Not Able to Sync Ionic

[tppt]

I have had my ionic for a week tomorrow. Still have not been able to sync it properly and use it. I have talked  to the customer service team multiple times and spent hours trying to trouble shoot with them.

It takes about 2 hours to get it set up. It syncs for about 5 minutes and then disconnects. It then goes back and forth from looking and syncing but never connects.

How long do we need to wait before this gets fixed or they can give some update. I have tried all the trouble shooting including factory reset, etc. Very frustraing.

Moderator Edit: Updated Subject for Clarity

[PeteG-1]

I think if I ww

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@chrisionic1 wrote:

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@PeteG-1 wrote:

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@chrisionic1 wrote:

About 1 week of perfect syncs on my second ionic (haven't missed one!). I have done nothing different except for keeping all day sync turned off. I would encourage people to just try exchanging it for a new one and see if it solves anything. This product is great when it syncs reliably! I know some out there have really said evidence points to something other than a hardware issue. The reality is we are all having similar symptoms but the causes may be different. 

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Sure, this is likely the case, the majority of the issues are software, part the app(s), and the other the firmware/OS on the device.

But, if you don't have a really solid Bluetooth firmware, to start with, and then you somehow tweak the app, so it's got a problem connecting, the issues tend to compound one another.

You might get one working, at a time, but really you need 3 things to line up, the OS/Bluetooth communication on the Ionic, the Bluetooth on the device being sync'd to(PC, phone, whatever), and finally the protocol in the app, that connects and pulls the data.  

On my previous two FBs (a charge and charge2), this was pretty solid, occasionally I'd see one of the three parts throw an error, but they'd recover readily, because most of all three parts were stable.

On the Ionic, I started having a couple of issues, and now it's to the point where I can still connect it to my PC, but the app fails on its' side, I'm pretty sure the 22.9 build is the likely culprit, mine started to fail within about an hour of this update (from v.22.8), it's a bit "coincidental".

Now, since CS had me reset my Ionic to factory, I can't even get it past the setup screen, I can "partially pair" it, or paired-without-security essentially, but it readily connects to my Charge2, and will sync just fine.

I'm sure, given that the Ionic is a brand-new OS, or close, they're having to use a new protocol to talk to the Ionic, and someone made a bad check-in (code change) to the app (IMHO).  Normally, if it were a problem say with error-handling, but if the Bluetooth on the watch-side-OS were really solid (which it's NOT, it fails like crazy adding headphones and such), things might "recover" and continue on.

In  my case, it's just sitting there now.

I agree, it's sweet setup, when it works.  When it's not working, it's just a giant headache.  

Given the "speed" at which they seem to be addressing these issues (look back over time, compared to say another of their watch forums), I'm not comfortable with something they don't seem very interested in fixing, if not later, maybe never...

Edit: @chrisionic1 I should mention, my Ionic had perfect syncs, via my PC, for 16 days, before it fell apart completely (about an hour after the 22.9 update got pushed to my PC, I have my Windows Store on auto-update, interestingly enough), and I've not gotten it to sync again, in two days, and countless resets of my Bluetooth driver stack, all my BT registry keys storing VLAN IDs, the whole works, I scoured a LOT of stuff (from a previous s/w and h/w engineer perspective), to no avail.

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Good points. I can't remember how many days my first ionic worked before it just refused to connect to bluetooth (always did the connect for 1-2 seconds then lost in the "looking" cycle). Anyway, I wonder why my new one is currently working flawlessly? I have the watch syncing to an iPhone 5s. 

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@chrisionic1I think if I were syncing to my phone, I'd be okay, or better anyway.

I had to add some security to my phone for business reasons, and one of the drawbacks is I can't have bi-directional BT data connections.

So, that left me with my old Android tablet, which runs 3-5 minutes, after being charged for an hour, if that.  I'm pretty sure it would still sync, if I wanted to use it, or purchase a new one, or have the internal battery replaced, I suppose, but all of these seem a little ridiculous, for an already expensive watch.

I think the app(s) are the "unfortunate" 2nd bad link.  They had to completely re-engineer the apps with new modules, or use someone's (pebbles) algoritms, or some mix of both, but either way, most of the communication with the Ionic is likely new code, of some sort.

That, coupled with a flaky BT implementation on the Ionic, isn't a good combo.  If you get lucky, and only one is flaky "at a time", error-correction/retry will handle most of these scenearios.  If 2 of them flake out simultaneously, well...

I put my Charge2 back on, and am taking the Ionic back, and will consider my options. This'll likely be the end of my FB road, unless I see stellar "turn around" reviews, while I'm "considering".  

Having had the functionality of the Ionic, I defintely want to move to a smartwatch, something (even being known as the "gadget guy" amongst friends) I have eschewed for a long time, until I got the Ionic as a gift.  

