Body Scan

I have been a Withings scale user for more than 10 years, and other than the Nokia period, I’ve been a big fan. A 1-star review from a longtime brand user should tell you something important. I broke my Body Smart scale and decided to upgrade. I’ve been diligently losing weight and I wanted to target and track building muscle in my legs. When the scale was delivered, I was immediately shocked at the weight. This thing is HEAVY. That may not matter to you if you keep it setup in a stationary location, but due to my bathroom setup, I have to move it every morning. Despite the weight, I was still excited to try it. Setup is cumbersome and there is very little info or support. The first EKG needs to be sent to a third party for review before that feature will work. It’s not a long process (mine cleared in about 2 hours, but the tell you it can take up to 24 hours), but I think it took about 6 attempts before I got a reading that could be reviewed. Most of my readings come back inconclusive. Even as of day 2, I only get inconclusive readings. There could be 2 issues for me: if heart rate is over 100 without AFiB, it fails; I also see that if it detects a bundle branch block it will fail. I have a known right bundle branch block, so maybe the failures make sense, but then I question the few “regular sinus rhythm” readings. Weight, fat, muscle, and visceral fat readings were inconsistent. Every time I stepped on the scale (and I did it a LOT last night when the scale arrived) I had a different reading. Weight fluctuated 8 lbs over 10 readings a span of less than 30 minutes. Even the closest readings on this to those of my Body Smart scale were way off. The scale has decided I am gaining fat and losing muscle (that’s completely wrong) and the app is now showing my BMI as stable, despite having lost 40 lbs in 3 months. As if this scale wasn’t bad enough, I made a monumental effort in trying to get the segmented body comp readings to work. First, your arms and legs cannot touch each other or your torso. This, unless you have a huge thigh gap, you must wear “light clothing.” That suggestion didn’t work. Your feet have to be dry to use the scale, but the app suggested my rabidly comp readings were failing because my feet were dry — that you’re supposed to use the scale right out of the shower. So I did that, too, to no avail. You can’t tell from the scale whether your body comp was successful. It only gives you readings on the display for % fat, % muscle, and visceral fat — the segmented readings are only available through the app, and if they fail, you Geno’s know until you go into the app. Even worse, the app doesn’t tell you most of the time — the readings just aren’t there. Amazon’s return policy is a bit infuriating. Because I opened the scale, my refund will take 30 days after receipt of the product, plus 7 days for bank processing. 37 days for a refund on a $400 brick is unacceptable. And get this — these Black Friday deals? They’re ripping us off!! I fell for it and that’s why I upgraded. I now realize that they raised the prices, are giving a Black Friday discount, but the actual prices are higher than normal. For example, I bought a brand new Body Smart on Amazon for $79.99 in April 2025. The BF deal on the same scale is $109.99! And Amazon’s “price history” tool doesn’t go back far enough to see the true history. But I’ve got receipts!! Seriously…don’t waste your money on this. I am probably going to replace my shattered Body Smart, but I’m so upset with this purchase, I am considering brands other than Withings before I make the purchase.

If you're already using other Withings devices like the BPM Vision blood pressure monitor, Sleep Analyzer, or any of their watches, the Smart Body scale fits right in and completes the picture. I’ve found that the weight tracking is consistent, but it's body composition and health metrics that make this scale worth it. Things like visceral fat, metabolic age, and even the 6-lead ECG give me insight that a basic scale could never do. It also tracks trends clearly, you're not just getting numbers, you're seeing progress. What I like the most is how all the data comes together in the iPhone app. My blood pressure readings from Vision, ECGs, sleep quality, and my daily weight all sync seamlessly. I can open the app and really understand how I'm doing, not just with weight, but with overall health. I'm currently working on weight loss with Zepbound, using CPAP for moderate sleep apnea, and staying on top of supplements and nutrition. This scale in the mix has made a big difference in staying consistent. Even if the scale doesn't move some days, I see other metrics improving, which keeps me from being discouraged. The build quality is great, the screen is easy to read, and the app syncing has never failed. It's one of the few health devices I would buy again without any hesitation.

UPDATE: A "make it good " person contacted me from WITHINGS. They offered me a coupon on a replacement device (but I had already returned it). The coupon is also good for their new model coming out in early 2026. He also shared that there will be a firmware update for the current device which is supposed to address these concerns. I personally am waiting to see what others experience to see if things improve - at this point I'm not really interested in getting a new device until it is shown to actually be an improvement over the current ~2-3bf% error range I experience with the older unit. ORIGINAL REVIEW: If you are thinking to get the Body Scan because you’re hoping with its handlebar and more electrodes and big price it will be more accurate at measuring body composition, DON’T. I have owned a WITHINGS Body+ for years, and its body fat measurement accuracy is typical of Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) smart scales. It tends to vary during the day by about 2%. I do a DEXA scan every month to get a professional and highly accurate measurement of body fat. Last month, for example, my DEXA was 14.0% in mid-morning and my Body+ showed a high of 13.5% in the morning to a low of 11.2% before bed. Not amazing accuracy but consistent day after day so still useful for tracking progress. I bought the Body Scan because it claimed to be more accurate and could do body composition for arms and legs separately if you use the handle. Seemed reasonable. Imagine my shock when the Scan insisted my bf% was 5.4%! Repeated measurements were always in the range of 5-7%bf. My arms were reported as 2%bf. Impossible numbers, and literally a factor of 2 error compared to DEXA! I tried athlete mode, cleaning the brand new device, resetting and updating, moistening my feet, measuring in a different room, etc. I went through all the suggestions in the troubleshooting. No changes - although in athlete mode it did once say I was 8%. 🧐 Product support chat was frustrating - they had me walk through all the same steps I had already done. I explained about DEXA and how the bf% reading from the Scan was terribly off - a bf of 5.4% was inconceivable. They copied and pasted some marketing text from the web site explaining that if I was comparing the Scan to other scales I should be aware that the Scan was very fancy and therefore a lot more accurate. I pointed out again that fancy or not, 5.4% is clearly very wrong. Eventually they said they would have to escalate to a higher tier of support but it’s been several days and I have heard nothing back even after pinging them. I went looking through support forums and Reddit and found many other users reporting the *exact* same problem, and similarly with no resolution from Support. So I’ll be returning this Body Scan - very disappointing. This wasn’t the only thing off about the unit either - the weather forecast provided was for some place 15F warmer and with poor air quality. Unlike the Body+ there is no place to tell the unit your location. The unit hardware seems rock solid, and I like the app. It’s the firmware algorithms in the unit that sink it. Stay away.

