Syncing Pandora to Ionic

[Twinkies2013]

Has anyone been successful in syncing Pandora to their FitBit? I am paying $9.99/month for Pandora, I have uninstalled and reinstalled the app on my watch, setup the WiFi at work and home and I can't seem to get any stations on my watch.

Any other ideas?

Thanks

[MarreFitbit · Accepted solution]

It's nice to see you around the forums @Twinkies2013! I would like you to restart your tracker and double check you're following these steps to download the stations. Have you gotten any error message when trying to sync Pandora with Ionic?

Plug your watch into the charger. Stations download automatically when the watch is charging and in range of your Wi-Fi network, or tap Force Sync Now in the Fitbit app to add the stations to your watch. 

Give this a shot and let me know how it goes! 

[MikeWilly]

Mine works great!

[Twinkies2013]

Hi - thank you for your response.

I followed your instructions and my watch appears to be downloading the stations "Updating Stations ... music will be ready shortly..." Nothing changes on my phone as far as seeing stations, and when the downloading symbol is gone on my watch, I go to Pandora and it says that there aren't any stations available, and to download them, etc.

TIA

[MikeWilly]

have you created a few channels in Pandora itself (online).
If not, there's nothing to sync

[romania7]

Also have tried all solutions for Pandora not syncing issue with my brand new Ionic, but it doesn't work.  My Ionic is connected to same wifi network network, I have paid for Pandora, hit "force sync", get a message that it's checking status of Pandora, then says it's syncing and "see ionic for status".  Ionic sometimes has a "downloading" arrow in the top right corner for a little while, but no matter how long I leave it on the charger, it never has problems.  I got 1 of 3 selected stations downloaded but since it didn't sync all 3 selected stations, I hit "force sync".  Then, the one station I sync'd to disappeared and since then, after 10-15 attempts (including restarting ionic, uninstalling the app on my windows 10 pc, "resetting" ionic ("left and bottom button"), nothing ever downloads.

And, by the way, it's CRAZY that even if the ionic is 100% charged, you have to have it "on the charger" to sync music.  Did anyone consider the fact that the screen "goes blank" on the charger.  The only way I can see what's happening is to reach in above the left button and "push it down" with a paperclip.  This makes no sense.  Tapping the screen or double-tapping doesn't turn the screen on.  If I pick the Fitbit up off the charger even for a few seconds, transfer seems to be "interrupted".  It sometimes has the "downloading" arrow in the top right corner, but no matter how long I let it sit on the charger (supposedly downloading my PAID FOR music) it ALWAYS says "no music downloaded" when I take it off to check.

It also seemed like any other Bluetooth device nearby causes the Ionic to become confused.  At one point I shut off 3 other Bluetooth devices nearby (including my old SURGE) and I thought that helped, but even with NO Bluetooth devices nearby, I'm still on day 3 of trying to resolve this issue.

This is one of 3 big issues I have with the Ionic.  I agree with the hundreds of other posts that this Ionic is screwy with Bluetooth and apps.  It was either obviously NOT READY FOR RELEASE, or is just a bad product.

And by the way, it took almost 6 hours to "update the firmware" when I first set up my watch (and that took 3 attempts).  And don't tell me it's my wifi--my wifi is strong, my router says my Fitbit ionic is "connected" and this is driving me crazy.

How do I TALK TO A REAL PERSON about my frustrating $300 investment that has not yet proven it "works"?

[romania7]

And, yes, I'm in the good old USA.  My "handle" including "Romania" is irrelevant.  I'm in Los Angeles CA...

[MikeWilly]

Well, the thing is that the fitbit takes some discipline to set up.

Set up pandora PLUS (yes the paid version)

Set up some stations, and most important, listen to some songs.

Then set up fitbit.

Take all other fitbit devices out of the house, I took mine to the trunk of my car.

Fully charged with cord attached sync with your PHONE.

You must have it setup for wifi on your phone as well.

THEN, let it sit, overnight with the charger attached and that's where it downloads the songs (that you've listened to) onto your fitbit.

That's it.

[romania7]

Thanks Mike so much for the advice. I'll try the "hide the surge" trick and the overnight park on the charging dock.  And then, I'll listen to some songs on my pc even though I selected specific stations).  And yes, I have the paid version of Pandora (bought it only because my personal music wasn't syncing so I thought, "surely if I pay the only company fitbit partners with, it'll have to work").  Does it really matter that I bought Pandora after don't the initial Ionic set-up?

[MikeWilly]

No, I had free pandora, bought and synced my ionic, and then upgraded to
pandora plus.

Good luck, it is always frustrating, but when it's done it's great.
I listen with my ionic at the gym and no phone.

I also love the starbucks pay, and I can't wait until they get the wallet
thing fixed (I have windows phone).

