@Jon indicated in the other kickr resistance thread that its for iOS and tvOS. Look for version 1.0.31648 or higher.
edit: Fixed the link to go directly to Jon’s post
Setup:
- Macbook Pro running Zwift
- Zwift companion app (iOS - iPhone)
- Wahoo Fitness app (iOS - iPhone)
- Kickr 2016 trainer running the most current firmware
- Kick HR monitor
- Kick Cadence pod
I have had similar problems as others here with incorrect resistance on climbs and descents. I started having this problem sometime at the end of October, possibly associated with upgrading firmware on Wahoo Kickr. Fixed it today using some of the suggestions stated previously by others in this thread.
- Turned off Bluetooth on all phones/tablets/computers that had previously connected to Kickr
- Turn on Bluetooth with device that has Wahoo App
- Perform Advance spin down (see below).
- Turn off additional option on Kickr setting page (see below).
- Disconnect Wahoo app (kill app / turn off bluetooth on device)
- Turn on Bluetooth on device running swift
- Start swift and connect.
How to perform advance spindown and change KICKR settings:
- In Wahoo app, select “Sensors” → select “KICKR”
- Scroll down and select “Spindown”
- Tap on the text above “Perform Spindown” repeatedly (5-6x) until “Perform Factory Spindown” appears
- Perform Factory Spindown
- Go back to the sensor page and make sure the below options are off (red arrows).
Unfortunately, I did both the factory spindown and turning off all of the setting options in the image above at the same time, so I don’ t know which one fixed my problem. If this works for you, you could individually reintroduce settings as needed and see if it interferes with the resistance working properly.
Additionally, I kept my Bluetooth off on my device running the Companion App (allowed it to connect via Wifi).
Good luck.
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WOW, that’s a flight to mars checkoff list to perform.
This is what I do on my Mac
- Before launching Zwift, reset the Bluetooth Module on the Mac (Shift + Option + bluetooth icon, Debug / Reset the Bluetooth Module
- Start Zwift and pair up normally
- Start riding
Ray - I totally agree. Luckily, I only had to do this once. Now it just works every time I start Zwift.
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Happy to report after doing the last Zwift iOS update my resistance issue seems to have been fixed. There is also a firmware update on the Wahoo Fitness app. It’s been three month.
I am having issues with with the resistance, just started using Zwift a couple of days ago and realized that there is no change in resistance. Tried it in the Wahoo app and Erg works there. If I set it at 250 watts it changes the resistance depending on my cadence amd hits 250. Same when set to 100 watts. Now for the strange part. I “Forget sensor” in wahoo and connect to zwift. Now there is resistance. But it keeps aiming for whatever I set up in the Wahoo app, f ex 250 watts at my first try. Unpkugged the Kickr Snap and restarted it and Zwift. Then no resistance at all again. Repaired Kickr and Wahoo app and set it on 100 watts, it works. “Forget sensor”, again, and back to Zwift. It aims for 100 watts regardless of what the workout says. So it seems the set resistance in the Wahoo app somehow lingers until I unplugg the Kicker and after that there is no resistance. I am still on my trial period, but if there is no solution to this I will probably not sign up for Zwift and pay for ite just yet… I am using Samsung Galaxy S8 edge and Wahoo kickr snap. Help, please? 
Perform the factory spindown in wahoo fitness. Then force stop both wahoo fitness and utilities. Then do a spin down in Zwift. See if that helps.
Eta: also make sure that you force stop any other app that might pair with the kickr, like rouvy or trainer road or the like.
I will try that. Thanks. But the Spindown in Zwift has still not wotked for me, fails every time. Zwift stops at 2-5 kph and never reaches zero.
Which platform are you on? There was a similar issue with the kickr on apple tv until an update fixed it last month. Make sure you have the most recent zwift updates.
Edit: Actually I think it was across all ios devices that this was an issue, and the update addressed it.
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I am using Android (Galaxy S8)… We have an old Iphone at home I could try, but it is like really old… like a 4 or something. Might be too old maybe… I will check to see that I am completely updated with the latest update, but I think I am (just need to charge the phone to check…lol)
Are you getting expected resistance changes in sim mode while free riding? Is it just erg mode in workouts that the kickr is not adjusting resistance?
It seems that some people have success with resistance in zwift by performing spindown with wahoo fitness then force stop wahoo app and then run zwift. Maybe try unplugging kickr between using wahoo app and zwift.
You might take a look in the android beta forum category for some ideas. You might also start a new discussion here in bugs and support as you would be more likely to get the attention of someone like @Vincent.
I having the same problem too.
