Apple TV 4k - dropping bluetooth after 1hr plus

Bugs and Support
#1

I seem to have the occasional issue where Apple TV 4k drops the bluetooth connection to the trainer. It gives you a brief heads up as the Apple TV remote connection drops first and then 1-2 sec then the trainer gets dropped. The only fix I have found is to reboot the apple tv. It seems to happen after 1hr or so. It’s very annoying as if you are in the middle of the group ride you get dropped or today I was almost done a route and I lost my progress after reboot of the Apple TV.

I have a Saris H3 connected to Apple TV, and just the bluetooth Apple TV remote. I didn’t have my Wahoo Bluetooth Heart rate strap connected to the Apple TV.

Equipment

  • Apple TV 4k
  • Saris H3 trainer - with cadence, power and power source.
  • Wahoo Ticker Heart Rate strap

Any input would be awesome.

My trainer is around 10-15ft away from the Apple TV which is another room.

#2

I wonder if this is more of a Saris H3 issue, particularly since that trainer seems to have a lot of connection issues.

I use a different trainer, but I’ve never had my trainer drop out after an hour on my Apple TV, and I’ve done a lot of rides on it.

You say that your Apple TV is in a different room from your trainer? That doesn’t sound ideal.

#3

@Ian_Butt
I have an H3 too. I had random Bluetooth dropouts until I uninstalled the Garmin Connect app from my smartphone. Turns out the trainer was bonding Garmin Connect and interfering with the Zwift app running on my Windows laptop.

If you have any fitness apps on your smartphone (Saris utility app, Strava, the Wahoo app for your heart rate monitor, etc), you may want to unistall them to test this theory. These apps may remain active even though they’re not in the foreground of your smartphone, so uninstall is the surest way to eliminate this as a possibility.

Would you loop back and let us know if this worked?

#4

Sure I can try that which is less than ideal. I use Strava and Garmin connect all the time. I suspect it is an AppleTV issue. Is there a way we can get someone to look at it there ? It sort of defeats the purpose of having your phone with these apps. This seems like a hack.

#5

@Ian_Butt
If your Zwift account is connected to Strava and Garmin Connect, then your Zwift sessions get synced without having those apps installed on your smartphone.

Here’s how to link to those third parties.

#6

Yes I have them connected, but I like to have strava on my phone and I need garmin connect so that I can download my runs off my watch.

#7

There seems to be a pretty good thread already started on this subject Bluetooth dropping during ride, won't reconnect without quitting, I myself have been experiencing this for a while now, what works for me is I turn off my iphone wifi and bluetooth basically airplane mode and just have the trainer H3 and ATV 4K connected along with the Wahoo Ticr HR monitor that seems to work the best for me did a 2 hour ride on Sunday no issues hopefully somebody fixes this soon.

#8

Apple TV user here with Kickr and now Neo. Never had any issues such as you described. I have multiple apps including Garmin Connect, Strava, Tacx, etc… that all use Bluetooth but never have any tried connecting with my trainer. The apps won’t randomly connect to something. You have to have had them paired before. Who connects Garmin Connect or Strava to their trainer?

Perhaps @shooj is right, worth checking into. However, rather than uninstall Strava, Garmin Connect, etc., I would suggest going into the settings and disabling Bluetooth for both apps. On an iPhone: Settings > Privacy > Bluetooth: Find the app and disable the setting. This should be enough to prevent the trainer from connecting to another app. Or you can completely turn off the phone Bluetooth during a test ride.

Another option, your Apple TV is overheating? Is it in the open or stuffed in a cabinet? Does it feel hot to the touch when it drops everything?

#9

Curious, do you leave your H3 plugged in all the time? If so how about power cycling it before your next session.

#10

No I unplug it every session

#11

Disable Bluetooth on your Smartphone while zwifting?
Do you use any other 2.4GHz stuff? WiFi? Can you switch to 5GHz WiFi?
Maybe someone in your building uses the Microwave frequently?

#12

I guess I should have stuck with ANT+ seems more stable than bluetooth.

I will try turning off bluetooth on my iphone. I have wifi on both 2.4 and 5 G, Its a NetGear Orbi.

This certainly seems like people are grasping at straws… Is there any logs that people have found to validate any of this ideas ?

#13

As mentioned there is another thread about Saris dropouts, which also thinks there is something about the Saris interaction w/Zwift that is out of whack. But in your case you also mention the remote dropping first. My initial thought would be some type of interference.

Can you move the Apple TV and iPhone to 5G wifi and/or disabling the 2.4G. I also have an Orbi and put everything on 5G as to avoid wifi interference w/Bluetooth. 2.4G spectrum is also used by Bluetooth.

Do you force quit Zwift and the Companion app after each session? If not, I highly recommend it to avoid any weird Zwift behavior. Zwift was not written/designed to be put in the background or left to sleep.

As for logs, you can get logs from a PC, Mac, or iPhone, but not an Apple TV.

ANT+ vs Bluetooth… the both work. Depending on your environment, they might both work great, both be :poop:, or one be better than the other.

That 10-15ft between trainer and Apple TV might be the issue, especially if there is a wall in the middle. Have you tried putting the trainer and Apple TV in the same room in close proximity?

#14

Apple TV 4k is hard-wired into my router, its not using Wifi at all.

I will ensure that I quit out of Zwift each time on apple TV.

If this happens every ride then it would make sense that it would be interference but it only happens one out of 10-15 rides. Like I said before its always after an 1hr15 or so which makes it frustrating because when it quits then you want to bail from the workout, or the other day I was almost done the road to ruins it dropped and I lost a chance of getting the Zwift badge :frowning: