This morning my Run Pod kept having connection failures. Friend reported to me she was experiencing the same. I couldn’t run on Zwift at all.
I was able to start the Zwift app and initially connect to the run pod (and my HR monitor) just fine. Once I joined a world, my HR monitor was still connected and I could see my HR, but my foot pod was not picked up. In the upper left screen (on top of the HR) I had an alert that read “! Connection Failure”.
The issue did not seem to be on my end: I tried 3 batteries, including a brand new one. I tried running connecting three different ways: through ipad, though my phone, and through Apple TV. All showed the same behavior - I could connect to run pod but then when joining the world, connection failure. I tried to reconnect once in the world, but no dice.
Thanks for sharing your experience on the forums. This is Haziel from Zwift Support. I understand that even though you have already taken some troubleshooting steps. The RunPod keeps dropping out. I want to provide you with some tips that might help.
From what you describe, it looks like you’re running into some BLE disconnections. A good first step is to check out our article on BLE and ANT+ Interference Troubleshooting Tips, which covers common causes and fixes for these kinds of connection issues.
If the issue persists, we also have a specific guide for RunPods: Zwift RunPod Troubleshooting. This article provided detailed troubleshooting for the run pod.
In case you have already completed the steps on this 2 articles, try force-closing Zwift on every device except the one you are currently using. Sometimes the Pod keeps the connection to the first device it sees and refuses to send data to the new one once the world loads.
Give those a look and see if they help stabilize the connection. If you have any additional questions or require further assistance, please feel free to contact us. We’re here to support you!
Hi - Issue is persisting and is very repeatable. No other devices connected to run pod, everything is running most updated software (iphone, ipad, Applt TV, Zwift, RunPod) and has been rebooted many times. I was even able to replicated this on a brand new RunPod never yet used before that I had in a box.
Here is what happens:
I log into Zwift app
Select run
On the paired devices screen, I can always connect to the RunPod - zero issues here. Most of the time I also pair a HR monitor, but I’ve also replicated this many times without connecting one
Click OK, select a world
Avatar never moves; about 12 seconds later the ! Connection Failure notification appears in the upper left of the screen
Pretty sure it’s not Interference given the very clear pattern I see every time. That and I’ve never had any issues until a couple of days ago.
I do have similar with the run pod’s behaviour between the pairing screen and entering the world ( though I use a mobile to run zwift when running ) - usually however if I start walking/running the pod will wake up and start transmitting speed.
If you get to the world, does the run pod respond if you double-tap it (usually that should wake it up and display the green light at the top), hopefully that should be enough to get it to start transmitting again - only other thing I can suggest off hand would be to check the pairing status through the menu after you’ve entered the world.
Once I get to the world, nothing wakes the pod up including running, jumping up and down on my feet, shaking my foot violently, and pounding it down repeatedly. I have double checked the pairing status from the menu within the world and have disconnected and reconnected it there. While it shows it’s paired and can be re-paired, that still does nothing. Interestingly, calibration also doesn’t work.
I’ve contacted zwift support and can post an update once I have one in case anyone else has this issue.
My wife was having similar problems & after all troubleshooting, absolutely could not get it to connect directly. Ultimately we created a bridge through her Garmin watch to force it to work.
Pair Pod to Watch: Pair your Zwift RunPod to your compatible Garmin watch (e.g., Fenix 6, 245, 945) via ANT+ or Bluetooth.
Activate Virtual Run: On your Garmin watch, select the Virtual Run activity profile.
Connect to Zwift: Open Zwift, and in the pairing screen, select the Watch (Runpod) option under speed, cadence, and heart rate.
Start: Start the activity on your watch to begin transmitting data and controlling your avatar.
Thanks for taking the time to post this- will give it a shot. At this point, it’s my only hope! Zwift support said my foot pod most likely went bad, but this issue happens with all 3 pods that I own, so 100% it’s not the pod itself.