Today I am reviewing the Etekcity WiFi Smart Scale. I was planning to stop doing reviews for a while to focus on other things but this product seemed quite different from other reviews I had done in the past so it was worth a try.

If you want to know more about the product, stick around to see if this scale is actually for you.

When I tried it for the first time and I saw the values popping up on the screen I immediately thought it was the result of black magic and made up numbers but it turns out that there is a scientific background to it. I found an interesting video on Youtube with a short explanation that I think is worth watching.

It uses a different scale but it is based on the same principle.

 

Main Features

The Etekcity WiFi Smart Scale is a connected scale using Bluetooth and Wifi which is able to measure your weight but also other interesting parameters like BMI, fat percentage, muscle percentage. These things are accurate to a degree since it uses electrical impulses to calculate the different metrics and the composition of each body is very different.

Having said that, it is a great incentive to keep you fit by making you feel terrible about your current shape!

Details in a Nutshell:

• Screen: 8.2 inches. Pretty sizeable and can be read clearly.
• Connectivity: Wifi (2.4) and Bluetooth
• Battery: 1000 Mah – Rechargeable with a USB cable (Charging time 5 Hrs)
• App: VeSync
• Max Weight: 400 lb/180 Kg

 

Installation

App Configuration

1. Download the VeSync App from Google Play or Apple Store to start configuring the scale.

 

The first thing that you see when you open the app is a screen like the following one. VeSync has other devices and they all share the same app so this would become the go to place to find all the devices you have from the brand.

 

From this screen, you can go ahead and add new device by clicking on the Plus sign on the top-right side of the screen.

At this point, you have to select the actual device you would like to add, in this case, a scale.

 

 

Etekcity manufactures different models of scales, the one that I am using for the review is the Etekcity WiFi Smart Scale (ESF00+). The name of the models is not very catchy but it is basically the one with the big screen and Wifi and Bluetooth as the connectivity options.

The process is very simple becuase you can see the picture of the device right next to the name of the model which makes the installation process very straight forward. Once you select the model of the scale you can go ahead and start the syncing process.

 

 

 

I never thought I would say this on a product review but it is time to get barefoot.

 

 

When you hit next, the scale will try to connect to your phone using Bluetooth so make sure it is active and in range for the scale.

 

 

The process only takes a few seconds and the scale is ready to be used right away.

 

 

Having used several IoT products I am pretty surprised with how seamless the installation process is.

Personal Profile

The App will need some personal information, mostly age and height in order to calculate certain metrics. You will be asked for this information the first time you setup your account and it will do the same thing if you have other users in your household.

 

Wifi Connectivity

Wifi connectivity is important because this feature allows you to use the scale when your phone is not within Bluetooth range. The metrics will be submitted to the VeSync cloud and downloaded to your phone once you open the app.

Open the Device configuration using the gear in the top-right section of the screen and then hit WIFI Connection.

 

After you select the SSID and the password the device will connect automatically to the wireless of choice. Keep in mind that this scale only suports 2.4 Ghz so if you only use 5Ghz you will need to enable an additional band.

 

3rd Party Integrations

The VeSync Scale integrates seamlessly with Google Fit and FitBit apps. This is convenient if you use them to track your fitness progress but I would find it interesting if it shared actually all the metrics.

 

 

The only downside here is that VeSync shares basic metrics, weight and fat percentage (the latter only for FitBit) so if you want to track all the other metrics you will still need to use the native app.

In the section of the 3rd party integration I almost always advocate for Open Source integrations but to be honest, I don’t really find a use in my home automation system for this information.

 

User Experience

So, how does it work?

The scale runs on a rechargeable battery that can be charged using a USB port. I have been using it for 1 month pretty much every day and I haven’t had to charge it yet. The scale turns on when you step on it and the process only lasts for a few seconds so the performance of the battery should be pretty good.

The process to weight yourself is pretty simple, just step on the scale looking forward and wait until the screen blinks 3 times, then it will show you all the indicators.

 

Body Metrics

After you step down from the scale you will be able to see some of the metrics directly on the screen (weight, fat, muscle, water, and bone) but in order to see all of them, you will have to go into the app.  Having said that, the critical ones are directly available on the LCD.

