How to Replace the Screen on a Fitbit Ionic Smartwatch
If you have found yourself with a cracked screen on your Fitbit Ionic and want to save some money on the repair and do it yourself, you are in the right spot! We also sell New Replacement Screens for the Fitbit Ionic. This repair will also fix issues with dead pixels or other such types of defects as you are replacing the glass and the screen itself.
If you would prefer to read a written repair guide, check that out below. Or if the tool cost seems prohibitive for a one time repair and you would prefer that we complete this repair for you, check out our Repair Catalog to see if we offer repair services for this device.
Are you a business? We offer wholesale discounts on our repair services if you are sending numerous units in for repair or want to send us continuing batches of devices for repair on a regular basis. Contact our support team for more info Info@JoesGE.com (This email is only for wholesale inquiries, please contact Support@JoesGE.com for other inquiries).
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Repair Difficulty: Moderate
Time to complete: 45 minutes.
The tools and parts that you will need for this repair:
- A New Replacement Screen
- Thin Pry Tool (a thin guitar pick or something else very thin can also do the trick)
- Heat Gun (A hairdryer can also do the trick)
- A T2 Screwdriver
- Some 704 RTV Glue
- Rubbing alcohol and a rag
We also offer a kit with everything you'll need
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1. Turn your watch off
Before starting this repair, make sure to power your watch down by going to "Settings" then "About". At the bottom of the page, there will be an option to shut down the watch.
2. Remove the old screen
The screen is held on by some double-sided adhesive and it makes the screen easier to remove if you heat it up first using your heat gun. Heat up the edge of the display by continually moving your heat gun around the edge of the screen for 30 seconds. We usually set our heat guns to around 480 degrees Fahrenheit (250° C) ***Do not keep the heat gun in one place for more than a second otherwise you will likely damage the watch. Also, be careful when holding the watch and heating it up, the watch is metal and can get quite hot.
Insert your thin pry tool straight down into the gap between the frame and screen. Once the pry tool is pushed down as far as it can be, angle it under the top edge of the display and gently pry the screen up. ***Only insert the pry tool a small distance into the watch as there are ribbon cables that you could damage if you put it in too far.
3. Unplug the old screen
Once you have the screen lifted up, you will see the antenna ribbon laying over the whole inside of the watch. Lift this up and out of the way from the bottom edge of the watch.
Now use your T2 Screwdriver to remove the two screws that hold on the metal shield which covers the ribbon cable connectors.
Unplug the antenna ribbon by gently pulling it up and away from the circuit board.
Now you will need to loosen the metal shield that you removed the screws for. Use your pry tool to carefully get under the edge of it and push it loose.
Using your thin pry tool, disconnect the two screen connectors for the circuit board. Just pry them up and away from the circuit board to remove them.
4. Reassembly
Grab your New Replacement Screen and hold it with the ribbon cables over the circuit board like so.
Then, one at a time, push the two plugs onto their connectors on the circuit board. Take your time and make sure that the connectors are properly lined up before pushing them into place. It should not take much force to lock them into place.
You can now connect the antenna ribbon cable to its plug on the circuit board. It is the same type of plug as the two for the screen.
Now its time to put the metal shield back in its place. It needs to be under the square section of the antenna ribbon and, over all 3 of the connectors for the antenna and screen.
Align the tab on the side of the cover into its place then lay the shield down and slide it around the ribbon of the antenna.
Once the shield is in place, secure it by reinserting the two T2 screws.
5. Secure the new display
Start by cleaning off any old adhesive residue that is around the edge of the frame where the display will sit. We usually use a rag with some rubbing alcohol on it to remove the adhesive.
Let the alcohol dry off of the unit then put a thin line of T8000 or B7000 Glue around the entire edge of the housing where the screen will sit. Make sure that the line of glue is entirely connected around the edge of the housing to provide the best seal against water.
Lastly, hold the antenna ribbon down and lay the screen down into the housing while making sure that you do not pinch any of the ribbon cables. If some glue seeps over the edges, you can just wipe it away. Allow 30-60 minutes for the glue to dry.
