I’m also having issues with my Kickr and Zwift after the latest update. It is no longer controlable. It has been working great for over a year with my Apple TV, but since the upgrade nada….hope this gets fixed soon.
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This would be online with the update last month that caused ATV jank. The work around for that was to kill the app after each ride (on that occasion it caused the rides to not be saved). If this is the case you would rally have thought Zwift would have learned their lesson.
I had a similar problem last month when I updated the firmware on the Kickr bike where resistance didn’t change with climbing. I backed down to the previous firmware which fixed the problem. This problem showed up again with the latest Zwift update. Updating the firmware on the bike seemed to fix the problem. However, I did a workout in ERG mode this morning that worked fine, but I had the resistance problem after the workout stopped. Restarting Zwift and Apple TV didn’t fix the problem. I can climb a 15% grade or go on a flat road in the same gear.
Same here on my TacX neo 2T
I have the same problem, and I think I have found a workaround solution. I raised a support request with Zwift, but they said they were aware of the problem and essentially blamed it on the Kickr. I’m inclined to disagree with this…
I had tried my setup on iPhone rather than ATV and all was fine, but having invested in ATV and a 42" TV for the solution, I didn’t really want to wait for Zwift to resolve this issue! This working solution also added to my skepticism that the Kickr was at fault.
My setup is:
Kickr Core & Climb
ATV 4K running Zwift 1.16.0
What I tried was:
1- Roll back Kickr to Firmware 1.0.13.
The problem still existed. Felt like it was in ERG mode and I had lost lots of fitness when free riding! I had tried workout mode which worked fine, so the problem only relates to free riding.
My test was Quatch Quest so after a very short run in, I was on rolling inclines / declines.
What I noticed was something unusual that I don’t recall seeing before on my Kickr; the Bluetooth light stayed permanently lit, whereas I recall seeing it flash in the back of the garage when I wasn’t riding / using Zwift.
So, I tried two things - both of which solved the problem.
Option 1 - Perform a restart on Apple TV.
Option 2 - Double click the TV button on the ATV remote and close Zwift app
Both solutions resulted in the same - the inclines were felt and the resistance felt much more familiar and normal for the gradient I was riding. The Kickr Climb was also responding as it should too. Obviously the second option is the favourable one as it’s faster!
When you perform either one of the two options it ‘releases’ the Bluetooth connection - and the Bluetooth light on the Kickr Core starts flashing in the usual way again. But you must do this after each Zwift session. As soon as I logged back in, the problem reappeared, unless I performed one of the two options.
So, I’m unsure whether the rollback of the Kickr software made any significant difference, but I am very skeptical. To me, it seems like something is not being released / disconnected on the Bluetooth setting between ATV and Kickr units and the options above seem to solve the solution.
It very much seems to me that the problem is in the Zwift software and I hope this gets resolved soon. However, I hope this works for many of you with the same problem.
Stuart
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So were you able to use Zwift when you reset the Apple TV? This worked for me earlier but not today.
Yes. I consistently tried this and the workaround worked 8 out of 8 times.
Hi all - our QA and Engineering teams have been working on this bug, and have been able to reproduce this bug only under certain conditions. We’d like to know from those having this issue:
- When you terminate a Zwift session - are you saving & exiting completely, or is the Zwift app left running in the background?
- Are you using the AppleTV’s native Bluetooth to connect to your Kickr Bike, or do you use the Zwift Companion app to bridge the Bluetooth connection?
If you’d let us know your workflow on these two questions, it’d help us resolve a more permanent solution. In the meantime - please try this workaround:
We are able to replicate this bug when the session is left backgrounded and logged into the next time. So be sure to save & exit each session and force close the app. Rebooting the AppleTV will also achieve the same thing. If you do this - does the bike’s resistance work correctly?
FYI - we’re releasing a patch v1.16.1 today. The fix for this bug is not in 1.16.1. We hope to hear back from you about the two questions above so we can solve this with a more permanent fix. Thanks all!
Hi Shooj,
The problem exists if the app is left running in the background.
It goes if I save and exit completely (double click the TV button and force the app to close), or if I restart the Apple TV.
Either one of these results in the app working correctly.
I have only tried this with the native Bluetooth on the ATV but the workaround you describe works for me, I tested it around 8 times without problem.
Stuart
I have had the no resistance issue on my kickr a few times since this update. My issue is literally no kickr resistance - spinning at max cadence/max gear and my power is < 150 watts. I am using a PC with ant+ connection. I am seeing the below entries in the log when I’m having these issues. Usually if I kill BT on my phone, cycle power on my kickr, and/or repair the kickr it gets better. I have verified nothing else is connecting to the kickr and the blue light on the kickr indicates no active BT connections so I shouldn’t have a competing app trying to control the kickr. I can usually get it to work but it takes fiddling for 5-10 minutes at the start of every ride currently.
[19:00:35] ANT : Transfer Failed.
[19:00:35] ANT : ----------------------
[19:00:35] ANT : FET Transmission failed. m_CurrentMode = 4
[19:00:35] ANT : ----------------------
When I updated the firmware on the Kickr bike, the resistance problem seemed to improve. Previously (in July I believe), I had the resistance problem with the firmware update on the Kickr bike, but it resolved with backing out the firmware. I can do training rides in ERG mode. Free rides were normal (but I seemed to need one gear less than usual) after the firmware update after the latest Zwift update, except when I tried to do multiple rides without closing the app. However, this morning free rides did not work even with resetting the TV or closing the app. I will experiment more tonight.
