With this week’s release of Zwift game version 1.24, all OS platforms support Wahoo KICKR Direct Connect, including Windows and Android. Please update to 1.24 at your earliest convenience from zwift.com/download , the Apple App Store, or the Google Play Store
Be mindful of the section about firewalls, which talks about Windows, but also applies to macOS.
A VPN running on the computer can also block your trainer from being visible.
Check the Zwift Support Hub for detailed instructions on using it with Zwift.
VERY IMPORTANT: Check the firewall settings on your Mac or PC and follow the instructions on the links above. By default, the firewalls built in to these operating systems block the ports needed for your computer to see the Direct Connect on your network. You must open these ports, or disable the firewall for the connection to work.
I got mine to work with Zwift on Mac and RGT on PC earlier, but now trying again after installing this update (correlation, not causation, I’m sure) even those don’t work anymore. the link and data lights light up and I can still ping the Direct Connect but that’s it, can’t see it on the Bonjour browser anymore either.
So, I don’t think the update itself has anything to do with it not working, indeed my first guess would be a bad contact somewhere (the modular jack seems especially dodgy), just wondering how to go about troubleshooting this thing.
Plugged it into my Unifi Flex Mini Switch which my home gym PC is also connected. Started the Zwift app, clicked on the search function in the PC app, it connected immediately once the ethernet option of my Wahoo Kicker V5 was selected.
Working here now on PC. Needed a firm push to make sure connector was fully in. Although the lights were flashing I clearly hadn’t got it all the way in.
Thanks for your DirectConnect support. I could use the new feature on Windows 10 with no problems.
However, I am noticing that the power updates may be slower and less responsive in training and racing than with traditional ANT+ connectivity.
As far as I checked the network packets on the Windows version, Zwift appears to be polling DirectConnect at 0.5-second intervals. Is it possible in the future to improve this slow response by updating this polling interval?
I read somewhere the direct-connect tunnels the BT protocol over TCP/IP. I also recall reading somewhere BT was less responsive than Ant+, so, maybe that’s the reason for what you’re seeing.
@Satoshi_Konno, Zwift does not poll the Direct Connect hardware. The hardware sends network packets to Zwift as it sees fit. You could ask Wahoo to increase the frequency of those packets, but given that most ANT+ and Bluetooth LE devices transmit about once per second, you are already receiving information at twice the normal rate of most devices.
I watched Shane Miller YT video about direct connect. He connected the trainer with cable, then he was using the companion app as bridge to pair the HR monitor. Is that needed? not sure I understand why he was doing it that way.
I have BT enabled on my PC and connected the HR monitor the normal way using BT, on my Windows10/Intel PC. Is this sub-optimal? Is it better if I would pair the HR monitor to the Companion app and use it as a Bridge to Zwift?
Trainer/cadence/power using the DirectConnect-adapter.
Polar H10 HR monitor using BT
Zwift PC and Trainer connects to a GE Switch.
In Shane Miller video, his avatar immediately went down to SuperTuck position when he stopped pedaling. When I do the same tests, I basically have the same delay as when my trainer was connected via BT, i.e takes 2-3 seconds for the avatar to Supertuck after I stop pedaling. A bit dissapointing. Have I made some configuration/connection error since I seem to have the same latency as when using BT?
From information I found, the data polling using cable should be 250ms (4Hz) while the pollrate using ANT+ and BT is 1 Hz. Is that correct? I would have expected a bit more instant behaviour after connecting everything with cable.
Hope someone can shed some light into this. Trying to optimize my platform performance with regards to latency, jitter etc
I doubt that would make any difference to how the trainer communicates with Zwift. To prove it, try not pairing the HRM at all, and/or shut off Bluetooth.
