I really wanted to like this scale...
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!<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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....<br /><br />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?!)<br /><br />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.
Rating: 1 stars