Locked out of Ionic

[Lozza17]

I'm so frustrated. 

I tried to set up fitbit pay on my new ionic - asked me to set a PIN. I used my 4 digit pin same as my phone unlock and seems this is a problem. 

My ionic has locked me out and says use phone to unlock. Re-entering the pin did not work (I did enter ot correctly) kept saying it could not connect to ionic. 

Tried some troubleshooting after reading articles here and no luck. Resetting ionic, reinstalling app, trying to reset pin etc. I ended up unpairing the ionic and removing it from my account, WHAT A HUGE MISTAKE. Now I can't add the ionic back to my account, when it sends a 4 digit confirmation code to your fitbit I can't see it because it is locked!! I have no way to unlock it because it doesn't exist in my account. HELP please! 

Moderator edit: Title for format

[Lozza17]

I'm so frustrated. 

I tried to set up fitbit pay on my new ionic - asked me to set a PIN. I used my 4 digit pin same as my phone unlock and seems this is a problem. 

My ionic has locked me out and says use phone to unlock. Re-entering the pin did not work (I did enter ot correctly) kept saying it could not connect to ionic. 

Tried some troubleshooting after reading articles here and no luck. Resetting ionic, reinstalling app, trying to reset pin etc. I ended up unpairing the ionic and removing it from my account, WHAT A HUGE MISTAKE. Now I can't add the ionic back to my account, when it sends a 4 digit confirmation code to your fitbit I can't see it because it is locked!! I have no way to unlock it because it doesn't exist in my account. HELP please! 

Running Android app on Samsung note 9

[NellyG · Accepted solution]

Oh no! That sounds quite a mixed up puzzle. Have you tried a factory reset using the buttons (I have no idea if it will work or not, but worth a try). If that doesnt work you will need to contact Support (link in my signature). I am sure they will be able to help you.

FACTORY RESET USING BUTTONS
On the watch, hold all three buttons for about twelve seconds. This triggers the 2-button hardware reboot after about eight seconds.
- When the Fitbit logo appears, then disappears, release the bottom right button, then continue holding the left and top right buttons until you feel a strong vibration. This indicates the factory reset was initiated.
- This process may take several seconds, and eventually, the Fitbit logo appears and the device boots and displays go to Fitbit.com/setup.
- If you fail to release the bottom right button in time, or otherwise don't follow the procedure precisely, the Fitbit logo reappears quickly and boots without factory reset.

If the device turns on, please go back to the Fitbit app and setup your device back to your account with these steps. Make sure your watch is plugged into a wall plug or a computer, next to the router and that there are no other trackers or devices with Bluetooth on nearby when setting up.  Please log into your account, go to account on the upper right corner, there look for "setup a device" and tap on it. Follow the instructions on the screen and let the watch charge for 2 hours.

[Lozza17]

Thank you so much NellyG, the factory reset seems to be the solution so far. It has unlocked it so I am able to add it back to my account (it's still in process of setting up but this is further than I've gotten with all other attempts).

What a huge pain this has been. From reading numerous other posts this seems to be a common issue with fitbit pay which is disappointing. I just got the ionic to replace my Blaze that never synced properly and drove me crazy. I'd hoped this would be an improvement but seems not...

Anyway, thank you for the solution!

[pierre.you]

Hi,

Recently I’ve changed the device lock from “Enabled” to “Enabled for Fitbit Pay Only” and this has caused an issue where sometimes the payment doesn’t work even though the watch is not locked. However, when I take the watch off and wear it again it works after entering the pin code.

This issue is happening to me (Ionic) and my partner (Versa). Also, we have removed the bank card and added them again. Therefore, it seems to me like a bug in the system! Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Pierre

[SantiR]

@pierre.you Welcome to the Fitbit forums! Thanks for taking the time to post the situation you have experienced with Fitbit Pay on Ionic so far. Thanks for trying removing the card and re adding it in order to sort this out and for sharing those details regarding this.

In this case, please perform a restart on your watch. This should refresh its inner components and could help sorting this out. 

Something else you could do is changing the setting to "Enabled" once again and syncing your watch. Then, change back to "Enabled for Fitbit Pay Only" and sync again to make changes effective. This could also refresh the setting for it to work properly.

Please try that out with your partner and let me know how it goes! 

[SunsetRunner]

Says pin was entered incorrectly (by accident while swimming) . Then went to unlock with phone. Was connected via bluetooth and wifi, was synching everything then went to device to change pin it said it couldnt connect. I then tried resetting ionic, still no good. I then unpaired and now i cant even set it up again as i cant get the 4 digit code required. I was on phone to support staff and was no help. Can someone please help me out

[Rich_Laue]

@SunsetRunner I don't understand why telling Fitbit that you do not want to use the tracker will help her it unlocked?

The Fitbit app really needs the tracker connected to your account so that it knows which tracker to look for.

