Aria Setup Failure

[bfox33]

I am also unable to set up my Aria.

I followed all these directions (thanks to Erich for helpfully posting):
- Take out all the batteries and wait for one minute before placing them back in.
- Clear your browser's cache and cookies.
- Check that your Wi-Fi password is correct.
- Make sure the Aria scale is within 10 feet of the router.
- Make sure the scale wireless antenna has access to the main router signal, not to an extender.
- Your router needs to be configured to standard 802.11b (for more information about this you can contact your internet provider or your router's manufacturer)

My router is in this mode right now:  Mixed accepts 802.11b and 802.11g connections.  I could have switched it to 802.11b only, but since it says it accepts 802.11b I left it in this mode.

Every time, I do the following:
1.  take out battery, replace battery after 1 minute
2.  Aria says V31 Wifi [SSID], Tap to Change
3.  I hold down lower edge, "Setup Active" appears on the scale
4.  I follow the instructions on my iPhone app, which has me log in to my Fitbit account
5.  It asks me to switch to AriaXXXX wireless network, which I do
6.  It seeks and finds my wireless network, which I select.

7.  It then asks me to switch back to my home wireless, which happens automatically on my iPhone, and then I click a button saying I am connected, and the iPhone attempts to connect to the Aria, BUT
8.  While I am doing that, and before I can get to the button, the scale says JOINING, then Wifi ERR, then goes dark.

5 attempts so far, it's packed and ready to go back pending a non-boilerplate response from Fitbit.  Any help is appreciated!

[RoccoPriiv]

Ha - just heard from support. "Please reboot your router, watch the youtube video". I went to the trouble of sending the logs, no discussion as to what they revealed.

I also told them my network name,password, etc etc - then in the email they use a form response to make sure my name and password were good. Why did I bother to send them the info in the first place if they aren;t going to read it? Nice support.

[RoccoPriiv]

Two more email exchanges with Support where they don't bother to read the emails.

My first email: "My scale is 1 foot from the router."

Email #1 Reply from Support: "How far is the scale from the router?"

Me: "1 foot. And My scale can't see any networks anyway."

Email #2 Reply: "is the scale 10' or less from the network?"

Me: "I already said it was a foot!"

Email #3: "Please move the scale to 10 feet or less from the router."

Me: <patomimes stomping on scale while girlfriend asks what's going on>

[Bjamlobo]

There is a video on you tube. http://youtu.be/jkbXQF9SrD4
Set it up with your phone, not ur desktop

[RoccoPriiv]

That video is exactly the same as the other video, more or less, and I've already tried every video out there. My scale doesn't see any wireless networks.

[imlikeabird]

I sent an email to your team last Friday and still have not received a response. This is simply disgraceful. I have a fitbit flex it connected perfectly bit these scales are doing my head in. Now again I manage to complete the entire procedure then at the end it shows error and the reason displayed on my laptop is incorrect password My password is correct and does only contain alphanumeric characters! So what is the solution Mr repeat yourself with repeated responses over and over and over and over and over!

Moderator Edit: All-caps

[imlikeabird]

I have read that it can be done with mobile hotspot but am yet to have seen, read or have a response from anyone who has successfully managed to do so.

I followed all fitbit tech instructions it gets to the last step and comes up with Wifi Err message on scales then my laptop tells me it is incorrect password (which it isn't and no there aren't any non alphanumeric characters in my hotspot user name or password) sooo terribly frustrating.

This is the gobbledygook response I received from them:
We're sorry for the difficulty you've experienced setting up your Fitbit Aria through your device hotspot.

We apologize for the delay in our response. We appreciate the effort you have done to get your Aria linked to your account.

We've reviewed your situation through the logs you sent and we could notice that your router is set on the protocol 802.11 n.

So, considering your situation we need you to know that the Aria scale was not designed to get linked through hotspot and it may work in that way, even that you have to consider that you will need another enabled device to complete the setup process.

So, in order to solve this issue we recommend you to contact your service provider to get the options to resolved this issue.

Well I contacted my provider who tried to put me back on to fitbit but after an hr or to of back and fourth chat the same conclusion was drawn by them too. The iPhone 5s and telstra obviously only utilise the 802.11n protocol and it would seem there is no way of changing this sooooo.... In addition to the price tag paid for aria and the copious hours wasted trying to solve the problem I also have to obtain a non mobile home wifi and router that accepts the 802.11b protocol (this would be fine if I wasn't a transient person due to my work can't find any non mobile wifi that allows me to not go onto contract at a specific residence.

I think it is a giant load of pooh for lack of better words

My hotspot works for EVERY other device I own so Fitbit is to blame for their poor technology and it is about time they found a solution!!

[imlikeabird]

Oh and apart from their gobbledygook part the rest was repeating the same crap over and over again! And telling me that once I go to the additional expense to follow those same instructions - apparently I am also a moron

[MatthewFitbit]

@imlikeabird Sorry to hear that you've had a difficult time with your Aria setup. I do know that many users struggle with Mobile Hotspot setups, and that success will complete depend on the specifics of your device and the connection plan you've purchased. While some users have been successful, we have not extensively tested the Aria with Mobile Hotspots to be able to advise on that setup process, and recommend using a router instead.

If your Mobile Hotspot is not capable of 802.11b, it definitely won't be able to setup - that is a requirement.

