Body Fat % on Index S2 Smart Scale Seems Inaccurate

Tried. BF is a tad higher than last time, which may be the case. But still around 5 to 7% too high. So nothing has changed.

Cheers

Garmin-Kevin any updates on this issue? i‘ve bought myself an index s2 for x-mas and face the same issue. thinking about sending it back and do the sync stuff with another scale in a more laborious way, but at least with reliable values… 

I've had this scale over a year, they have known about the issue for at least 9 months, there has been zero done about it.  If I were you I would return it and find a scale that isn't way off.  They will hopefully fix this in the next hardware model because if it was software you would think it could be fixed in that amount of time. 

I have owned the index S2 scales for about 4 months, bought as I started on a mission to reduce body fat% to lose weight through a combination of nutrition, cardio and weight training to preserve muscle mass.  My only conclusion is that the Index S2 is accurate for weight and that's about it.  They were showing no progress (Stuck around 24/25% body fat) so a month ago I had a Dexa scan which showed BF% of 20.2%.  Since then I have lost another 5lb in weight and tracked all scale measurements in a spreadsheet.  Index is showing a small reduction in BF%, loss of lean muscle mass and increase in water%.  I know I've not lost muscle mass from measurements i've taken of body which is now bigger and completely unclear why i'd now be a greater proportion of water?!

I've stopped taking notice of the composition part of the scales now and just use weight and how I look and feel and how my fitness has improved.  Obviously before smart scales this is how most amateur fitness was measured but certainly feel short changed with these scales.  I'm only repeating what the rest are saying which is the scales use a algorithm based on averages of ages, weight, height rather than genuinely measuring body composition.  Maybe I expected too much but I had a set of £10 scales which told me my weight so definitely feel I've wasted £130.  Wish I'd found this forum before I bought them.  I have a Fenix 6 watch which is brilliant but why Garmin can't use that data and fitness levels (I have VO2 Max of 50 - Top 10% for my age) to influence the scales I don't know.  I guess its easier to churn out a product which does the average which is probably enough for most people but I bought them expecting much much more

I bought my Index S2 during the holidays and I feel robbed as well. I wanted to stay within the Garmin ecosystem and I thought getting the Index S2 will bring more convenience and insight into my fitness but I just feel scammed and regretful that I wasted my hard earned money on such an expensive and useless product. My cheap $20 generic smart scale that I have been using previously is more accurate than the Index S2.

Clearly there is just no advantage in being a loyal Garmin user and staying in the ecosystem. I should have listened to my gut instinct.

Are you able to return it? The only reason I purchased the Index S2 was to easily integrate my weight into Garmin Connect. Previously, I was using a Withings scale and MyFitnessPal to sync my weight. Half the time it didn't work, so got tired of fiddling with it. I find the weight on the Index S2 to be consistent and accurate. But that's all, only the weight is accurate. It would be nice if the other metrics were correct, but at this point I don't pay any attention to those numbers, just the weight.

Well my scale just updated to software version 2.12... (UK)

Can't find a changelog and unable to test whether or not the BF issue has been fixed....

The BF issue has not been fixed on 2.12. That's the Garmin way... damn

Probably a new power sensor is coming and the scales have to be adjusted accordingly.

The body fat problem is obviously hardware related and cannot be fixed in the current scale.

Garmin-Kevin please add me to the list. I bought my S2 scales at the end of 2021, ready for a concerted weight loss effort this year. I started my calorie controlled diet last Monday (4 days ago) and have weighed daily since.

My first reading was 62.7kg with body fat of 41%. My Withings scale read 62.8 kg with a body fat of 37.3% - not too different and I could accept that the Garmin was in the right ball-park.

I have weighed every day this week on the Garmin scales, and my body fat has stayed at 41% - the only loss has been in muscle mass (water and bone have remained constant). I'm certain that I have lost fat  - I've been keeping to a calorie controlled diet, and it's implausible that I'd lose 1.3kg of muscle in 4 days rather thanat least some of that being fat.

Today (Friday) my reading on the Garmin scales was 61.4 kg with a fat percentage of, you guessed it, 41%. On the Withings scales, my reading was 61.5 kg with a body fat percentage of 36.6 - a drop of 0.7%.

Suspecting a bug, I found these forums, and the issues with bad readings from the Garmin scales for those of advanced age. I changed my age to 41 (from 61, my actual age), and took another reading on the Garmin scales. This gave me a weight of 61.3 kg and a body fat percentage of 36.2% - much closer to the Withings scales.

So

a) The scales are useless for a weight loss diet if they incorrectly show an unchanging fat percentage and lead the user to instead think they are losing lean tissue.

b)  it is totally wrong that my age should have anything to do with the reading given. I don't want to leave my age set 20 years too young as my other metrics such as VO2max will look much worse than they are.

b) I am really fed up that I didn't test the scales as soon as I got them, and trusted Garmin quality. I'm now in the position where I can't return them. If Garmin has any sense of doing the right thing, I'd expect a refund from Garmin UK.