It is a wonderful medical equipment. I won’t said it is just a scales. If you just want a scale it is sure not for you. I was looking for a smart scale, first is data security. This scale will not send my data to china for example. Because it read ECG, for US law that need to send to a third party to review the first time, make sure I live in US. Then no problem. User manual said EVERYTIME before use it, use a clean damp cloth to wipe the scale to keep the surface damp also hands need to be damp as well ( not wet) . Make sure your arms not touching torso (so wear a t shirt) and legs not touching each other ( so wear a pant) when using the bar, make sure not to bend arms also keep some room from torso. Follow the instructions. I never get an inconclusive result. It is very accurate scale. I am a very happy user. Do not discourage by negative reviews.

Wanted this to work out. I have their blood pressure cuff and that works well. The Body Scan received an update and after that all the functions stopped working with the exception of weight. Returned it as I paid with my FSA. This was the only smart scale offer by Amazon that was FSA eligible. Not sure I will purchase another smart scale.

This scale could be an amazing (though unnecessary) investment in your health if it worked consistently, or had other quality of life improvements to justify the price. I have had the scale for almost a month at this point and have more bad than good to say about it. For starters, the battery life is quite pathetic for being $400 and being used at most once a day for roughly 10 minutes total over the course of a week. The companion app has the connectivity to notify you of a low battery, but doesn’t, or at least does not do so consistently. If you plan to put this scale in your bathroom I hope you have an outlet nearby or you’ll be carting this thing to another room to charge it every couple days. Did I mention you cannot use the $400 scale while it’s plugged in? Next is measurements. Measurements frequently fail or come back inconclusive even when following all guidelines (butt naked, stand still, stand evenly, hold ECG bar without moving hands, etc.). After a month of use I think I have only had two days where I did not have at least one test fail or come back as “Inconclusive” during a session. Hardware. The scale itself is sturdy (surprisingly heavy given the lack of a battery) and the ECG bar is a neat feature. My complaint here is with the included wall mount that is far too weak for the winch inside the scale causing the wall mount to be pulled off the wall over time. Ease of setup. The scale is relatively easy to set up (though it takes a while) thanks to the intuitive instructions given through the app. No complaints here. Overall I think the scale is a great idea, it just needs loads of improvements. I love the data it claims to gather but struggle to accept its validity due to how often measurements fail for no discernible reason. If you are getting this to lose weight, get something cheaper if you want app connectivity. If you are an athlete that wants to track body comp and fitness progress, find another product or wait until another version of this comes out.

I recently purchased the Withings Body Scan. I also own the Smart Body Analyzer and the Body Cardio. All of these worked great for me, which is why I am loyal to the brand. If you simply want to weigh yourself, you don’t need this scale. You can get accurate results with any, much less expensive, modern digital scale. Withings scales offer more than just weight measurements. I use this scale to measure body composition. Some people say that they are not accurate. This scale uses Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). The impedance value, along with other personal information, is used in a formula to ESTIMATE body fat percentage and other body composition factors. Now, this is the newest of the Withings scales, and it takes many other measurements that rely one newer technologies. While all of these technologies have an error rate. To ensure consistent measurements, it is important to use the scale correctly - Being properly hydrated can affect the accuracy of the measurement, as more water can reduce impedance. Additionally, it is important weigh yourself under the same conditions each time. That is, in the morning, before you eat or drink, and after going to the bathroom. I do this and I am very happy with this scale and the consistency of it’s measurements.

I bought the scale because “I wanted to see what my numbers are”, and went I get off the scale “I want to see what my numbers are”. I agree with not getting caught up in the day to day numbers, and that real progress happens over time. But, I also feel it is a bit indignant that they assume the customers cannot handle the information, and to such an extent that they design an app that deliberately withholds the information. There are 3 recommended Health Improvements Scores (Activity, heart and body) which only gives you an update once a week and electrodermal activity only gives you an update once a month. Vascular age which was important to me needs 7 readings to obtain a baseline which I find understandable, unfortunately mine stopped recording after 3 days but by day 11 I got a 4th reading. I verified prior to the purchase that the scale measures all 5 segments of the body. What I did not expect is that the app will not give you this information “ever”. It takes the collected information from the scale for the two arms (and two legs as well) and combines them together and only gives you an average of the muscle and fat. I’m sure they understand the importance of muscle balance between the two sides of the body, so I cannot rationalize any reason why they would have for keeping this hidden. This has recently become an important item to me because at 71 years old I have noticed stability issues when walking and turning and have seen that it coincides with the balance information I have received from their competitors scales. But maybe this is designed for a certain age group that they are not sharing. In different parts of the app it tells me that my Body fat is either 9.3% and 10.5%. I feel the entire app should calculate the same metric in the same way instead of leaving it up to me which one I want to believe. Though the scale offers metrics (that I like) that is not found in other scales, it also leaves out metrics that are common in many of them. I feel with a better app this scale could be worth the cost.