Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) -  Personal scales general

Scales are precision instruments and therefore react to changes in the environment. Different floor coverings and air temperature and humidity variations may lead to a distortion of the weighing results. Soft or high-pile floor coverings influence the measurement results particularly strongly.

Always ensure a secure, horizontal position of the scale on a hard surface, e.g. hardwood floor or tiles. Never place the scale directly in front of a wall but at a distance of at least 30 cm to the wall. This will prevent an unbalanced load on the scale during the weighing process.

It’s not as if the scales were imprecise—just the opposite—but each scale has a minor tolerance value, as does any measurement tool. So it’s very likely that your scale at home shows a different value than the scale at the doctor's office or fitness studio.

In order to have a concise weight trend, you should therefore always use the same scale. 

A person wanting to lose weight cannot do without daily weight control: The healthy way to lose weight is in small steps. But regular weighing will be beneficial even when it comes to maintaining one’s weight in order to counteract any possible weight increase in a timely manner.

Weight reduction – anyone who has started a diet will confirm this – goes in small steps. And it is these small steps which a scales must be able to show reliably. For this reason it is the reproducibility of a weighing measurement which is more important.

If one also pays attention to a few simple rules for controlling body weight then the best results will be obtained.
Please note that personal scales only show reliable results from a weight of 10 kg upwards. 

No. However, they are tested to the same standards as officially stamped scales.

Regularly
A person wanting to lose weight cannot do without daily weight control: The healthy way to lose weight is in small steps. But regular weighing will be beneficial even when it comes to maintaining one’s weight in order to counteract any possible weight increase in a timely manner.

Several rules should be observed to achieve a sensible weight control, which we will explain below:


Always at the same time:
In the morning, sober, and without clothing
The body weight of an adult may change by 2-3 kg during the course of one day. For a reliable weight control it is therefore important to maintain constant weighing conditions.

The most uniform results are achieved by weighing oneself at the same time, without clothing, and sober. So the best time of day would be in the morning, after getting up and using the toilet.
If you weigh yourself in the evening or during the day, the ever changing consumption of food and liquid can negatively influence the weighing results.
This applies to the weighing process with a mechanical or electronic personal scale, but not to body analysis scales.


Always on the same scale
It's not as if the scales were imprecise–just the opposite—but each scale has a minor tolerance value, as does any measurement tool. So it's very likely that your scale at home shows a different value than the scale at the doctor's office or fitness studio. In order to have a concise weight trend, you should therefore always use the same scale. By the way, the precision of a scale has nothing to do with whether the scale is calibrated or not. It's possible to confuse calibration with adjustment. It's even possible that an uncalibrated scale may show more precise results than a calibrated scale. The calibration is only an official confirmation of the fact that the tolerance values of the scale are within the legally permitted range. It is mandatory only for retail scales and medical scales. A calibration must be repeated periodically.


Always at the same location
Scales are precision instruments and therefore react to changes in the environment. Different floor coverings and air temperature and humidity variations may lead to a distortion of the weighing results. Soft or high-pile floor coverings influence the measurement results particularly strongly.
Always ensure a secure, horizontal position of the scale on a hard surface, e.g. hardwood floor or tiles. Never place the scale directly in front of a wall but at a distance of at least 30 cm to the wall. This will prevent an unbalanced load on the scale during the weighing process.


The weighing process
Only analogue scales must be set to "0" with an adjustment wheel, while electronic scales reset to zero automatically. Due to the automatic 0-position, you shouldn't move electronic scales for 3 minutes prior to weighing.

So, several rules should be observed for proper weighing. 
However, the weighing process itself is child’s play:
Step on the scale and balance your body weight evenly. 
Stand still and do not hold on to anything for support.
Read your body weight.


Body analysis scales come with their own rules
The bio impedance analysis (BIA) is the common measurement method among body analysis scales. It doesn’t measure body values like body fat, body water, and muscle mass directly but by measuring the body’s electronic resistance (impedance). The scale then uses a statistical process to calculate the respective body masses based on personal values (body height, age, and sex), determined weight, and measured body resistance. 

The body mass information provided by the bio impedance measurement method can fluctuate during the course of a day. This is not due to an imprecision of the body analysis scales, but rather due to the fluctuations of the body's water content.


Best in the evenings
The human body may lose as much as 2-3 kg of body water while sleeping. Therefore, the body is usually dehydrated (lacking water) immediately after getting up in the morning. However, the lower the body water content, the higher the body resistance; therefore, the calculated body fat content is also higher

The undesired and quick weight gain after diets is a much observed phenomenon. For the body, diets initially indicate an “emergency program” to which it adjusts with a lower calorie requirement. Muscle mass is reduced before fat reserves are used. Vice versa, with a normal diet the body first restores fat reserves and the feared “yo-yo effect” occurs.

Exercise, particularly targeted muscle training, increases the daily calorie requirement, counters muscle loss, and brings body values back into balance.

Only analogue scales must be set to “0” with an adjustment wheel. Electronic scales reset to zero automatically. Due to the automatic 0-position, you shouldn’t move electronic scales for 3 minutes prior to weighing.

The precision of a scale has nothing to do with whether the scale is calibrated or not. It’s possible to confuse calibration with adjustment. It is even possible that an uncalibrated scale may show more precise results than a calibrated scale.  

The calibration is only an official confirmation of the fact that the tolerance values of the scale are within the legally permitted range. It is mandatory only for retail scales and medical scales. A calibration must be repeated periodically.  

Check the battery capacity. If it is definitely not a battery problem, it may be a software error.

Because the cost of a repair generally exceeds the purchase cost of a new scale, Soehnle does not offer a repair service.

Within the warranty period, your scale will be replaced by a new one.Please take the scale back to your retailer store in the country of use, with your purchase receipt and the guarantee card.

If the scale is moved or raised immediately before the measurement, then there might be no correct zeroing / initialization during the measurement, so that the weight of the scale may be included in the measurement.

Due to the automatic zero setting of digital scales, we therefore recommend to not move the scale about 3 minutes before weighing or to wait briefly after switching on the scale until it shows "O".

"lo" or "bat" is displayed, when the batteries are almost empty.

Insert a new batteries.

Tolerances are normal for measuring tools.
With personal scales, there are also deviations between the measured and the actual weight.
With a Soehnle personal scale, however, you can be certain that the deviations are extremely low: 0.3 percent for low body weight and a maximum of 1.4 percent for very high body weight.