Is it worth exchanging an Ionic for a Sense?

[RikardoKiss]

Dears,

I am thinking of exchanging my Ionic for Sense, however I have seen many complaints about the accuracy of Sense (HR and GPS) and other problems as well. Including some comparisons saying that Ionic is more accurate.
Does this persist or have most problems resolved? Is it worth exchanging?

Thanks!

[Odyssey13]

Hi @RikardoKiss  Fitbit doesn't have an exchange program. If you got your Ionic from a local retailer, you'd have to check with them. If you got it from Fitbit.com directly, there is a 45 day return policy. 

[RikardoKiss]

In fact I meant that I am thinking of buying Fitbit Sense and selling my IONIC.

[Guy_]

Ionic is more reliable.

[RikardoKiss]

Thanks! 

Ionic started with a lot of problems too and over time it has been improved. Because of the history, Sense should follow the same path.

[Trankster]

My first Sense was very buggy.  I purchased it shortly after it was released. Frequent restarts for no reason, not syncing, not registering sleep or SPO2. I concluded it was defective. I was able to exchange it for a new one at Best Buy. My replacement has no issues and I've been satisfied.  Also, the advertised six days between charges is not realistic with regular daily and nightly wear . I get a solid 4 1/2 consistently.

[westsidekilla1]

No. Sense has been the buggiest piece of tech I've ever bought. It's not reliable at all.

[RikardoKiss]

I will wait for the product to mature, but if the complaints continue, I will give up the purchase. It is an expensive product to buy and count on the luck of not having defects, it does not seem reasonable to me and, worse, many report that Fitbit offers a discount when buying a new one, totally wrong attitude, as if to say: buy another one at a discount , who knows this time you are lucky. Thanks a lot for share your history.

[RikardoKiss]

Thanks! I'll wait, who knows Fitbit will solve the reported problems.

[westsidekilla1]

I have one and my wife has one and we've had nothing but one problem after the next and it's been months now. Just read the forums. Whatever you decide to do I hope it works out better for you than what it has for me and my wife. Btw, I use a Pixel 4 XL and she uses the 3 XL. 

[RikardoKiss]

Thank you for your collaboration! I hope that the next updates can solve the problems you have encountered and that both can be satisfied with.

[sportsmom9698]

No, a big fat NO.  Keep the Ionic if still working.  

[Rich_Laue · Accepted solution]

Personally I would have to ask why you want to upgrade. What extra features are you looking for? 

Do you have a medical condition that would be helpful in having the ECG? I know a few users that this feature has been benificial for the doctor. 

Do you need the EDA and its stress score? 

You may prefer the Versa 3. 

[RikardoKiss]

Thanks for youe contribution.  I have trouble sleeping and I am thinking of changing because Sense has more accurate sensors, I look for a better HR reading also mainly in aerobic exercises where the Ionic is not so accurate. Perhaps versa 3 already meets these requirements. But i think that stress measure is a important resource nowadays.

[Guy_]

You can already turn on sensitive sleep for your Ionic in your settings here

Unfortunately you won't better the Ionic at the moment -  Although the Versa 3 and Sense have more sensitive sensors, they aren't more accurate, probably less so. You'll be disappointed with the Heart Rate.

You have to live in a country that accepts to use ECG.

It remains to be seen how effective the EDA scan is.

You may need Premium to see some results.

That said, they are nice looking watches, can be troublesome, so don't expect to replace your Ionic if it works fine.

May be you will end up wearing 2 watches!

[RikardoKiss]

I'm disappointed. One of the features that attracted me was the 1.58 "screen, the Ionic has a large portion of the screen occupied by its name, which makes the useful area very limited. This option of increasing sensitivity during sleep I already knew, but really expected more from new releases since Ionic is more than 4 years old, other brands release updates annually.

[Rich_Laue]

The sensors are way better, the processor faster. The accuracy issue is not with the sensor but with the latest firmware. 

[RikardoKiss]

got it. I believe that, as I said earlier, both Versa 3 and Sense will go through the maturation phase, just as Ionic had its problems in the first 2 years and then stabilized, unfortunately I see the same scenario for the new devices.

[Rich_Laue]

Unfortunately that seems to be the trend. 

Unforeseen problems pop in and it takes 6-8 months to fix. Sometimes the problems where not even fit it's fault. Ie: only affected phones that had a specific non Fitbit app installed. 

Some where from not enough QC and an out of spec shipment of parts got installed. Fitbit was still able to fix with a firmware. 

Maybe with the extra money from Google, Fitbit will be able to up their problem solving team. Updates to solve these issues need to come faster. 

Fitbit also needs to get better real world testing before release. For years I have been a beta tester for the fitbit phone app. It irks me that the problems the typical user sees only show up in the beta version on the same day that they show for the typical user. This clearly tells me that Fitbit does not take advantage of the beta users, who want to see these problems before the final release. 

[Trankster]

I agree Fitbit seems to release their devices before they are fully mature and customer support is of little help.  In my case, I am fairly certain the hardware on my original Sense purchased within days of the release was the problem (or possibly the firmware was corrupted).  I purchased it from a retailer that allowed for easy exchanges or refunds, and my replacement Sense has worked well with my Samsung S20+ phone.  FWIW I use it with the basic apps including SPO2 (without the SPO2 clock face), Alexa, bicycling and workout functions with no issues on a Samsung phone.  The weather is laggy in updating after syncing several times, which is my only current issue.  I had issues with earlier models--Ionic and Versa 1 (never could get that one to work right).  Possibly some problems are phone specific with the current firmware.  Hopefully, Google-Fitbit will address these sooner than later.