Aria is not giving accurate readings

[Starkman78]

I had my complaints about the Aria when I first set it up. As with other scales of its type, it seemed that its calculations for weight and BF% were inaccurate, but I was willing to overlook that as long as it did a decent job tracking changes. It doesn't. For the past month, despite my diligent following of my program, weighing myself every Sunday morning under identical conditions (I make certain of that) and my obvious leaning out (as evidenced by the mirror and dropped clothing size(s)) the Aria has not budged. At all. 

At this point it is too late for me to return it. So I am hoping that someone can give me some kind of troubleshooting advice that will "fix" it and reassure me that I have something more than a large, glass covered $130 bill taking up space in my powder room.

Moderator edit: updated subject for clarity.

[Dominique]

I also use my Aria in the same conditions and with the Normal setting. I find the daily values it return show normal variations:

If you see exactly the same weight and exactly the same body fat % day in, day out, it's probably a faulty unit.

[MatthewFitbit]

@Starkman78 I'm sorry that you've felt your Aria to be inaccurate. Can you provide any details on what you've seen? We'd expect that successive weighing to be consistent to within a couple pounds or a small percentage of body fat. Body fat readings would be expected to vary, perhaps significantly, over the course of a day - this measurement is dependant on many factors, such as hydration and diet.

You can check the tips on this page for some general troubleshooting - let us know if there is anything specific we can address, or open a Support Case at http://contact.fitbit.com to contact our team.

[sluggre]

I lean toward the "garbage" assessment as well.  And that includes the Flex.  The Aria is wildly

erratic.  I have weiged in at 230 and 215 depending on the moody "thinking" of Aria.  The body fat comes and goes.  I keep removing the battery to reset from Guest to my personal setting.  As for the flex. a pedometer works much better and more cheaply.  Somehow I launch a thousand steps going from the living room to the John and kitchen in the morning.  I should have checked the net and Consumer Reports before buying this stuff.  Lesson learned.

[tastybrew]

Did you consider exchanging the Aria? I've been extremely pleased with my Aria. It's consistently weighed my wife and I (both weight and bf%) for two months now, and I weigh myself daily.

[Starkman78]

What I've seen:

I first started using the Aria in the middle of January. First weigh-in was quite obviously inaccurate and that isn't just my vanity speaking. I am 35, 5'8", an avid runner/crossfitter who wears a size 2-4 and am toned everywhere including my abs. Visible abs are fairly elusive for women my age (especially women who have given birth) even those who fall in the low end of normal body fat, so the 32% body fat reading it gave me was off. I switched it to the lean setting which made no difference. Moving it from the second to the first level of my house from a tile to a hard wood floor lowered the measurements somewhat. They were still higher than what I believed to be accurate but I decided to hold off judgement to see if the scale did an acceptable job measuring changes, which it did for a couple of weeks and then just stopped. 

I know better than to step on the scale over the course of a day or even a week. I have been diligent about checking my weight first thing on Sunday morning, following consistent activity/food intake/hydration every Saturday to ensure controlled conditions. Yet for the past month the scale has hit a plateau even though my body has not. Yesterday was the final straw. Last week was a particularly vigorous training week accompanied by high daily calorie deficits. Before hitting the scale yesterday morning I tried on "the" pair of pants that haven't fit the way I like since I was 8-10 pounds less than where the Aria is measuring me. They fit like a dream and between the pants and my appearance in the mirror there were undeniable changes. The Aria did not measure any loss in pounds or body fat. 

I have been very pleased with my Fitbit Flex, my Premium service, and the integration with Endomondo, Sleep Debt, and the Weightless Project. I am doing my best to comprehensively measure my health and fitness with all of the available tools. I feel that the Aria is simply not doing its part in the process and I expect more for what I paid for it. Where do I go from here?

[tastybrew]

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@Starkman78 wrote:

so the 32% body fat reading it gave me was off.

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Have you tested your bf% via other means for a comparison?

[Starkman78]

I wish that I could. If I had access to underwater weighing or someone who was skilled with the calipers, I would be utilizing one or the other of those methods and manually entering my data into Fibit. Because neither method is logistically feasible at this time, the Aria was my best option. My only available comparison would be purchasing some other BIA apparatus to see how it compares with the Aria. It doesn't seem likely that I would benefit from that, seeing as how it's the same method and there would be no real determination of whether a different brand of equipment could be considered "better" or "worse" than the Aria. I understand the limitations of BIA, and am willing to accept measurements that aren't exactly spot on. I am not willing to accept measurements that categorize me as obese when I have a six pack. 

[MatthewFitbit]

@Starkman78 Thanks for providing some additional details on what you've seen with your Aria. I'm unclear on whether you feel that the Aria is producing results which differ significantly from another method of measurement, or if you believe the numbers to be incorrect based on reading material you've found.

Remember that body fat measurements are an estimation of the percentage of your body that is fat, as opposed to muscle, bone, and other tissue. It's important to remember that this measurement is always an estimate, and that different methods will produce different estimations.  We would not expect the Aria to produce the same measurements as another type of body fat measurement, as the approach would be unique to both estimations. We believe that the Aria presents you with a relatively narrow range of accuracy, and should be sufficient to help you set and achieve weight-loss goals.

You've indicated that you have recently lost weight - this could be another explanation for what you are seeing. Body fat percentage is calculated as fat mass divided by total mass, so if you noticeably lower your total mass, while that fat mass remains the same, your body fat percentage will increase. Even if fat mass is indeed decreasing, total mass is decreasing more quickly, resulting in an increase of body fat percentage.

