I see a lot of complaints about the Zwift Play controllers. I am considering buying one, only for getting virtual shifting on my classic Zwift Hub.
Is anyone actually happy with their Zwift Play controllers? And if you are, what do you use it for? Steering, ride-ons, shifting, etc?
EDIT: Please also indicate your setup. I have Zwift hub and Apple TV with companion app connections. I would imagine that shifting over the companion app may be laggy?
I used mine a few times and was happy. But then i found that readings from the trainer were freezing/very laggy when i have controllers on. I’m using apple tv so have companion app as bridge and thought it was phone but it only happens when controllers are on and only affects trainer, the controllers never freeze or lag which makes me think that the connections to zwift hardware is given priority. Think ill just have to forget about the play controller unless i can gind a solution.
Mostly happy. Randomly disconnecting from time to time. With v1.49 of zwift game, i had completely unstable experience.
Using them for steering, ride on and route selection on crossroads.
Very happy with mine. Not had issues with disconnects. Used for steering and other button controls like ride on, power ups, look behind.
OK, I think I need to edit my post with my setup, as apparently it may depend on the actual setup… I have the Zwift hub (classic) and Apple TV with companion app.
Apple TV with Companion bridge, Elite Direto XT trainer. Very happy with mine, they work well.
Purchased mine on day one. Had some pairing issues early on but now after a few f/w updates they work as advertised. Using them on a kickr bike, running zwift on a pc with ZCA on iPad as bt bridge. For me they eliminate the need for a mouse to control in-game settings and I find steering and braking useful in certain situations. Overall very pleased with the product.
Happy with mine. Wahoo Kickr Bike user too.
Had trouble connecting the first time, but after that connection has been mostly stable.
Have recurring issues with left controller calibration that can ruin a ride, but as there has recently been a new firmware I’ll go another while before seeing if it happens again.
I like mine! I haven’t tried the latest firmware update, and the right controller tends to disconnect frequently if you are steering a lot (like Repack Rush), but they are great for easy game controllers and the ability to steer.
Had them since launch. I really like them but at times with certain firmware have been unusable due to continuous disconnections.
On my second set and with 1.50 and latest play firmware I still get disconnects on the left play multiple time per ride. BUT I still use them every time I ride or race as I love the steering extra buttons etc.
I find that in races where not allowed (DRS) I really miss finessing my position in the pack or jumping on a wheel as a rider come past, makes the game a lot my immersive for me.
Can’t wait for zwift to get them truly stable.
Win 10 - Kickr Bike
I’m happy with mine. I’ve had virtually no disconnects, only one ride that was wonky right after a firmware update but otherwise they are rock solid. I’m on a Windows PC.
Lots of disconnects for me, even just minutes after starting a ride.
I’m using them on:
MacPro 5,1, Xeon X5690 3.46ghz, 32GB RAM, Radeon RX6600XT 8GB, 2TB SSD, upgraded BCM94360CD, Monterey 12.6.7
The Bluetooth upgrade is still connected to the OEM Bluetooth antenna. The computer only runs Zwift and Fulgaz.
When they work, they are great controllers. But they just drop out a lot.
I don’t do any group riding on Zwift - only ADZ so it’s not too critical.
I wonder if the drop outs relate to the strength of the Bluetooth signal?
Or possibly total Bluetooth bandwidth?
Well, let’s see:
Bluetooth mouse
HR strap (Garmin)
Zwift Play controllers
I don’t know, surely should be able to manage that?
The kickr bike uses ANT+ and the keyboard is connected via lightning to USB cable.
I don’t actually know, but my question is whether any of the devices are consuming a lot of Bluetooth bandwidth. It should not be a problem, but…
at Zwift controllers
I’m very happy with them. It took a little while to get them to connect the first time, but since then they’ve been virtually flawless. I’ve had zero disconnects during rides. On two rides one of the controllers failed to initially connect which I didn’t notice until I after started a ride, but turning it off and on again during the ride sorted it with no further problems. No problems after any of the firmware updates. I run an 8 year old Win 10 PC with a cheap BT dongle on a USB extension cable, so it’s no further than 30cm away from the controllers which might help. Tacx Neo trainer over ANT+. HR strap on BT.
At least on my Mac Pro, I’m suspecting potential not enough signal strength…
The antenna is right in the back of the machine near the PCI-E slots and the USB (and other ports) at the back. The image above is from Apple’s technicians guide for the machine. The second image shows the BT cable that runs inside the machine to the antenna and how to remove the antenna.
I may try moving the machine around to get the antenna closer to the zwift play controllers, though the distance isn’t that much.
When they worked they were quite good.
Currently not been able to use them for the best part of 7 weeks (it feels like 10-12 but on checking it wasn’t that long)
On my second pair, these are permanently stuck to the left hand side of the road. Did have a blip when break was permanently applied, then worked fine, then back to stuck to left hand side of road.
Currently they will connect to my pc via BT, but fail to connect to my iOS device (pc unplugged and still won’t be seen by iOS device.) tried second iOS device - also fails to see the controllers. This means can’t firmware update them to apparently fix the stuck to left hand side issue.
Support is hit & miss, get one person who reads the previous discussion and offers support, then the next will give you what seems a pre-written paragraph about being a fellow zwift user and understands how frustrating it can be when you have challenges (note to support - try to only use that line once in a customer interaction so it kind of remains authentic) and repeats a previously suggested fix.
I totally agree with you there, a bit more time spent to not use the standard response will go a decent way to improving the support interactions, otherwise it can be interpreted as being from a “virtual agent” (aka a bot).
Ordered them about a week after they were released. I’ve had zero issues with them. Great for looking behind during races, using power ups, and steering on mountain courses. You can steer yourself out of the draft and get dropped. Also, great for braking to do bike swaps. My setup is a dedicated Windows 10 desktop with my stages bike connected via Bluetooth. Checked my PC and it’s Bluetooth 5.2, not sure if that makes a difference.
