Aria shows a "Sensing, Step Off, Thinking, Err" message

[Jollyrotter]

Starting a new thread as the previous similar threads are marked as Solved, but when you read them they are NOT Solved, just full of unhappy ARIA customers and a fitbit moderator that gives the same advice time and time again despite it not working.

But unlike the other threads my issue did not start after I changed the batteries. I had only changed them 4 months ago (I put a little label on the cover when I change batteries on a device so I know how often it needs doing) and also my fitbit app says it fully charged. It also says the firmware is v39

As one of the troubleshooting steps was to take out the battery wait 15 seconds and replace I did this and noted my ARIA has a firmware of v29 (Not v39)

So why does my fitbit app report v39 for the aria when its actually on v29

Have fitbit pushed out a poor firmware update that has bricked our scales ??

if so then thats fitbit's fault, as at no stage was I asked to approve a firmware update or asked to automatically accept an update, in which case if fitbit broke it, they should fix it at their cost and regardless of the warantee status of out scales. (mine is out of warrantee) 

I tried everything the fit bit moderator suggested and all the troubleshooting steps that were referenced, so please dont tell me to do them again. Ask your product team if firmware v39 has broken our scales and can they fix it. PLEASE - Make your customers happy.

.

Moderator edit: updated subject for clarity

[hart016]

yeah, good luck with that...I've trashed all my fitbit equipment purchased
over the years...or should I say they've trashed it with their planned
obsolescence technology plan fitbit clearly has with their updates warranting
the technology useless but offering a discount on their new product (that
actually just replaced the product that 'died', even though it was just a
year or two old and just outside of the warranty).

So happy to not have to deal with this company and BS when it comes to
their products that just stop working after THEIR updates.

[Bonnie.bau]

I don’t usually post on these boards, HOWEVER my scale is doing the same exact thing after changing the batteries. 
Tried & tried to do all the troubleshooting, nothing is working. 
I got this scale as a gift, yes it’s out of warranty, but worked just fine & now getting the same as everyone else. 
I will not be purchasing another scale like this, I will go with a cheap one & enter it manually. 
I want to say I really liked the scale when it worked properly. When I first got the scale it also was a bit finicky to set up. The frustration of this scale is NOT worth the short life & troubleshooting. 
move liked my older Fitbit & now just purchased the versa 3…hope those are better than the scales. 

[Caseylupus]

Same error message. No responses from customer service. Just started at the end of October no longer working. You step on and it says sensing and you step off and it eventually says ERR

[Rensje]

After successfully linking my Aria scale to my new wifi address after we moved, the scale refuses to weigh. It goes: step on. Sensing… sensing.. sensing.. then ‘step off.. step off … and so on without ever giving any weight, until it shuts down. 
very unhappy. Will never buy another fitbit scale again. 

[dalerks]

I had the same issue stopped using my scale for a while and went to use it this summer same issue, I bought a garmin instead but wtf Fitbit.

[MartinGibraltar]

Which one? I have the same issue as everyone else is reporting so will not contact Fitbit support to get the same run around - I would rather just report my issue on Amazon where I purchased it so that other consumers can factor in to their purchase decision and move to a better product

[Ehabtr]

Im having the same issue !!!! Just a waste of time and unfortunately disappointing ☹️

[deb65251]

Same issue, and disappointing to see that no solution (that works) has been presented.  I will NEVER recommend fit bit again. I have put a LOT of energy and time into resolving this on my own, to no avail.  What a waste of money.

[tiffanytgs]

I was a silent viewer looking at these threads. I'm facing similar issue, error message after a battery change. This is obviously not aria problem but maybe a software issue. Can fitbit tech team look into this error message instead of directing me to just look at this community with no fitbit staff helping but an increasing amount of people calling for help for the same error message.

[CoolCat24]

Were you ever able to obtain any troubleshooting results that worked?  Yours is the most recent post from a couple of weeks ago but the thread that you and I were both keeping an eye on as almost 2 years old. 

[Tazegypt]

Facing the same issue without resolution!

[tiffanytgs]

No resolution provided. Fitbit only said my warranty ended. So helpful 

[Lrsn]

Same problem here.

Awfull track record with fitbit - I had the charge2 which bricked itself during firmware update. 

At that time they could not help me as they were out-of-stock and they would not upgrade me to another product.  

So that ended my fitbit wearable days and got me into garmin. 

Now the weight appears to have bricked itself during a battery change - this really sucks.

The hardware seems to work fine but the software is so poorly tested that you can't rely on them. Simply changing batteries can brick working hardware - sucks being dependant on them and having all you historical data and progress inside the fitbit system 😞 

[Lrsn]

So did you ever get any help on resolving this ? 

Is the weight simply toast after bad firmware update.

Fitbit seems to avoid the service for this.  

Changing to garmin will require alot of work to extract and import data or simply lose years of personal data. 

[Beckymasters71]

No help here, they told me too but the new one. With service like that I choose to go with a brand that provided actual customer service. I got an Apple Watch and a Fitindex scale for $15 off of Amazon.

[Beckymasters71]

It’s not my solution, I’m trying to save you the time of trying to contact Fitbit and receiving the same response from them!

[Caseylupus]

I wonder after thousands of customers experiencing the same issue buy better scales like the withings if they will decide to fix this.

[Lrsn]

At least they should acknowledge the problem and give honest information to customers.

Especially when it just stops working for no apparent reason - a simple battery change bricked the device.  

I am taking the advice of others and start from scratch with another brand that hopefully is more trustworthy. 

[FreezingCold]

Same issue here. v39 brick. Obviously they don't intend to fix this considering this thread is more than 2 years old. The consistent behavior across users' scales indicates a software issue. So either they are stupid and bricked them on accident, or shady and did it on purpose. Either way I won't buy any more fitbit products. All of the trackers we bought from them fell apart in less than a year anyway. 

[billdehaan]

Mine fried yesterday. As with others, I made the foolish mistake of abusing my 7 year old scale by.... replacing the batteries.

Fitbit tech support was as helpful as expected. They confirmed that:

- "although this seems to be a common issue, Fitbit evaluates each case separately. "

- My Aria was out of warranty (I would have thought the fact that I'd said it was 7 years old made that obvious)

- They will not replace it

- They will not repair it. In fact, they admitted that "We do not have a repair center either and our retailers aren't certified to repair any Fitbit product"

- They summarized that "we tried to help you as much as we were able to". And, of course, they invited me to spend more money on another Aria scale.

I checked online and found a $35 scale that reviews give high marks, and which seems to do as much, if not more, than the $130 Aria did. For amusement, I read the reviews of the new Aria. To be honest, based on those reviews alone, I would avoid it, even without my experience here.

It's pretty obvious that this is a firmware update gone bad. The only real question is whether Fitbit's remote bricking of working devices is due to incompetence or malice. Either way, it's a good indicator that it's a company whose products should be avoided. Fortunately, unlike 2014, the number of smart scales with tracking features available is huge; it's not a captive market any more.