Getting Zwift running on an Apple TV is challenging, as evidenced by discussions on this forum. After a month of research and frustration I finally have a process that successfully gets my Snap trainer, cadence sensor, and heart rate monitor to connect. And, using my printed instructions (taped up in the cave) my wife was able to get her bike going today alone, with both cadence and heart rate working.
I am a professional computer geek; not every Zwift user has the skill or patience to figure it out. Since some of the challenges are not under Zwift’s control I recommend some kind of wizard to walk people through the setup process to make it easy.
I’d be interested in knowing what challenges you are facing. I run Zwift on ATV, with a Tacx Neo and Garmin Dual HRM, and found it to be a very quick set up with no issues.
If you add a third device, like a cadence sensor, then the ATV can’t connect it since it it limited to three Bluetooth connections and the remote counts as 1 (power trainer is 2 and HRM is 3). You have to then use the Companion app on another device to feed the thrud sensor and it acts wonky to connect often.
Here are the tricks I have figured out so far, all thanks to postings on the forums.
AIRPLANE MODE SEEMS TO BE THE SECRET SAUCE HERE.
Click the Menu button on the ATV controller to turn on the ATV
Put phone into Airplane Mode
Start Zwift Companion on phone and make sure it is visible.
On ATV click on user which should take you to Paired Devices
If just the two orange boxes, click on the Power Source box and select KICKR SNAP
Ride slowly to activate Snap and cadence sensor.
If Heart Rate and Cadence boxes both are blue and show data, you are done.
Otherwise, click on the box that is orange or not showing data and select the sensor
When you are done, remember to take phone out of Airplane Mode!
If having problems, click on “Use Apple TV Bluetooth Instead” in the top left corner. When you try to connect the second sensor (plus trainer) this will lead to getting the Bluetooth Error “Apple TV is out of Bluetooth connections. Would you like to try to connect through Zwift Companion on your smart phone?” Click Yes.
I have made sure that my Apple TV and phone are using the same WiFi network. Not sure if this is needed or not.
When it is smooth it is very nice. But my wife and I both use the same trainer, so different bikes, heart rate monitors, and cadence. Things often get quite confused where the trainer does not show up as a power source, or the trainer connects but I can only get heart rate or cadence but not both. Or everything is connected but then the bike does not move on Zwift and Paired Devices says there is no signal. I have spent many hours in frustration trying to figure it out. From searching the web it looks like my level of frustration is quite common. If it works seamlessly for you that is great, just not a universal experience.
The AppleTV only supports Bluetooth I believe? I use dual-band sensors (Wahoo RPM and Tickr) as well as the trainer supporting both Bluetooth and ANT+ for the best of both worlds.
The AppleTV has a limit of 3 concurrent Bluetooth device connections, so typically you’d end up not being able to connect the cadence sensor or the heart rate monitor, thankfully you can use the Zwift Companion app on your phone to act as a bridge between, so you can use all devices without the need for a PC or ANT+ dongle.