My Fitbit Ionic is not working

[Sastroud]

Ionic owners it is clear there is a major flaw either in the hardware or software of the Ionic trackers that were bought at the latter points in 2017 early 2018. Coincidentally the warranties of almost all of these trackers has expired and as has been reported by others. I have also personally experienced the exact same issue with my Ionic beginning two days ago. Fitbit is aware of the widespread issues yet is holding firm on their one year warranty. Because they know this has caused a major uproar in their fan base even their most loyal customers are affected, they have offered 25-45% discount if you want to purchase a new tracker from them.  This just seems criminal and deeply cutting to those who purchased their Fitbits reasonably expecting the trackers to last at least 2-3 years. One year later and now I am faced with the dilemma of sticking with a company that doesn’t seem to care about its customers or stand by its product, or making the shift to a new brand like Apple Watch or Garmin. I look forward to hearing from our moderator and also from others who are as equally dissatisfied. 

Moderator edit: updated subject for clarity

[EdsonFitbit · Accepted solution]

@Sastroud Welcome to the Fitbit Community.

I'm sorry to hear that your Fitbit Ionic is not working and that you are thinking of switching to a different company. Thank you for your feedback. I noticed that you have recently contacted Customer Support, I'm pretty sure they will do their best to provide assistance as soon as possible.

Our team is constantly working to improve the Fitbit experience and appreciate all the comments from Fitbit users. We hope that you continue wearing our Fitbit products.

If you have any question, please don't hesitate to contact us at any time.

[Sastroud]

Edson I appreciate your response although it sounds like the same response that every other user with the same issue has received. The Ionic has serious issues that clearly have caused some unprecedented failures in your product. So if Fitbit won’t acknowledge the issue and care for their customers properly, you really are inviting more negative public feedback and reduced loyalty. Hopefully others will see this and raise the issues even more. 

[Baggie76]

Just as a general heads up, there are a lot of people stating the 12 months warranty but for the ionic users in the UK the warranty period is 2 years so if you are experiencing the same issues as a number of people on here, make sure you contact support, get a claim id number from Fitbit and then get In touch with where you bought the Fitbit from. Hopefully you'll be able to get a refund sorted.

Sorry to all the folk outside of the UK or EU!

[CeltsFan]

I bought a Ionic two years ago and after 6 months I had to get a replacement since it stopped working. I've had the replacement for about 8 months and it has stopped working. The best that Fitbit would do is give me a 25% discount on a new Fitbit since the 1 year warranty had expired. Is this a common problem with Fitbit? I like the watch but maybe I should look elsewhere? Any thoughts? Help*

[EdsonFitbit]

Hi @Baggie76 @Sastroud @CeltsFan, thanks for your comments and sorry for delayed response.

I would like to mention that there is many users who haven't experienced difficulties with the Fitbit Ionic.

Customer Support is on charge of evaluating each case individually. In order to clarify doubts about the discounts offered to you, it will be necessary contacting them back. If you want me to create a case for any of you please let me know.

If you have any question, please don't hesitate to contact us back.

[Baggie76]

Hi Edson,

Thanks for the reply. It's fine saying support does what it can and will offer discounts on a case by case basis. I'm in the UK so everything is fine for me - I was able to get a full refund as we get a longer warranty.

However, could you honestly say that youd be happy spending $300 on a product that lasted 13 months as a whole lot of the people on this forum have had and then accept a 25% - 40% discount on a new product? 

I accept there are people out there happy with the Fitbit ionic but that really doesn't help! That to me is Fitbit saying 'we apologise for you having a shoddy product, but we have sold a good product to someone else, unlucky...here's your discount code, and I wish you better luck next time!' - that is shocking customer service. Also, these issues we have all experienced are not a one off - there are too many on this forum complaining with the same issue! 

If Fitbit had any confidence in their products, they'd offer a greater warranty! The fact it's only 12 months says everything. 

Baggie

[Ladyvalk]

Like the rest of you, I had my first Ionic and it stopped working after 3 months, I had to send it in and the replaced it for free.. now today my screen is not coming on but it is still tracking on the app.. okay that is all well and good, but the battery went from charged to low in about 4 hours.. I did contact support and fortunately I am still in my first year, they are going to send me a new tracker and nothing else.  They offered me the new tracker or 50% off of a different Fitbit.. figured I would get the tracker and if it dies I will be looking at another company for a tracker in the future.

