Aria doesn't connect to a new modem...

[riches1966]

I got a new modem three days ago.

I have spent those three days trying to get my Aria to connect to my new wifi.

I have tried EVERY tip and trick on here.  I have tried it from my desktop, my iphone, everything.  I have renamed my network, renamed my phone, hard-reset the Aria... I have watched YouTube videos, online tutorials and read these forums from back to front.

Why on earth would FitBit design and then sell a product that is so user-UNfriendly???

By the way, when the Aria was new out-of-the box it took hours to set it up. When I moved cities earlier this year, it took two days.  This time, three days.  I've had it.  I want my money back.

$190 for a doorstop?  I don't think so.

Moderator edit: updated subject for clarity

[JuanJoFitbit]

@riches1966 It's great to see you in our Fitbit Community! Seems odd that your Aria scale is not connecting with your new router. I understand your frustration, however, I'll be happy to assist you to get this issue resolved. I would like to know a couple of details; what is the brand of your new router? Do you get any error message while you try to set up your scale? Does your WiFi password include special characters?

Looking forward to your response my friend! 

[JDD15]

I am also having trouble connecting. My Aria stopped connecting about 5 days ago. I did not change router or anything. I went to settings for Comcast router and trouble shooted from there. My scale did this about 3 months ago and I saved the instructions. Have followed them to a "T" and still get the wifi err message at the end of the setup. Very frustrating...please help before I throw this scale out the window ☹️

Even changed password so there were no symbols. This is very frustrating. Any other words of advice?  I just want to be able to use the darn thing again...its just scrolling "setup active".

Moderator edit: merged reply

[riches1966]

No, my password contains no special characters.  Just letters and numbers.

I get no error message on the scale, however, after I connect to the Aria WiFi, it can never connect back to my home wifi, and therefore, it doesn't work.

The brand of my router is Hitron.

[mamontb]

I seem to be having the same problem.  Start setup "from scratch", ethernet disconnected, my computer sees the Aria, but the Fitbit app (into which I've logged in) never connects, attempting connection until it (apparently) times-out and tells me to try again.  Multiple attempts unsuccessful.  Scale "reset" using the hardware switch, no joy.

When I installed a new wireless router from Comcast, all of my other wifi devices immediately joined the newly named wifi network seamlessly.  All I had to do was enter the new SSID and password, basically logging on.  I also recently added a wifi switch (as a test) using a procedure just the the Aria connection (find and connect the wifi switch on my iPhone, then re-connect the home wifi network on my iPhone: the switch is online and controllable with the app on my phone).  I don't think there is a setting on the phone or Windows or Norton that is preventing the connection, but that might be a possibility.

[GailLozar]

JuanJo, I have been in contact with Fitbit and am more frustrated than I have ever been.  I have been a dedicated Fitbit user since 2012 and have never had service issues before.  My scale stopped connecting to my WiFi on January 3rd, and all that I have done since then has not solved the problem.  Is there a difference between the Aria 1 and the Aria 2?  I am  being told to reduce my internet speed in order to set up my scale, but I just  upped my internet speed and Aria cannot keep up.  If Aria 2 supports the higher speed, how can I go about getting a replacement?  This is my second Aria scale.  I cannot tell you how many thousands of dollars I have spent in the last 6 years buying Fitbit products for myself and my family.  At this point, I am ready to give up on Fitbit altogether, and that has never happened to me before.  

[riches1966]

I am definitely ready to give up on FitBit.  In fact, I think I already have.

Since my $200 scale is now a doorstop and customer service sketchy at best, I know I’ve already bought my last item from them.  My Blaze still works well but I won’t be replacing it when it dies.

I’ve already talked a few people out of getting FitBits and two people out of getting the Aria. One was just yesterday.  I told them about the terrible software and the lack of technical support knowledge from customer service and they decided not to buy it.

its too bad because I always supported FitBit and this is my third one, but my experience has gotten worse and worse as time goes by and there are now lots of fitness trackers available so why stick with a company that can’t back up their products (or even provide support when they don’t work)? 

[GailLozar]

@JuanJoFitbit

I have been in contact with Fitbit and am more frustrated than I have ever been.  I have been a dedicated Fitbit user since 2012 and have never had service issues before.  My scale stopped connecting to my WiFi on January 3rd, and all that I have done since then has not solved the problem.  Is there a difference between the Aria 1 and the Aria 2?  I am  being told to reduce my internet speed in order to set up my scale, but I just  upped my internet speed and Aria cannot keep up.  If Aria 2 supports the higher speed, how can I go about getting a replacement?  This is my second Aria scale.  I cannot tell you how many thousands of dollars I have spent in the last 6 years buying Fitbit products for myself and my family.  At this point, I am ready to give up on Fitbit altogether, and that has never happened to me before.  

[Mattster]

The Aria 2 only supports a slightly newer wireless standard than the Aria 1.

It still doesn't support 5Ghz that most new routers use by default and it only supports 802.11g as it's default which is workable, but the G standard has been superseded for probably the last 6-8 years as a guess by the newer mitre capable wireless standards like 802.11n/ac.

