Bluetooth dropping during ride, won't reconnect without quitting

Jean-Sebastian,

I have not posted since January 2nd. I have had the same H3 Bluetooth disconnect issues using an iPad 6 with iOS version 14.2 and now 14.3. I believe that is the common denominator as I had no issues until October 2020 after I updated to iOS 14.2.

I have been using my Pixel 2 Android phone to run Zwift without any problems but would like to get back to using the iPad. I tried the iPad a couple more times over the last 3 weeks as I saw new Zwift upgrade versions being released but still had the same disconnect issues.

I have an ongoing email exchange going with Zwift support but all they have offered is try this, try that, with no success. I have just sent an email to Saris support with the Subject line as you suggested. I immediately got a reply stating Saris will investigate but due to an unprecedented number of requests there will be delays. I think the more people that do as you asked the better chance we have of getting this resolved.

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I just finished a 1hr ride with out a drop. turned off all blue tooth everything but my IPhone and ran ZG on that phone AND i turned OFF location services on said phone. Ran a stages arm BT and a HR BT as well to that iPhone X 14.3os

1st drop free ride in a while

Nice work Jean-Sebastian.

I have just sent an email to Saris as per your wording.

I’ve also just had another Zwift update on iPad… version 1.0.61162
This includes another Bluetooth improvements.
Here’s hoping!

another successful ride with location turned off.

Managed a full 1hr 15min ride on the latest Zwift build 1.0.61590 on iPad. Although no other Bluetooth devices near or connected.

Also 1 ride does not make a fix - the issue is so intermittent that sometimes you just seem to get a ride in!

Anyone else had any success or failures with it?

Let’s keep our fingers crossed :crossed_fingers:t2:Apple released 14.4 and Zwift had an update today was able to ride 90 minutes without a Bluetooth dropout … Yay! Time will tell

Maybe things are fixed now?

Just did a 60 min ERG workout with zero problems using new update of tvOS 14.4 on Apple TV 4k and new 1.0.61590 version of Zwift. Paired my Saris H3 (with latest firmware) over Bluetooth for power, cadence, and control, and a Polar H9 heart monitor all to Apple TV. Did a “force close” of Zwift both before and after ride. Rode with companion app on my iPhone, although I did not pair anything via the companion app … just for giving out Ride Ons :slight_smile:

The last two times I tried the above setup (using previous tvOS and Zwift versions) I had ERG mode “turn off” by itself after 15 minutes and refuse to turn on again. Today, however, everything was perfect for an hour workout.

Dunno if success was due to the new tvOS, new Zwift, combination of both, or just dumb luck. Fingers crossed.

The past few months I’ve been using my laptop with an Ant dongle placed right next to the H3. H3 works fine with Ant if you pair to the “FE-C” ant broadcast… oddly I had numerous ant dropouts when pairing to the non FE-C “Hammer” broadcast.

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Running Zwift on iPad 14.2 and 14.3. and have been suffering all the issues mentioned in this thread and tried most of the fixes without any success.

Updated Zwift to the latest version yesterday and did a workout - BT reliability seemed improved, but still suffered two dropouts during a one-hour ride. Today updated iPadOS to version 14.4 and just finished 1:05 hour workout without any issues. Fingers crossed that this wasn’t a one-off, but I’m cautiously optimistic.

Still having issues. Two “no signal” disconnects in two days. Updated to iOS 14.4 before today’s ride. In 300+ hours in 2020 never had this happen once, so somewhere between Zwift and Apple something has broken. Using BT to connect TickR, Stages and Saris H3 to iPad.

I’m not sure how I did it, but I was able to ride today (1h 26m) with no disconnects between the Zwift Companion iOS app and my Apple Watch (Series 5). The only thing that I did differently from previous rides was that I didn’t turn on the Zwift Companion app until after I initially paired my Saris M2 and started the ride.

Since I saw some positive reports after Apple’s release of version 14.4 I decided to try and use my iPad 6 again to run Zwift (version 1.0.61590). Turned off location services on the iPad and ran the companion app on Pixel 2 phone with Bluetooth off. I started a 90 minute group ride and 24 minutes in I got the dreaded disconnect. I quit the ride, restarted Zwift, rejoined the ride within the 30 minute time limit, and was able to ride another 65 minutes without disconnecting.

So the new Apple and Zwift versions did not solve my disconnect issues. Back to running Zwift on the Android phone again. :slightly_frowning_face:

Jean-Sebastien:

Good work. Saris customer service is non-existent, which is completely unacceptable for customers of a $1000 device.

While support@saris.com is the dead letter box, I’m certain the following would love to hear from the legions of “happy” customers posting on this thread.

cfortune@saris.com (CEO)
jfrehner@saris.com (President)
developer@saris.com
sales@saris.com

Good luck everyone.

Marco, hello…is this set up still working for you? Having ATV just 20 cm from trainer? Thanks.

