Aria doesn't turn off

[knightmare7320]

My Aria runs almost all the time and won't turn off.   It switches between different messages such as "please step on" to "sensing" and others when no one is in the room.  It does occasionally stop but not for long.  It eventually wears its batteries down doing this within a few days.

I've tried cleaning off the deck and obviously changing batteries but I'm at the point of just throwing the thing out.  

Is there anything else I can do?

[Maureen-5]

I have had no problem, since I reread the instructions and followed them
carefully.
--
Sent from my iPhone

[Redmerkin]

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@Judzer wrote:
Turn it on it's side for a while and it should work fine. It's a shame it stops working in the first place.

Thanks!  I'll give that a try.  Heck!  I'll stand on my head or lean on my side if I can get the stupid thing to work again!  It frustrates me that I could have spent a lot less money for a gadget that does a lot more and probably would still be working!!!  

Do I leave the batteries in?

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@Maureen-5 wrote:
I have had no problem, since I reread the instructions and followed them
carefully.
--
Sent from my iPhone

I didn't have any issues for 15 months, so I'm assuming that I read the instructions correctly the first time, but you know what they say about assuming 

  However, I have done all the troubleshooting provided by FitBit's customer service's emails, but to  no avail.

@Maureen-5 wrote:
I have had no problem, since I reread the instructions and followed them
carefully.
--
Sent from my iPhone

Moderator edit: merged reply

[Maureen-5]

You pop the battery out, then put it back in.


__________________
R.

[Redmerkin]

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@Maureen-5 wrote:
You pop the battery out, then put it back in.


__________________
R.Oh, I've done that multiple times.... for a month, in fact.  I was wondering when I turn it on its side for a bit, as was suggested, if I leave the battery in it while it's on its side or take them out.

[Redmerkin]

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@Cbear1 wrote:
I contacted customer support with this same problem. They said sorry it's not working and it's not under warranty. That's it -- not a single suggestion of how to fix it or any help whatsoever. Last Fitbit product I buy. I wasn't looking for a replacement but an idea to try to fix a scale that is barely out of warranty. Very unhappy with this response

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Amen!  They have a lot of gall charging over a $100 for a disposable bathroom scale!  I wished I had never given away my previous scale that I had when I purchased the Aria.  It worked great and I had it for over 25 years.  I just thought it would be fun to have the scale link to my Fitbit and track my progress on my iPhone.  Boy, was I mistaken.

[Redmerkin]

This was my exact experience.  Clearly, this is a flaw with Fitbit's product and they refuse to stand behind their name or their product.  Not only would they not replace it for me, but here was their best means of support (taken directly from their Customer Service email)...

"Please note that we do not have a repair center nor any of our retailers are certified to repair any Fitbit device; thus, we do not produce replacement parts, and currently fixing your current Aria is not an option as all troubleshooting steps have been exhausted."

Great!  That's perfect!  I'm S.O.L.  They don't even produce the parts to have it repaired, even if that were an option!!  It's amazing that it seems to occur just OUTSIDE of the limited warranty.  Fitbit, you have a problem and you know it!  Stand up and do the right thing. 

[Maureen-5]

Which fitbit products are you trying to sync?

[Maureen-5]

Did you know that it can take 10-20 seconds to shut down? Step off the
scale and wait. It is calculating then for several seconds. See if that
works.


__________________
R.

[Redmerkin]

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@Maureen-5 wrote:
Which fitbit products are you trying to sync?

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This isn't a syncing issuing.  This is an issue that the Aria suddenly decided to not shut off, or will turn on if you walk into the bathroom (even without stepping onto it) and constantly says, Thinking, Step on, Step Off, ect., but doesn't actually give a weight reading.

[Bodyfirm1]

Mine has done this too.  I have traced it to one of the soft pedestal stands being stuck.  I sat it upside down, sideways etc to buy more battery life but ultimately seems not to be very well design.  Mine lasted over a year before it started being useless at least.  Won't buy another one though. 

[Webill]

Same here for years.  Just thought it was me.  Not sure why I have dealt with this issue so long.  The soft surface thing is tantamount to just turning it upside down or any similar function that will take pressure off the 4 pads on the bottom.  Cool business model.  Get your customers to find the work arounds themselves.  There will be no fixes.

So far with Fitbit, I had to return 4 Surges due to the band constantly peeling off.  Never the ability to exchange, just keep sending refurbished ones that peeled, too.

