Saris H3, ATV Bluetooth dropout

I’ve had the same problem using an iPad. I contacted Saris two weeks ago and have had no response. It’s very irritating in group rides as the group is always long gone by the time you get the connection working again. I switched over to my PC laptop and ANT+FE-C. That issue doesn’t happen there however I randomly lose cadence. To explain the avatar just stops pedaling and the cadence indicator goes to zero. It comes back but takes several seconds so if I’m in a group I have already dropped off the back. It’s very discouraging.

First time this happened to me today. Was riding the Richmond UCI loop and got to the first climb and it dropped out when I was on those 10+% gradients. I tried everything to get it to reconnect but it kept saying NO SIGNAL in Zwift. Finally ended the ride, unplugged the Apple TV and rebooted and fired up Zwift again. Asked it I wanted to continue the ride so that was nice at least. I went to try calibrating after in the Saris app though and it would get to the point of asking me to coast and then it would just never finish. Anyone else having the calibration failure after the bluetooth drop out issue on Apple TV??

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Dropping out on a steep gradient is very suspicious, because that’s when the braking effect is going to be working harder on the trainer and generating more heat. So it could be an overheating problem.

Thought it could be that initially as well, but first the Apple TV remote lost connection, quickly followed by the trainer losing connection, so I assumed it was more with the Apple TV/H3 bluetooth. I’m going to head downstairs for a ride in a little bit so we’ll see how it goes today. I’ve only got 10 rides on this trainer so far and one ride last week I had an issue of resistance being the opposite of what it should be. That also happened to me again yesterday after the signal dropout and finally getting it paired with the Apple TV after unplugging, so all of this is concerning. Hoping that today’s ride is problem free and that I’m able to calibrate within the Saris app as well.

That sounds suspicious in a different way, more like a radio interference problem disrupting your Bluetooth (e.g. for the ATV remote to drop out).

I wonder if there’s any chance that it’s the trainer itself generating the interference if it can be reproduced consistently through those 10% gradients?

Yeah, was reading through this thread and saw other comments in regard to signal interference. When I finally got reconnected yesterday, I continued the ride and did the Richmond UCI loop again and made it through those short climbs at the end. Just debating when I should reach out to Saris and/or head back to my LBS if any more issues continue…

Fwiw, I’ve not had an issue with signal interference etc until about a month ago. Ive logged 400+ hrs on my Saris H3 without issue until now. This started right after a Zwift update. Would be a bit suspicious and coincidental to me that all these issues popping up after a Zwift update had something to do with Saris or ATV and not Zwift.

I saw your earlier comments about that, definitely seems too coincidental given that it started happening to you after an update. How often does it happen to you? Also, have you ever had the issue where you couldn’t calibrate in the Saris app? After all this garbage yesterday, I wanted to calibrate again in case anything got reset in all my unplugging attempts to repair to the ATV, and I’d reach the point of coasting but nothing would happen. It would just spin out but the app still said testing.

Well, I fired up Zwift today, everything was connected and I started a ride in London. Right away I could tell the reverse resistance thing was happening so I unplugged the trainer, ended the ride and reconnected within Zwift and then everything was fine. Box Hill felt as it has in the past and I had no dropped bluetooth connection. Also was able to calibrate in the Saris and Zwift. I just really don’t get the reverse resistance thing. Has that happened to anyone else in here?

I’ve been using a iPad with a HMDI to the TV and a H3 setup for over a year (3855 miles) with no problems until 10/17/2020. My local bike shop replaced the H3 with a new unit and all was well until yesterday (12/15/2020).

Yes I usually do a warm up ride before my group ride just to make sure my resistance is working properly, if I go on an incline and it’s easier than a flat then I know it’s messed up and I unplug and re-plug it in again and usually that fixes the problem, not sure why it does that.

What is your distance between your trainer and ATV? I had similar problems (dropouts or no resistance on hills) in the past. After I reduced the distance (from 3m to under 1m) I haven’t had any further dropouts so far.
It’s worth a try.

Apple TV remote:
The remote control goes to sleep after a certain time of inactivity.

I’ve started to just unplug and replug it back in before I even attempt to ride. Haven’t had the reverse resistance thing happen at all since I’ve started that. I am curious tho, does unplugging the trainer reset any sort of calibration? It doesn’t seem so from recent rides, but I couldn’t find anything definitive online.

My ATV is maybe 5-6 feet from my trainer. I’ve only had it completely lose connection once and couldn’t get it reconnected no matter what I did until I ended my ride and rebooted Zwift. The reverse resistance thing happened more often though until I started to just unplug it before each ride.

There definitely is some sort of sync issue depending on when things power up I’m sure, I am using the Saris H3 trainer and will try power cycling the trainer before I start riding. Currently the DC power adapter is always plugged into the wall and I usually never power cycle the trainer.

I too have an H3 and haven’t had any connection issues until the most recent Zwift update. I’m running go off an iPad that is fully updated, H3 firmware is updated and the trainer is calibrated. It’s really frustrating to get 45 minutes into a workout and have it lose connection for no apparent reason and not be able to finish the ride because it won’t reconnect. I ride with the iPad plugged into power and there isn’t anything else funny going on, all other apps are closed. Definitely a Zwift issue vs a trainer issue IMO.

There are numerous similar threads but none specific to this, so here goes.
Below is the body of an email from me to Zwift support. It is responding to their initial recommendations. The email was rejected and returned with a we don’t do emails response.

First, I have been battling this for weeks. The only consistency is no consistency. I can ride one day or several with no issue and then out of the blue, trainer resistance is way out of sync with the game or an outright Bluetooth connection drop, or some combo of both. After the information provided below I have to conclude that interference is not the issue. If you don’t agree please offer any further steps that could be taken. I have tested the trainer with the Saris App (Phone at same distance from trainer as ATV) in ERG mode for extended periods of time without any disconnections and unexpected performance. I also tested for several rides on Rouvy with consistent results. I have spoken with Apple support, effectively what they said it is up to App developers to stay up with them, not the other way around. I have reached out to Saris support, but have not heard back yet. But when the trainer acts fine on their App and Rouvy I tend to think the issue is not in that direction.
So, please parse through this and see if you can give me any ideas what to do next.

TP-Link C7 dual band router - 2.4 Ghz radio section turned off
Apple TV 4K - operating on ethernet connection - Software update version 14.3 (18K561)
Zwift Game version - 1.0.60639
Trainer - Saris H3 Firmware version 31.062

Game connection-Bluetooth direct with Apple TV. Tested thru Companion App no improvement.

Zwift Companion App, Bluetooth bridge turned off.

Phone- iPhone 7 iOS 14.3 Bluetooth turned off.

Environment- 2.4 Ghz WIFI radio turned off. Any and all Bluetooth devices within a conceivable range turned off.

Distance between Apple TV and trainer, 60". Has been tested down to 24".

I just purchased an H3 from REI and have only used it four times. On three occasions the signal from the H3 to the ATV has dropped. I had to restart the ride and was unable to finish the workouts. Not sure what to do and just learning how to use Zwift. Not off to a great start.

Can anyone test w/a different trainer to see if they have the exact same problem(s)? That is, borrow a friends trainer for a few hours.

Be quick way to determine if it’s something specific to the Saris :man_shrugging:

This continues to happen to me on and off. Happened again tonight, pairing light blinks green on trainer, and when I try to re-pair, the connection holds for a second on zwift before saying “no signal” and then my trainer blinks blue. Getting quite annoying, now several months without a fix… I don’t think this is signal interference. All started after an update back in November.