Garmin HR won't connect via ANT+ on iPad or iPhone

The Archives Archived: Tips and Troubleshooting
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I started using Zwift today for the first time, and had no issues connecting my Cycleops Magnus trainer (and yes I’m having the calibration failure issues - used Rouvy to calibrate in the mean time) to the app. The issue came when trying to connect my Garmin HR strap (and Garmin cadence for that matter) to Zwift. I have the ANT+ dongle, plus the 30 pin to lightning adaptor, and connected it to my iPad, however no HR monitor appears under the HR section. It connected to my Edge 520 and Forerunner 735XT without issue…

 

I tried restarting the iPad as well as Zwift with no luck.

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Hey James,  other Zwifters have reported that some Apple updates earlier this year have stopped the ANT+ adapter from working on iOS.  You are able to connect your HR monitor to your Edge and Forerunner because they natively support ANT+.

In order to connect ANT+ sensors to Zwift, you will need a device which bridges the ANT+ signal and retransmits it as BLE.

from this article Gearing Up for Your First Ride
>>>

If you’re on an iOS device,  you can connect via BLE or ANT+ (with an adapter):

<<<

I’ve been using the NPE CABLE for over a year and it has been working great.  I use it with an old Garmin HRM and also the Garmin GSC-10.  I have used the CABLE with both iOS and tvOS.

Alternately, you could replace/upgrade your current sensors with ones which support dual-band signals, both ANT+ and BLE.

Good luck, and Ride On!

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Hi Phil,

 

So there’s no work arounds to this? I have to go out and spend more money on another HR strap or CABLE in order to get it to work? 

Has anyone mentioned this to Apple? It’s extremely frustrating to have to go and buy new gear just because Zwift won’t connect… 

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Earlier this year, someone reported that Wahoo and Apple might have been trying to get it sorted out.  Not sure where that stands or how far the discussion got (if at all).  This article says that iOS v11.2.1 broke things, but then perhaps 11.3 might have got it working again.
https://support.rouvy.com/hc/en-us/articles/115005886549–IPAD-IPHONE-USERS-IOS-11-2-1-DISABLES-WAHOO-ANT-KEY
But it is possible that even later updates might have broken things again.

Does the Wahoo app recognize the ANT+ Dongle?  Other Zwifters reported that even the Wahoo app is not able to see the ANT+ dongle anymore.  I don’t have one, so I can’t test anything – just trying to pass along information.

You can try searching through the forums for some other tricks.  There are some older posts with some possible help, but seems like success can be inconsistent.  Your mileage may vary.
here is one last updated in March:
https://support.zwift.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/115011837326-Ant-dongle-iOS-issues-this-works-for-me

a couple of other old ones on the ANT+ dongle topic:
https://support.zwift.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/360002440991-IOS-not-seeing-ANT-with-dongle
https://support.zwift.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/115000341363-iOS-Wahoo-ANT-dongle-not-working-on-iPhone-5s

general search:
https://support.zwift.com/hc/en-us/search?utf8=✓&query=iOS+ANT%2B+dongle&commit=Search

 

Given that this is a really good community forum, other people might chime in to share their experiences.  And even though the Zwift HQ folks are active in the forums, the quickest way to get an official response might be to submit a support ticket.  https://support.zwift.com/hc/en-us/requests/new  

 

Best of luck!

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