In case your Bluetooth signal drops (Zwift on Mac with ZML linking to Elite Direto)

The Archives Archived: Tips and Troubleshooting
#1

Just a disclaimer: I have an iPhone 5S and my Mac is mid 2011, so some of this could be due to how old my junk is, but just trying to help others who have experienced this issue. Read on!

I find sometimes my signal drops mid ride. Sometimes it comes back --easy-breazy, right? Other times, when the signal comes back (usually after a long delay) it will set me at a particular watt output and stay there despite my effort. 

The past couple times this has happened, I’ve found that I’ve had some luck with the following:

  1. Turn bluetooth on the phone completely off and shut down my Zwift Mobile Link (keep the computer app open).

  2. Restart the ZML, then the phone’s bluetooth receiver.

  3. Go to computer Zwift app > Menu > Pairing. Take off the device that is paired (smart trainer), and then re-select it. 

You might have to try step 3 a couple times, but it’ll fall back in line. Hope this helps! Good luck with your riding! (And troubleshooting!)

#2

I have the exact same issues - sometimes ZML drops BLE completely, and when it reconnects, sometimes the Watts are just frozen in place (and the cadence is all over the map for the first ~10 seconds or so).

The only solution I have found is to restart ZML on my iPhone, restart Zwift on my Mac, and power cycle my trainer (off/on).  

In another post, a recommendation was to use the BLE on the Mac directly, instead of using ZML as a bridge.  This works for me, but my phone is closer to my BLE devices than my Mac is… hence my original thinking with using ZML on my phone…