Aria 2 Body Fat % not accurate

[TaliFluffins]

I measure myself same time of day, and the weight seems correct, but the body fat seems inaccurate. When I first got Aria 2 it had me down for 23% body fat, and that seemed right. Then I weighed myself a week later, and although I lost weight, I went up to 25%. I didn’t think much of it because people can gain fat and lose muscle when losing weight. Then I weighed myself a few days later and my body fat was 28.9%. There is no way that is true. I already tried switching between lean mode and regular mode, but nothing changed. Why did it increase my body fat so much? Is there anything I can do to fix it?

Moderator edit: updated subject for clarity

[JuanJoFitbit · Accepted solution]

@TaliFluffins Thanks for participating in our Fitbit Community! I'm happy to help you and find a solution for the wrong body fat readings that your Aria scale is tracking. Please restart your scale by taking out the batteries for 15 seconds and put them back in. Once you've done this, weigh yourself 5 consecutive times in order to re-calibrate your scale and see if the issue gets fixed.

Keep me posted on the outcome my friend! 

[Ana65]

I just got mine and am having the exact same issue I'm 5'8 and my other scale says my fat percentage is 23% but aria 2 says I'm 32 percent and bmi is 21 so what do I do?

[TaliFluffins]

The recalibration worked for me!

[Ana65]

So just take out the batteries for 15 seconds then put back in and that's it?didnt work the first time I will try it again

[JuanJoFitbit]

@Ana65 It's great to see new faces in our Fitbit Community. Welcome aboard! Thank you for troubleshooting the body fat issues that you've experienced with your Aria scale. Please try changing the gender in your profile settings from female to male and save the changes. After this, change the gender back to female and weigh yourself 5 times in a row in order to re-calibrate the scale and see if the issue gets fixed.

@TaliFluffins I'm so glad to hear that your Aria 2 is working properly after you re-calibrated it. Thank you for posting the update in the Community.

I'll be around if any questions arise guys! 

[Ana65]

I tried that twice now and still the same problem. And on my other scale I'm 23 % which makes sense what else can I do? 

[JuanJoFitbit]

@Ana65 Thanks for getting back! Since the issue persists, I'll forward your case to our Support team so they can follow up on this case and provide a solution. You'll receive an email from them soon.

Let me know if you have any doubts! 

[Ana65]

Thank you so much for you help! Putting it on lean mode worked! I do work out very regularly doing high intensity interval training so probably on regular mode thats why my fat percentage weren't correct. Thank you fitbit for helping me to resolve the issue very happy with the scale now 🙂

[JuanJoFitbit]

@Ana65 I'm so glad to hear that your Aria scale is providing accurate body fat percentage after you changed the settings to "Lean Mode". Thanks for posting the update here.

I'd like to invite you to visit our Discussions board where you can share your experiences, meet people and create new topics.

Hope to see you in our Fitbit forums more often and hope you keep achieving your goals! 

[Kmilacesar]

how did u put it on a lean mode?

[JuanJoFitbit]

@Kmilacesar Thank you for joining this thread! Regarding your question, please follow these steps: Go to your web-based Dashboard, click on the "gear" icon, located at the upper right corner of the page and select the Aria 2. After this, click on the "People" tab (next to "Measurements"). Then click on your user's name and you will get the two modes (Regular and Lean). Finally select "Lean" and weigh yourself 5 times in a row in order to make sure that the setting took effect.

Let me know if you have any other questions! 

[SoulsbyA]

I've had mine for almost a week now and seem to have the same issue but the other way. 1st day gave me around 23% then every day since has been around 12-13%. Again it's been the same time, when I wake up before eating or drinking anything ect. 

As much as I like the result it's giving me I think the 23% is more toward the area I think I am.

