Good point, the Shield TV app on your mobile device could be a good substitute, will try both and can report back here if one proves far better than the other in the future.
In other news, Zwift Android v1.0.61279 is a major update in our favor - I can now connect my controllable smart trainer with ANT+ FE-C, and Sterzo steering!
Decided not to have my TdZ Stage 5 as the test ride, but gave it a shot right after. Took a couple goes at reconnecting sensors, ensuring location was enabled in Android and for the Zwift app, a couple force stops, etc, but in the end it works!
For anyone who went through my prior steps posted 21-Dec, keep in mind youāll need to update the Zwift app to latest manually. Go back to your Android tablet and update to latest Zwift from official Google play store. Open the app on tablet, which will ensure the .obb is updated to same version. Exit the game, force stop if you must, harvest that latest .obb from the tablet (it will have the latest version number in the .obb file name) and then download the latest .apk from apkmirror or wherever you prefer.
Get those files on a USB drive, install the latest .apk on the Shield. Then you must move the .obb into the Android file system again (I deleted the old one too), then run Zwift. Took a while the first time to unpack everything again, but eventually gets to the start screen, already logged into my account. Had to go through sensor pairing again as I said above, but who cares - it works!!!
Now if Zwift team would just put this on the Android TV Google Play app store weād really have somethingā¦
Iād got Zwift set up and running on my Shield 2017 some months ago but, as Piotr suggests, Iāve always used the Shield TV app on my phone to launch and navigate around Zwift. I launch Zwift on the Shield straight from the app tray in the Shield TV app on my phone so no need to go into settings and launch from there. I also use the APKPure app on the Shield to keep Zwift up-to-date as it manages any and all downloads and installations - no need for harvesting and moving .obb and .apk files ā¦it almost takes the fun out of it!
Despite being on the latest version of Zwift, Iāve not yet managed to get my controllable smart trainer (Elite Qubo Smart B+ wheel-on) to connect with ANT+ FE-C - only ever through Bluetooth. Not a biggie as I canāt imagine ANT+ FE-C controlling my trainer any better than Bluetooth but I do have to manually pair the trainerās Bluetooth control each session - itās only 3 swipes and taps in the Shield TV app though. Also, I seem to have far less connection problems than my fellow virtual cycling club members who insist on using Apple TVs which only connect through Bluetooth so run out of connections and have to rely on bridging through the companion app to link up all their sensors.
Anyhow, this is all the very next best thing to having the app truly supported on the Shield.
Thanks Dave, and per your recommendation Iāve setup APKPure, allowing same device app updates (albeit manually pulled) and using the Shield TV app āremoteā more and more. Having a physical keyboard has still come in handy from time to time, but a morning workout routine using just my phone to get everything started on the big screen is one less excuse to keep me from starting the day right - thanks!
And Iām 99% certain my sensors are connecting through FE-C (they werenāt even showing in Strava prior to me installing the 3 ANT related Apps/libraries noted in my above post) and my Sterzo is even quickly connecting now too - running 1.10.0 (63185)
Hi @Guilherme_C_Silva , Iām not as familiar with the Mi Box S, but it looks like this has Android, but also fully fledged Google Play App Store, and at least one USB port?
Assuming so, you should still be able to follow my instructions above from Dec '20. You very likely may need to sideload Zwift apk and/or APKPure into your Mi Box, by downloading them from another device, unto USB drive, then plug that into the Box, and using a File Explorer on Mi Box (like ES or FX File Explorer) follow the rest of the instructions to get the new app(s) set up.
No idea how the performance is in that unit, how the bluetooth or ANT+ dongle support is, etc, but excited to hear about your success!
Tks @Shaun_DaBeast , i did every thing but it is not a app made for android tvā¦ maybe we need to wait zwift launchā¦ Hey zwift, when is going to be???
@Guilherme_C_Silva, right you are that itās not published as native to Android TV, but it is fully working - just had another workout through my Shield TV this morning.
At what point did the setup fail for you?
Does mi have a smartphone app, allowing your phone to function as a wireless touchpad for the mi Android TV? Shield TV has this, allowing a mouse cursor native to Android TV to appear and you can then swipe, click/tap, and use the keyboard on your phone just as if you had a physical keyboard and mouse connected to your mi.
Or just go the physical route, which Iām assuming you can also do as a fallback, as you have a USB port on the mi, right? Otherwise how would you plug in your ANT dongle, or had the way to plug in your USB memory stick to sideload Zwift in the first place? Just get an all in one like the Logitech K400, and follow through the last few points in my original 12/20 post above.
Either way, you can then get past the initial screens and into the game. Then let us know how it performs and graphics stack up, as for those of us with a Shield, the rest is history.
Hi, Iām having some trouble following @Shaun_DaBeast 's steps above. Iāve followed these step-by-step, except instead of using an Android tablet Iāve used my roommateās Android OnePlus phone. Iāve logged into my Zwift account after the app was installed on his phone, viewed a ride, made note of the app version, force-quit the app, then transferred the obb folder from /Android/obb/com.zwift.zwiftgame on his phone to a USB drive.