The Etekcity WiFi Smart Scale rates you on 12 different metrics, some of them very well known like the weight or the body fat and some others that I have never heard in my life like the Visceral Fat.

 

The aspect that I really like is the explanation for each of the metrics becuase unless you are a fitness expert (not my case) most of the metrics won’t mean anything to you so it helps a lot to understand on which aspects you are going off the charts.

Charts

The other interesting part is the charts where you can monitor your progress or the absolute lack of it in my case. I like that you can select the metric of your choice and build the chart based on it very intuitively.

I tend to look more into some metrics than others so with the selective chart is very easy to track the progress on the things you care about.

 

 

Connectivity

The connectivity is Bluetooth, directly to your phone when it is in range and wifi. The wifi is used to upload the measures directly to the VeSync cloud so when you log in to your phone the metrics get downloaded automatically.

I am positively surprised about how stable is the connectivity, very easy to connect using both Bluetooth and Wifi and no glitches that I have seen so far.

Accuracy And Consistency

Since I don’t have fancy medical equipment to test the actual accuracy, the tests I can do on this section are limited. I have tested mostly 2 aspects:

• Consistency: Variation on the results after several consecutive samples of the different metrics.
• Accuracy: Accuracy only on the weight which is the only one I can actually measure.

For the consistency test, I have taken 10 consecutive samples on the scale and for all of them, I got almost exactly the same results even placing the feet on odd positions so that is pretty good.  Only tiny variations on some of the measurements.

When it comes to accuracy, it is good but not perfect.  There is a deviation of 0.5 pounds or 226 grams. Having said that, considering that you are weighing a full-size human, half a pound is probably not terrible.

It is definitely more accurate than the scale I had.

 

I could conclude that the dumbbell had 0% fat which I guess is expected…

Multi-User Functionality

This is the part that  I found the least intuitive. When you have more than one user using the scale in your household, there is no clear way to specify who is using it. The scale determines the user in two different ways:

• Bluetooth connection: It will take the user whose phone is closer to the scale. This is a hit or miss if you live in an apartment.
• Manual Seleccion: When you weigh yourself, the metrics are uploaded to the cloud and when you connect to the phone app it will ask you if any of the measure samples is yours. This is better but not bullet-proof if you have users with very similar physical markers.

 

The Good and the Bad

Negative Things

Like any other device, it is not perfect…

I wish you could customize the metrics you see on the screen of the device, it emphasizes a lot the BMI Index but you may or may not care about that.

The way the scale handles several users is a bit odd to me, although, to be honest, I wouldn’t know a better way to implement it.

Since I am not a fitness expert I would appreciate some advice or suggestions about how to get better in some of the values in which I am out of range, I am still not sure how to improve my numbers in the “Subcutaneous fat” measurement, for example.

Positive Things

On the flip side,  there some things I really like from this scale, the first one is definitely the app. I rarely like an app for a connected device, they tend to be convoluted and hard to scan all the information at a glance. The VeSync app has very few functions but more than enough to get the most out of the device.

It is very educational, the explanation for each one of the measurements is short but useful and concise. it gives a different level of information outside of pure numbers.

It is very visually appealing. I generally don’t care about these things but it is a pretty big device sitting in your bathroom so appearance matters in this case.

The screen is massive and very easy to read which is great if you have sight problems or you are half asleep when you weight yourself, like me. The indication bars are very helpful and keep you motivated to improve.

The installation is extremely easy and you can be up and running with it within a few minutes so you don’t have to be a tech guru.

The connectivity works amazingly well, I haven’t noticed any glitches so far, neither with Bluetooth nor with Wifi.

 

Wrap-Up

I have to say that a smart scale is about the last connected device I thought I would get, but now that I have it, I see that it is a great incentive to exercise more.

It has a few negative things but they are not a deal-breaker for me. It is by far not the cheapest option in the market but I like the size and the details on the screen quite a lot.

Also, the majority of the scales on a cheaper price point are only Bluetooth and but I kind of like the idea of having wifi on it as well so it doesn’t depend on the smartphone to be in range.

All things considered, I think the Etekcity WiFi Smart Scale is a good product.