But, I want the smartwatch to be cell-phone reliable (we used to call it appliance-reliable, working on WinPE devices and such), and the Ionic and supporting software is far from that, currently, IME.

[PeteG-1]

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@Clewis714 wrote:

I have had my ionic since Christmas and have never been able to get it to connect to my phone.  I have now performed a factory reset and my phone can't find it now to even get it set back up. 

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@Clewis714 Have you at least tried the basic troubleshooting, calling or chatting with a CS person, at FitBit?  Scripted stuff (in particular because I've already done 98% of it before calling, usually several times) is annoying, but they do have some solid troubleshooting steps in their set.

If you called them, and they couldn't help you (like me), well then I guess you're looking at a exchange/return, seems like?

Have you tried another device, if you have another device to pair to?

[Firdaus_ca]

Hello, 

I've been using my ionic for about 2 weeks now. Still having issues syncing with my android Huawei mate 9. From previous discussions, fitbit promised your android team will look into the matter but still issues remains an issue. Can you please give us a rough estimate in when this issue will be sorted? 

[ThaitaniumGTR]

Hi,

I'm having the same issues as everyone else on syncing with the Galaxy Note 8. It was all working fine when i first got the ionic. The blaze never had a problem syncing with the Note 8 but the ionic does. I have been through all the steps already all it does during sync is show the syncing... but nothing is being synced.

Very frustrating.

[MShane]

Fitbit did another update, and knock on wood, it's syncing!! Yay!

[Blondie4life235]

I received my ionic for Christmas and it is extremely hit or miss when it comes to syncing. I just had to reset everything on my phone and device twice for it to finally sync up. My husband also received the ionic for Christmas and he can never get his to sync. He is planning on returning his because it's so bad. I've had almost every single Fitbit product you have released since the very first Fitbit came out. We have sworn by your product and convinced so many people to go out and by them, but this product is awful. None of your other products have had anywhere close to this many issues and the ionic was by far the most expensive. Is there going to be any sort of fix for this in the future? I have already downloaded the latest firmware update and it doesn't seem to work since I'm still having syncing issues. 

[oruaM]

I'm on day 3, the first day was very frustrating when I think of how much it cost and just didn't work properly from the start, I had a bug during the install process, bugs syncing the first day, day two I got bugs with syncing again but only if I change the clock face. It seems if you get it working it's best not to change the clock face, this really should be fixed ASAP. Remove the clock faces that cause sync errors. Let us rate this clock faces also, that might help others in the future. Hope this gets fixed otherwise I'm returning it and I won't support Fitbit .

[Joes1962]

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@MShane wrote:

Fitbit did another update, and knock on wood, it's syncing!! Yay!

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Is there a firmware update since 31.1.16? That’s what my Ionic currently has. 

[lastrohm]

I can't seem to find an update more current than 31.1.16, which I have.  What version did you just update to?

[Colinm39]

I  can only presume it's Android App V2.64 which I'm still waiting for in Melbourne.

But more positively I haven't had a sync issue for over a week now and that includes multi use for the Fitbits I use. Done nothing different. All I do is start the phone when I wake up and the open App and sync.

The round trip was 3 minutes today.. Meaning... After the first minute the PC Dashboard has the latest data including the sleep. The phone still shows the Ionic hasn't synced since yesterday. Approaching the 3 minute mark the sync is complete and the sleep graph shows on the phone dashboard.

I then create my activity on the phone for my sleep period to pickup my average HR while asleep. That is on the PC server when I open the browser, just a few seconds.

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@lastrohm wrote:

I can't seem to find an update more current than 31.1.16, which I have.  What version did you just update to?

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[Colinm39]

Android App V2.64 just updated on my Phone. I restarted the phone and cleared the cache in the App.

When I opened the App, the Ionic and the One synced immediately. Also all of the new messages and emails appeared in the Ionic.

[MShane]

Not sure what version, but my Google play said that an update was available for Fitbit 1/13, I updated, restarted my phone and now (fingers crossed), and everything appears to be back to normal! Yay!!! 🙂

[catherinekirby]

Yes FITBIT, how long must we wait for a fixed WORKING $300 product!!!  Why don’t you share your plan!!!!!  

and back on goes my Blaze, that works EVERYTIME with same environment...  and my 300.00 useless Ionic sits...  looking... not syncing... not able to change clockface...  not able to make weather work... and NOTHING from a corporation I have supported with purchases since the beginning... 😔😢☹️

[PeteG-1]

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@catherinekirby wrote:

Yes FITBIT, how long must we wait for a fixed WORKING $300 product!!!  Why don’t you share your plan!!!!!  

and back on goes my Blaze, that works EVERYTIME with same environment...  and my 300.00 useless Ionic sits...  looking... not syncing... not able to change clockface...  not able to make weather work... and NOTHING from a corporation I have supported with purchases since the beginning... 😔😢☹️

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Yeah, this is where I'm at.

