Hey Zwifters!
I use Zwift with Kickr Core connected to my thinkpad scince start of the month now and it works very well.
No issues with connection (I use the integrated bluetooth of the thinkpad) and companion app on Samsung S8 works well, too.
Great fun and collecting lots of km’s 
A friend of mine bought a Kickr Core too but he’s not so lucky.
We tried to get his setup running scince last week and having lots of issues.
His Acer notebook does not have integrated bluetooth.
We changed setting in Zwift Windows App to connect the Kickr via Companion App but no device is found.
Companion App is running on a Samsung A60.
It recognizes that the game is running and changes to the map screen.
But it wont connect the trainer.
Companion App has got all permissions and is connected to same Wifi as Notebook.
Wifi, Bluetooth and Location is activated on Phone.
Wahoo Fitness App is running on the same phone and connecting to Kickr without issues.
We made sure that Wahoo App is not running when starting Zwift Companion.
Also we bought a ANT+ USB dongle for the notebook (from Amazon called CYCPLUS).
The dongle comes with a 3 meter USB extension cable.
Notebook is standing on a desk in front of his bike / right above the front wheel.
Without extension cable no device found in Zwift.
With extension cable and dongle right next to the Kickr we get a connection.
But the power reading is very choppy.
Power ist only updated every 5 to 10 seconds.
Riding is a pain this way and ERG mode is not working with so few power updates.
Spindown in Zwift fails because auf the power dropouts.
We tried different positions of the dongle around the kickr.
The fan is far away in front of the bike and not running.
We put all phones in another room and no bluetooth devices in use in the room.
W still cant get a constant power reading.
Should we try a different ANT+ dongle?
Can you recommend a good one and maybe a better USB extension cable?
Zwift is running fine on his Samsung phone with the Kickr, btw.
Its just not a good experience with the small phone screen.
It would be great to get it running on his notebook.
Thanks for you help!
Ride one, Thomas.
Is the firmware updated on the kickr? Could this be a graphics issue, try a lower resolution and run in windowed mode. Drop the log file into zwiftalizer.com and see what turns up.
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Thanks, Mike.
Kickr is on latest firmware.
While riding in Zwift the world / riders run smooth.
So fps seem fine - only the watts are choppy.
I will try lower resolution and windowed mode and check the log file.
Cheers,
Thomas.
What does fine mean, avr 20fps or 30fps or 5fpd.
If your watts are choppy it can be your Ant+ dongle, How many times did it connect according to zwiftalizer.
Do you pair as ANT+ FE-c
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Hey Gerrie,
thats a good question.
Is there a fps counter in Zwift?
It felt fluid but honestly we very more worried about the watts in that situation and ended the ride soon.
Scince the problems occure on my buddys laptop who lives in adifferent city I have to get back to you when I have the log file - hopefully I will know more this afternoon.
Also I found the blog post on Zwift Insider where Eric recommends the Anself and Suunto dongles.
I consider ordering those just to make sure the problem is not with the dongle.
Cheers,
Thomas.
If you drop your log file in Zwiftalizer.com as suggested by Mike you will see your FPS and connection issues and network errors.
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You can also see fps live in the top left corner while playing, just add set gShowFPS=1 to the file data/configs/high.txt (or whatever profile you are using, use zwiftalizer first to find out as it is not the same as resolution you can change yourself even though the labels are the same).
See https://zwiftinsider.com/config-file-tweaks/ for more info.
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I have the log files now.
I dont see problems there but I don’t really know, what to look for.
Average fps is between 35 and 40 - running on medium / full screen.
ANT+ performance seems to be good and only a few network errors in the first 5 minutes of each ride.
Should I post the logs?
@Gerrie_Delport
the ANT+ dongle is branded CYCPLUS
in Amazons description it does not mention ANT+ FE-c
its only says 2.4Ghz ANT + / Channel 8
You can post an image of the Zwiftalizer analysis, but it sound like that did not find any issues. did you use the log file from the ride in question.
When you pair the trainer in Zwift there should be different options under Power one of then should have FE-C in the name, you should use that for power and controllable.
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this is one of the longer rides where the power was stuck for 5-10 seconds constantly.
I will meet with my buddy on Wednesday and make sure to use ANT+ FE-c if available.
Also we will try windowed mode and check on which channel his wifi is broadcasting.
The good news is that it look like your ANT+ did not drop out, and your FPS look good.
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We tried it with the ANSELF dongle and 2m USB AmazonBasics extension cable today and it worked fine!
Lets see how the next rides will go but I’m optimistic that this setup solved our problem.
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