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.

[Renard99]

@AdCom I may get back in contact with them too in that case. I'm in the same position as you and Dustybin, i.e Watch still connected and syncing 11 days after being told it would be disconnected within 7 days. Like you I was told I'm 'in the system' and just to wait. May get this escalated for whatever good it may do. 

[Nathan1970]

Got the confirmation e-mail on March 04 for the registration of my Ionic with a reference number. Got the discount and promo code same day. Did factory restore on my watch. then nothing and the return kit did not arrive till now.

What would be the next step ?

[gtazy]

I am still waiting for my promo code to "reactivate" after cancelling my order a day after placing it. Fitbit uk told me that the code would work after 72 hours but still it gives me an error. No one is getting back to me. So nearly a week of running with my phone.

I may call today, i know there are lots of cases out there but its ridiculous.

BTW does anyone know what the "promo code" included with the access code was for? This don't do anything for me when I placed my order ( now cancelled). Did it make selected bands go to zero?

What bands are included in this offer? Was looking at the sense.

[Ricsb65]

I’ve had my refund claim in over a week now, I know it says 3 to 6 weeks but I’m not buying another until I have the money, anyone had theirs?

im in the UK

Update: Meant to add, I’m without a watch 

[Cherryfan]

No not had my refund not really sure why it takes 3 - 6 weeks as it an e card that is emailed to you. You would image that fitbit would want to show you how efficient they are so you want to buy another one of their devices 

[Deoge]

I ordered the sence Saturday and wanted the black on black and extra band black There sending the silver with gray band and the extra black band it’s on back order they’d not a big selection 

[MarreFitbit]

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.

[TomDuke]

@Nathan1970 - Since you received a return kit then you must be in the US.  Your next step would be to follow the directions in the kit, pack up just the Ionic (no bands, chargers, etc.) and return it.  In 3-6 weeks you should get the $299 refund via the method you selected upon registering the Ionic for this recall.

If you choose to purchase a new Fitbit using the 40% discount offer and don't need to rely on having the refund up front you can use the access code provided and enter the Ionic Recall web store that has been set up by Fitbit.  Good luck.

[Visual97]

I've yet to receive my return kit.  Or even any information that it shipped out.  Short of the email saying they'd mail it in 5 business days.  I registered on Thursday March 3rd.  I had a second ionic as well and registered that one for refund after I received my sense.  So far no boxes for return for either but I do have my new device.  

Fingers crossed that part comes through and I'll get a box or I'll register again I guess.

[Nathan1970]

@TomDuke - As I mentioned in my post I did not receive the return kit  after 9 days although I am in California. which is a bit strange.

[TomDuke]

@Visual97 - that is very odd.  I registered three Ionics on Mar 2d and could see the kits a couple days later in UPS My Choice and they arrived Tuesday, 8 March. I shipped them to Sedgwick on Thursday, 10 March and UPS tracking shows they should be delivered tomorrow.  Your situation sounds like something is amiss.  Good luck.

@Nathan1970 - sorry for my confusion. Your situation sounds like @Visual97 here, maybe Sedgwick has run out of kits?  I know that I and @pizzacheeks have received the return kits in the prescribed 5-days.  Don't know what to suggest at this point other than checking UPS My Choice if you have an account or trying to follow up with Sedgwick.

Moderator Edit: Merged posts

[Visual97]

Agreed.  Pretty odd.  I am in New England so I'd expect it to be a little longer.  But seems too long.  I re-registered.  Again, I had no issues with any of the process really, I've just yet to receive my box to return my device in.  So I've got 3 registrations.  One that I did March 3rd, one I did last friday for my second ionic, and now one again today for the missing box from the registration on the 3rd.

[flyliou]

• I see. It may take a few months 😅

[Nathan1970]

@TomDuke It's ok Tom, It is more strange that I am in CA which is close by Fitbit. and the registration page doesn't run effectively and I cant re-register like @Visual97 .

[VMMage]

I just got off the phone with Ionic Recall Support (spoke to "Danny"), and he initially said that I should just address an envelope with "the carrier" (USPS? UPS? Fedex?  He didn't specify) to send back my Ionic.  I insisted that the email I received said that Fitbit/Sedgwick would be sending me a kit with instructions within 5 business days, and that limit expired on March 11.  Then he put me on hold for a bit and came back indicating that he had bumped my case up to the next level of support, gave me a case number to write down, and said I would be receiving more instructions via email (hopefully I'll get those soon).

So yes, the return box process is slow and the dedicated support team doesn't really know what process to follow.  I trust that I'll get my recall payout eventually, but I expect that I'll have to do some extra work to make it happen.

[SunsetRunner]

I’m in the same boat but have just received the confirmation email, albeit 11 days after registering….now to await ionic disconnection but at least things are starting to progress. This must be a nightmare for Fitbit. 

[EllieCopter]

You should get the equivalent in sterling. Fingers crossed everything works for you. Like many people on here, I've run into problems - Fitbit has disabled my Ionic, but I didn't get the confirmation email (thankfully, I took a screenshot of the completed verification page). I've been trying to find out what's going on, but it seems Customer Services are as confused as the rest of us. The whole thing is a shambles 

[TomDuke]

@Nathan1970- I'm in Texas and the UPS labels on the return kits show Sedgwick is in Indianapolis, Indiana and they are the company Fitbit has outsourced the recall process to.  I just looked up my three tracking numbers on UPS and it shows one of them is to be delivered today and the other two will be delivered tomorrow.  After that I'll just have to wait and see how long it takes for the refund to hit my PayPal account (I also selected one refund to be via the pre-paid Mastercard option).  Stay tuned.  Good luck in finding out what happened to your return kit.

[VMMage]

The two Charge 5 trackers and extra bands that I ordered arrived today.  I did the initial setup of the Charge 5 in the Fitbit app and had it replace the Ionic (this appears to have worked well).  As a first impression, the Charge 5 does not disappoint.  My Ionic was a bit touchy about showing the main display when you would "twist your wrist like looking at a watch", sometimes it would light up, sometimes no.  So far, the Charge seems to work every time, so I don't see any need for the "always on" display option (time will tell).  It came with about 2/3rds of a charge on the battery, it charged up above 80% just while performing the initial setup with the app, so the charge time should be much lower than the Ionic.

[TomDuke]

@Visual97- The return kits are sourced from Indianapolis, IN and the company Sedgwick who have been contracted by Fitbit to handle the logistics of the recall.  My three kits arrived within the 5 day window as promised in the email but I registered on 2 May the day the recall was announced.  If you have a UPS My Choice account you can log in there and see if anything is inbound for you, UPS normally won't send you an email notification until a day or so before delivery.  Given the high demand I suppose it's possible that Sedgwick might be our of return kits or just behind shipping them out?