My Ionic died

[RGBell]

I purchased my Ionic in October 2017. Yesterday, it was working fine, with about 80% charge. A few hours later, the screen would not turn on. I tried to reset it with 2 and 3 buttons, at the direction of Fitbit online chat. Nothing worked. Since it is out of warranty, they will not replace it. They did send me an email with a link to purchase a new Ionic with a 40% discount or another model with a 25% discount. 

[grumpyonionic]

Mine just died too.

Same story... October 2017 purchase. Worked when I went to bed, solid charge. Woke up in the early AM... screen was dead... could not get time.... would not charge. Dead as a door nail.

Need to call customer service now.

[johneric8]

I'm curious as to how you feel about fitbit offering you a 40% at this point?  Do you find this a generous and  acceptable offer?  How long do you expect a fitness watch to last? 

[RGBell]

I am not thrilled with the 40% offer. It is better than a "FU, your out of warranty", which is what happened with a Microsoft Band that I purchased. There is clearly a design problem, since there are many people with the same issue. I haven't found a watch from a different company that offers a similar look and feature set that appeals to me. I have decided to take the offer and hope a more recent build is more reliable.

[johneric8]

Interesting take for sure.  The reason I asked was because it seemed  more often than not people seemed upset at fitbit's offer considering most people thought the watch should last longer than it did.

I agree with you that it's at least nice of them to offer a discount,  I think the disconnect is when the watch only last 12 to 15 months for the price point.  I'm not about to get into anything that seems disrespectful toward fitbit  in my post because I just got done being banned for two weeks over my outspoken nature.

I honestly hope fitbit learns from their past mistakes and stays competitive.

[Rich_Laue]

I'm impressed with the 40% discount. Unlike some of the other companies, Fitbit doesn't offer a repair service, charging 80% plus shipping & the retail to fix the watch.

Fitbit has chosen to offer a 40% discount on a new, not repaired device.

So yes some might bulk but 40 off on a new tracker, doesn't every have to be the same model, it is a lot cheaper than paying almost full price to get the current unit repaired.

[MichaelGrundie]

Mine just died in the same way today. Bought at the end of January 2018. So just over a month out of warranty. I think their offer is an insult. The ionic is a smart watch fitness tracker. It should last longer than a year especially at its price point. The fact that multiple people are hitting this issue just after the warranty expires is highly suspicious and I doubt I’ll purchase another fitbit device. I’m disgusted but I also kind of laughed as my entire fitbit expieredce has been a bit **ahem**e. 

[grumpyonionic]

Just over 1 year operating life is well below expectations. 2 years min, more likely 3 years is what I would expect. 

Most of my traditional watches lasted 3 to 5 years - through multiple CR replacements. Many I still have.

Given this is a rechargeable item though, I figure 2 to 3 years and the battery capacity might start dropping, but my cell phones last 2 to 4 years as well. Cell phones also take much more abuse... including getting dropped.  And when they did fail before the 4 year mark, I knew it was my fault (ie I smashed it).

In this case the fitbit just stopped working while I was sleeping. No sign of damage. No known event. 

[Gonzew]

I purchased my Ionic in Dec 2017, it is about 3 months out of warranty and I can not get a replacement. The watch die after failing to completely charge. I decided to tear-down the Ionic to see if I could find anything wrong (I'm an Electronic Engineer). The main suspect was the battery, but it was fully charged and nothing looked damage.  It is very upsetting that a watch this expensive only would last about 2 years even though physically is in perfect condition. This is definitely a design issue that Fitbit will not acknowledge.  😡