Trouble with Garmin ANT+ USB stick and iPad

Hi!

I am new to Zwift and I just bought a Garmin USB ANT stick as well as an official USB adapter to my iPad. I thought I just had to plug everything in and start pedaling but when Zwift tells me to start pedal so it can notice my sensors it does not do this.

Is there some kind of step that I might’ve missed? Based on the instruction video on Zwift it is basically just plug and play. Is it not possible with an iPad?

Garmin USB ANT stick: Adaper Garmin USB Ant Stick - Tillbehör Elektronik - Elektronik - Cykeltillbehör

iPad USB adapter: Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter - Apple (SE)

Direct connection to iOS devices using ANT is not supported. Basically Zwift on iOS is Bluetooth only.

Your best option is a duel band HRM like the Wahoo Tickr or Garmin Duel.

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Okey but is it possible to plug the USB ANT stick into my Macbook? Would that work?

You need a Bluetooth enabled device for a Mac as well.

That is worthless haha.

You can use this ANT+ stick in MacBook.

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Gonna try it tomorrow. Thanks! Hopefully it will work. The problem is that I am an amputee using an armbike and only a certain amount of devices works with it.

What is worthless? There are certain realities when it comes to device communication. There is a product called Cable that can bridge the gap as well as the advice Paul gave. CABLEINFO - CABLE - Connect ANT+ to BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy)

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In my mind I thought I only had to plug the ANT+ USB stick into my iPad and then it would notice my sensors and work without a problem with Zwift. Apparently not…

iPad doesn’t support the full USB protocol nor does it support all classes of devices. That adapter you linked provides connectivity for USB storage devices only and from what I can see, potentially photos/videos only and one way only (i.e., transferring to the iPad and not the other way). Unfortunately, there’s a lot that has to happen at the software/firmware level beyond simply matching the plugs.

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So I take it there is no possible way to do ANT+ with an iPad then. However then it might work with a Mac as I don’t have to use an adapter there.

You can get ANT+ sensors to connect to iOS devices by using the NPE CABLE or 4iiii Viiiiva HRM as a bridge.

iPad will work with BTLE only.

Mac will work with BTLE, if it supports that, or ANT+ if you have a USB ANT+ adapter.

Yes, you can. USB Ant+ works on every device. Problem is Zwift iOS, which doesn’t load any driver for ant+ devices.
I only can imagine that Apple doesn’t allow it. however, there was a dock ant+ dongle from Wahoo. However, it only works with wahoo fitness app. Same with Garmin Connect, which doesn’t recognise ant+ devices, instead of bluetooth.
Therefore, you can use an ant+ usb dongle on Windows and MacOS with Zwift. No prob.

Nobody makes ANT+ adapters with lightning connectors. All modern iOS / iPadOS devices use lightning connectors.

There used to be adapters for the 30 pin adapter, but they are hard to find now.

Not entirely accurate. iPad Pro, iPad Air, and iPad Mini are USB-C.

True, and I think it’s even less likely that you’ll find an ANT adapter that works with USB C.

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