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Aria 2 shows different weight and body fat readings

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I have been using the Aria 2 for a few days now and I have received so many different readings on both body fat and weight within a space of a couple minutes (i weigh same time every morning).  My profile settings are all correct and i have recalibrated it just in case and still i get a varied reading.  Is this a hardware fault?

 

Appreciate your help and thanks!

 

 

Moderator edit: updated subject for clarity

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41 REPLIES 41

At this point I've accepted that the body fat % is completely useless.  It is covered by many on here how inaccurate it is.  Different weight is a worry though, might be faulty.  On other scales I own I get a different weight reading depending where I have them placed on the bathroom floor because it is not perfectly flat.  I haven't tested this with the Aria 2 yet.

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Hey Casew,

 

It says my body fat is close to 40% which absolutely cannot be the case, every time i recalibrate it sort of is in that region so i am using it as a measuring tool just to know that i am decreasing fat percentage (even though this was major feature i bought it for). 

 

The weight varies by 0.1 to 0.2 kg (0.22 - 0.44 lbs) in the several times i weigh myself at the same time every morning.  I have to weigh myself that many times to get an average and that is a huge waste of my time and there must be a solution.  A cheap scale i have doesn't even do that !

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Here is a sample, FITBIT please help me resolve this issue !Fitbit_-_Settings_-_Aria_2_-_undefined 2.jpgFitbit_-_Settings_-_Aria_2_-_undefined.jpg

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Yep it is pretty disappointing, check out this post https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Aria-2/Aria-2-Body-Fat-Inaccurate/td-p/2335899

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seems everyone is having issues with the Body fat percentage.  Weight though ?? that is absolutely inexcusable and i hope they can help me fix it.

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I know if you use it on carpet it makes a difference, but mine is the same.  The first time I get on its 4lb heavier than my other scales and then I get on again and they are correct!  I am storing mine on its side as I don't have enough room in my bathroom, but apart from that then who knows!

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Mine is on tiles. I think it is a rounding issue, today I weighed in at
75.5kg at least that's what the screen on the scales said but in fitbit app
it has logged it at 75.4kg and today myfitnesspal acutally matches what is
in the fitbit app. Weird.
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@sourpicklewrote:

seems everyone is having issues with the Body fat percentage. 


Not everyone is having issues with the Body fat percentage, unless you referring to just the few posts in this thread that are having issues.  My Aria 2 has been very accurate with both my weight and my body fat percentage.  When I had my last physical, my body fat percentage was measured at 21.4%, and my Aria 2 consistently reports my body fat percentage between 21% and 22.5%, along with the fluctuations in my weight.

 

Since users who are not having any problems with their scales body fat percentage are not likely to post here, so it is impossible to get a percentage of users with problems vs those without, but it is probably not everyone.

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I am using it on hard floor and making sure that the surface is even !  i have weighed in on 3 scales and the two other are the same and Aria is off by around 0.2 kg.  The strange thing is it initially shows the same weight as the other scales and then goes up.

 

I get that not "everyone" is having those issues but its enough for Fitbit to address.  In my case, the bear minimum, would like a working scale.  I juts want help to try to resolve the issue, not here to just complain !  if anyone has any solutions would be very appreciative !

 

 

Moderator edit: merged reply

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Yep I am getting a 100g discrepancy either between what the aria screen
says and what is logged in the fitbit app or when fitbit syncs to
myfitnesspal. Something during sync is not right. Given the two functions
I use it for, weight and body fat, are both unreliable to me I'm wishing I
still had the packaging to return it.
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@sourpickle,

Well, not everyone. The body fat is close to what it should be per other methods. The weight matches my other two electronic scales. One I take traveling and the other was replaced by the Aria 2.

 

My bathroom floor is uneven. I learned a long time ago to place may scale in the exact same spot where the four feet are all in contact with the floor. I only weigh myself once a day. It is always after waste elimination right after rising for the day. Twice I have tested using it repeatedly without moving it. No substantial change if immediate. There was a small change when I drank water between weighings. I read that a persons degree of hydration will affect the body fat measurement. That is one reason that I use the same routine every day: rise, eliminate waste, weigh.

 

If your floor is too uneven to find a place, you could use a flat board under the scale. That is what I would have done if I hadn't found a spot of even floor.

 

What did Fitbit support tell you when you contacted them?

 

Good luck and have a Terrific day!

 

@paubarc,

Per the instructions. If you store it on its side, it will need to recalibrate before use. My other two electronic scales aways recalibrated before giving me the 'ready' message. I store my Aria 2 on a flat surface under a storage rack and pull it out to another flat area to use it. That saves time by not needing it to recalibrate.

 

I don't see any way to tell it to recalibrate without stepping on it like you are doing. If there is a way, then I might consider storing mine vertically as well.

 

Have a Terrific day!

