Prior to purchasing it, I did a bit of research on the scale and the reviews for the most part were positive. The only 2 negative things that I read about the device was the price and the accuracy of the percentage body fat. There were a few WiFi scales that I saw but since I was planning on getting one of the Fitbit wristbands at a future date and the Fitbit Aria scale was on sale, I decided to purchase it.
I've been using the scale for approximately 3 weeks and my thoughts on it are positive.
One of the things that I like about it is that it uses four (4) AA batteries. My previous scale (a basic scale) used a single 9V battery which I wasn't very crazy about because when I used rechargeable 9V batteries in it, it would not last very long (oftentimes less than 1 month). With the Fitbit Aria WiFi Smart Scale, it came with four alkaline AA batteries but I tried four rechargeable NiMH batteries and they worked without any issues. The rechargeable batteries also last and since I have multiple NiMH rechargeable AA batteries, it isn't an issue for me to recharge/replace them regularly. I really like that when the battery is low, the device can be configured to send an e-mail and/or notify you via the Fitbit application on your smartphone. You can also monitor the battery life by logging onto your Fitbit account online or checking the Fitbit application on your smartphone.
Set-up of the scale was simple. I used my Android tablet to set it up which involved me first connecting my Android tablet to my wireless router and going to the website: https://www.fitbit.com/scale/setup/start on my Android tablet. I basically followed the instructions on the web, giving my scale a name and then removing one of the batteries, waiting a few seconds, and then reinserting the battery in order to get the scale to display "Setup Active". At this point, I changed the wireless connection on my Android tablet so that it connected directly to the Fitbit Aria scale. The rest of the instructions after this were just as straightforward.
After setting up the scale, I created a Fitbit account for myself as well as my family members. During set-up, the scale was under 10 feet from my wireless router but after the scale was set up, I moved the scale to my washroom which is ~25 feet away from my wireless router (and the direct route between the router and the scale goes through a wall in the house). With this set-up, the scale has no issues connecting to my router and uploading/synchronizing the weight and percentage body fat onto my Fitbit account.
I can't speak about the accuracy of the percentage body fat since there are only 2 settings or body types when configuring your Fitbit account (Regular or Lean). I use the percentage of body fat measurement as a gauge and use it to compare the values that I obtain on a regular basis. The scale measures percentage of body fat by sending a small safe signal through the body and measures the impedance. Because of this, there is a warning about not using the scale if you have a pacemaker or other internal medical device, or are pregnant. In order for the percentage body fat measurement to work, the person on the scale must be barefoot when standing on the scale.
The scale remembers up to 8 people and will accurately synchronize the measurements to the proper person's Fitbit account provided that the weight is significantly different between the 8 people. If the weight isn't significantly different or the scale can't determine which account to synchronize the measurements to, it is very easy to change/pick the correct person.
You can download/view the manual *HERE*.
One of the things that I don't really like about the scale is that in order to properly log/record the weight of a person, this person must have a Fitbit account and email address. Not everyone in my family has an e-mail address so I had to manually create an account for the people in my family who didn't have an e-mail address and then create a Fitbit account for them. I would have liked to have a "family" option where all measurements appear under 1 Fitbit account without having to create a Fitbit account for each individual person in the household.
Whether I would recommend this device or not, I would recommend it based on the convenience of use and the instantaneous recording of your weight. However, if price is an issue, you can accomplish this with a regular scale, a piece of paper, and a pen/pencil and then manually entering the information into a fitness website like Fitbit.
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I just wanted to add that with four alkaline batteries in the scale, under my normal usage (~3 weigh-ins per day), the batteries lasted me for ~12 months before they would no longer work in the scale. I received battery warning messages a few weeks earlier but continued to use the batteries.
ReplyDeleteSince I plan on "permanently" using rechargeable NiMH batteries in the scale, I will report how long four fully charged NiMH batteries will last in the scale before needing to be recharged once I have the results.