Hi,
I have a phone that can connect to ant+ and bluetooth. If that is the case, why do I need a separate ant+ dongle to connect to my computer, thus bypassing my phone, and requiring more of a setup.
I have read that the new Android app will not have ant+ either. It would be helpful so that I do not have to purchase everything new (cadence, HRM) that I got from my garmin edge 820 kit.
Thanks,
Ivan
Because an ANT+ stick plugged into your computer (via an extension lead) with the stick right next to your power meter or smart trainer is more reliable. Plus at this point in time the companion app only lets you connect via Bluetooth. From my experience an ANT+ stick into your computer is more reliable than Bluetooth through your phone with the companion app.
All you will need to buy is a ANT+ stick plus an extension lead. Zwift sell them in their store.
Thanks for the input Nigel. I’ll do that for the dongle.
I just don’t want to have to buy a new BLE HRM or cadence sensor (both of mine are garmin on ant+) when the full android app comes out to get it all working with the new app.
Ivan
I’m surprised that more people haven’t voted for this.
If you have existing ANT+ devices and an ANT+ capable phone (like many of the Samsung’s), the Companion App would bring the sensing close to the devices and avoid buying and running a dongle on the end of a USB cable. Surely this would be easier for a lot of people?
Personally my heart sensor is ANT+ and my phone has ANT+ too, but I’m still having to get an ANT+ dongle and USB extension cable so I can use it. Luckily my other sensors support both ANT+ and BLE.
If the developers are listening, please consider this, or at least let us know if its not viable.
Nigel - your experience may be valid, but in my case, I have an ANT USB that came with my vector pedals. It has all kinds of trouble reading the pedals in Zwift. Garmin windows software can talk to the vectors with it. And my phone and garmin bike computers also read the vectors. But Zwift only sees about 60% of my wattage. And yes, I have tried an extension cord with no help.
My point is not that you are wrong, but that there are people who could benefit by using their phones for connectivity instead.
Voted, would love to be able to use Companion app via Ant+ instead of often unstable BT.
Now that the main Zwift app on Android now supports Ant+, is the companion app going to get Ant+ added to it for bridging?
This would be quite useful, now that I have discovered that my Xiaomi A3 has built in ANT+, and Huawei broke ANT permissions in the latest update for my tablet.
This would be a nice feature. Since ANT+ land on the Android App, it should be quite feasible to port in the companion. My use case is different but the need is the same: I am solely running Linux and it is manageable to install Zwift via Wine but there is not BLE or ANT+ support. So I am using Zwift Companion to pair the different hardware. My trainer has a power estimation that is given via Bluetooth but this is far to be accurate compared with my rotor power ANT+ which currently I cannot pair via the companion.
Of course, the best would be native Linux support but I supposed this quite unlikely given the user market share 
This feature would be the alternative.
Same reason (running Zwift in Lutris/Wine/Linux) for asking for that RFE here.
ANT+ support in the Companion would solve a lot of issues related to the Companion’s BLE.