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

[Kwono1]

1. Is there a reason why some Ionic have this boarder leakage and others do not? I have noticed that some literally have no leakage to speak of and the screen sits flush with the bezel
2. Will you test more than ONE unit. I mean, testing one unit and then stating that there's nothing wrong with it seems a little bit dubious. Wouldn't it be better to test as many as you can to get a better picture?
3. Can you also explain how these Ionics let water in? I mean, you state that :

   "Every single Ionic unit we manufacture passes through water leak testing to ensure it meets our water resistance criteria. Each unit is also evaluated as part of the Quality Control process to ensure it complies with our specifications". There are obviously units out there that have definitely let water in/ suffer from condensation. There's photographic evidence of this. Has your quality expert been able to pin point the problem? \

4. You outline Fitbit's vigorous testing process yet so many of these units have been waterlogged. Would it be wise to update the testing process and If so, will there be another batch of units that have been subjected to this new testing process that may be without these issues? 

[RL7]

Thanks @zapleahy. I may be headed back to the store sooner than I thought to grab an Ionic after just returning it.  

[zapleahy]

@RL7 Yes, go get it. There's a lot to love! And we'll be here to help answer any questions or concerns as you put it through its paces.

[Kwono1]

Lol what happened to what I wrote...

Regarding 

1. You tested one unit. Needs more tests on different devices for proper evaluation of faults. 

2. States that all units are tested for waterproofing before use but then why so many faulty ones. 

3. Testing process obviously need a updating. 

I didn't accept a solution lol. Come on. Seriously? 

[Kwono1]

Oh I see you've edited it all. Hahaha. That's low fitbit. That's really low. 

[Kwono1]

And...now it's up. SMH. 

[RiseAgainst]

@zapleahy I find it strange to have such big gaps in a product that is water-resistant. These gaps will over time, collect dirt, salt and other foreign materials. Can you guarantee that the seal won't degrade over time with the likes of salt and other foreign dirt being stuck in there that wouldnt be able to be cleaned out?

[zapleahy]

@Kwono1 Absolutely we will continue to test. We have a team dedicated to failure analysis and part of their charter is to evaluate devices where customers have reported damage and other unexpected issues. This is one of the reasons we appreciate when customers report issues like water damage or condensation to us directly through our Customer Support channels, as it enables us to receive the device back at HQ where we can evaluate the specific device and symptoms against customer experience, identify trends, and make recommendations to improve inspection controls, manufacturing processes, etc.

I did attempt to reply to an earlier post of yours with similar points that disappeared on me and ended up reaching out privately. Our platform provider reported experiencing latency issues over the past 24 hours, so it's likely that any oddities with post publishing are related, though I'm unclear on what you mean by "edited it all"?

[runwithnewmedia]

@zapleahy RE: “The small gap you’ve observed between the screen and bezel is necessitated by design, and is sealed with a clear adhesive to ensure high screen visibility and a clean finish.”

i dont buy this, especially considering that we’ve seen images from folks with Ionics that do not have any gaps between screen and bezel. 

Also, by nature of there being a gap you are creating an “unclean” finish, and one that I personally felt was quite an eyesore. It didn’t look like it was supposed to be there. I could run the edge of a piece of paper in the gap and I’ve no doubt that dirt etc would accumulate there over time. 

I would love further explanation on :

1) how exactly the design necessitates there be a gap somewhere between screen and bezel

2) if that is true case why are we seeing images of units with no gap?

thanks!

[zapleahy]

@RiseAgainst @runwithnewmedia To be honest, it's been very difficult for me to identify the gaps in the images shared. This is one of the reasons we like to collect any devices where issues like these have been reported so that we can perform a visual inspection to ensure that our specs were met. I can understand the aesthetic inclination towards a single unified surface. I'm not sure of all the logic and reasoning that went into this decision for Ionic, but the bonded screen and bezel do seem to be common for running watches.

I'm signing off for the evening, but will see if I can find more information on "the gap."

[Kwono1]

Hey guys, there is no gap. Your eyes are playing tricks on you...

Just look at the first photo on the first page of this discussion to see a gap. There are ionics out there with no gap so obviously something is not right. There are different tolerances from what I assume are different manufacturing plants. 

Can you also tell me how the page magically found a solution when I didn't accept that as the solution? You accepted your own reply as the solution. NOT ME. 

[WavyDavey]

---

@Kwono1 wrote:

Hey guys, there is no gap. Your eyes are playing tricks on you...

Just look at the first photo on the first page of this discussion to see a gap. There are ionics out there with no gap so obviously something is not right. There are different tolerances from what I assume are different manufacturing plants. 

Can you also tell me how the page magically found a solution when I didn't accept that as the solution? You accepted your own reply as the solution. NOT ME. 

