Is it possible to use two cell phones to run Zwift and Zwift Companion?
Setup: iPhone running Zwift with WiFi only (no data plan) + Google Pixel running Zwift Companion (have tried with Data on and Off). Both devices are on the same 5 GHz WiFi network.
Issue: Companion App never connects on the Pixel 8 (with Data on or off).
Alternate setup that also doesn’t work: WiFi only iPad running Zwift Companion with iPhone 12 running Zwift.
Solution: If I use a computer for Zwift, the Companion app connects no problem on my Pixel 8. But… I’d prefer the dedicated setup on my iPhone for Zwift as opposed to porting my laptop & cables back and forth for every workout.
Great to see you on the forums—thanks for posting your question! Alejandra here from Zwift.
That’s a great question! Zwift Companion works as a bridge when using a computer or Apple TV, but it doesn’t support a connection between two mobile devices. This explains why your Companion app connects fine when Zwift is running on your computer, but not when using your iPhone and Google Pixel 8 together.
If you prefer using your iPhone instead of a computer, you can run Zwift on it and connect devices via BLE, but Zwift Companion won’t work in this setup. For more details on how Zwift Companion works, check out this article.
Hope this helps! Let us know if you have any other questions—we’re happy to assist.
Thank you @Alejandra.I can stop tilting at the 5g windmill now
I started with this guide which indicates you can use any type of device or OS for your primary Zwift device and then ZC on your mobile device.
Zwift Support - Using the Zwift Companion App when Cycling 2. Launch Zwift on your main device (whether PC, Mac, iOS, Android, or Apple TV) and if necessary, sign in. 3. Launch the ZC app on your mobile device, and if necessary, sign in.
Yeah I don’t see why it wouldn’t work using both phones?
It sounds like @ale_G thinks you are trying to use companion to bridge device connections. But it sounds like you are just trying to use the companion app for its normal “game” functions.
Yeah so i just tested this by installing the companion app on my wifes iphone and ran Zwift on my Android samsung phone. The companion app connected as normal, it worked just fine.
Try restarting all your wifi equipment and devices. If you use a mesh network or wifi extenders that might also be a cause, but you said it works if you run the laptop so maybe not… other things to look at are making sure the phones arent using cell data, force them to use the wifi network by putting them in airplane mode and turning on wifi only.
Thanks Mike, glad to know it can work with two phones and yes I’m trying to use Companion for the game functions and not as a bridge.
I’ve tried everything I’ve read to get connected - rebooting router and connected devices, disabling 2.5ghz on the router, disabling data on my Android (iPad and iPhone are both WiFi only). No mesh or extenders are in play. Odd that I cannot connect using two WiFi only iOS devices.
I’ve been looking at my TP-Link router in case there’s a related setting.
Since it’s two phones, it would not be hard to take them to the homes of some friends to test with other network equipment. That might help rule out the network equipment as a problem.
Per trying another network - I just enabled the hotspot on my Android device, with data on and connected to my home WiFi. I then connected my iPhone running Zwift to the hotspot and… boom the Companion app on my Android immediately loads the Zwift ride I have open. So I got two phones to work, using the method everyone says not to use I’ll keep digging!
I’ll keep digging!