[VMI96]

This is ridiculous.  One of the main reasons I purchased the Ionic was to use pandora on the watch and not have to carry phone at the gym.  Each day the Pandora stations are not synced and most of the time it shows no stations available at all (despite force syncing it each night just to make sure it is ready in the morning).   It is not a wifi or power issue.  I have 3 stations I use at the gym.  I just want them to stay on my watch or at least not disappear all together.  I will give it another few days and then will return the Ionic.  It really should not be this difficult.  

[romania7]

Thanks VM196.  Even though it doesn't help much, I really appreciate the affirmation that I'm not crazy, and there really is a problem with the product.  I even tried Willy's advice of "stashing my old Surge in my trunk" and leaving my fitbit on the charging doc (right next to my PC and router) all night but no change, still no stations at all on my watch.

I'm sure fitbit wants to get this resolved and given the volume of traffic on this and other Ionic issues, I want to assume they are working diligently to do so.  The most frustrating part is the lack of COMMUNICATION with us, the customers (end users) who should at least get some info on WHAT they are doing to fix this.

Maybe they could partner with another music service too since Pandora is my 3rd choice as far as that goes...

Patrick

[VMI96]

Yes, communication would be nice. I have never been a fan of Pandora and signed up for a subscription just for the Ionic app.  If not resolved, I will be cancelling.  And going back to using my phone with my own playlists. I have emails Fitbit multiple times. No response. 

[MikeWilly]

Have you all tried the fix suggested by marrefitbit above?

http://help.fitbit.com/articles/en_US/Help_article/2260/?q=Pandora&l=en_US&fs=Search&pn=1#Download

Just hang in there, it's worth the wait

Don't blame Pandora, it's all in the setup.

Just another thought...Have you set up the pandora account on the setup screen of your phone's fitbit app?

[romania7]

Thanks again MikeWilly.  I did go thru each step per the instructions and have had no luck yet.  But I really want this watch music to work.  I think I've got most of the other bugs worked out, so I'm hoping this is my last hurdle to a fully functioning watch as advertised.

[VMI96]

They need to update the software and the app to resolve the issue ASAP. Again, it shouldn’t be this difficult to have a music app on a fitness watch. I don’t need to make phone calls, get texts or calls on the watch. Pretty basic requirement for me is to track my workouts and listen to music. If Fitbit can’t deliver on that, then I regret paying the $$$$ for the Ionic. I have been a Fitbit user for 5 years and this has been a disappointment and even more so a frustration. Beginning my workout, starting pandora only to find, yet again, no stations (even though they were on the watch the day before). So I go get my phone from the locker room and just sync up everything to my phone and move on.

[romania7]

MarreFit:  By any chance is there any update on other solutions to try?  I've tried all the steps/recommendations in this thread and no luck yet.  My fitbit (when I "force sync" and have it on the charging station very near my router and PC "seems" to be downloading (for a few minutes).  There is a "download icon" on the watch face.  But each and every time (I've tried like 15-20 times), it eventually goes back to the "No Stations Loaded" message and nothing ever appears on the watch.

I've tried both "selecting Pandora stations" and also, after listening to pandora via my phone for few weeks (to build up a "preferred" stations list, I get the same result.  NO MUSIC ON MY WATCH.

Would really appreciate, at a minimum, getting in touch with someone from FitBit "live".  What's the best way to contact FitBit support by phone?

Thanks.

Still disappointed because I also bought the Pandora paid subscription (as required by the FitBit app) but have gotten to use it only when I'm in the "right spot" in either of my gyms.  The whole point of having songs on the watch is to NOT have problems with streaming music "live" in any of the gyms I go to because cell reception is invariably "spotty".

Patrick K in LA.

[jocurr]

In addition to not being able to sink after hours of trying now my music I do randomly get "skips"  Watch is going back as this was the main feature besides gps which I purchased it for

[romania7]

My fitbit ionic is now loaded with music.  I didn't do anything different from before but did install a firmware update that was pushed out last Fri or Sat.  After letting my watch sit on my charging station and selecting "force sync" one more time, the next day music stations showed up on my watch.  Really have no idea if the music issue was "fixed" with the firmware update or if that was a coincidence.  The description of the update didn't specifically mention Pandora or music download "fix", but my watch is now finally working.

I am very happy to have my watch working with all functionality that was advertised.  It is great to have music on my watch and not have to have my phone slipping out of my pocket or sitting on a machine while I'm working out.

For those of you who still are having issues, I just want to say that there may be a light at the end of the tunnel and this feature really is great.

Honestly thought, if I wasn't using my Fitbit to sync to my company's "wellness" sight, I wouldn't have tried so hard to stay with the brand.

I can finally stop worrying and start just enjoying the watch.

Patrick K.

[SunsetRunner]

I've having the same issue ... was on the phone with support for 45 mins. Having stepped at all because of this syncing pandora bs. I wish I didn't just give my son my Blaze 😩