In short, fat mass decreases more slowly than other types of mass in your body, which may result in an increased body fat percentage during times of weight loss.

If you have reason to believe that your Aria is not behaving as expected, I'd encourage you to open a case with our Support Team at http://contact.fitbit.com so that they can investigate the readings. Prior to doing this, please take at least five consecutive measurements so that they can take a look at the data in your account.

[jimmycck9]

Consumer Reports in the March 2016 issue has done a review of a couple of "smart" scales including the Aria. Short story is the Aria is close to the best of the group but as with the rest of them, does not do a very good job measuring BMI. It was stated in the article that the BMI could vary up to 21% plus or minus compared to a real scientific device called a Bod Pod which determines body fat by recording the change in air pressure when the body is sealed into the closed machine(ie., air displacement). BTW, the worst machine in the group varied 34%. Arai was rated very good in weight accuracy, excellent in weight reproducability, and scored second overall among the six scales tested.

The article includes a formula to more accurately BMI: divide your weight in pounds by your height in inches squared; then multiply by 703. The example given was a 140 pound, 5 foot 6 inch person has a BMI of 22.6 (140 divided 66, divided by 66, times 703, equals 22.59)

Hope this helps, I'm just rying to get the weight down, I'll worry about BMI after that!

[tastybrew]

The Aria doesn't "calculate" BMI (body mass index), rather it estimates/calculates your BF% (body fat percentage) based on impedance differentials of different material in your body. The Fitbit back end does the simple calculation of your BMI (weight to height ratio), an antiquated calculation IMO. For the record, after two years and multiple comparisons to other testing mechanisms, I'm still relatively satisfied with my Aria for both weight and BF% measurements.

[jimmycck9]

I agree that it must be "an antiquated calculation” if consumer reports says it can be as much as 21% off. I’m just happy to see both numbers trending down. I managed at 35 lb loss the end of 2014 but having met a beautiful woman who loves to cook and can party me under the table, I’ve managed to add back ten of those hard lost pounds.
I find that using food tracker keeps me on track but occasionally I’ll stray and stop losing.
What a wonderful life!

Jim Center
-----------
"A revolution is coming - a revolution which will be peaceful if we are wise enough; successful if we are fortunate enough - but a revolution which is coming whether we will it or not. We can affect its character; we cannot alter its inevitability”
RF Kennedy 1968t

[Rich_Laue]

Just a note about yge Aria scale, once it is setup and calibrated you do not want to move it or pick it up.

As for Fat reading the best is to do a water weighing. I would like to but haven't looked into how exactly does sending an electric current through the body measures the fat, when bone and hydration level affects the resistance. 

[jimmycck9]

There’s a “calibration”?

Jim Center
-----------
"A revolution is coming - a revolution which will be peaceful if we are wise enough; successful if we are fortunate enough - but a revolution which is coming whether we will it or not. We can affect its character; we cannot alter its inevitability”
RF Kennedy 1968t

[Rich_Laue]

 Yes it is done automatically during the first 4 times you weigh yourself after the scale is moved.

With some scales they are tapped with the foot, and the user has to wait for the calibration cycle to finish. With fitbit it calabrates only after it is placed down.

This is explained in the manual

[jimmycck9]

Did not know that. We stand it up on it’s side to keep it out of the way after every weighing
Jim Center
-----------
"A revolution is coming - a revolution which will be peaceful if we are wise enough; successful if we are fortunate enough - but a revolution which is coming whether we will it or not. We can affect its character; we cannot alter its inevitability”
RF Kennedy 1968t

[Rich_Laue]

Sorru @jimmycck9 you might need to find a different place for the scale.

[suetuckey]

I've had my Aria for a few years now and have been very satisfied with it. However, recently, it has gone crazy. I changed the batteries. Last week it had me weighing 87 pounds; then 126 lbs; and then 146 lbs and then 152 lbs - and back down to 143 lbs. It has been moved (to replace batteries and also to make it more accessible). I am away from home now - but does this sound like it's recalibrating? Has anyone else seen this behaviour?

[EveNew]

I just started using this system.  I am 5'10", 134# and I'm getting a 30% bf reading (it went down to 29% when I went up 1/2#)  The weight reading is accurate with the multiple scales I have access to,  but the BF reading is entirely unbelievable.  

I feelyour pain

[lexikate81]

I feel I am in the same boat.  I purchased my Aria last September and compared it the other scale in our bathroom.  Until about December, the Aria seemed to be doing great.  I even compared measurements on both the Aria and regular scale and got the same result (+/-) as my weight was going down, I noticed other changes, including my clothes fitting better, etc.  December and Christmas are a busy time for me so I put my weight loss goals and weighing on hold until January.  I was not surprised to see a higher number on the scale come January but as the month went on, my clothes started to fit again, the number on the Aria went up.  I do mostly cardio with very little weight training so I do not believe I was putting on muscle.  I have also been very strict about what I eat.  I hopped on the other bathroom scale and there was a 2 pound difference.  As of this morning, there is a 4 pound difference.  I have tried resetting it, changing the batteries, but nothing.  It also no longer recognizes me.  I now have a $130 black box sitting in my bathroom next to a $30 scale that works.  

Also, I just read that you should not pick up the scale or move it.  I cleaned it at the end of January.  I.e. wiped the surface with windex.  If this is what threw the calibration of the scale off then, I feel like I really wasted my money.