@RoccoPriiv If you never see any networks in that list, there may be a problem with the Aria itself. Unless you're in a rural area, we'd expect to see some nearby networks show up. You'll want to make sure you give the Aria plenty of time to connect before clicking the "I'm Connected" button, and then try refreshing the list once or twice if it stays empty. Beyond that, I'd guess your scale will need to be replaced. Sorry for the trouble with your setup.

[imlikeabird]

I do propose that I am not the only person of my kind.

My lifestyle prevents me from requiring a home network as home is more often than not home.

I personally would like to put forward to Fitbit that they review their technology to ensure that it operates in all connection environments. As my hotspot connects to all other devices - laptops, tablets, printers etc it only seems right that a new device like the Aria Scales should do so aswell with minimum fuss! I am tremendously disappointed that this is not the case and it was in no way apparent prior to my purchase.

In my opinion there appears to be waaayyy to many people disappointed, angry and frustrated with the technology of the device relating to connectivity so much so that Fitbit should be embarrassed and ashamed of putting something to market with sooo any flaws.

[Raven480]

If you are using comcast router (perhaps others) please take a look at this article ( http://customer.comcast.com/help-and-support/internet/about-the-wireless-gateway/ ). Most of the err messages on the scale are due to the router and not the scale

[imlikeabird]

Hi Raven_480

Thank you for your response. I am aware that most issues including mine are with the 802.11b protocol not being available by their router (in my case an iPhone 5s with the Telstra network).

My greatest bug bare is that my phone connects without issue to so many other Wifi devices without an issue (printer, laptop, tablet, car audio but not the Aria.

I do believe that it is Fitbit that needs to upgrade their connectivity technology. Consumers should not need to go out and buy new routers and/or new phone/Internet plans just to suit the Aria.

[Raven480]

I agree imlikeabird. Being user friendly is important. I am taken they have
not corrected it. It is one thing to make the error but yet another to make
no attempt at correction.

Raven

[imlikeabird]

Hi Raven480

You are right on the money there!! So far down the track from when it was released, soooo many upset and frustrated consumers sooo many people saying to hell with the product yet no resolution. I would be ashamed and embarrassed if it was my product.

[gecodd]

I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. I purchased the Fitbit aria scale today, and have been trying

for three hours to get it setup. I was ready to throw it out the window.  I thought I would check the forum and when I saw you had done the same thing, I decided to use my laptop.  Its old and very slow but I had it successfully set up in about 10 minutes.  Fitbit needs to make it clear in capital letters that a desktop will NOT work.  A laptop is needed.  Thank you again. I thought I had wasted my time.

[KASinYVR]

I have had my Aria for almost 2 years and up until yesterday it has been working perfectly. My problems started when I changed networks. We've moved and I wanted to migrate the scale to the new network. It took a number of tries but finally got the network recognized and the Aria and the new network shows up on my dashboard under settings. The problem is that it won't weigh me or my husband. All we get is the "sensing, thinking ERR" message. And, yes, I've done everything that has been suggested - I've taken out the batteries, I've gone through the setup process again, I'm using the scale on a flat firm surface and I'm ibarefoot. The Aria weighed me yesterday so I know it knows how to be a scale. I've submitted a request for assistance to the Help Desk but based on the experience of others I am not hopeful that anything can be resolved. Reading through the messages on this forum I'm guessing that the problem is with the new router not being supported by the Aria's firmware. Sadly, I doubt there is anything that can be done so I'm off to Costco to buy a scale that works. I'll input the information into my dashboard which is a better use of my time than endlessly trying to make this **ahem** thing work. Let's hope that there are enough of us with problems and FitBit will fix the issue. 

[Trebs]

Considering it is the last quarter of 2014, shouldn't the  802.11b protocol reqirement  for set-upbe comsdered obsolete by now?  Having people to dig into their routers and backwards-set their equipment, mess around with their own home network responses and go through all kinds of hops to get a scale to work is unsat, and their appears to be no talk of upgrading.  I enjoy using al the other Fitbit productss except for this scale when it comes to getting it going if I change routers or network.  And the customer service regarding the setup has gotten worse ovet the past 10 months.  

[WP_Woodside]

I totally agree, Fitbit made a big mistake in requiring 802.11.b instead of the faster and ubiquitous .n and .g.  I've spent hours going back to try and figure out exactly how much I need to dumb down and compromise my home network for this one device.  Comcast standard WiFi security seems to be far too secutiry for Aria (or Fitbit) to figure out so they just give a generic response about it probably should work with WPA without providing any further details about which flavor of the secutiry protocol whould work.  My Fitbit One works fine and had not been a problem.  The Aria is one poorly engineered product, and the support doesn't do anything to help beyond generic "switch to 802.11.b" pablum that doesn't solve the problem.  Like others in this forum, have spent many frustrating hours having the device not do what the guidebook says it should. 

[WVR]

Hi, this process is very frustrating. The instructions in the box are not clear, don't mention that you can't setup by computer wired. Are too basic without troubleshooting hints. You should see some videos from YouTub to try to connect. Good luck with Aria, I always get message "can't finish setup" in the last step. I will request a refund after my second equipment.

[beck9]

Use your iphone and don't waste your time setting up using a laptop!!!

[WVR]

<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/plain;" /> body { font-family: "Calibri","Slate Pro","sans-serif"; color:#262626 }

I used 2 laptops, 2 Cel phones with ‎the same result.

BBS Z10 "The Best smart phone"