I've reset my Bluetooth stack umpteen times, removed every last BT device, disabled/enabled the BT device in BIOS, and still no luck, I can't get it to pair, with the 22.9 app version (or 2.29, depending on how you look at the versioning).

I suspect if I could find v.22.8, I could get my watch paired again, but no such luck, and BT support doesn't seem to have any way to allow access to older revisions, even *if* it might get a device paired/working.

All this, while I can pair/unpair my Charge2, without issue, I've done it maybe a half-dozen times, so it's not like my BT device stack isn't working, I can/have sync'd my Charge2 umpteen times in this same timeframe, with ZERO ISSUES, it "just works".

It seems to me like they only want to support it if you have an Android or iOS device to pair with.

That's okay, if that's their direction, but if so, they should come out and say it, so consumers can make choices, accordingly.

If not, and if these problems could be temporarily "bridged", by allowing users access to a previous version, why not expose it, for downloading (sure, put a big-old disclaimer that it's the "old version", whatever), unless there's a huge security flaw or similar, which I doubt.

Or, you can see how many customers you can irritate/alienate, in the meantime, I guess that's an (interesting) choice too, of sorts...

Using my Charge2 the past few days has been "refreshing".  It actually auto-starts my rides, accordingly (or walks, etc), with FAR more accuracy than my Ionic has ever done, in its short 2.5 week stint (before the sync problems started).

I'm looking around, since my Ionic was my XMas gift, trying to decide which other system I want to transition to, since it's becoming apparent that FB isn't that interested in having me as a customer anymore, unfortunately.

The Ionic has made me realize I want to move to more of a "smartwatch" format, which is good, in a way, but I want one that works, consistently, not occasionally, on every odd-Tuesday.

[PeteG-1]

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@Colinm39 wrote:

Android App V2.64 just updated on my Phone. I restarted the phone and cleared the cache in the App.

When I opened the App, the Ionic and the One synced immediately. Also all of the new messages and emails appeared in the Ionic.

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@Colinm39 Does the 22.9 (or 2.29) version of the Win10 app work, for you, at this point?

[ruriimasu]

You may be correct about server theory. I noticed fitbit app requires internet to launch. Why should the app even have such a requirement? Syncing to server isn't my priority. I want data to be sync to my app 1st and foremost. I want notifications to be pushed to my watch.

Maybe you are correct. Maybe data from watch is sync to server before download into app. Maybe notifications are sync up to server before being pushed to watch.

I am so frustrated with this watch. No success listing in gumtree in my area!

[ruriimasu]

You may be correct about server theory. I noticed app requires internet to launch. Why should the app even have such a requirement? Syncing to server isn't my priority. I want data to be sync to my app 1st and foremost. I want notifications to be pushed to my watch.

Maybe you are correct. Maybe data from watch is sync to server before download into app. Maybe notifications are sync up to server before being pushed to watch.

I am so frustrated with this watch. No success listing in gumtree in my area!

[Colinm39]

@ruriimasuI can't get sequencing answers from Fitbit for syncing....... but.... When I start the sync on my phone first thing in the morning, my theory is, it's a large sync..........

I also have the browser open on the PC and notice the records are updated there before they even appear on the phone Dashboard...

Then a couple of minutes later the steps, sleep, RHR etc are updated on the phone..

The other odd thing is when I create a manual activity on the phone, the results are in the server before I can even open the browser.. If it's my sleeping HR etc.. the phone shows the calories but I have to wait a few minutes for the "return trip" to update the average HR..  This behaves exactly the same as the RHR graph..

I'm convinced, it syncs when the Internet is available, does some massaging on the server and eventually returns the answer to the phone, and in turn Bluetooth to the watch..

Today my Fitbit Connect is auto updating my PC Dashboard. ... and another but..... only from the One and updates every 15 minutes. I have to sync the Ionic through the phone... Fitbit Connect rarely sees the Ionic....occasionally it comes up showing the multiple trackers and I have to sync by selection.....

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@ruriimasu wrote:

You may be correct about server theory. I noticed app requires internet to launch. Why should the app even have such a requirement? Syncing to server isn't my priority. I want data to be sync to my app 1st and foremost. I want notifications to be pushed to my watch.

Maybe you are correct. Maybe data from watch is sync to server before download into app. Maybe notifications are sync up to server before being pushed to watch.

I am so frustrated with this watch. No success listing in gumtree in my area!

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[Colinm39]

@PeteG-1  I was only using the Windows 10 computer to fix my Ionic disaster a few weeks ago.  Normally Windows 7

I can try again but the Windows Store doesn't show me the App version and the same with the installed Fitbit App.  I will uninstall the Fitbit App and download and install whats in the store..

then Test

[Colinm39]

@PeteG-1  Uninstalled and Installed on the Windows 10 PC.. It immediately asked my to pair the Ionic..

An immediate sync took place..

Still can't see the version... So I'm assuming it's 2.29...