I then found the correct APK file version on APKmirror, downloaded that and transferred that to my NVIDIA Shield into the āDownloadsā folder. I used a file manager app to then install the apk file. (FYI I am using a 128 GB Samsung USB drive added to my NVIDIA Shield formatted as Internal Storage on the Shield so I have additional space.) After the apk installs, I then transferred the com.zwift.zwiftgame folderās contents from my USB drive to /Android/obb/com.zwift.zwiftgame on my NVIDIA Shield. (The /Android/obb folder didnāt exist on the NVIDIA Shield after sideloading the APK, so I had to manually create that folder.)
I then open the Zwift app by going to Settings > Apps > All Apps > Zwift. The app loading screen opens and the bottom message says āVerifying Downloadā and then āUnzipping Filesā, but then after the progress bar completes, the screen changes to a small black rectangle over white background in the top right of the TV screen and then the app quits. (see screenshot below) When I go into my Settings > Apps on the Shield then and view the Zwift app, it shows that itās running. Iāve tried Force Stopping the app, clearing itās Data/Cache and re-opening it, but it continues trying to verify, unzip, and then quit out. Havenāt made it past that screen.
Any thoughts? Has anyone else experienced this? Has anyone gotten this version of Zwift to work on the newest 16GB NVIDIA Shield Pro?
I have the latest version of NVIDIA Shield 16GB Pro model. I have expanded the NVIDIAās internal storage w/ a 128GB Samsung USB Drive that I permanently leave in the unit. Zwift APK I downloaded is the latest version from Google Play store: v1.0.65416
Nevermind! I got it solved using latest version of Zwift app downloaded from APKpure as a .xapk format. Issue was either a bad obb file or app install location. I used the OBB file included in the .xapk I downloaded from APKpure (search ācom.zwift.zwiftgameā).
For anyone struggling with a similar issue, follow @Shaun_DaBeast 's instructions above. Then download the latest Zwift .xapk file from APKpure (I used V1.0.65416). It should be ~700 MB. Then install the .apkto the Shieldās internal storage (not SD card/USB Key or removable drive) w/ a file manager app. Then copy the OBB directory & file included in the .xapk to /Android/obb, being careful to preserve the ācom.zwift.zwiftgameā directory. (If you have expanded your Shieldās internal storage by using an SD card or USB drive like I did, then the .apk will install to that by default. If this is the case, just move the app to your Shieldās internal storage by going to Settings > Apps > Zwift and clicking on the App settings and there is a place where is says it is stored. Click on this and it will allow you to select āInternal storageā. This will fix the above issue I was facing and allow the app to open.)
Youāll have to use a hard-wired or Bluetooth keyboard & mouse or Iād suggest getting the NVIDIA Shield app and changing to āTrackpad modeā so that you can swipe past the intro Zwift screens (your remote will not work).
Thanks @Shaun_DaBeast!!! This is incredible, worked flawlessly. I am on a 2017 nvidia shield, installed Zwift version 67625. I didnāt install the ANT utilities as Iāve been only using BLE connections. Even without those it connected to my tacx 2t instantly as well as my garmin HRM. Did a test ride for a few minutes and it works great! I was having all sorts of drop outs running Zwift from a desktop in another room through Moonlight app on the shield. Previously this was working with no issues but the last update of Zwift seemingly has caused a bunch of dropout issues for me.
Thatās a good question. I am only connecting it my smaller 2nd tv so its only 1080p 60hz. The shield itself supports 4k but I donāt know if will broadcast Zwift app in 4k with the onboard graphics processing power. Maybe some others might know?
@M_Yas_URC Very likely 1080 resolution on Shield. Iād agree with Andy that the Shield may be native 4k, but I havenāt run any specific tests on Zwift in Shield to confirm 100%. Based on the bitmaps Iām seeing on Android, 4k seems like a waste of resources if Zwift on Android TV is even capable. As Zwift doesnāt seem interested in supporting Android TV, that tells me theyāre likely focused on mobile devices with batteries, favoring battery life over performance.
Frame rate will depend on what world youāre in and whatās happening around you. You on a flat open stretch of Watopia Fuego Flats with few riders around in the middle of the night, vs you and 800 of your closest friends all part of a group ride will have dramatically different frame rates. Also depends on the type (Pro vs not) and year of Shield.
I havenāt tried to update lately as itās outdoor season - a great problem to have!
BUT during the colder months while I was using Zwift often, on Shield, there were sometimes I needed to update Zwift. After 5 or 6 updates through APKPure, the next update failed. I finally traced it back to the fact that APKPure (or Zwift?) wasnāt cleaning up old version of the app when it upgraded to the latest. As the install is around 1GB, and must be installed to built in memory, itās not longer before Shield runs out of space!
Not until I manually deleted the older versions would the new versions continue to install.
@Shaun_DaBeast Zwift doesnāt appear to be available for download and install in APKPure anymore.Can you please check this again and revert back to us?
Its finally starting to look like Zwift season again so set up the trainer and went to open Zwift the first time. Immediately met with an error that I need to update the version of the game. I went and uninstalled the app from the Shield including deleting the Zwift OBB folder. Then I went to apkpure and downloaded the latest version XAPK file to a USB stick. Plug that sucker into the Shield and install the same way as before, open as archive, install apk, copy OBB file to android/home/obb folder. Then opened Zwift on the Shield and away I went. I donāt know if Zwift wasnāt available for a time on apkpure but it seems to be back and sideloading works just as before. Itās really disappointing that it works this easily but isnāt available through the app store on shieldā¦
