starts on the original date of purpose not when I received the replacement device. What a load of tosh! I paid good money for a product that only lasts 18 months. Very disappointed with its performance and with the attitude of the "support" Team. I am left with nothing. 

[SilviaFitbit]

@snophus Welcome to the Fitbit Community. Thanks for the troubleshooting performed prior to posting. 

I see where your disappointment is coming from. The best way to get help for this problem is to chat with us online or give us a call. Click here to get connected.

@RippedoffJohn A warm welcome to the Fitbit Community. Sorry to hear about your experience. Our team reviews the cases individually and the option provided is based in the Fitbit Warranty. If you have any additional questions, feel free to reply back to the case you have with them. 

See you around. 

[Rich-56]

Hey John 

As hard as it is to swallow, just reading these boards you and I are not the only ones who have been left with this bitter taste. I assume the "support" team gave you a list of blatant time wasting questions, then pointed out to you that they are only willing to replace your broken Ionic with a maximum of one more broken ionic, as they need all the other broken ones to sell to other customers in order to make more money, they then  "apologised" and sent you on your way?

This board seems full of people who have all been affected in the same way. 

[RippedoffJohn]

Ah Rich thank you for making me laugh. I needed that. I am so disappointed in the response I received from the "support team". I am shocked that they were so dismissive. If only their customers knew about their attitude before they bought their products. As you say I was nicely sent on my way!! Have you seen the reply from @SilvaFitbit  "A warm welcome to the Fitbit Community. Sorry to hear about you experience. Our teams reviews the cases individually......................now on your way young man! They should be ashamed of themselves. 

[RippedoffJohn]

Unfortunately no help to me whatsoever Silvia. My device is still broken and I am one very disappointed member of the Fitbit Community. Thanks for the warm welcome though. 

[Rich-56]

Hi John,

You're very welcome for the laugh, even though its tough to see the positive side while being treated in such a manner.

I have noticed though that if you reply to as many of these feeds as possible, and then clicking the 3 dots in the top right corner and "Mark as New" the feed appears at the top of the Ionic forum list. Perhaps if the top 100 posts are ALL about how shocking the product is as well as the reaction from the "Support Team", maybe, just maybe, someone will realise it is a very common fault with a very faulty product?

Or at least one of these FitBit Champions on here will come forward and admit that what they are being forced to do is immoral and wrong, and try to actually help. Either way its worth a try.

Rich 

[snophus]

Your reply made me laugh as well. With as many products as there are out there, seems like they would be a little more concerned with the frequency this occurs - obviously it's a systemic problem and a reflection of poor quality control since they cannot claim ignorance because of the mountain of complaints. I've now spent more than an iWatch would have cost and it can do so much more....not to mention last longer. So I'm done with Fitbit - and I'm a premium member...that's getting cancelled.

Silvia did say she could "see where my disappointment is coming from" - I would say that they knew it was going to happen...they just didn't know when.

Now anytime I hear somebody say that they are gonna buy a FitBit, I will send them here to read about all the failures (not just problems) that actual owners suffer from and tell them to spend a little more and go with something more reliable.

[SilviaFitbit]

@Rich-56, @RippedoffJohn, @snophus Thank you for getting back. 

Your feedback and comments are truly appreciated, be sure that we're always working to improve and implement features based in users' feedback. Our team is always here to assist you, in case you experience any issue with your Fitbit watch, as mentioned previously, they will provide options based in the Fitbit Warranty. 

See you around. 

[snophus]

No - you won't.

[Rich-56]

Hey Silvia

Thank you for your feedback, your input and comments are a great source of information and words to us.

I would be really interested in hearing about the improvements and features Fitbit have implemented regarding the Ionic's faults, especially since the Fitbit update, which alone seems to be the main reason the Ionic is failing according to the many reports on this board.

Please could Fitbit provide information on -

Has there been a product recall?

How many products need to be reported faulty before a company accepts full responsibility?

Has there been a hardware fix since all the issues have been reported with the update?

I am aware Fitbit dont have a service department, so what happens to all the faulty Ionic's that get returned to be "fixed"

I am also aware Fitbit are able to change terms and conditions of your warranty policy, which doesn't acutely fix the issues you are having, it just changes how Fitbit deal with their responsibilities regarding the matter, so maybe not focus on that side of things for now, instead can we be told what Fitbit are doing to fix the actual product faults, that way, neither of us have to hear that silly "W" word anymore.

Looking forward to hearing how you can assist us.

Regards

[vially]

I've just spent ages on the chat to be told My ionic needs replacing. Just over 2 years old. Been offered 35% discount.

Why would i buy another?. Very poor after service. Mike 

[snophus]

Yeah - they're going to lose a lot of market share.....and I know they won't get me back. Market share is expensive to gain - Fitbit's lack of support makes it easy to loose. They brought this on themselves - this will leave a VERY bad taste in a LOT of peoples' mouth. I'm telling everybody I can about this - I even make it a point to bring it up in conversations....especially when I'm out walking at the park: lots of walkers there.

[vially]

It’s a shame but I’m with you. Looking elsewhere now for a replacement. Any recommendations?

Sent from my iPhone

[snophus]

This is my 3rd Ionic (same problem with the 1st 2). A coworker of mine bought an iWatch around the same time I bought my 1st Fitbit. His iWatch is still going strong....and now I've spent more on Ionics than he did on his iWatch. I'm going the iWatch route (I do have other Apple products including an iPhone). If you're not an Apple person, I would suggest looking at Garmins. I had one of those years ago and it lasted several years. Good luck - and don't be shy about telling people about your Fitbit experience!