My experience with Ionic

[unagisan]

Man...I really wish I had looked at this forum before buying this watch. I bought my Ionic brand new less than a week ago and I thought I was really getting a nice upgrade. I went to try swimming laps with it on today and the Ionic died almost immediately. After my first lap, I looked at the Ionic and the screen was flickering and then went black. I restarted it by holding all three buttons and the logo popped up. The Ionic screen went black as soon as it touched the water again. I took it off and checked the back and the sensors were all full of water. Why advertise this as being able to track swim laps if it's not even waterproof??? I just mailed it off to hopefully get a replacement at some point. From what I've read this is going to be a long long process. Depending on how quickly they send me a replacement--or if they do at all--then I may just go ahead and go with a different company for fitness tracking. 

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[SilviaFitbit]

@unagisan Hey there. Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with Fitbit Ionic and our Support team. 

I see where your disappointment is coming from and I appreciate that you're sending the device back. Our team will be happy to continue assisting you with this process and provide you with a replacement as mentioned. 

Hope you give Fitbit another opportunity once you receive your watch. I'll be around if you have any additional questions. 

[unagisan]

@SilviaFitbit sadly I'm currently shopping around for another brand since you guys won't send a replacement. I'm not sure why I have to wait weeks for the warehouse to receive my broken Ionic and then more time for them to inspect it before they'll even consider sending me a replacement. I've already sent several photos showing that the sensors are full of water. 

[PaulMe]

@unagisan,

I've already sent several photos showing that the sensors are full of water. 

I suspect company policy has/is changing around the almost automatic replacement of devices which was the norm for quite a while. Photos used to be all that was required to show/prove an issue.

Fitbit now want to inspect and justify all replacements. Probably the bean counters are finally noticing the number of replacements for faulty devices heading out the factory/warehouse door(s)?

Given that postal services had slowed to a crawl in most countries, particularly international post - this just adds to the frustration of the customer.

Delivery that used to take a few weeks has now blown out to a few months in some cases.

[PaulMe]

I've already sent several photos showing that the sensors are full of water. 

I suspect company policy has/is changing around the almost automatic replacement of devices which was the norm for quite a while. Photos used to be all that was required to show/prove an issue.

Fitbit now want to inspect and justify all replacements. Probably the bean counters are finally noticing the number of replacements for faulty devices heading out the factory/warehouse door(s)?

Given that postal services had slowed to a crawl in most countries, particularly international post - this just adds to the frustration of the customer.

Delivery that used to take a few weeks has now blown out to a few months in some cases.

[unagisan]

To update this: my device has been shipped back to the warehouse. I spoke with customer service again and they said that they will not make a decision about sending a replacement until the device is received, processed, and then fully inspected--which will take months. Even then, if they decide to send a replacement, it will not be a new device but a device that was previously damaged and then repaired by them. Really can't express how disappointed I am with this purchase. 

[SilviaFitbit]

@unagisan Thank you for getting back. Sorry to hear that you were already shopping another brand. 

All the information about the process and the estimated timeframe, should be given by our Support team. I would highly recommend to ask for an estimated timeframe and they'll be happy to provide more information about it. 

Also just wanted to confirm that Fitbit doesn't have any repaired centers. 

I'll be around if you have any additional questions. 

[unagisan]

@SilviaFitbit the timeframe I was given was "months" and what you just said about repair centers is apparently false as I was told that if I receive a replacement then it will be refurbished. 

[MadMax58]

Maybe the reason why you’ll get a refurb is because Fitbit stopped selling the Ionic. I just checked the Fitbit website and the Ionic is no longer listed.

My perception from this forum as well as my own experience is that there have been a lot of issues with the Ionic. My first Ionic just up and died six weeks after I bought it. No water, no impact or other abuse - it just decided to die. The replacement I got under warranty has had its issues like glitchy GPS and occasional self commanded shut downs, but generally works ‘ok’.

[clintau]

Mine worked for years.  I bought a cheap charger for the bedside table and it killed my battery.  The biggest issues that I had was when fitbit updated the software (either the app or firmware).  The updates were poorly done. Mine held up to water (lake, river, ocean and pool just fine).  The concept of the watch was great. I have purchased an andriod smartwatch for a replacement.  I will not purchase another fitbit product because of the poor updating.  And especially their bot like 'forum monitors' that give crap advise.

[unagisan]

Well, Fitbit still refuses to replace mine so I've given up. I purchased an Apple Watch and it's fantastic. It does infinitely more and the build quality is immensely better. Does an excellent job at tracking everything I need and more, not to mention it has features to help with productivity as well. I'll update this if Fitbit ever gets back to me but basically they had me mail back my broken Ionic and are now refusing to send a replacement or my watch back. So all the money I spent on it is gone and I have nothing to show for it.

[unagisan]

As an update: My Ionic was delivered to Fitbit but they are still refusing to send a replacement. They say it will take 10 days for the Ionic to be "processed" and then it must be taken apart and "inspected". 

[Natagoat]

Thats so strange with the need to send it back to get a replacement, ive had my ionic broken by the last update and admittedly ive had an uphill battle but yesterday they issued a replacement and they just told me to take my broken one to an electronic recycle center. I would call again if i was you and tell them its not on and youll be taking whatever actions you need to to make sure youre not losing out. Id also do a bit of trafing enquiries about what should happen in your country it really helps if when you talk to them you know exactly what your consumer rights are.