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Not Able to Sync Ionic

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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.

 

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Is it through Bluetooth that you get the phone notifications? Does the Bluetooth only work with headphones?

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Yes, you get notifications, all your fitness data is transferred, music is streamed to your headphones, pretty much everything uses Bluetooth (except music transfer).

Personally, I think it's a bit "misleading" to even say that the Ionic has WiFi support, because it's for one specific task.  It could be that the app API/SDK allows for other use, but I tend to doubt it.

 

I think this was a serious question?  If not, ha, I guess it's on me ;-]

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It was a serious question ha ha. Thank you

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@PeteG-1do you have the latest FW? I wonder if they fixed the notification part..

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What is an FW?


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@DIKKEV2wrote:

@PeteG-1do you have the latest FW? I wonder if they fixed the notification part..


@DIKKEV2Nope, I returned mine, I guess I should've mentioned this, again, it's in one of my earlier post(s).

It was on the latest, but that was back in mid-February, and sync was very hit-miss, really more miss than hit, by far, which helped me make the return decision.

My Charge2, on the other hand, has had three actual "failed" syncs, amongst 4 different sync devices (PC, phone, a tablet and a laptop), since then, which is very telling.  Three failures in a single day was pretty good, for my Ionic, same sync devices and BT chipsets.

 

I see some that are having "better" luck with the latest FW release, but then others saying it still is (mostly) broken, for them.  

 

@Kwstreet FW = Firmware.  On a device such as a wearable (FitBit), it's both the Operating System,and some of the hardware interface tweaks, as well, depending on the FW version update.

 

On a PC, it's more distinct, the firmware is directly tied to the chipset, and the OS (say Windows 10 as an example) uses those interfaces in the chipset.  Both the OS maker and the chipset maker change things separately, by-design.  

On smaller devices, wearables, and other IoT and connectivity devices, the two are often combined and maintained by the same source.

 

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Ok. I have no idea if I have the latest FW I got the watch new for Christmas. I’m assuming since I can’t connect to WiFi I wouldn’t be able to get any updates of any kind. I think if they will let me I will return it. At the moment I feel like I have an expensive pedometer and heart monitor. Thank you for your help.

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@Kwstreet Typcally, the client app will see that you do not have the latest firmware, if that's the case, and trigger an update mechanism. If you connect it once or twice, my recall is that it's actually pretty hard to not update the firmware, the way the app works (it's fairly upfront about the update).

I bet that the Ionic can accept a FW update from either data source (phone Bluetooth, WiFi), although I'm not sure if there's any documentation to that effect.

 

I returned mine because of the consistently inconsistent sync problems, it was all over the map for me, the opposite of my previous FB experiences.

 

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From what I’m reading, it’s a common problem which is unfortunate.

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Yeah, @Kwstreet, it does seem pervasive.  Sometimes it's hard to tell via forums though, because mostly just the people having issues are posting about them, or echoing theirs on a thread.

FB obviously isn't going to release numbers on the issue, and while you can do something like a poll, on another site (I don't think it would fly here), I'm not sure if it would be that useful.

As a s/w engineering person, for quite a few years (I often work the fringe between h/w and s/w), I sort of expect a few things to "just work" at some level of functionality, and a fitness watch is in that category for me (I have plenty of "fiddly" devices that I'm always working on/tweaking already), I just want it to figure out that I went riding, and then show me some handy data.

I've had a Charge, and a Charge2, and then the Ionic (holiday gift), which, as most of my family term me the "gadget guy", I was super-excited about.

Then I couldn't get it to stay connected, long enough to even pull down a new firmware, that took many tries.  Over that hurdle, getting it to sync with one of my 4 devices was hit-miss, but mostly miss, whereas my Charge devices had been close to 100%.

I'm less annoyed about the horrible way they did the music implementation, since I hadn't planned to use that part of it as much, although it was appealing, for some use.  

When you have to try 7 times to get your fitness watch to sync, across multiple devices, just to see how your ride went, or how you slept, etc, it sort of "takes the fun out" of the whole experience, IMHO, at least when it's that way consistently.

