Wahoo Kickr Bike - BLE Issues

I appear to be having BLE issues with my Kickr Bike over the past week or so, I am wondering if it coincides with the latest iOS update, but for avoidance of any doubt have tried a many number of things to fix.

My typical set up includes the KB, Zwift on AppleTV and connected via BLE to the Zwift Companion App. This has worked well for over a couple of months now, but more recently something has changed. I am very sensitive to my set up so know that nothing has changed my end. I have however moved fans further from device, ensured that the ATV is in range of the bike etc.

Yesterday, I tried to do a ride via the Wahoo app with a structured workout and had minimal resistance so couldn’t hold a certain power for an interval. in the hardest gear it would start difficult but could over power it to be spinning crazy RPM, which isn’t possible normally.

This morning I started a workout in Zwift with ERG on via the ZC app, ERG would not engage and eventually power dropped out.

As a last resort to get the workout done I paired with the ATV directly and it worked well save for one HR drop out for a minute.

I am using the ZC App primarily as all I see is that’s the best way to use on the ATV as there are only three BLE ports on the ATV which can be over run when multiple devices are trying to connect to it.

Worthy to note that if I have the new steering option selected in Zwift, my system crashes frequently so always turn it off now.

I am sure you can appreciate it is incredibly frustrating, I am training and racing frequently and would just like a solid connection without the fuss. More concerning is the bike not holding power when not using Zwift, do I have a BLE issue with the bike (I have most up to date firmware) and how can I best test this?

Also, is there a way I can hard wire the bike to router/ATV or laptop PC iOS device? That would be a game changer.

Many thanks in advance.

Luke

Did those problems not start with the latest Wahoo Kickr firmware update?

No Kurt, I think it actually started with Zwift or iOS update recently.
Have you had similar problems?

No, I haven’t.
I thought I have read something, that was caused by wahoo’s latest FW update.

There’s something funny with Wahoo’s latest firmware update. Also using ANT+ is much better for the current Zwift update. No steering but with only five events allowing steering, that’s not much of a loss.

Pair your bike directly to the Apple TV. It will use one connection for cadence, power, and controllable trainer. Your second connection will be your HRM. There is no reason to pair through the Companion app which would add more moving parts and increase the probability of an issue.

Always force quit Zwift on the Apple TV after each ride. The same applies to the Companion app on your phone.

good shout, thanks Mark.

Thanks Lin, will try that - hadn’t thought to force quit the app on ATV.

I’d been using Zwift (Wahoo Kickr and Tickr on BTE via companion app) for months with no problem. Something changed in the last couple weeks (update somewhere in the stream) as I completely lost connection to all devices twice in two races forcing me to scramble to reconnect and resume. Just switched to ANT+ which was solid the whole race yesterday. Connecting to devices was quicker too.

Bluetooth vs ANT+ is going to vary. Depending on your environment, one could work better than the other, both be :poop:, or both be great.

Losing the connections mid-ride/race could be interference :man_shrugging: Throw your Zwift log file into Zwiftalizer and see if you notice anything. NOTE: not possible w/AppleTV.

@Luke_Adams_R_K The force quit of the Zwift and the Companion will prevent a lot of problems!!!

Thanks all, success last night with my race. Force closed absolutely everything on all devices, paired KB to ATV directly and used phone for Discord with Bluetooth headphones. Moved fan to avoid interference too…will stick with this until there are some more firmware updates.

Thanks for this as I didn’t know about the analyzer. With all the gadgets in the house, I’m surprised any of this stuff works at all. ANT+ connects instantly for me, even on a long USB extension. Hoping is stays that way.

Interesting. The analyzer mentions this too. I would not have thought about interference from a fan motor.