The EtekCity Smart Bluetooth Bathroom Scale is a smart scale that offers a variety of important health related data to help you stay on track with your fitness and health goals
But does it live up to the hype?
This in depth Etekcity Smart Fitness Scale Review is going to give you all the details you need to see if it meets the hype and is right for you!
Etekcity reached out to us about doing a review and since I am coming up on 50 and weight loss is a major sticking point – I said heck yeah. So while I did get this scale to review – my review is 100% honest.
Maybe you just want to track your weight – or maybe you really want more out of your scale, that is where the Etekcity Smart Scale comes into play. The model we are reviewing is Etekcity ESF17, so if you are interested in a smart scale – you can decide if this is the one for you.
Quick Links
The Scale Is Gorgeous!
The first thing we want to make clear – this scale is stunning! It will look amazing in even the most upscale bathrooms – so if looks matter, this one will fit the bill.
It is modern and thin so it will not overwhelm a room. Rounded corners are perfect to keep little ones safe from sharp corners and the finish is clean and smooth. It is super easy to clean with a simple cloth.
Etekcity Smart Scale Details
Let’s talk about some of the important components of the scale.
- Size: 12.2″ x 12.2″ x 1″
- Display: LED display that measures 3.8″ x 1.8″
- Batteries: scale requires (4) AAA batteries (1.5V)
- Surface: made from 6mm tempered glass with an ITO coating
- Maximum weight: recommended for people up to 400 pounds
- For most accurate readings the scale should be used on hard flat surfaces like hard wood floors
- The scale should be used with dry bare feet and your feet do need to be properly placed within the conductive areas on the scale or your data may not be retrieved
- We do not recommend pregnant women or people with electronic implants like pacemakers use this due to the BIA technology
The scale works with an app called VeSyncFit which will sync with your scale to pull your data in so you can keep track of your success (or failures) as you go on your health journey.
This app is available in both the app Store and Google Play. I downloaded mine on my Android via Google Play with no issues.
LED Screen
There is an LED Screen on the scale that will show your weight – I tested during the day and at night and the brightness was perfect in both light levels and I had no troubles seeing my weight.
Fitness Related Items You Can Monitor
Once you have your scale synced with the app you can monitor a variety of fitness related data to help you see how you are progressing. They are using what is called BIA technology to calculate a variety of data points providing you a great base view of your statistics.
This is actually a really great article on how BIA works that helped me better understand exactly how the scale works.
Here are 13 important measurements the scale can track for you:
- Body weight
- Body Fat
- Muscle Mass
- BMI
- Skeletal Muscle
- Body Water
- Fat-free Body Weight
- Subcutaneous Fat
- Bone Mass
- Protein
- Metabolic Age
- Visceral Fat
- BMR
Using The Scale As Just A Scale
It is not required to use the smart scale – you can just use the scale to get your weight like any other traditional scale. All you need is the batteries – the scale will always be ready for you with no on or off switch!
Getting The Smart Scale Ready!
The scale arrived well packed and was a whole lot thinner than I expected. It came with the scale, (4) AAA batteries, a manual and promotional piece that talks about how to return the scale if you are unhappy – and how to leave a review if you are.
The only thing that I needed to do after I removed it from the box was to remove the tab in the battery compartment.
That was it for getting the Etekcity Smart scale ready to use.
Did I mention how slim this scale is?
I am still amazed!
You can see the nickel up against it and how low profile this scale is.
Getting The Smart Scale VeSyncFit Ready!
I head on over to Google Play to download the VeSyncFit app so I can sync my scale with the app to see how it all works.
The download was flawless and quick.
Once I opened the app, below was the process I had to go through to get it ready.
- Choose weight unit: I chose pounds
- Choose height unit: I chose inch
- Then you get a Sign Up button so I created an account with VeSyncFit and entered my email and password.
- The next page is where you can view the terms of service and privacy policy – then you click agree or disagree (of course disagree would prevent you from adding an account!).
- The next page is a user registration page so you can add your personal details including: male or female, name, height and birthday
My one complaint here is that if you are old you will have a lot of years and months to scroll through to get to your birthday. I would want this part of the registration to be done in a way where we can choose the month, date and year with drop downs or something so we are not scrolling forever.
Once you confirm your account data if you are on Android 6.0 or higher you will receive a “please turn on your bluetooth” notification if it is not on and will ask you to allow the app to have access to your phone so it can sync the data. You do also need to have your location on.
I could not test with the iPhone since I do not have one, so you may get something a bit different if you are using one.
Once the above is done you are ready to roll and you will see the screen below.
Syncing Your Smart Scale With The app
This is where the fun begins! Now your scale is ready – your app is installed and your account is created and now it is time to get the data!
