MacBook Pro Bluetooth issues... some insights & some problems

Bugs and Support
1

I got a KICKR BIKE v1 (2021 model) and tried to get it working with my MacBookPro (mid-2015 model). First, I got a Hideez 4.0 Bluetooth adapter and got that setup. With Bluetooth Explorer I verified that it can see the KICKR BIKE (rssi value of around -50 to -60 so signal strength is good). But whenever I start Zwift, it doesn’t see the bike. I can bring up the pairing panel and let it sit for 5+ minutes and the KICKR never shows up (even though BT Explorer shows it in its list of BLE devices). I have of course made sure that nothing else is connected to the KICKR - I even went so far as to turn Bluetooth on my phone off so that there is no way it could connect.

The first insight was that if I start Zwift with the KICKR off and wait to turn it on until after the pairing screen comes up then Zwift will nearly immediately see the KICKR bike as a power source. Unfortunately it refuses to pair with it as a “Controllable Trainer” or for Cadence. The pairing screen for each of those never shows the KICKR BIKE (or anything else). Only once did it manage to pair as a controllable trainer - and I’m not sure what I did differently that time.

The second insight is that if I paired the KICKR as a power source, quit Zwift and then restart Zwift it will not pair to the KICKR again. I have to power off the KICKR and then power it back on for Zwift to see it again. This smells to me like the device is left connected and thus it won’t connect again. However it could just be a variation of the first issue where Zwift doesn’t see the device unless the device list changes.

Reading through the Log.txt it seems that Zwift is starting its scan for BLE devices but unless there is a change in the set of devices (i.e. when I power the KICKR on), it never finds what has already been scanned.

I have a copy of the a typical Log.txt (where the KICKR only connects as a power source), a copy of the Log.txt from the only time it has ever fully connected to the KICKR BIKE (i.e. power, controllable and cadence) and a copy of my System Report - but unfortunately there doesn’t appear to be a way to attach them to this bug report. I am happy to send them in though.

Also just wanted to mention that I’m a software engineer at Apple (been there for over 20 years) and so I may be able to help in other ways to debug this further if needed. I really would like the KICKR BIKE to work with my MacBook so let me know if I can help.

thanks,
–dominic

2

Here are links to the Log.txt from a typical session, the Log.txt from the only time it fully connected and a link to my system report as a compressed .gz file):

https://pastebin.com/nZQGrmyK - Log.txt (KICKR only connected as a power source)
https://pastebin.com/Y52cTvRe - Log.txt KICKR fully connected
https://paste.c-net.org/TakenRichter - System Report (compressed)

I hope this helps in analyzing things.

Also, if you need to get ahold of me at my work address it’s the same as my Zwift login (dbg) but @apple.com.

–dominic