Now I see Fitbit does the same with their scale with customers?  Maybe send a replacement if not out of warranty but a stern and firm OH WELL is all you get from them.  Fix your buggy products Fitbit.

I already threw out the Surge and the Aria is going to go with it but since it appears to be made of glass I can at least shoot this one and enjoy watching it shatter.

[Blackjacko]

Hello all

i have been having his issue for some time now and it’s getting frustrating, I bought my scale about a year ago and don’t know where the receipt could be, is there another possible route for me to get a replacement as I’m not willing to invest in anew one with this ones track record. I love it worked very well but we had to start standing it on edge so it would torn off, or lift the bottom edge with our toes so it would no stop telling me to get off and give me my weight. I am an engineer and it looks like the load cells in the bottom to feet have failed a spring that lifts the scales weight off the cell is no longer doing what it was designed... anyway please help, my family’s all Fitbit and we would like to keep it so.

[Judzer]

The only fix is not to use this piece of poorly designed tech, I no longer use mine and it will probably end up in the trash.

Sent from my iPad

[Blackjacko]

... my wife just notified me that there is an error code that shows up continuously and scale fails to give you any feedback so it’s pretty much useless at this point, I tried the battery removal trick and haven’t made any changes to my router so now this too...

[JuanJoFitbit]

@Webill @Blackjacko Thank you both for joining us in our Fitbit Community and it's great to see you here @Judzer! I'm sorry for the late response. However, I'll be happy to follow up on your cases and find a solution for you guys. If you haven't done so, please take out the batteries and clean the contacts with a cotton swab and a little bit of alcohol. This will remove any dust that the scales may accumulate.

After this, put the batteries back in (make sure they're not rechargeable) and see if the issue gets resolved.

Let me know the outcome guys and I'll be happy to follow up! 

[Blackjacko]

Hello Juan, I have tried this with no change. Before the error message we cannot get rid of, the scales lost the ability to know when some one stepped off of it  and when left on the floor the scale would just keep repeating step off constantly, itbthen started to display two weight measurements, when I got it would tell me my weight, if I stepped off and got right back on it (after raising its edge to reset) it would display a different weight and percentage sometimes a 5-6 lb difference, so we didn’t know which was correct.

[JuanJoFitbit]

@Blackjacko Thank you for getting back! Since your Aria scale is still experiencing the same issue. Due to this, I'll send your case to our Support team so they can investigate further and provide a solution. You should receive an email from them soon.

Let me know if you have any doubts! 

[Blackjacko]

Yes no results, same issue, I’m also questioning fitbits responses to our questions on this forum, are you all chat bots? As the responses are mechanical and sometime unrelated to the questions posed.

i know what the problem is as I am well versed in electronics field, the problem is the sub par springs used to lift the weight of the scale off the load cells (electronic sensor that sense the weight). So the springs no longer “spring”. And the weight of the scale itself presses on the load cells and the scale keeps trying to detect weight. Even though no ones on it. My one now displays error no matter what I do.

The question... is will FITBIT replace our scales? The shear number of complaints about the same issue points to substandard parts and or testing / quality control.

[JuanJoFitbit]

@Blackjacko I totally understand your frustration and I know how you feel about this. I appreciate your feedback and comments about this. Your feedback will be sent to our Support team since this helps us to keep improving our services and products.

Let me know if you have any doubts!

[Blackjacko]

After getting the common response from your “support team” of sorry we cannot help you... this was my response...

I am an engineer and I can tell you this scale WAS not designed to last, just read the complaints on your Fitbit forum, this issue is VERY common, this points to substandard parts, bad design and or bad prototype testing, this is on Fitbit. Sadly this is going to go the same way as my complaint about my Blaze silicone band falling apart also a common complaint.

Please remove the following line from your form responses as it’s a lie “Our products are indeed designed and made to last”.

They are not... and please change your title from “Fitbit-support” to Fitbit-response as I have yet to see service or support.

I’m going to disassemble the scale and find and document the substandard components.

So a little disassembly on my Fitbit scale before it meets my trash can, it seems that fitbits fine getting throw away customers

After another mechanical response from Fitbit, I wrote....

Hector please stop replying with these mechanical form emails, it’s clear that you are either a bot or following company protocol response, I think there is nothing you actually type when you respond, Needless to say after waisting all this time I’m still stuck with a broken scale I paid too much money for. So no support or service was actually rendered. If you are a human simply reply sorry we couldn’t help you. I bet no such email will appear.

Moderator edit: format