- Make sure your phone has bluetooth on (and location if you are on Android) and place nearby
- Step on the scale
- If you are prompted – add the device “ESF17” to your device
- Click the plus sign in the upper right corner of the app
- Remain on the scale until you see the measurements and weight appear, there was a small fun noise that happened when I was synced, took about 5 seconds to fully finish getting my data.
Once the sync was done – I saw all the data, and surprisingly it was better than I thought and I can actually share it without being embarrassed!
Remember if you are on an Android you must have bluetooth and location enabled or nothing will happen!
Adding Another User
It is kind of cool that you can add unlimited users in your app to be able to use the smart scale.
I added my daughter so she can have some fun and see how she is doing with her karate training. It was the same process as above – you just click the add user icon and then enter the sex, date and height – the scale does the rest.
We did not think about the bare feet thing with her when she tested so she stepped on the scale with her socks on and the while we were able to still get her weight and some details, a lot of the data was not obtained.
So remember bare feet!
Integrations
The VeSyncFit app can also sync the data from the scale with several other fitness apps including:
- Google Fit
- Fitbit
- Apple Health
Battery Life
I have had our scale active for about 2 weeks now and have seen no issues with battery life so far.
Some have said their battery life is dismal and are frustrated with the scale because of it.
But the thing that is important to remember is that the scale is auto off and on – and if you have a bluetooth device near the scale it might try to “look” for it which may drain the battery. Someone noted once they removed a bluetooth speaker they had near their scale, the battery life improved.
Data Reporting
There are some amazing reports you can view to see your progress which is definitely a great way to be inspired to be healthier.
When you click on the Trends tab you will get data for each of the key data items it tracks so you can analyze your improvements or lack of for each of the items it tracks for you.
Below you can see how I am 4 pounds down in 1 day. You may say no way, but yesterday I tested late in the day after eating meals. The next day I tested first thing in the morning – so it is feasible!
In the screenshot below you can see how the app will show you are your losses or gains just below the weight area. It shows how much I lost or gain from the last time I stepped on the scale.
As you begin to use the scale more and have more data you can use the Trends tab to analyze everything.
Below is a graph of my weight loss over the last 2 days that were tested in an easy to view graph. You can see we have weight selected but you can also choose to view just BMI or any other item that you are focusing on.
You can also select whether you want to view the stats for all time frames or just AM/PM. This is important because you naturally gain or lose weight throughout the day – so allowing you to filter by time in this way can help you get a better accuracy.
Scale Calibration
After my daughter tested it with her socks on it seemed to not work properly. She got back on with bare feet and the missing data still did not pull in.
We did a recalibration of the scale and then everything worked as expected.
Recalibration is not usually needed but if you do move or flip the scale it might be needed. We are not sure why it worked for us since we had not moved it, but we are glad it did.
To recalibrate the scale is easy and just requires you stepping on the scale barefoot with one foot until the display shows CAL and then 0.00 which shows the calibration is complete.
So if you are having an issue – this is a simple option for seeing if it is a fix.
The Complaints We Found
Below are some things we have noticed or have seen online that people are reporting as issues with some potential reasons these are happening.
Personally we could not find anything in our actual testing to complain about!
- A few owners said the weight was way off like they weight 130 but scale shows 65. If this happens you may want to check you are set to pounds and not kilograms as an example.
- How accurate are the body composition values? Being I just had a full physical about 3 months ago, I have to say I was impressed with how close the values were for BMI, Body Fat and Subcutaneous Fat. Others have reported that they too were impressed with the closeness of accuracy.
- Multiple device syncing. While several different people can download the app and use the scale, only ONE device can have the bluetooth on at a time.
- Bluetooth connectivity issues were some of the biggest complaints, but we are not convinced these are because of the product – but can be user issues or issues with interference.
The VeSync App seems to have a low review score as well, but in reading those reviews some people left poor reviews for things like the scale not syncing (which can be user error – I had my own issue with it not syncing, but it turns out I forgot to turn location on!).
I also saw a poor review because the scale did not offer something the customer wanted – this is not a quality issue, this is a consumer issue in that he did not read what the scale includes.
What Is The Warranty?
The scale comes with a 1 year warrant but does not cover issues that arise from improper maintenance, abuse, accidents etc. Basically it covers issues that are related only to manufacturer defect.
Final Etekcity Review Thoughts
Pros
- Setup of scale and app were quick and easy
- App is easy to use and understand
- Accuracy is generally good
- Great way to get a quick overview of your fitness data
- Allowance of multiple users
- Great custom service from the manufacturer
Cons
- Conflict with other Bluetooth can happen
- Battery drains if other Bluetooth items are left on
- Cannot be used in bathroom since moisture can harm the scale
- Is not so accurate that you can replace a true Body Composition analysis
We do really love this scale and are thrilled to have something that cane help me carry on with my weight loss and health goals. Seeing the progress is a key indicator and while the accuracy may not be exact – I am confident they are strong enough to give me a very great base for knowing my health!
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