Hi Jean-Sebastien,

I’ve been having this same problem for approximately 10 days now. The very strange thing is that before that, everything ran smoothly for more than a year…
If I remember well, it all began when I updated my iPad 6 to iOS 14.3. The latest version of ZWIFT didn’t solve anything. Updating the firmware of my H3 didn’t either. Today, I tried with my iPhone and it worked (but not yesterday) I really don’t get it!

I got in touch with Saris via Facebook and they recommended to email support@saris.com. That was 3 days ago and still no answer…

Well I hadn’t had any drops after the latest Apple update on my iPhone (14.4), and so I had held off emailing Saris. Though yesterday out of the blue I got a disconnect again, and this time I had to power cycle the H3 for it to come back (LED was off on it)!

And so I just sent a support request to Saris, the CEO and President. I am copy/pasting the email I sent, in case this can make it easier for others to report this issue.

To: support at sarisdot com,cfortune at sarisdot com,jfrehner at sarisdot com
Subject: Saris H3 permanently disconnects from Zwift mid session, until Zwift is restarted

"Dear Saris support:

My Saris H3 permanently disconnects from Zwift mid session, until Zwift is restarted.

I am using a Saris H3 with the following configuration:

Name: Hammer 46800
Serial #: xxx
ANT ID: xxx
BDA: xxx
Firmware version: 31.063
PnP Id: xxx
*Software version: 37.013 | 009b | 0001 (reported up to date as of 21/01/29) *
*With Zwift version: 1.0.61590 ( as of 21/01/29 ) *
Hardware platform: iPhone XR iOS 14.4 / iPhone SE - Happens on both platforms
At some point during the work out, Zwift will lose control of the Saris H3, which requires shutting down the Zwift application and restarting it. When the connection dropped during yesterday’s work out I had to power cycle the Saris H3, which is a first. Typically power cycling Zwift would be sufficient.

This issue has been reported for months on the Zwift forums, and seems to be specific to the usage of the Saris H3 with Apple products and Zwift. Please see below:

<removed link to this post since these forums don’t seem to allow links ???>

*If this is an issue with Zwift, then please Saris help us identify it. If this is an issue with the H3, then please Saris fix it. At this time I would not recommend the H3 for use with Zwift. *

Regards,
JS"

After sending this email I received within 3 minutes what appears to be an automated reply stating:

" Thank you for contacting Saris. Your inquiry (xxx) is important to us and we will connect with you as quickly as we can.

As our Saris team adapts to the changing global environment due to COVID-19, as well as increased product demand, we wanted to share what you can expect from our customer support team at this time.

Our incredible support team is still available to assist with requests remotely. Due to an unprecedented number of requests, you may experience a delay in response. Please know our team is working hard to respond to all requests as quickly as possible. To help expedite the process we’ve closed our phone line to better serve our customers. We appreciate your patience and understanding during this time.

We have a large library of resources available in our
For replacement parts, you can find them at Sarisdot com
Questions about bike trainer compatibility, check out Bike Trainers 101
Needing information bike rack fit, you can find our fit guide here

If you are a bicycle dealer or retail partner’s, please reach out to sales at sarisdot com
For international retailers and distributors please reach out to internationalsales at sarisdot com

If you have additional information to add to your inquiry, please reply to this email."

It is interesting that they characterize themselves as an " incredible support team", I thought this would only be an assessment that us, the users of their products and support service would be entitled to make… Regardless, hopefully I get a satisfactory response to this request in a timely manner, and in a way that can fix this issue. Only at this time will I believe that the team at Saris provides incredible support.

Regards,
JS

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I spoke too soon. Had a BT dropout during my second workout with 14.4. Lost all BT devices at once, including Garmin HRM.

Same … thought I was all set did a 100 mile ride this morning and about 1hour 30 min into the ride the typical Bluetooth dropout happened :joy:. I did have companion application running on my iphone so I quit out of that and continued with my ride which was 5 hours no drops after that, I originally disabled my iphone Bluetooth so wondering if companion app had something to do with the dropout? No idea :man_shrugging: at this point but was glad to get my 100 mile ride in

I’ve got the same issue and have ever since Oct…ish?
I have tried every configuration with Apple TV 4K or iPhone xs.
It is nearing witchcraft superstition at this point: ATV on first then iphone but no bluetooth with the other ATV in the house unplugged and no fluorescent lights in the garage after booting up ATV…
It doesn’t matter. It always fails with one exception: Iphone connected to the internet with an ethernet cord and that Belkin converter. I then use screen mirroring for the ATV…which at this point is just a big expensive HDMI cable. No WIFI.
I hope someone fixes this…whoever it is. I can’t afford a new trainer and Apple seems too consumed with their contact tracing bluetooth whatever that broke this thing.
If you can, buy the convertor, it actually works…ethernet to lightning Belkin on Amazon.

Hey Bill, I still get some random disconnects, anyway I have not really been that active on Zwift in the last few weeks…

Sounds like it’s tolerable. I moved closer to the Apple TV and it’s much better now. Thanks for your feedback, Bill

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