Hello,
I picked up a CycleOps Hammer last week, but I’ve been struggling with Zwift and the trainer the entire time. I’ve spent a lot of time searching the web for info, but haven’t found something that gave straightforward instructions for my situation. I’m on a PC running Windows 10 on a fairly new computer. Reading that using Zwift / Cycle Ops on Windows could be a challenge, I set up the Cycle Ops right near the computer, so it was only about 8’ away.
I use your companion app on my Android phone, and it seems to work because your Zwift software for Windows on my computer won’t start searching for bluetooth until the Companion app on my cell is opened. But it seems like the signal from Cycle Ops just isn’t reaching the phone or desktop, even though everything is pretty close. Sometimes I get if for a few seconds, but then it’s lost. In the Windows Zwift menu for pairing, it says everything is paired. And in my Windows Settings screen it has blue tooth ON and it shows the Hammer as paired via blue tooth. But on Zwift it just doesn’t receive the signal I guess because it shows 0 watts while I’m pedalling for 3 minutes straight and in game mode the rider never moves (except maybe once for about 3 or 4 seconds and then stops again, never to get restarted.)
A few questions:
- My PC seems to accept blue tooth. Why do I need to run the companion app on my phone when I have the bike directly in front of my PC, such that I can use my usb mouse while sitting on the bike?
a. If I shouldn’t have to use the companion app, then is my ble signal from the Hammer just too weak from 8’ away?
b. Is ant+ a more powerful signal than ble? - Let’s back up. What is your recommendation for the strongest signal that’s least likely to get dropped? Is it ble with some ble amplifier near the Hammer so my PC will read it? Or is it ant+ with your usb thing and cable so it’s located near the Hammer? For both cases, a drop-free signal must be better if skipping some iffy cell phone, right? I understand the idea of a cell-phone as a remote, but why does Zwift on my PC not even begin searching for a ble signal before my Companion app is started on my cell? That means any spotty reception on my cell during an hour straight will drop the ble signal to my PC. That seems stupid. I always have spotty reception on my cell.
- Is it possible for a person to use Zwift on a PC without any Companion use?
I’m pretty frustrated.
Please help prevent me from throwing this thing out the window!,
-John