[Blue-Lobster]

Hi I just purchased the scale, it was showing 22% and I just figured out to switch it to lean and it dropped it to 20%.  I am way lower then that, the one at the gym shows under 12% and I have my top abs. Why is the scale so off in it measurement?  Why did it only drop 2% for lean?  Thanks 

Wow just hopped on ten times and each time my body’s fat drops, still way off.  When from 22.3% and now 18.3% why does it not go to what I am, 10 weigh ins ten different results....why?

 Started working today for some reason thanks

Moderator edit: format

[JuanJoFitbit]

@SoulsbyA Welcome to our Fitbit Community! I'm sorry to hear that your Aria scale is not providing accurate body fat percentage. If you haven't done so, I recommend restarting and re-calibrating your Aria by taking out the batteries for 15 seconds and put them back in. After this, weigh yourself 5 consecutive times and see if your body fat is more accurate.

@Blue-Lobster That's great news! I'm glad to hear that your Aria is providing accurate readings again. Thank you for letting the Community know.

I'll be around if more assistance is needed! 

[Stoked]

I put the scale on lean mode and it measures me at 9.3% BF which is Bruce Lee level body fat. (I don’t look like Bruce Lee) This reading doesn’t bother me because I learned a long time ago that electrical impedence will never accurately measure body fat percentage. 

Tomorrow im getting a DEXA scan which is the only true legitimate way to really know how much of your weight is fat vs bones vs tissue. Typically when I’ve done this in the past it was 5-7% higher than skin fold or whatever gimic machines at the gym they put you in. There’s a direct readout in pdf report of every limb and section of your body with its own %. I highly recommend getting this done if you truly want to know your BF %. Once you know what it truly is you can apply the difference to the aria readout as a baseline. Observe the change on the scale and add the difference back to see the change. Get a DEXA scan once a year to recalibrate.  

Not a single smart scale I’ve ever used has ever given me the numbers that a DEXA scan does. Hope this helps.

After removing the batteries and turning off lean mode, the scale has recalibrated from 9.3% to 13.1% BF. So for those of you who are not the Bruce Lee or competition body builder type I'd recommend not using lean mode. 

For the sake of Science I am including the results of my DEXA scan for you to witness the difference in readouts. 

Dexa:

FitBit: 

My plan is to apply a +6% mental adjustment to the scale readout from here on out. Note to anyone who chooses to get a DEXA scan: It is very common to have a lot higher readout on BF% (+5-10%)  than on a scale or other device used to measure. BF% that are thrown around in the industry are commonly incorrect and now it's difficult to understand the ideal range or standard. Being under 30% on DEXA is considered healthy. From there it's about ratio and preference. Hope this helps anyone who was curious on this subject.

Moderator edit: merged reply

[JuanJoFitbit]

@Stoked I noticed that you joined our Fitbit Community recently. Welcome aboard! I really appreciate your feedback and comments. Thank you also for sharing the results you got from the DEXA scan. Your feedback will be sent to our team as this helps us to keep improving our products and services.

I'd like to invite you to visit our Discussions board, where you can share your experiences, meet people and create new topics.

Hope to see you in our Fitbit Community! 

[JaySayCa]

I’m having a body fat problem. When I attempt to recalibrate the scale by removing the batteries and weighing myself 5 times, I just get 5 different body fats ranging from 44% to 50%, and that’s not right. 

[JuanJoFitbit]

@JaySayCa Thank you for joining us in this thread and our Fitbit Community! I'm sorry to hear that your Aria 2 is still unable to provide accurate body fat percentage after trying the recommended troubleshooting steps. I would just like you to let me know if your scale is placed on a hard surface and you are stepping on it barefoot.

Keep me posted! 

[SunsetRunner]

Everytime I step on the scale my bf % increases but my weight stays the same. Within a 15 minute period I stepped on the scale 5 times trying to calibrate it and it went from 24.6% up to 37.4% and body weight remained at 125.0. I tried taking the batteries out for 15 seconds and reconnecting the network but each time I step on it, it increases by at least 2%.