Feedback about Fitbit Ionic

[MelissaRN]

I've never owned a Fitbit product.  I recently began using the Fitbit app as a way to log water, food and steps and I am enjoying it and finding it motivating.

I'm thinking about making the plunge and purchasing the Fitbit Ionic.  (I also was looking at the Blaze.)

So question, would you buy the Fitbit Ionic again?  Do you regret it?  Love it?  Think it's worth it or not?

Any feedback is appreciated.   Thank you in advance!  

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[winb83]

I opened the second Ionic I got and connected it to WiFi. It downloaded an update which is apparently the same firmware from the beginning of last month still and now it won't connect to my WiFi anymore unless I remove the security.

I still can't get music to transfer to the device. It just hangs. The software acts like the music still in the folder it's supposed to be isn't there and the transfer never starts on songs it can find.

What I'm seeing baffles me. How did this product hit the market in such a poor state? How has it been on the market almost 2 months with no improvement? I read the company was pinning a lot of hopes on this thing? I don't understand how any of this is possible. Heads should be rolling over this.

I'm just hoping I don't wake up with 6000+ steps or get phantom steps when I place on the charger like last time.

[Tim31415]

As a simple answer: no I would not buy it again.

I do like the functionality, but syncing problems and occasional crashing of my Ionic (especially in the mornings while syncing; and yes I have tried 'everything' on the 'net) are not inline with the price of the product.

Or in other words: for a fully priced product, you will be a beta-tester.

[Venkats]

@winb83

Rumor has it that the product hit the market prematurely due to an internal mandate at Fitbit. You won't know the true picture until the next earnings report is made public.

If the new ionic also experiences steps while charging, can you check what happens when you charge at your work or some other place. Did you get a whole new unit along with a new charging cable or just the watch pebble unit.

[hawkstv]

@MattFitbit great to provide the resource but we're seasoned here and have been there and done that.

[hawkstv]

This is truly a beta product with beta software. It appears that no one seems to care. With all of the complaints on this forum and elswhere, I cannot believe that Fitbit as a company has NOT put their foot on the necks of the engineers or terminated them to get some reliable engineers to get this product working as expected. I sold my Ionic on eBay and purchased a Garmin Fenix 5S. After using Garmin the past few weeks, other companies would have to do a lot to get me to switch. The Garmin Vivoactive 3 is $300 like the Ionic. For $200, you can get the Garmin Vivomove HR at $200. What I've recently noticed is there's deep discounts on the Ionic and some retailers offering $50-$200 gift cards to buy the Ionic. Looks like they want to get rid of Ionic supplies that aren't selling. Fitbit just needs to recall the Ionic and give people their money back and go back to the drawing board on the Ionic, but I'd give it a new name and make sure the features work before releasing.

[BMCG]

I sent mine back due to too many software bugs, however if they sort out the bugs over the next few months, it still has a good feature set, I *may try it again.  It offers stuff that garmin doesn't, like music, it offers something that apple doesn't, battery life.  Mine was just not working as promised, so I sent it back.  I keep checking back on this forum to look for software updates and how it working out.  Obviously they don't have an update out yet that really fixes everything.  Bottom line for me was high potential for high price, but didn't meet expectations.  If in  a few months I read how it's working all the time for everyone, I may buy it again.  

[Diglett]

I would not buy it again in its current state, no.  I would have sent it back by now if Garmin did a watch that played music.  I think it could be a great watch, but it is so buggy:

1) Syncing problems - intermittently just refuses to sync for no apparent reason

2) Notifications do not work when phone (Android) is in Do Not Disturb mode (the only way to make the phone completely silent)

3) Automatic run tracking - crashes on start up or freezes when you try to stop and save the activity at the end

4) GPS seems less accurate than other devices

5) Music transfer is a complete pain, needs playlists to work and then keeps refusing to transfer for no apparent reason, deleting files at random, etc

6) Lack of support for UK banks on Fitbit Pay (ok not a bug as such but still annoying)

[BeRoyalKC]

I had the Vivoactive 3 for a month and returned it.  It has plenty of its own issues and, believe it or not, feels even cheaper than the Ionic. The HR sensor was horrendous for weight training. The rep counting worked maybe 25% of the time and was actually a huge hassle to deal with.  Finally, after a month, the BT radio quit working.    

[iBubblez]

Does your Blaze work well?
I'm thinking of buying one with my s8+, but keep reading bad reviews..

[jambrz]

There will be launched soon a new Garmin watch having music storage/play capability:
Garmin Furerunner 645 Music

[pedris]

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@hawkstv wrote:

This is truly a beta product with beta software. It appears that no one seems to care.  

Yup, but one with a premium price tag. I paid 350€ for mine. As a priority, Fitbit should get on the horn and let us know what remedial action is being taken to fix all the bugs and add features and apps.

[pedris]

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@Diglett wrote:

I would not buy it again in its current state, no. 

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Same here.

[pedris]

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@hawkstv wrote:

I’ve been personally looking at Garmin Vivoactive 3 or the Garmin Fennix 5S

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Rumours of a Garmin Forerunner 645 Music which might be worth waiting for: http://gpsrumors.com/forerunner-645-music

[pedris]

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@Greythorp wrote:

Giampi71,

Thanks for your informative post. My frustrations have largely been with the Ionic not performing basic functions correctly (Heart rate, swim length counting) but you are right, the run app is extremely basic and inferior in functionality to my £35 Polar chest strap and the Polar Beat free app.  I'll certainly wait a month or two for the app gallery and firmware updates before resorting to ebay to fix the problems.  I've only used Polar monitors in the past and have been accustomed to them just doing what they say on the box and working reliably.

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The limited and inaccurate run features have been my biggest disappointment. I wouldn't recommend the Ionic to runners, expect perhaps to a complete beginner or occasional runner who wanted a fitness tracker and easy-to-use mobile app, too.

[launton]

I would buy a blaze as I have zero need for GPS and the swimming part of it is nice but not super important to me now.  Battery life is good though 

[JoeMister]

Right now I'm waiting on a warranty replacement. Apparently I got one of the faulty ones that was not waterproofed. I mainly bought it for the direct downloads of music, which works great. I also think it's a good looking watch which is one reason I bought it over Apple. So far pretty glitchy (they fixed one major issue before mine got fried) but I hate having to log into strava to get info I should be able to get from a Fitbit app. 

[Testimony777]

Absolutely! I really like the Ionic. I hope the company continues to develop it because it is still not living up to its potential. But even as it is I am happy with it and have no regrets. 

[pedris]

It's going to be interesting to see how the Ionic and new Garmin FR 645 compare!

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2018/01/garmin-forerunner-645-music-gps-watch.html

[tobingj]

@SunsetRunner  how long did you have the surge and how did you get the strap to last more than 10 months?

Did you have synch issues with the Samsung phones at all?

[dwizum]

I'm not sure how to answer this.

I really like the Ionic, on paper at least. It has the holy grail magic bullet feature set that no other watch has. Good battery life, GPS, HR, well rounded wellness tracking in the connected phone app, good sleep tracking, automatic workout tracking, isn't exclusive to iOS, and it isn't hideous.

Basically, for me, by default, it's the ONLY smartwatch worth buying. However, the issues it has are so serious, it's almost not worth buying. Which would leave me with no watch, since I don't really want to compromise on feature set. But I want a watch! So, for now at least, I'm keeping it, in the hopes that issues are resolved. However, I'm also actively watching the market for another product that does everything I want. If something shows up, I'll likely switch.