 

 

Moderator edit: merged reply

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@sourpickle @paubarc Thanks for joining us in our Fitbit Community and it's great to see you here @casew! I'm sorry to hear that your Aria scales have not shown consistent body fat percentage readings. I'd like you guys to take a look at this help article, under the subject "How can I get most accurate reading on my scale". Basically, explains how your Aria measures your data.

 

@USAF-Larry @Goosse1962 I appreciate your help and contribution in this thread my friends.

 

I'll be around if more assistance is needed guys! Smiley Happy

JuanJo | Community Moderator

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@sourpickle  I know you are frustrated by these varying weights from minute to minute.  But a 100 - 200 gram difference is an variation of 0.1 - 0.2%, well within the tolerance for a home use scale.  I don't think I have ever stepped on a home scale five times and got the exact same weight five times.

 

With respect to your percent body fat, here is a little information for you to think about.  There are at least seven formulas that are used to calculate ideal body weight.  They have limitations because they don't take age or bone structure into account.  But they are OK for illustration.  A male who is 1.82 m (6 ft) has an ideal body weight of 73 - 80 kg depending on the formula used.  So I suspect that your measured body fat is closer to the truth than you are ready to hear.

 

You might want to check out this link, which has photos of people with varying percent body fat.  It might help.

 

 

Community Council Member

Laurie | Maryland, USA

Sense 2, Luxe, Aria 2 | iOS | Mac OS

Take a look at the Fitbit help site for further assistance and information.

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I had an Aria 1 for a number of years and it finally just quit. So, I ordered a new Aria 2. 

The Aria 1 seemed to give a pretty accurate body fat content. When I was really really lean, I managed to get to the 11% to 12% range, and by other indicators (vascularity, etc.), it seemed to be about right. I knew that this was not really sustainable in the long run because I had to be super careful to keep in that range. 

 

Fast forward to the Aria 2 - I'm about 6 pounds heavier, and the only reading the Aria 2 gives me is 5%. Wow if I was 5% I'd probably look like a refugee. What's worse, is that there is no variation from the 5%.

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Hey LZeeW,

 

Your post made me laugh I have to admit!  I am ready to hear the truth believe me, but when the body fat percentage varies so much each time I step on the scale (in a matter of minutes) and from day to day, it is a pointless piece of information.  At least if it was steady i could just use it as a benchmark to know i am heading in the right direction but even that is impossible.  There is definitely a fault there with the device.

 

Furthermore, the help that I have received from the FITBIT support has been irrelevant, they always regurgitate the same points, make sure you are on a flat surface etc (and I have told them many times that I have done everything on their help page correctly) but offer no solution.  At the very least the scale should tell me the correct weight.  The two other scales I have at home read the same reading as each other (always 0.2 kilos less than ARIA 2) and never give me a different reading if i step on it ten times in 5 minutes!  

 

I basically have paid for a product that doesn't do what its suppose to do at the simplest level and I am not offered a solution by FitBit.

 

Hey,

 

I have had this article sent to me by your support every time and it does nothing for me.  I follow all instuctions and fixes perfectly and I still have a very unstable reading of both weight and bodyfat percentage.  I could step on a the Aria 2 ten times in 3 minutes and I will get so many different readings.

 

I really need a solution other than your standard "read this article" which i have been sent many times!  I hope you can offer me a real solution.

 

All the best

 

 

Moderator edit: format

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OK an update. I went to the settings on the app, and found out that for some reason I was in the "lean" mode (I never changed it after changing the scales), so I switched that off. Now, my body fat reading is 15% which is probably pretty close to what I think I am - I was at 138 lbs and 12% with the Aria 1, and now 146 lbs and 15% with the Aria 2 so this seems to correspond with the weight gain as I have also put on some muscle mass. 

 

It makes me really wonder what is in the algorithm that changes the calculation so dramatically when you choose lean mode. 

 

Bad news is that I'm no longer at 5% and I'm going to have to pass on that Big Mac. 

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@sourpickle thanks for sharing your screenshot. A .1-.2% variance in weight is not abnormal on the Aria scale, I see it often with my scale. I would suggest standing straight on the scale, do not tilt too far to the left or right, it may not resolve the issue for you, but could help. 

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Thanks for your feedback but i have tried everything and am very careful ... just resigning to give up.....

 

UPDATE : Still no difference and no solution by FITBIT.  The weight is still off after weeks of use and comparing it to other scales.  It still seems to dip down to the real weight and then back up by between 0.2 - 0.4 kg each time when comparing with two other scales (have the same reading as each other always).

 

Anyone else experiencing this ?

 

 

Moderator edit: format

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I am having exactly the same problem. Peviously I had the Aria scales which were more accurate until they stopped working after 2 years. I replaced them with the Aria 2 which give totally random readings. Within 2 minutes my weight fluctuates within half a kiilo. The body fat reading is totally random!! For the cost, I am VERY disappointed!

 

Me too. I just want help to put it right but fitbit haven’t responded to my request for help

 

 

Moderator edit: format

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