---

The relevant question to me is-- are different Ionics with varying "gap" still within tolerances. We can't really say what an appropriate tolerance is for function.

I'm having trouble seeing it as an aesthetic issue, but maybe my taste doesn't go down to the millimeter.

@Kwono1, for threads like this that meander in topic (first it was appearance, then it was getting into waterproofing), I'm happy when a moderator provides the official response (which the forum software calls "solution", so that other people who come to this thread can quickly see what Fitbit's response is. That way @zapleahy can keep that post updated. It makes things more efficient when people don't have to wade through speculation, assumptions, accusations and demand, just to find relevant information. 

I'd like to see the thread keep a positive tone. Threads that degenerate sometimes get locked. Let's  keep the signal-to-noise ratio high and remember we all agreed to play nice in this sandbox.

[mitwess]

kwono did you go swimming with any of your ionics? i.e. how many experienced water damage? this thread seems like an exercise in ocd alarmism. none of the many reviewers that swam with them or users on reddit have had water damage. certainly some people are going to have bad seals on any 'waterproof' watch, but thus far, doesn't seem like the ionic has a big issue on that front. the light bleed that can only be seen on max brightness in a dark room has been explained as a result of the fact that the sealing compound is clear. 

the ionic actually has real relevant issues that are worth complaining about (non intuitive and lengthy music transfer time, aluminum case scratching too easily, music control not connecting automatically when your phone is playing music, the app store / gallery not being open yet, etc.). the topic of this thread, however, doesn't seem one of them. let's encourage fitbit to spend time on real issues that will improve the ionic not irrelevant ones that are a waste of everyone's time. 

[Kwono1]

Meander on topics? This thread began with the question of does the gap affect the waterproof quality of the device. This thread has remained very much engaged on this debate. 

[RiseAgainst]

How does an aluminium body scratching become more of an important issue than a physical gap between screen and body that could be the cause of the ionics dying in water?

Aluminium scratches easily but scratching doesn't stop a device doing what it's intended to do

[Kwono1]

1. That's not light bleed. Again, you've misunderstood what light bleed is. Please type into Google light bleed LCD. 

2. No I didn't not go for a swim with my device. I was afraid to and therein lies the problem. My friends did and their devices died. Many others on this forum also did and they also noticed this trend. 

3. I would say that a failed seal is a pretty major problem for a waterproof fitness device. In fact I would say it is more so than music transfer and poor Bluetooth issues and whatnot as they can be fixed though software updates. (The aluminum scratching issue is annoying, but if you've done preschool science then you'd understand the soft properties of this type of metal and have taken due consideration to begin with). My fitbit had major Wi-Fi issues, had no fitbit pay, poor syncing and lots more. They didn't bother me as I knew they could be improved through software updates. 

4. If this doesn't affect you, why are you even here? 

[WavyDavey]

1. I thought it was explained in the Accepted Solution that light is bleeding, through the clear seal. Surely you read that?

2. Please define "many", expressed as a percentage of the units sold. None of us know that answer, so it's really not possible to say how widespread anything is. I sense an agenda...

3. A failed seal is not good for a waterproof electronic device. But the severity has yet to be seen.

4. This is a community of Fitbit users. Everyone has a right to post (within the guidelines), nobody "owns" a thread they started.

I apologize for my misuse of meander. I think "the thread is swimming in circles" might be more appropriate.

[RiseAgainst]

Hi @WavyDavey I agree here with @Kwono1 on this thread that it may be an accepted answer but he didn't accept it as an answer. 

I believe they won't say it is an issue yet because they are still looking in to it. I'm sending my one back so they can look into it.

In all my years of fixing IT, mobile and AV equipment, I have never seen light leaking from a gap like on the Ionic, it is a fault. This gap is showing that there is more of an issue than what they are saying at the moment. The gap is big enough for water, dirt, sand, salt and other small foreign material to get into. This gap has me worried for over the longer term as well with the foreign material weakening the seal or lifting up the screen

[mitwess]

so not one reviewer that has swam with the ionic has had any issues, but kronos 'friends' did and their devices (plural) died. i'm sorry but this doesn't sound believable. kronos is either ridiculously unlucky and passionate about telling the world about all his 'friends' unluckiness or he has personal idiosyncratic issues with the fitbit design that don't seem to be causing any real issues and is making stuff up to justify his idiosyncratic perspective. personally i'm inclined to believe the latter... because it's far more plausible. 

[RiseAgainst]

@mitwess there are other people on this forum that have had their ionic die from water damage. It might be a small issue on some of them but they need to find why this is happening and if this gap or something else is the cause of the issue. The reviewers may have been lucky and received devices from a good batch and we are unlucky to get a one from the bad batch.