Screen and bezel misaligned

[Kwono1]

Update:

Screen and bezel do not align. There is a considerable gap between the bezel and the screen which some here have suggested may affect the waterproof quality of the watch. Two of my three friends who have bought the watch have returned them due to water damage. They believe that this is due to this misalignment. From what I have seen both in this community and in person, many Ionics suffer from this issue including the demonstration models at the stores.  Other problems have included an inability to connect to the Wi-Fi, or not having the Wallet tile available at all. 

Luckily, Fitbit support got into contact with me and have asked that I exchange the product. I have now returned the watch and await for another one. I highly recommend that you test your Ionic. Maximize your brightness setting and simply enter a very dark area. It is important to manually maximize your brightness as the auto sensor will automatically set it to dim. Should you see light escaping the bezel as per the photos, then I would recommend that you contact Fitbit support immediately. 

Moderator edit: updated title for clarity

[N8teGee]

It's definitely light bleed, I have no doubt about that. 

[N8teGee]

---

@ijob007 wrote:

After I noticed that I have the same , I wore it in the shower and had a wet shave, submerged mine in water and the watch is not letting in water.....yet

---

That's reassuring, thanks for being the tester. Now do you fancy taking yours apart so we can see the seals and what's securing the screen I joke, but I really need to check out a teardown to see if the gap is a non issue or not. 

[RL7]

@zapleahy thanks so much for letting us know the team is on it.  I have had no issues with mine being exposed to water so far but will play it safe. I’ll reach out to support per your advice and take it from there.  

Thanks again to to you and everyone on the Fitbit team.  

[Kwono1]

Found another one with misalignment/waterproof issues. He's exchanging his now too. I told him not to put it in the water but I guess he thought I was exaggerating. I'm so glad I took out a 2 year extended warranty + 1 year accidental damage coverage. So recall time? I mean, your waterproof Fitbit is not waterproof. How many more need to be waterlogged and misaligned to be able to recall? Surely you'd think that Fitbit would at least test a few units before rolling them out? Maybe it's a couple of manufacturing centers that are screwing it up like the Samsung Galaxy Note 7? 

[Kwono1]

Update: 

Just got my replacement. Opened the box and can already see a separation. I haven't even turned it on.

I'll turn it on and take another photo of the misaligned screen. Blimin heck. I wonder how many I have to go through to actually get what I paid $500NZD for. 

[Kwono1]

Here is a photo of the separation pre turning on the device:

[Kwono1]

Sorry for the poor photo. The bottom and sides are flush, however the top shows a considerable gap particularly in  the top right hand corner. I'm starting to getting more than a bit annoyed. Does Fitbit test these things before they are launched? I mean, seriously? This is my second one but I'm more than happy to open a third,  fourth, and fifth if it will get the message through. Can I take this into the water? Two of my friends have had theirs damaged. Another guy I know has had his waterlogged this morning. Is there anything I can do? Should I get some glue or something and try and fix it myself? Please reply Fitbit. 

[runwithnewmedia]

Woah! I posted late last week about the same issue. Fitbit asked that I send it back and I should be receiving a replacement once they verify receipt. Hopefully they figure this out, but I suppose I'm glad that I'm in good company? Oof.

In case you're keeping track I had the charcoal/grey.

[Kwono1]

Just updated and conducted the test again. This time, I have light peeping through both sides and the top. What a mess. 

[runwithnewmedia]

Mind sharing some pics of the new one @Kwono1?

[Kwono1]

Yup will do that now...hold 5. 

[Kwono1]

Here you go:

I'm not sure why the right hand side gap isn't showing more clearly. I shouldn't have returned my other faulty unit lol. 

[mitwess]

i have very mild light bleed on the top of my screen, less than the op's pic, but light bleed is a common issue in lcd/backlit displays (some argue it's always present to some degree - https://www.quora.com/Is-there-any-PC-monitor-that-does-not-exhibit-light-bleed) and thus can't really be considered a defect. consequently i doubt there is any correlation between light bleed and a compromised waterproof seal. now, those that heave actual gaps between the aluminum frame and the screen glass, that's another issue entirely which i would be concerned about and get a replacement for. 

[Kwono1]

This is not about light bleed. There is NO light bleed on my device. None whatsoever. This is about the gap between the screen and the bezel. There are numerous accounts of this affecting the Ionic's waterproof quality. This post is about the latter of the two problems that you state. There are literally gaps between the screen of the device and its frame!

[soguilk]

FITBIT IONIC CHARCOAL/SMOKE GRAY

 Hello, I tested mine in a dark room and changing the light to max setting. I do have slight separation on the top of the screen but no light bleed. I have yet to test my ionic on any kind of water ( don't like showering with watch on). Thought it might be helpful to show its not limited to the Charcoal/Smoke grey ionics.

I apologize if its slightly blurry

[N8teGee]

---

@Kwono1 wrote:

Here you go:

I'm not sure why the right hand side gap isn't showing more clearly. I shouldn't have returned my other faulty unit lol. 

---

This is the problem though. I would say 90% or more probably have this problem, so you are just exchanging for another one with the same issue and maybe another problem too. 

[soguilk]

Compare to my picture. That looks like it needs to be replaced asap. Might test mine for swimming this week and update my post.

[Kwono1]

Yeah I know. I have now asked for a refund from the store I purchased the unit. How you guys can just deal with a defect is beyond me. This was $499.99NZD. If I pay that much, I expect it to be pretty **ahem**ed good. I'd be happy with what the user above us has posted. That looks perfect to me. 

[N8teGee]

---

@Kwono1 wrote:

Yeah I know. I have now asked for a refund from the store I purchased the unit. How you guys can just deal with a defect is beyond me. This was $499.99NZD. If I pay that much, I expect it to be pretty **ahem**ed good. I'd be happy with what the user above us has posted. That looks perfect to me. 

---

Personally I don't have my screen brightness set to max in a dark room, I just have it set to auto. So it's not really much of an issue for me. Yes it's there, but I've already been through three replacements and I really contact be bothered to do any more.

I really can't see myself swimming in this either, I really don't like swimming. Overall I do like the Ionic, so have decided to stick with it for now. If for any reason it dies I will exchange it through warranty.

I'm still interested in what fitbit say. They may tells us to return it, but they will then end up sending another one that has the same issue. They really need to tighten up the QC. 

[Kwono1]

Mate you played the fitbit lottery and won. Congrats. You got what you paid for lol.