Fitbit Aria WiFi Smart Scale

**Update: Added two stars since my weight on a digital fitness scale in a medical facility and my weight at home were the same within a .25 of a pound.**After reading the reviews I was expecting a lot of problems but there really were none. I'm giving 3 stars because I have only had the scale for 3 days. We all know electronics can work for the first week/month/year and then freak out.Setting it up was much easier than the reviews lead me to believe. Before starting set up I changed my generic WiFi network names so they didn't have any dashes since reviewers said that was a problem. I set my 2.4 GHz network to b/g/n since Aria only works with b, which is so silly because b is ancient. I did the set-up over my iPad and there were 0 problems. It didn't stall, there was no need to reset anything or remove batteries, I proceeded from step to step until the scale was ready to go. The whole process took about 2-4 minutes.I put the scale on the linoleum by my front door since I live in a tiny apartment that doesn't have hardwood or tile. I did a few trials and the weight/BF readings seemed both accurate and consistent. There was a little variance (+/- 2 lbs) when I moved the scale to the kitchen, so I decided to leave it by the door and not move it.I've been trying to lose weight for 2-2.5 weeks and my weight was about 7 pounds less than my previous recorded weight in a medical facility. The real test of the scale is when I'll be weighed again this week. If I show a 5-7 lb weight loss there I will add stars. If I don't show that range of weight loss I will buy a piece of heavy tile to put the scale on to see if I can get a better reading.I accidentally discovered a way to get my weight down by 20 lbs by repositioning my feet towards the outer edge of the scale. So I make sure to stand with my feet mostly together, toes near the dial, when weighing myself. From what I understand the Aria goes for accuracy above consistency (ie it's not programmed to show you your last recorded weight if your new weight is within a certain range) so it may be more sensitive to positioning.Since I'm trying to see drops by 5-10-20 lbs, 1-2 lb variance is not that important to me. If it's important to you buy a physician's balance beam scale that uses counterweight. They are only $20-50 more than this scale here on Amazon. I didn't get one because I don't have room to keep it. Counterweight scales are usually found in gyms as well so if your weight seems wrong pop into your gym and weigh yourself to check. These are the scales people usually say are "heavy" which is a dysphemism for "more accurate than my electronic scale at home."Of course half the fun is that it works with my Zip and the FitBit dashboard so I can use it to set goals and monitor my progress. I've had no problem with my data syncing. Adding multiple users takes a few minutes and you can do it from the app or the Dashboard.

I really wanted to like the Fitbit Aria scale. I really did. It's a gorgeous product, and the idea is so great (on paper)... I can weigh myself and wirelessly track it?! Weight tracking for lazy people?! Sign me up!After deciding to purchase this on Amazon with the plethora of gift cards my entire family seemed to think I needed this Christmas, I was excited to rip into the packaging when it landed on my front doorstep. The packaging is gorgeous! I opened it up and the scale is gorgeous! Wow, I'm super pumped to get it working!... and this is where the problems begin.Now keep in mind that I am a network administrator, and my fiance is a network engineer. We know technology. We know home networks. This should be SIMPLE!... SO. WRONG.First of all, they want you to use their program to set up the scale. Now, that has my suspicions raised. Oh, but there's a little link that allows you to do the setup through the browser. YES! This should be easy. After setting up an account, I connect to the Aria's own network, provide my home network credentials, re-connect to my home network and.... no go. Hmm, okay. Check the network settings - when you have two IT professionals living under one roof, all sorts of strange things happen to your network. Ahh, there we go, 802.11b is disabled, because nothing in the past 10 years has used it and it severely degrades network performance. Enable that and try again... and still a no-go. Download the troubleshooting logs for their tech support and use my knowledge my sift through it. Oh, you wanted me to send a log with all of my home network information in clear text? NO.Okay, let's try this again, instead of using the browser, I'll bite the bullet and use their software. Still nothing, and now I have their crappy setup software on my computer that likely is going to leave a bunch of residual crap behind.Google search issues and find that people have had success using an iPhone. Pull out my trusty work phone (the only time I will praise them for being Apple fans is when I need to use an Apple product) and try again. OH! Something different!... oh wait, it just says WIFI ERR rather than NO SYNC....Needless to say, after 2 hours of playing around with this scale, I am going to return it. While the idea is excellent, their execution sucks. Kind of like communism. Sounds great on paper, is awful when implemented. I am not going to re-scope my entire home network for a scale, and then slow it down to allow 802.11b. (WHAT WERE YOU THINKING, FITBIT?! 802.11b?!)I think this probably works very well for a vanilla, wide open home network that has never been tweaked, but for anybody who actually is technologically savvy and has any ounce of knowledge on how to secure a home network past a WEP key, you need to look elsewhere - this just isn't worth the hassle.