So still quite out of date. Really frustrating me that this narrow mindedness is happening by not including the capability for more up to date wireless hardware n the new model considering how much trouble the Aria 1 caused people.

[GerberaDaisy]

So what is the answer for this problem?  I'm having the same issue.  The scale will not connect to my new router.

I have a fix for anyone with the first Aria trying to connect to a new modem.  The scale requires a 802.11 b connection.  My new router (a Comcast gateway) had 802.11 g,n  (this is under the 2.4 GHz WiFi).  I was able to log into my Comcast account and get into the WiFi mode/channel setting and it gave me the option to switch it to 802.11 b,g,n.  After applying the change, I went through the scale set up again (which I've already spent hours upon hours doing) and voila!  It connected!

Moderator edit: merged reply

[Mattster]

Just remember though that is not a good step to do at all. Dropping the speed of your modem down then makes the WiFi slower and less stable WiFi for all the other devices on your home WiFi network.

This means that you likely won't get your WiFi devices to have as good range (meaning the distance from your modem) so there should be a better method although there isn't.

It's a physical limitation in the design of both the Aria 1 and Aria 2 products.
Be wary of this then.

Matt

Sent from Nine

[mamontb]

My conclusion is that my Aria is not compatible with my new router and that I will no longer enjoy a wifi interface as a consequence.  I'm also unwilling to compromise the performance of my wifi network and all of the other networked devices (some of which are older than my Aria...) to restore the Aria connection.  Am I missing an option? 

[PutPut]

After you were able to get your scale to work did you switch your WiFi back, if so does the scale still work?

[Mattster]

---

wrote:

My conclusion is that my Aria is not compatible with my new router and that I will no longer enjoy a wifi interface as a consequence.  I'm also unwilling to compromise the performance of my wifi network and all of the other networked devices (some of which are older than my Aria...) to restore the Aria connection.  Am I missing an option? 

---

Hi Mamontb,

That's correct. You lose too much that you might wish to use the rest of . Maybe if you had a small room or apartment that you only needed the wireless for the rest of your home devices to be functional in, then it might be an option to consider slowing the rest of your network down and reduce the distance that your wifi will reach around your home if you really want to get the Aria 1 working. A shockingly bad "solution" from Fitbit to recommend that end users compromise their whole wifi network just to make their badly designed product work.

The Aria 2 might work fine with most routers available on the market at the moment, but in the coming near future (year or more) will probably also start to have problems as newer routers become available and those drop support for the old 802.11g standard as well. Can't say when that will happen, but wouldn't be surprised if it happens soon.

I was quite excited when I saw that the Aria2 had been released, but then checked the specs and found it's got the old wireless controller inside it and decided to skip it entirely.

Will stick with my other Fitbit products instead.

[mamontb]

I haven't researched this idea yet, but wonder if I could add an old wifi router to my Xfinity router, connecting my Aria 1 through the old router while permitting the Xfinity router to be the access point for all of my other devices?

[Mattster]

It would sort of work. Yes its possible. It does create what's called a "double nat" which isn't good practice but should still work anyway.

1. Don't connect more than devices than you have to though to the second router. As the double nat will be a bit slower and sometimes less reliable.

2. Make the WiFi a different name of course to seperate it.

3. Most importantly, don't put it too close to the main router. As the WiFi will conflict and create interference. At least a few metres at minimum is best. They should both like be set to automatically pick a different WiFi channel though too will prevent major issues.

4. You need to change one of the routers to publish it's IP address for the network as a different IP Range. You generally do this in the router settings under a tab called something like "LAN Settings" or "local area network" settings. Both routers will currently probably have a similar IP address something like "192.168.1.1". Change this to a different number in the 3rd block there. So it becomes "192.168.2.1". That number could be some other number too depending on the router but it's often that the one above is the most common number for most routers.


Good luck,
Matt


Sent from Nine

[mamontb]

Thanks for the information.  I was thinking of using a Cisco router that I'd been using before my ISP started to provide a router six years ago when I started service.  The only device I'd want to connect to it would be the Aria.  It would have to be in the same room as the ISP router, with an "air gap" of only three feet or so.  I infer that might be too close.  However, it's something to try.

[GerberaDaisy]

I left my WiFi with the b setting.  I assumed that needs to stay on for it to work.  However, I can report that none of our other devices in the home have seen a decrease in speed or range.  I believe all our other devices work on the 5ghz though.  I'm not sure if this would be the case if you have other devices using 2.4.  

Also, as a side note, the Fitbit rep told me the scale is considered a medical device and therefore has to follow FCC rules and that is the reason they don't make them to work on the faster channels. 

[mamontb]

Examining the WiFi settings for my Xfinity wifi router, it turns out that the 2.4 Ghz channel originally was 802.11 g,n, but I was able to set it to 802.11 b,g,n.  The wifi "sees" the Aria, but the final step doesn't connect the Aria to my wifi. 

[GailLozar]

As far as I am aware, there are no other options.   Very disturbing from a company that has been at the top of their game for 6 years.