[SunsetRunner]

@Baggie76 it isn't unusual to ship a wearable/mobile device with 1 year of limited warranty. Apple does that, Samsung does the same thing. In the EU ( and the UK ) such warranty is extended to 2 years. The thing is, the lifetime of those products is much longer than 1 year. The best warranty is the one that you have never need to use. If such a device dies after let's say, 4 years, well... died of old age. I own very first iPhone ( 2G ) which still works, my Sony TV is over 12 years old, my old iPad 2 still runs after 6 years ( no updates anymore but runs, although the battery isn't as good as it used to be 😉 ), my wife owns a few old iPhones, iPad Air - all working and running condition after 5-6 years. Unfortunately, I haven't had any wearable devices to compare. The warranty is to cover extreme and rare cases as the device is not supposed to malfunction this early. Some companies also tend to offer out-of-warranty service which sometimes still ends with warranty-like treatment ( depends on the case though). The point is, as a user you don't expect to have to use any of these services until there's a need to upgrade the device. Failure within a year should be an exception, not a rule. I may be lucky to be in the UK. My Ionic has already issues with the screen, not waterproof anymore ( and apparently not showerproof either ), GPS more often refuses to connect, the syncing problems all the time, almost a year... clock's ticking... 😆 When it dies, I won't even bother and for a smartwatch, I'll get something that can live until I need to upgrade. Who knows, maybe it's going to be a relief 😄

[Baggie76]

Hi jsr,

Fair comment on the best warranties being those not being required. I just think that given the number of people on this forum suffering exactly the same issue, surely it's time to acknowledge the issue. All you seem to get is 'go through the trouble shooting steps and let us know if that works' - the products are dead - nothing can be done with them! 

As mentioned, I'm in the UK as well. I got a full refund and purchased a Samsung galaxy watch which for a similar price, appears to be a much better piece of kit! 

[CeltsFan]

why doesn't FitBit create a solution to this problem? Download a software solution please. I'm on my second Ionic and if this one fails and they continue to do nothing well ....

[JRS63]

My Ionic also stopped working, dead. I have tried ALL the options to reset, reboot, leaving it on charger etc. Nothing brings it back to life.  I will NEVER purchase a Fitbit product again. I am currently researching a replacement and will be purchasing from another company. Extremely disappointed that a product costing $250+ does not last more than a year. Fitbit comments that many have no issues, well maybe the many are just not wasting time commenting only to receive a canned reply from Fitbit. 

[Runsleeprepeat]

I am equally frustrated with Fitbit and considering a new brand for good. I had a surge that fell apart after 9 months, was replaced by warranty, only to have the replacement do the same thing shortly after. [And yes, that was with proper care, not putting in water, etc.] At that point I was offered 25% discount and really debated taking a chance with Fitbit. I ultimately rolled the dice and purchased an Ionic, which now isn’t working (exercise function) after only 4 months. It’s the main reason I purchased this model so needless to say I’m disappointed. I will not continue to throw away good money on products that are not only faulty, but also lack solid customer service and integrity.

[Lily2017]

$299  out in the trashcan.  It started with a scratched screen which you offer no Replacement for, then just completely dies after a year and three months .I am very disappointed with the Fitbit’s that I’ve owned and also with the policy of this company. No thank you I don’t want 40% discount to buy another product that is not reliable and support a company that has no integrity. Sorry to tell you Fitbit but you lost a customer to Apple. I hope your leadership team is looking at what you’re doing.  For a company that is promoting well-being, it’s disappointing that you have no regard for your customers and has caused a lot of us stress  with your lack of customer service. 

[Ynona74]

Hey Moderator, 

Instead of giving us all the same BS answer, Oh sorry you are having difficulties with OUR product...we appreciate everyone letting us know there is a HUGE problem with OUR product. But we hope that you will still continue to send us money by buying OUR product. 

I just now put in a claim with Customer Support, since my Ionic stopped working about a week and a half ago. This was unfortunately because this was the ONLY chance I had, AND it was after a friend of mine who ALSO has an IONIC had the same thing happen to her. 

I am a VERY long time customer with fitbit. I had the original pedometer. I have since bought the Charge HR (gave that to my husband) and the Aria scale (still works, but is falling apart) 

I wish fitbit would FIX this. It is to the point that I don't even want my Ionic "fixed" and am ready to accept another product. OR just take my business to another company!

[Char7otte]

My Ionic now will not connect to my iPhone app, won't show any data on the face of the watch, won't update and is driving me absolutely insane. I'm glad I saw this post as I now won't spend any more time on trying to stay loyal to a **ahem**ty brand and switch to an Apple watch. It's such a shame as I only have had 1 year wear out of it and wanted to reach back for it as I have began fitness again. What a **ahem** show.

[Mikey_D]

On April 20, 2019 my fitbit was working perfectly fine at 4:30 MST in fact it recorded my 10,000 step and then my continued activity.  Within 1 hour it was completely dead similar to other people's. I know my battery was fine, because I did not receive any alerts.  I have tried multiple times to reset it following the instructions.  I have even gone as far as to try and factory reset multiple times using those instructions.  I charged it for over 4 hours and there is still no response to my watch.  My app is no longer syncing of course.  Obviously if you search the community this is not uncommon occurrence. Please advise.

[CeltsFan]

They’ll only give you a small discount on a new one if you’re out of warranty. I was one month out and they refused to give me a new one. The first time this happened I was in warranty so I got my second one. That one failed too. They could easily fix this problem but I’d suggest try another fitness watch.

Sent from my iPhone