These last three hours I was fighting with a health app which is supposed to be the software counterpoint of a Bluetooth weight scale.
It simply did not work. And the reviews on Google Play were 1 star reviews, because the app simply stopped working.
I wasn't using this app for years, since I've written a Python script to read out the scale via a Raspberry Pi, but I wanted to change some weight thresholds in the scale, which my script didn't support, so I installed the app, after two years of not using it.
I think this app messed up the scale. It connected once, then never again. I even installed versions from 2 years ago, assuming that at least that would work. It didn't. I've tried this with 3 different phones. Pixel, Motorola, Xiaomi. No success. I've rebooted the phones several times.
So I searched for the Bluetooth codes which were responsible for setting these thresholds in the scale, and added them to the script. The script worked fine and did set the new values.
But now I have the issue that the Raspberry Pi often fails at connecting to the scale. It's annoying, but at least the scale has a buffer for several measurements, and once it can connect, it downloads all the measurements.
For others this simply means to throw away the scale or use it offline. Granted, it was a cheap one at around 15 €, but that's no reason to break things.
I own an ancient glass one that was just digital. The display stopped working at one point for no bloody reason.
So, eventually I gutted its controller/display and replaced it with arduino, HD44780-based display, and HX711 mass sensor module (that reads the existing four sensors), with any form of wireless module for communication being easily addable, if needed.
Now, it's 1-gram precise, which is enough to be used as a large kitchen scale if need be (I plan on adding a switch), I've added supports customized calibration, and customized averaging (it takes N measurements, and displays that).
Further, I plan a smart home integration, and will replace the display and functionality with smartphone app with current user selection (presets + guest), logging, etc. (and subtraction of the phone's weight from the total).
It never supported those "fancy" additional measurements as water and/or fat percentage, but I guess those are relatively easily addable as well (aluminium/copper tape as sensors?). With this, formulas used for calculations would be the greater challenge.
Really, this is the only option of 100% future proofing ones hardware - do it yourself... plus, it is saved from a landfill.
It simply did not work. And the reviews on Google Play were 1 star reviews, because the app simply stopped working.
I wasn't using this app for years, since I've written a Python script to read out the scale via a Raspberry Pi, but I wanted to change some weight thresholds in the scale, which my script didn't support, so I installed the app, after two years of not using it.
I think this app messed up the scale. It connected once, then never again. I even installed versions from 2 years ago, assuming that at least that would work. It didn't. I've tried this with 3 different phones. Pixel, Motorola, Xiaomi. No success. I've rebooted the phones several times.
So I searched for the Bluetooth codes which were responsible for setting these thresholds in the scale, and added them to the script. The script worked fine and did set the new values.
But now I have the issue that the Raspberry Pi often fails at connecting to the scale. It's annoying, but at least the scale has a buffer for several measurements, and once it can connect, it downloads all the measurements.
For others this simply means to throw away the scale or use it offline. Granted, it was a cheap one at around 15 €, but that's no reason to break things.
I'm currently so angry at this.