Just bought a new kicker 18 last week, facing the same resistance dropped out on climb(sudden changes for very huge number of gradient) example, London subway the 0-15% stairway, I need to stopped pedaling halfway to let the kicker to readjusted the brake (can’t carry the momentum up sudden climb) and I having 2nd issue, when I do training SIM, after hard out interval, resistance won’t release the brake till I stopped and let the erg disable when recovery spin. Before I get kickr I was using Elite Direto and it don’t have this kind of issues, I Zwift on Android app. (Huawei mediapad M5 Pro)
I have the same problem, but on Windows and on an Elite Trainer, it’s definitly a Bug, that is not related to any specific kind of trainer. The companian app messes up the commands to set the resistance on the trainer, atleast, that’s what it looks like to me, since the trainer can connect the controllable but is still blinking as if it is not proper connected.
- Apple TV
- Wahoo Snap 18
- Wahoo Climb
- Wahoo Cadence
- Wahoo Tickr
- PowerTap P1s Double Sided
- iPhone X for Companion
- Netgear Mesh WiFi - probably one of the best investments you can make for Zwift.
My first issue is with my Snap not responding to Zwift. It seems to get stuck on whatever I was doing last. So, if I was doing an ERG workout then the next ride would be seemingly stuck in ERG or the Climb would not respond to gradients etc. The way around this issue for me was to restart ATV, Snap, Climb and my iPhone to “flush” the last ride. No problem with the next ride when this is done.
Resistance: I have a take on this; my issue is that when I free ride the resistance at a zero gradient is very poor. If I stay in a tempo gear then the resistance just drops away and I can be spinning at 100 rpm for as little as 90w power. As soon as the gradient changes to 1% then I get the resistance required to put some decent power down. Incidentally, workout and ERG mode work fine. I have used my PowerTaps and the same issue occurs. So it’s not power related but gradient related. After reading through this thread I checked the Wahoo app and found that ERG modes were on. Switched them off and nothing changed. Deleted the app and reinstalled. Nothing changed.
But here’s the killer punch:
I decided to just try spinning when running the Wahoo app and it mimicked the problem in Zwift exactly: the power kicked in as I started turning the cranks but the more rpm I laid down the more the power started dropping away until I was spinning out. This is nothing to do with Zwift and is a Wahoo problem. I’m going to start a support ticket with Wahoo and will let you know the outcome. Also, I’m going to try and replace the small reflector foil in the interim and see how that goes as I’ve read that this can be the issue.
Windows 10 / Kickr 2017 / ios companion app
I just did a race and there was no resistance at all.30/11 gear on my mtb and spinning at 100rpm was giving about 250W. So I opened the wahoo fitness app and controlled the kickr’s resistance there. Every 20 seconds or so zwift reduced the resistance so I had to keep changing the resistance to send a new command to the kickr to keep the resistance. This is a workaround that I will stick to.
I will certainly not renew my subscription after this month if this isn’t fixed, should be pretty straightforward to debug this.
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JB oldbikeracer (64 year old)
I have recently started to use Swift. I run Swift on my Macbook air and I use the Wahoo Kickr. The main problem I have noticed is that when I climb at or above a 6-7% grade the resistance drops right off. I make other riders on the screen look they are hardly moving and my watt output indicates in the high hundreds. It was fun at first but I’m not getting any fitness of it. When the grades gets back down to say 2-3%, the resistance returns. I have not experienced this problem on flat courses. All I have done so far is a Wahoo spindown calibration that has not helped. After reading many of the other responses, there seems to be a multitude of solutions that may or may not work. My biggest problem is that I am not a a techno wizard. As my issue is specific to just climbing, does anyone a have a suggestion on where to start.
Edit: Just saw a new version has been released and it’s acctually in the changelog. So I’m hoping it’s fixed!
My Kickr works great connected to an ANT+ dongle to my PC running Zwift.
Byt when trying the new Android app (bluetooth) and pedaling at ~120rpm / highest gear I got like 200w output.
Tried on the PC today and got over 700w. Something is wrong with the beta app, and I just want to know if it’s a known bug or not.
I just started having the resistance issue on my 2016 kickr. I also can’t seem to get a spin down in Zwift to work. It takes a ton of effort to get to 23mph and then when it spins down it never hits zero.
Not sure what the issue is this all seems to have started out of the blue for me.
On the latest kickr firmware,
Lastest version of Zwift on TVos and iOS.
Spin down seems to work on the kickr app maybe not sure if it is really working even though it says it is.
This is a bug introduced with the last Zwift update that also included Fuego Flats. Basically, anyone using iOS and BTLE to connect is having little to no luck with resistance changes on a smart trainer. Related to that is the inability to perform a spindown in Zwift itself. Like you, I experienced a harder effort to get up 23 mph and then I would get a “Failed” message after the spindown timed out. However, I can do a spindown on my KICKR using the Wahoo app.
Zwift has told me in an email and mentioned on other posts here that they’re aware of the problem and are working on a solution. They recommend keeping an eye on the Apple App Store for an update to correct the problem. They mentioned that they hope to have the fix in place “soon”, perhaps a few days, but nothing concrete as far as exactly when iOS / BTLE users will have the software fix.
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