I am using Apple TV 4K (not the newest one) with Bluetooth.
Hi Shooj
My kickr is old now so hasn’t had a fw update in ages, Atv 4k is on latest iOS level, zwift was pre patch.
I was finishing a ride and saving it, but leaving the log on screen on, then re logging in to do the next session. Each time I did that it was faulty like riding a super flat course.
Kickr17 ( NOT BIKE) is paired to Atv as controllable and power and my viiiiiva hr strap is paired to Atv, the viiiiva also bridges in my cadence sensor.
At the complete end of my session, I close all apps on the Atv before putting the Atv to sleep
Hope it helps
I always started a new ride and always with a new session of Zwift. I always close the app completely when finished Zwift.
I’m using kickr bike Bluetooth connection to Apple TV directly.
For now I’m using Zwift iPad version which does work correctly- please do not break that too with the patch.
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Apple TV +Kickr V5 and my user name - always OK, resistance fine.
Apple TV +Kickr V5 and my wife user name - always BAD, resistance out of sync or not at all.
Ipad +Kickr V5 and my wife user name - always BAD, resistance out of sync or not at all.
Android +Kickr V5 and my wife user name - OK, resistance fine.
We always kill off Zwift on Apple TV post ride due to previous Zwift issues when swapping users. Only difference in settings is FTP, weight and height?
Ok for me - VERY unhappy wife!
Hi Shuji,
- When I terminate a Zwift session, i do typically save and exit completely. However, last week, especially after the update, it was having trouble saving and closing it seems.
- I have a TacX Neo 2T and I use the Apple TV’s native Bluetooth to connect. I only use my companion app to chat and link my HR to Apple TV.
- I have rebooted the Apple TV. I even deleted Zwift, reset the TV to factory settings, re-installed Zwift and the ERG mode was still not working and group rides were super impossible - the only way I can kinda get watts up is if I increase my cadence. biggest gear, spinning out produced enough watts to hang with my Tuesday ladies social. Kinda. Not. Really. Tomorrow should be WTRL TTT race day and I think I’ll have to let them down.
Please get a fix out ASAP! Thank you,
I did further testing tonight. I have a Kickr bike, and use ATV with Bluetooth. I tested several setups.
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Connected via ATV. No change in power, even with 15% incline. Tried twice. Shut down ATV between attempts. Felt like I was in an odd ERG mode.
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Connected via iPhone. No change in power,
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Connected via PC and Zwift companion. Success! 3 rides. Tried 2 different courses. Did not shut down Zwift between attempts.
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Updated ATV app with the update that came out today. I know you said it would not make a difference, but I had to try (as I was able to free ride a few days ago, even after the recent Zwift update once I updated the Kickr bike firmware, but then the power problem returned). Success! Rode a mile. Stopped ride, did another ride without resetting ATV. I had change in resistance, but resistance was much higher overall. On the flats, I was getting the same power in 2/3 that I usually get in 2/7 or 2/8. Ended ride, reset ATV, did another ride and power seemed close to normal (I had to drop way down to do a 15% incline, where as earlier I just rode up like it was flat).
So, the problem appears to be with ATV and iPhone, but not PC. The Kickr bike does not seem to be the problem either after updating the firmware last week (as I had the power problem after updating the Kickr firmware in July, but the problem resolved with backing out to the previous firmware; last week the firmware update actually fixed the power problem temporarily). I’m not sure if today’s Zwift update somehow fixed a problem. The power adjusted relatively normally after the update as described above, but seemed a little different (but I was also testing at about 10 pm and did a really hard ERG workout this morning so my engine could be tired too) and was off without resetting the app even after the update.
Thank you for your help and asking for our input.
The question we should be asking you, is why did Zwift break this in the first place?
I use my kickr smart trainer (2016) via native Bluetooth with the appletv. I had a strange issue yesterday when starting Zwift from scratch ie: powering on the appletv then starting Zwift in that the resistance seemed to be turn on full or something like erg mode with a high fixed wattage. Had power everything on/off to get it back to normal. The non resistance issue seemed to occur when completing a ride, saving then ride them starting again from the user selection screen
One pissed off Zwift subscriber
Hi Shooj,
I am using the new Apple TV 4k 2021 model, aswell as the wahoo kickr core on the latest updated firmware, also using the direct Bluetooth connection to the Apple tv, not via the companion app.
I have been experiencing this issue since the last zwift update, and can get it temporarily working if I delete and then re install the app on the Apple tv, but then the climb resistances will be extremely delayed resistance, between 30-60 seconds delayed. It completely ruins the experience, would greatly appreciate a fix as these setups are not cheap and clearly it is a software issue that has been created within the latest update as never had any of these issues prior.
I do not use Apple. I have a brand new KickrV, which I started to use less than a month ago which I link with Android. While doing a workout the resistance changes 40 seconds later than it should. I don’t have a long history with Zwift. It was working until the latest changes to Zwift. My subscription is suspended. Hope it is fixed soon, but I already have an alternative that works and I will cancel my sub and rate Zwift accordingly.
This morning I did a group ride. Resistance seemed to change with elevation. However, I got the same power riding in about 2 gears lower than usual. As the course was relatively flat I was not able to test any elevation more than 5%