Apple TV 4k - can’t connect HR

General Discussion
1

Appreciate it’s been discussed numerous times and I thought I understood it, but I can’t get my series 1 Apple Watch to connect via Apple TV 4K. I use a dumb trainer, pairing wahoo speed and cadence via speed sensor within the zwift app on ATV. I then try to connect my HR Apple series 1 watch to app which I appreciate won’t work due to number of Bluetooth connectors. I try using companion app for HR watch but that doesn’t recognise the device either. Would a wahoo HR device be better or should I connect it all up in a different way? What am I doing wrong? Any help appreciated.

2

Disconnect everything from ATV, then connect everything using companion app. That works the best for me so far.

3 Likes
3

I always use companion app for connections now as well, works far better.

4

Can someone explain how to connect devices via the companion app? I’m also running Apple TV4k and an iPhone Xs. I have the toggle set to allow Bluetooth connections, but nothing shows up or seems to connect when I open the companion app prior to opening Zwift on Apple TV.

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5

You might consider North Pole Engineering’s “Cable” ant+ to bluetooth converter. It takes multiple Ant+ signals and converts them to a single bluetooth channel. I use it to convert power, cadence and heart rate to a single channel and allow the other channel for controllable which is the trainer. The cable device is a little tricky to set up but not to bad (read the directions) but once that’s done it works really well.

2 Likes
6

Thanks, Jim. Would really prefer not to spend additional money on something if there is a workable solution here. That said, I’ll do whatever is necessary to get it working.

7

I think I am having the same issue with ATV, iPhone Xs Max & Watch series 4. My current workaround is to use iPhone Zwift app and Airplay to ATV. Companion app does not find watch or other devices to share to ATV.

8

Ok, I seemed to have figured out a solution for my equipment. Here is what worked for me:

  1. Turn on Apple TV and close out of Zwift (double tap TV icon on remote and then swipe up to close app)
  2. Open Zwift companion app
  3. Plug in trainer and wait 5-10 seconds
  4. Open Zwift app on Apple TV and sign in. A few seconds later, all devices (trainer, cadence and HR monitor) pair on the pairing screen.

This has worked for me several times in a row, so I think I’m good. Hope it helps.

9

Thanks. Will give this a go. Did manage to get HR to connect yesterday by disconnecting power source, connecting HR via companion then going back into power source to connect power/cadence. That didn’t work tonight however. Will try your theory tomorrow. Cheers all

10

This was enlightening for me, thank you!! I run Zwift onto an AppleTV using a Keiser M3i stationary bike and their new Bluetooth Converter which converts the power meter and cadence to Zwift. One thing that doesn’t convert for some reason is Heart Rate. I even bought a new Bluetooth Polar H10, but no joy getting that connect to Zwift on AppleTV. I’m able to get my Apple Watch HR to connect to Zwift on my phone, but that of course defeats the purpose of having Zwift on the big screen. Seeing this post about mirroring my iPhone screen to the AppleTV was just the breakthrough I needed!! Now I can connect power and cadence via the bike AND HR via my AppleWatch on the Zwift app on phone, and mirror to the big screen. Works like a charm!! Thank you Inigo!!!

11

sorry to bring up a slightly older thread, I too am struggling to get anything to connect to the app via Bluetooth.

I have apple TV, kickr core, wahoo cadence and wahoo heart rate. I run the zwift companion on my iPhone SE. I can only get 2 to connect to apple tv (which is fine, as ATV only has 2 connections).

So I attempt to connect the HR via the companion app, but it doesn’t find it. Even if I change the setting in zwift to use the app rather than appletv for all my connections, it doesn’t work.

Then when I did just get going without the cadence sensor working, my kickr provided no resistence to the road ahead.

Any idea what I might be doing wrong!?

12

Hi everyone, this is my routine for connecting to Apple TV with Companion app. I have an Apple TV 4k, Zwift Companion (ZMC) running on an iPhone XS, and an Apple Watch (s3, but I don’t use the watch for heart rate, I use a tickr wrist monitor, no dropouts).

This algorithm assumes you used the same method for your last workout. If I open the Companion app (which I used for 3 connections in my last workout; kickr (& climb), and ATV I see that the ATV Zwift app no longer is connected to all my devices. So I have to run through the routine below. So, assuming you’ve filled your water bottle and just arrived at your bike for your workout:

  1. Open your Companion app on your iPhone.
  2. Turn on the Apple TV (ATV) with the ATV remote.
  3. Start the Zwift app on the ATV. Pedal a stroke on your smart trainer to wake it up. Turn on your HR monitor.
  4. on the ATV, click the right arrow with your name in it to take you to the connections screen.
  5. You’ll see that your ATV is not connected to anything. The Companion app seems to have dropped its connections to your devices from the last workout.
  6. Left swipe on ATV remote to select “Connect via Apple TV” in the top left of your screen. For some reason the ATV Zwift app has lost its connection to the iPhone and the connections need to be reset. ATV will connect to two bluetooth (BT) devices now, but first you need to switch off the BT connection on your iPhone. That’s in the next step.
  7. On your iPhone, swipe down from the top left of the screen (in iOS12). Tap the bluetooth symbol to turn off the BT transceiver in the phone. Your ATV should now show your smart trainer ready to be connected. If not, pedal one stroke on your smart trainer to wake it up (and wake up your cadence sensor). Turn on your HR monitor if it isn’t already on.
  8. Using the ATV remote, connect your 1) smart trainer, 2) cadence sensor (if any), 3) heart rate monitor (if any). At this point, the ATV screen should say “Apple TV is out of bluetooth connections. Would you like to connect using the mobile Companion app?”. With your ATV remote, swipe to ‘Yes’ on your ATV and click it.
  9. Now, on your iPhone, tap the BT symbol again to turn on the BT transceiver in your phone.
  10. Your ATV should show your smart trainer and one other BT device (eg cadence sensor connected). Your third device (eg HR monitor) should say ‘Not connected’ within its square box on the ATV.
  11. Using your ATV remote, swipe to the device that is not connected, click on it, and wait for your iPhone to detect it. When it does, click on it. (If you’re using the ZMC app on your Apple Watch it should now show in the list of HR monitors at this point). I select my Wahoo tickr HR monitor, but my Apple Watch is listed as an option too.
  12. Check one last time that all your necessary devices are connected. If one has been dropped, swipe to it with your ATV remote and click it; wait for your phone to detect it and click on it to connect. Once everything is connected to Zwift via your iPhone ZMC app, swipe down on the ATV to the blue ‘Let’s Go’ button at the bottom of the screen.
  13. You should see the event selection screen. Choose your workout, group ride etc.
  14. Once you start riding, if you see that HR or cadence data is missing, click the ‘Menu’ button on your ATV remote, swipe across to the square button with a ‘B’ in it that has the word ‘Settings’ below it. Click it and try to reconnect to your device. Connect it. Swipe down to ‘Let’s Go’.
  15. Ride on.

Hope that helps.

2 Likes
13

Brilliant!