Since your having problems with your phone or computer, may I ask what type of device are you using to setup your Ionic?  This way I'll know if o can even provide help other the the standard.

First thing since the tracker has been removed from the app, you will need to remove it from the phones Bluetooth.

Check to make sure that your Fitbit and up to date 

Restart the phone and the tracker.

So you have the pin set to lock the whole ionic or just Fitbit Pay?

[SunsetRunner]

I never said i didnt want to use the tracker. 

I was locked out. It said unlock with phone. I tried this however each time i entered pin it said unable to connect to ionic therefore could not unlock fitbit.

I tried factory resetting - didnt work

I tried uninstalling/reinstalling - didnt work

I tried restarting phone - didnt work

I tried unpairing bluetooth and wifi - didnt work

I tried deleting device - caused more problems as now i cant set up device as when it gets to time.to enter the code they send through i cant see it on phone as its still locked. 

Phone support couldnt were zero help. Ran me through all there steps with no success. Been through so many threads on here and seems a lot pf other people having same problem. How it could even become locked to start with just swimming is a huge fault in itself. 

Only had it 4 days. Think i might take ot back and go with another brand. 

Extremely frustrating 

[SunsetRunner]

Edit "cant see it on WATCH as still locked"

[Rich_Laue]

Your first post should have included any error messages so that we might know what wires your receiving.

By removing the tracker from your account, you are telling Fitbit that you do not want to use the tracker.

Your error tells me that the app is having problems communicating with the ionic. Removing the Ionic from your account will not fix a communication problem, which needs to be fixed before we will be able to set it up.

Why do you have the whole ionic locked and not just Fitbit pay?

Does the Fitbit app see the ionic when trying to setup?

You say the tracker is locked up and you tried a factory reset, this would have to be the button version of the factory reset.

To do a factory reset:

On the watch, hold all three buttons for about twelve seconds. This triggers the 2-button hardware reboot after about eight seconds.
- When the Fitbit logo appears, then disappears, release the bottom right button, then continue holding the left and top right buttons until you feel a strong vibration. This indicates the factory reset was initiated.
- This process may take several seconds, and eventually, the Fitbit logo appears and the device boots and displays go to Fitbit.com/setup.
- If you fail to release the bottom right button in time, or otherwise don't follow the procedure precisely, the Fitbit logo reappears quickly and boots without factory reset.

[SunsetRunner]

I literally tried all of those things. It has nothing to do with the tracker. If you read what i said i got locked out of the watch due to pin being entered incorrectly (which was water hitting the face of watch when i was swimming thinking i was trying to unlock it)

I tried everything said in troubleshooting forums. So my last resort was to ring fitbit support and hope they could guide me over the phone. I went through a number of steps which the lady over the phone had me do in order to try reset the watch, unlock it however even they could not help. So basically i was stuck with a digital watch that couldnt do anything. Ive since returned it and opted for a far superior watch from a competitor brand. Would never go back to fitbit again.  Horrible product, horrible service. 

[pierre.you]

@SantiR I’ve tried the first solution but still got the same result. I’ll let you know about the second in a couple of days.

Cheers,
Pierre

[pierre.you]

 Hi, 

@SantiR I’ve tried the second potential solution (switching to “Enabled”...) and it didn’t work. Seems like this option (Enabled for Fitbit Pay Only) has issues.

I would go with just “Enabled” if this option was split from notifications and alarm because in 24 hours the watch will be locked and it won’t receive any notifications and most important the alarm won’t work.

Cheers,

Pierre

[MattFitbit]

Hi all! 

Thanks for taking the time to report this issue. Just wanted to confirm that I have forwarded your feedback to our payments team to investigate. 

I will be sure to keep you all updated as more information becomes available. If you have any questions in the meantime, you know where to find me. 

[MattFitbit]

Hi everyone.

Just wanted to jump in here and thank you all for your patience as our team works to resolve this issue. We are hoping to have a fix implemented in an upcoming app release. I will keep you posted as more information becomes available. 

In the meantime, we are aware that a factory reset could potentially resolve this issue. I would only use this workaround as a last resort, considering it will wipe your Ionic back to factory settings but I figured I would at least mention it here. 

[ptufbuser]

3 button factory reset is the way to recover from the "use phone to unlock" message

[Ruthiesout]

Do you lose all your data if you reset to factory settings? My versa just decided to lock me out a few days ago, won’t let me enter or change my pin and won’t sync and keeps telling me Bluetooth is timed out. Very frustrating. This product has never really worked properly since I got it (not all features work) and I’m totally regretting my purchase. Thanks in advance for any help 

[Rich_Laue]

Let's follow the directions found in the Lock FAQ

Go to your versa settings in the app

Tap on device lock

Enter phones unlock code

Create a new pin lock for the Versa. 

Problem solved. 

Now while there set the pin lock for Fitbit pay only. 

[Dkoon]

I did this and now it says data not cleared sync to phone and try again.