Aria keeps displaying a"Step on, Thinking" message

[Brobos]

My Aria keeps on cycling step on, thinking out of nowhere. And drains my batteries in outbout 3 weeks or so. It worked fine for 2/3 years and now it doesn't stop with the message. Already tried to rerun set-up / other brand of batteries but the problem remains.

Moderator edit: updated subject for clarity

[leedaelo]

same problem!

Please tell me about factory reset

[Memyselfi2]

Same thing here. Frustrating for such an expensive product. Tried contacting support when it started, but they was not very eager to help. They said i needed to calibrate it by stepping on it 5 times before using it daily. As if that really helped. It did not. And regardless of how many times i try, it does not resolve it. They did not offer me to send the product back for inspection either. I would have if i could. But it looks like this is a known problem, that there is no interest in resolving. 

[JuanJoFitbit]

@Brobos @leedaelo Thank you guys for participating in the Fitbit Community! I'm sorry to hear that your Aria scales show a "Sensing Thinking" message. Thank you for troubleshooting this issue before contacting the Community. Please take out the batteries, clean the contacts or springs of the scale with a cotton swab and a little bit of alcohol. After this, weigh yourselves 5 times in a row and let me know if the issue gets resolved.

@Memyselfi2 I noticed that you joined our Fitbit Community recently. Welcome aboard! I appreciate the time you took to get in touch with our Support team. Since you already contacted them and it seems that you have tried the troubleshooting steps that are recommended for this type of issues, i was able to get in touch with our Support team and they'll be happy to assist you and follow up on your case. You should receive an email from them soon.

I'll be around if you guys have any doubts! 

[Brobos]

Hi JuanJo, 

Just tried your advice. But the message is still appearing. What to do next?

Regards,

Patricia 

[Nolando]

My Aria did the same thing and when I called Support, they said it was out of warranty, and that I should buy an Aria2. Instead, I opened the unit by unscrewing the two screws in the battery compartment, gently prying the plastic bottom off by working a flat-head screwdriver all the way around several  times to lift the back panel off the pegs, about 1cm. Then, I found that one of the two on/off sensing-feet: the ones closest to you when you weigh yourself -- one had a while plastic coil spring that was visibly cracked. Since this spring would not re-lift the scale once I stepped off, it stayed in the "on" state, draining the battery very quickly. To fix it, I simply triple-wrapped a thick blue plastic rubber band from the grocery store around that foot, acting as a compression spring. It worked perfectly.

Blue rubber band fix for Aria broken foot on/off sensor spring

One rubber band/screwdriver/five minute fix vs buying a $130 new unit because of a cheaply made part, and generating more electronics landfill.

[leedaelo]

Hi Brobos

Mee too. 

Thanks for your kindly supporting.

LEE

Afer Follow your kindly advice. 
I see the this situation. 

Pelase see video clip

https://youtu.be/sSo06seQ9_w

fitbit arial err

youtu.be/sSo06seQ9_w

Aria keeps displaying a"Step on, Thinking" message https://goo.gl/UqHyur

[leedaelo]

Afer Follow your kindly advice. 
I see the this situation. 

Pelase see video clip

https://youtu.be/sSo06seQ9_w

[Nolando]

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1aIzrNVHZqvcbHd0QXNDUyj9iEnyCwvqg

[leedaelo]

Hi Nolando

Many Thanks for your kindly supporitng.

Your teaching is perfectly. 

I was test today. and i reconized sensing problem.

https://youtu.be/sSo06seQ9_w 

keeps displaying a"Step off" message

I try to lift up left side my airl scale. and then i see a differnt message. "thinking" -> show User -> kg -> fat % -> wifi sync

you advice to me "I found that one of the two on/off sensing-feet: the ones closest to you when you weigh yourself -- one had a while plastic coil spring that was visibly cracked. Since this spring would not re-lift the scale once I stepped off, it stayed in the "on" state, draining the battery very quickly." 

Very perfectly method.

But your post is "topic not found"  https://goo.gl/EqvxJ6

But...you are mercy to me

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1aIzrNVHZqvcbHd0QXNDUyj9iEnyCwvqg 

thansk and best regard.  

[Nolando]

Great! Yes, it looks like the moderator deleted my fix.

[Brobos]

Thnx! Will try that 😉

[MalRadd]

Interesting fix. I am burning through batteries every two weeks suddenly.

I felt my Aria suddenly stopped working properly after I upgraded the firmware to V.39... I suspect a forced technology upgrade.  What firmware is in your Aria?

[Nolando]

Not sure, but I physically saw the cracked white plastic coil spring that was responsible for turning the unit off when you step off of it. And my theory proved correct when I fixed it. Give it a shot.

[leedaelo]

 I try to apply strong adhesive(loctite)

but this plastic was brocken.

also try to rubber band(http://mitem.gmarket.co.kr/Item?goodsCode=553519220)

My aria work fine!

[samfromlakeland]

I have the same problem.   Very frustrating

[dudeman77]

This whole issue really is one of the best examples of the worst customer service for an expensive replacement to an inexpensive solution. 

[samfromlakeland]

Exactly - This scale was difficult to set up - and now runs down batteries in couple weeks. And sometimes I can not even use it.  

[JuanJoFitbit]

@Brobos Thank you for getting back! Since the issue persists after trying the troubleshooting steps recommended previously, I'll forward your case to our Support team so they can investigate further and provide a solution. You should receive an email from them soon.

@leedaelo I want to follow up on the issue and would like to know if your Aria scale is working after trying the workaround that shared @Nolando. On an aside note, I'd like to share the warranty policies page so you can check out when the warranty applies.

@MalRadd Thank you for joining us in this thread and our Fitbit Community! I also want to follow up on your case and would like to know if your Aria scale is still experiencing the same issue or if it got resolved.

@samfromlakeland It's great to have you aboard in the Community! Let me go ahead and help you with the batteries issue you've experienced with your Aria scale. I would like you to try taking out the batteries, clean the contacts with a cotton swab and a little bit of alcohol. This will remove any dust that the springs accumulate. After this, put a new set of batteries (make sure they're not rechargeable) and let me know if the batteries last as they should (up to 6 months).

@dudeman77 I appreciate your feedback. However, I'd like to help in order to turn that bad experience into a good experience. Please provide more details about the issue that you are experiencing with your Aria scale. Is it showing a "Sensing Thinking ERR" message? Are the batteries draining quickly? Have you tried any troubleshooting steps? This info will help me to assist you accordingly and avoid providing workarounds that you might've already tried.

See you all later!

[Nolando]

I agree with your frustration.

Try my rubber band method. Mine has been working again normally for a month.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aIzrNVHZqvcbHd0QXNDUyj9iEnyCwvqg/view

[JuanJoFitbit]

@Nolando Thank you for sharing the method that you have used! I appreciate your contribution.

I'll be around if you need further assistance!