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.

[GerardoMora30]

Did anyone get the "Something went wrong. Refresh and Try again" error in the account verification step of the process?

[slhaunz]

I've gotten as far as the verify account stage, then I get the message that the reference code was not found and to wait 30 minutes after registration...I registered almost 7 hours ago. I contacted Fitbit support on Twitter and they told me to wait. So, I guess I'll try again tomorrow and, if it still doesn't work, contact them again. I'm in Germany so I don't know if that has something to do with it.

[Seanbobkelly]

I have been trying to register but it keeps telling me that the email address is not correct. Not true! Must be a glitch? Ill try again later.

[Eko123]

I just registered and the refund and completed the verification. 

When I open the fitbit app on my phone now, it is completely empty. 3 years of exercise history, GPS tracking of hikes around the world etc, all gone. 

It was aware that future syncing would be disabled, but why did Fitbit also delete all my history?

[trollbubba]

Sighs... 3 hours and no code for a discount or confirmation the device was wiped even though it was wiped within minutes.

Hope the code comes overnight and I don't have to ring up support.

[DM58]

Me too, This is such garbage, we lose our devices and have to jump through hoops to get the discount we were promised

[RedDeviluk]

Another UK user here, filled in my form, no discount code (not sure what the discount in the UK is), refund will take 3-6 weeks (not sure what the UK refund is), but my watch is disabled within 5 minutes.

So potentially I've just thrown my beloved watch out the window for... No idea how much.

Bizarre, not sure what to do now, I've had no additional emails with return details, codes or any further details......

Not an excellent experience at all.

If the US is getting $299, does that convert to £299 or £223 (Google used to cover $ to £)

[ashley4783]

I saw something on the news stating that the refund was $299 in the U.S. Can fitbit confirm that? I don't want to buy another one without knowing.  

[ashley4783]

Cancel this...I found the information I needed.  

[trollbubba]

Same experience here.... instantly disabled device which I've liked for for years and no code or confirmation of how it's being made up for.

[RedDeviluk]

Crazy isn't it... How can we not know?

[ChubbyJ]

I'm in the same boat.  My Ionics (I replaced the 1st one) failed out of warranty, and I sent the dead devices off for recycling.  I called the hotline and asked if was possible to provide proof of purchase or for them to confirm I've had Ionic*s* (different devices over different time frames) linked to my account.  Nothing doin'.  I got burned on the design flaw in the Surge watchband.  I got burned twice on the Ionic.  I'm glad they are doing right by some people, but it seems odd that FitBit won't do anything for you if you didn't hang on to a broken device or re-up with another device.

[TammyLynn_17]

Once you get past the frustration of signing up for your refund and discount codes then the real fun begins! When your Ionic is disabled you also lose all the data in your Fitbit App. 😕 Why? Then you have to wait 3-6 weeks for a refund so that you can buy a replacement. A lot of us would have taken credit in the Fitbit store. I would have thought that would have been less frustrating for everyone. 

You receive an email with your 'access code' to enter a special store with watches you can get 40% off and a 'shipping code' to go in the 'Promo code' box. Sounds simple enough? But no. The wording is all confusing. Here are some screen grabs. 

Note, THIS CODE ONLY WORKS ONCE. When you follow the link to the 'store', it warns you that the access code only works once. Telling me that I can only go into the store once. If I leave then I can't reenter and have access to the offered 40% off anymore. But I'm not ready to buy, haven't received my refund yet, but I'd like to be thinking about which replacement I'd like to get. Oh and watch you don't go over the 90 days! Another screengrab: 

Oh and I pressed the arrow in the box, without putting a code in to see what would happen.... and apparently I am correct in thinking that you can only enter the store once! Screengrab: 

Has anyone visited the store? Have you been able to return? I'd like to know if Fitbit Sense is included in the 40% off deal. Afraid to look though, afraid I won't be let back in. 😕 

I tried to no avail to talk to someone at Fitbit through the online chat box and they couldn't answer my questions about the store access. I keep asking here but no one from Fitbit replies except to point people to the FAQ page. 😕 

[TomDuke]

Good questions TammyLynn_17, I have 3 Ionics and was able to successfully register all of them for the refund today.  When I went to the discount code transaction it only worked for the first one and not for the other two so presumably this is a one time good deal.  With 90 days on the clock and allegedly a 5 day wait to receive the return kit(s) then another week or so to process my refund(s) via PayPal or debit card I can afford to wait.  But as you say how do we know what devices are available for a discount?  

[CRSTOP]

I began the registration process, although I can't proceed because I can't verify my account in the portal. It's been a good couple hours now, and despite me keep putting in my reference number and confirming it, I keep getting the message:

"reference Code not found. Please allow 30 minutes after registration on our registration website for our Reference code to work in our system."

Edit: worked now. But no email reply yet.

[Phoftender]

Go figure. I had so many problems with my ionic and according to the help page everyone else was too. So, I threw it away a couple months ago. 

[RunnerEricLV]

I’m also in the same position. I purchased the Iconic and have my invoice from Amazon but no longer have the watch. So we’re being penalized for no longer having the device? We paid for the Iconic but the only ones that get a refund are those that still have it? Shouldn’t everyone that paid for a defective and dangerous item receive compensation? Make it make sense? Is this going to be addressed?

[Phoftender]

Right??? Especially since there's been so many problems since the beginning. I hope they do address this. 

[pizzacheeks]

I did this early in the morning before everyone started flooding the site and had no issues. It was a very easy process. Except for that, I was too quick to checkout that I forget to pick out a free extra band.  So I am in communication with support to see if they can send me one after the fact. If they can't then that is on me and I lose out.    Be patient a full refund and discount are going to cause a lot of traffic to the site.

[Summers54]

Great to hear you had no issues ! Did you get your code straight away by email after disabling ? I’m gutted I now don’t have a watch ! Also Can you choose any band and is it 40% off I’m hoping for the sense even though it’s mixed reviews thanks