Original Aria Scale Syncs to Fitbit App, But Bluetooth Will Not Recognize It

[joanheminway]

Hello.  I have read with interest many other strings relating to issues in getting the Fitbit app to recognize data from Aria scales.  I am not sure I have read them all.  But based on what I read, I did some troubleshooting and have a narrow resulting set of questions I am hoping someone can answer.  But first, the background . . . .

I own an original Aria scale.  I originally synced the scale by wifi through a dongle to my computer so that I could use the data on the Fitbit dashboard in complying with and monitoring a weight-loss program.  That was successful. The last time I synced was about five years ago, it seems. In the interim, the dongle died and was replaced, I switched from an android phone to an iPhone, and the online dashboard (sadly) was discontinued.

I am again on an eating program that requires monitoring my weight.  I first ensured that my Aria is paired with the Fitbit app.  It is, and it shows the remaining battery power for the scale, as it does for my Inspire 2.  But even when my device is with me, within a few feet of the scale, it is not syncing the data from the scale--weight and body fat %.  The last sync shown is June 6, 2019.

I then noticed that the bluetooth on my phone was not finding the Aria scale.   I brought my laptop over to the scale and rebooted everything--scale, phone, and computer.  I restarted the scale and the computer, and then I replaced the batteries in the scale.  The bluetooth on the computer and the phone each recognized the other.  But nether recognized the scale.  

So, it seems the scale is not connecting to bluetooth.  This makes me wonder about whether the original Aria scale is not bluetooth enabled.  There is some evidence of that in a few online searches I just did.  So, my questions are: (1) is the original Aria scale able to connect with bluetooth and (2) if not, then is there a current way to sync the data from the scale to the app through wifi?  If the answers to both questions are no, are there plans for Fitbit to bridge this gap or other resources that Fitbit can make available?  The scale continues to work well, so there is no reason (other than connectivity) for me to throw it out.

Thanks for any help you can give on this.

[JohnnyRow]

Let me think back and hope I have this right.  The dongle is no longer recognized by Fit in any case.  Its purpose was to take the data from the tracker via bluetooth for people who did not have smartphones with bluetooth that could take the tracker's data right into the phone without the need for the dongle.  For the Aria scale, bluetooth and the dongle did not enter the picture at all.  The scale data went directly to the Fitbit database via wi-fi without any bluetooth;  likewise with the Aria 2. 
The scale with bluetooth is the Aria Air, which is the only scale sold now.  The Aria Air connects only directly to phone via bluetooth so the phone has to be nearby turned on with the fitbit app open.

Now back to the original Aria, so we see that it does not connect to bluetooth and never did.  But it did connect to wifi.  Now possibly it still could, but many people have found that with wifi speeds getting faster, they have gotten new routers from their providers with new network protocols, and the older original Aria scales will not work with the newer network protocols.  So I suggest you forget about looking for bluetooth and try to connect it to your wifi.  If it will not connect to your  wifi, it could possibly be that it is just an outdated protocol.  I have seen someone here say they found a workaround, but have also seen many say they gave up.

You could jut buy an Aria Air scale, but you have have your phone nearby when you weigh in, and it does not measure fat % as the Aria does.  Or just live with entering your weight manually every day from the Aria.

[joanheminway]

Thanks for this reply. You explanation bears out what I observed: there is no capacity for the Aria to connect with Bluetooth. I appreciate your recollections.

My Aria is connected to the app by WiFi. But the app only recognizes its existence—by what it is, its remaining battery power, and when it was last synced to my aggregate data. Data is not being transmitted, iow, by WiFi. I hope that clarifies.

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