 

It's unfortunate, but I look forward to the next FB smart device, although I do plan on waiting for some time, for user reviews to pile up, before I use my return money from the Ionic.


I have tried a couple of other brands, and I will say that FB does do some stuff that no one seems to rival, like auto-start lots of activities, tracking sleep really well/accurately, and their app/web UI is very good too, from someone who's designed quite a few UI experiences (although usually for a more tech-targeted crowd).

 

Personally, I think they could have an "Ionic 2" or similar, with just a better radio chipset, and a few nifty add-ons, and a standardized-library music fix, and it'd be a big hit, a really big one.  But my perspective of this market segment is mostly personal; my professional is more about production and UI experience devices.

 

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Thank you for all the good info. From the viewpoint of someone that isn’t too tech savvy I just want it to work with ease and that just does not seem to be happening. Just disappointing, I’m sure I will find something that will be a good fit 😊

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I got my iconic at the end of November and I have had nothing but problems syncing.   I have finally decided that 300.00 is too much to spend on a device that does not function. Spoke with technical support.  He got the device to temporarily sync.  But again and again it does not sync. I have to turn off phone. Turn off device.  Delete iconic from Bluetooth list. Re-pair. Every time I want to sync.  When the guy helped me he had me lose all activity from December til last week. It’s ridiculous.

 

Customer service only only out of the literally you can not speak to anyone in the United States.

 

I have been a Fitbit customer for 6 years. Actually today is my 6 year anniversary. In that time I have seen Fitbit grow so big that it has lost focus on why it built the company and the devices.  

 

So anyways, I get promised a FedEx return label and they will fedex me a new device. They think I’m stupid and won’t notice that the return label is not fedex. It’s usps. I can bring it to fedex or ups but it is a us postal service label. So me getting a replacement is going to be like 10 Days. And it looks like this a problem with the device. Not just my device but other people as well. 

 

So moderator why not actually get back to fitbit corporate and address the problem for a real solution.  And how about hiring customer service in the United States!

 

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After a horrible experience with Fitbit to get my iconic with connection issues replaced I contacted amazon. 

 

Amazon handled the problem by replacing the device with next day delivery.  

 

Fitbit ‘s handling of this is terribly disappointing.  From what I can see I am not the only iconic user having problems. Hopefully behind the scenes Fitbit is trying to correct the connection issues.  

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I believe the problem is with new update that came out - my watch stop syncing yesterday before 6 pm and I seen several messages that others have same issue.

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Joyce 😄

Sent from my iPhone; please do not judge me by my poor typing skills on small devices or my small device's enthusiastic, yet less than accurate, corrections.
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I have had sync issues since I got the watch.  My last successful sync was in December. But frankly if fitbit has a known “issue” their technical support people should know how to handle.  The tech person had me reset my Fitbit. I lost all my data.  And still it did not resolve the issue. 

 

And to make matters worse fitbit has no domestic customer service. Literally no possible way of contacting any of their offices in the United States. I have been a customer since 2012. I had been happy to watch Fitbit’s success until now. What I see now is a company that has lost sight of its customers. 

 

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I've just spent the last 6 hours trying to sync my Ionic, 3 of which I was chatting to FB advisors, no fix, Ionic now wont pick up on my bluetooth list. 'Barbara' (FB support) has stated that there is an issue with iOS11 and that is the reason for the syncing problems, but seeing all the comments in the thread tells me that Android users are also having issues. I've been offered a replacement under warranty, is it even worth it?


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Tell them u want the latest and greatest when it comes out...


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@Shorts_TImewrote:
Tell them u want the latest and greatest when it comes out...


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And spend even longer trying to sync that XD

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@shibbedwrote:

I've just spent the last 6 hours trying to sync my Ionic, 3 of which I was chatting to FB advisors, no fix, Ionic now wont pick up on my bluetooth list. 'Barbara' (FB support) has stated that there is an issue with iOS11 and that is the reason for the syncing problems, but seeing all the comments in the thread tells me that Android users are also having issues. I've been offered a replacement under warranty, is it even worth it?



If you can get a refund, go that route.  Get as far away from this train wreck as possible.  I wish I had that option.

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