Bluetooth connection keeps dropping

Ok, looks like it’s a ZWift issue. have not had any problems for a year and now BT drops 2-3 times a race. Windows 10 app, zwift companion. i have tried the companion on iOS and an Android phone, same issues.

please advise

Zwift customer service will send you to a web page with a "common problems’ chart. Don’t expect much more.

Here is some stuff to try.

  • clear the cashe on the iOS and Android devices. As an alternative, uninstall and reinstall the apps.
    -reboot everything, and try to achieve a power off state to do it.
  • make sure the phones don’t have the devices paired in the typical phone BT screen, the app does it. If the devices are paired using the native phone BT screen, disconnect and “forget” them.
    -load a BT sniffer on the Anrdoid device and look at the relative “strength” of the other BT stuff nearby. Don’t use the sniffer while trying to ride for real, but fire up all your kit and look at what is close to (or stronger than) the BT for Zwift.

More desperate stuff:

  • try to use 5Ghz instead of 2.4Ghz for Wifi. 2.4Ghz might cause interference. Is there a new Alexa or Google Home near your Zwift setup now? Make sure it is on 5Ghz. Are you using their BT features? If so, stop.
    -open resource manager and task manager while you ride. Watch the performance tab in task manager and the network tab in resource manager. In my case when the WAN latency gets really slow BT blows up most of the tine. Don’t listen to anyone that says 50ms. When mine blows up it is over 2000ms. In my case the latency is outside of my home and ISP so there is no fix. That may not always be the case.
  • Also make sure your PC and its WiFi/network are working. The BT data goes from the sensors to the phone (companion app) to the PC (Win 10). If the local network fails, the data from BT fails. Put another way if your PC chokes badly, it might not be able to update the data over IP so your watts and HR ect drops out.
  • Windows is pushing another update recently. The last few updates have been more and more sketchy. Look up how you see when you got a Win 10 update and see if it corresponds with your new found problems.
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I was fine the first week without any drops at all, but since the latest Widows update, I drop numerous times every single ride. I pair through the companion app to my laptop and HR, Cadence and the Kickr power all drop to 0 for a few seconds and then kick back in.

1903 was said to have Bluetooth issues

Can you switch to Ant instead of BT? My wife had to re-pair everything after the last Zwift update and she just tried BT because it was on the list. Right back to the last year’s mess of BT hangs and Zwift PC application crashes. An attempt at a one hour ride resulted in no less than 10 BT hangs followed by an 10 application crashes. The Windows debugger tool shows that last activity from Zwift is a BT API call … Zwift shouldn’t blow up and Windows shouldn’t botch BT either, but I digress. The two are two peas in a pod.

So far my “ultimate” setup that limits crashes to about 1 in 20 rides is a ANT dongle from the Windows PC with a USB cord routed to within about 6 inches of the trainer. Keep an eye on your USB extension length, because after a certain distance they get flaky, and adding another flaky connection on top of the Windows/Zwift party isn’t what anyone wants.

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I’m having big issues here too with companion app and either iOS 13 or the new Windows update. Constant dropouts on the last couple rides that can’t reliably be fixed with any one method. I’d switch to an ANT or Bluetooth dongle, but my computer is in a different room and I stream the game to my workout room.

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Seems fixed now. Only had issues for a couple days