Voluntary Safety Recall of Fitbit Ionic Smartwatches

[FitbitCommunity]

Fitbit, in conjunction with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), announced a voluntary recall of Fitbit Ionic smartwatches, which the company introduced in 2017 and stopped producing in 2020. The battery in the Ionic smartwatch can overheat, posing a burn hazard.

The health and safety of Fitbit users is our highest priority. We are taking this action out of an abundance of caution for our users. We will offer a refund to Fitbit Ionic customers.

This voluntary recall is specific to Fitbit Ionic devices. It does not impact any other Fitbit smartwatches or trackers.

If you have an impacted Fitbit Ionic device, please stop using it and visit our webpage where you’ll find:

• Answers to common questions
• Information on how to receive a refund 
• Access to a special discount on select Fitbit devices, bands, and services, if available in your region, for a limited time.

[ArnieBoy]

I am in  the UK and when I phoned Fibit I was told now it could take days as they have to verify the accounts manually????!! Not very Hi Tech! I was told that they would change the "30 minutes" message but they obviously don't have the time.

[Ralfbr]

Check your mail, including the spam folder

[TammyLynn_17]

Hope this helps someone....
My experience so far, from the UK…The Update

The Fitbit website, system and people are all overloaded at the moment. I've had no success with the online chatbox at all. I did get some decent help calling their special phone line. Numbers found on the FAQ page about the Ionic Recal. I talked to a person named David in South America who actually knew what he was talking about and where to find the answers to my questions. Very helpful.

I think some of this information might depend on your location in the world. I'm in the UK, England. I'm supposed to have a refund on the way. I was also sent special links and codes for the 40% off replacement + extra band. 

Tips and info:

The Refund as far as I can tell is the same for everyone. $299 USD. For me in the UK that will be about £225-ish GBP. It can take 3 to 6 weeks to arrive. For me, in the UK the choice was via PayPal or a prepaid Mastercard. (They will not need or ask for your bank details, it’s a prepaid Mastercard which can be used anywhere they accept Mastercard)

The 40% off discount access code to the special discounts shop only works once. So be ready to buy when you go in. Everything in the main store is not in the discount store. The top three smartwatches that are similar to the Ionic are in the discount shop. Including the newish ‘Sense’. The more expensive watch bands are not included.

There is an extra step for getting the discount codes, it's in an email. The subject for mine was: [Fitbit Ionic Recall Account Verification- Reference xxxxxxxxxxx.] In the email, it says 'Click here for Fitbit Discount'. The discount codes came in an email with the subject:[: Fitbit Discount.] Remember codes only work once! Even if you don't buy anything. So be prepared to buy when you enter.

The Fitbit websites are overloaded with requests and it may take some time for your codes to come through. Check your spam box for missing emails.

Once you start the process of giving up your Ionic (which is advised you to do for safety reasons) and filling out the forms to get your refund and discount codes, Fitbit will disconnect your Ionic from the app and it will no longer collect or send information to your app. NOTE: Your Ionic needs to be connected to your app for any of this to take place. If you can’t do this you need to contact them directly.

At first glance, it looks like you lose all your collected data in your Fitbit app when your Ionic is disconnected. (If that’s your current Fitbit.) That’s what I thought. But when I looked at my account online on my computer I see that all my data is still there.

I ordered the Fitbit Sense at 40% off and an extra free band yesterday (Thursday), it's on the way today (Friday). Expect to receive it sometime next week. I did not take advantage of the free year trial of the advanced Fitbit App.

From my understanding, the affected Fitbit Ionic watches have the code [FB503] stamped/engraved on the back.

I used my computer for all of the above, not my phone. I've heard that others who were having problems trying to do all this on their phone switched to their desktop and all was well. Good Luck!

[Oladele]

Yes. It is telling me to contact customer support that the email I used in registering the watch from the beginning is not connected to the account 

[CanadaGuy]

Thanks! I got the email you referenced, but my message seemed to be partly cutoff, starting mid message. I didn't understand why this message was sent, but now it makes sense.

[OllieCrafoord]

It's a refund in the form of a paypal payment or a pre-paid mastercard supposedly. You also get a discount of 40% on top of that.

[YojanaFitbit]

Hi everybody,

Thanks for your question about the Ionic recall.

We’re offering the discount off a range of products that offer similar features to Ionic, along with our latest improvements and new features. To learn more about the Ionic recall and how to get your refund, visit our webpage at help.fitbit.com/ionic, where you’ll find:

* Answers to common questions

* Information on how to receive a refund 

* Access to a special discount on select Fitbit devices, bands, and services, if available in your region, for a limited time.

Thank you for your continued support and being a member of the Fitbit family.

[SunsetRunner]

24h after completing the 3 steps, no email & my ionic keeps syncing... this is a joke ^_^

[OllieCrafoord]

I haven't received the email with the discount or anything yet. It's been several hours. I'm from Sweden. Nothing in spam.

[Pietro29]

How do I redeem the mastercard supposedly

[CanadaGuy]

I received what I believe should be the discount email, but these are the contents, exactly copy and pasted below
**********

ructions, see How do I erase myice?Fitbit website.

Please take this brief survey to share your experience.

• PayPal—the sender is PayPal and the email will mention a payment from the Firecall
• Debit card or gift card—The sendern will mention the Firecall

Any personal data acquired, processed or shared by us will be lawfully processed in line with applicable data protection legislation. If you have any questions regarding how we process personal data refer to our Privacy Notice https://www.sedgwick.com/global-privacy-policy. Any communication including this email and files/attachments transmitted with it are confidential and are intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If this message has been sent to you in error, you must not copy, distribute or disclose of the information it contains and you must notify us immediately (contact is within the privacy policy) and delete the message from your system.

[OllieCrafoord]

It's a prepaid mastercard that will work wherever mastercard is accepted. Supposedly 😉

[dvpatel]

@CanadaGuy The servers are very busy so they are sending partial messages. First half went to some other poor soul. 

😁

[Grizzby]

@CanadaGuy How long did you waited for that mail? And is that a first mail you got after completing all the steps? 

[Stu.69]

Hi Tammy

i am trying to find out the same answers but Fitbit are not replying, have you found out the answers to your questions yet?

 Thanks 

[Niki-h]

I have the same issue, my ionic stopped syncing snd charging a few months back so I binned it and bought a charge 5. They must be able to see I had one as I got the email about the refund..

[CanadaGuy]

---

@dvpatel wrote:

@CanadaGuy The servers are very busy so they are sending partial messages. First half went to some other poor soul. 

😁

---

I mean, anything is possible but it seems they were not prepared for this recall. They should have taken a few more days to prepare. I'm on live chat but still playing the waiting game...

[CanadaGuy]

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@Grizzby wrote:

@CanadaGuy How long did you waited for that mail? And is that a first mail you got after completing all the steps? 

---

My first email with the "registration complete" in which I needed to "verify the account" was at March 2, 4:44 PM EST, this partial discount email is dated March 3, 5:55 AM EST.

My Ionic has been removed from my account shortly after verification.

[Greebs70]

Exactly the same here. I logged onto the chat to find out if anyone else was able to put any bank details in. 

[TomDuke]

You are going to receive (presumably by mail) a physical Mastercard/debit card with the refund amount loaded onto it that you can spend wherever you like.  At least that's my understanding.