Well Zwift, you sure did a number on me

I bought a Wahoo Kickr, I bought a bike, I spent quite some time setting everything up, getting tools & replace cassette and all that.
Downloaded and installed the application, quite anxious, let me tell you, to get started.

“You’re running a version of Windows which will be unsupported by Zwift after the 1.21 game update in Janury, 2022. Please upgrade to Windows 10 or later.”

Aaaand that’s that. The end of my Zwift experience. Thanks a lot! Gonna spend tomorrow packing everything up and return the Kick and the bike and the rest.

To say that I’m disappointed would be an understatement. “Furious” is a more fitting description.

And before you say “Well why don’t you upgrade to Windows 10”. No, that’s not gonna happen, for a number of reasons.

So why did you have to skip support for Windows 7? Some nifty new Windows 10 feature you wanted?

Goddamn I’m disappointed.

I mean Microsoft itself is no longer supporting Windows 7, (so no new security updates etc) so it’s not surprising that Zwift is attempting to reduce their support matrix, and any platform limitations required by Win7 by removing support for it as well.

You can run Zwift on your phone if you don’t have a PC, or iPad that would work. But yeah, Win7 support isn’t coming back by the sounds of it.

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Well I think we are going to say , why dont you upgrade to Windows 10 . Windows 7 is unsupported full stop not just for Zwift but any application you use . The fact things still work is because you are running other unsupportee applications , may be a risk you want to take but I dont see why Zwift shouls being doing that . Like any responsbile company they are investing to remaining relevant not rooted in old technology and operating systems

Ungrading to WIN 10 is free so we really need to understand what your objections are ?
Otherwise of course there are other options to choose aswell if you are no longer interested in running a current and compatible personal computer .

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Support for Windows 7 ended in Jan 2020,… this isn’t Zwift’s fault,…

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@John_Danielsson
You are evidently feeling very angry at the moment. I don’t presume to know your circumstances or why not being able to use Windows 7 is a dealbreaker for you.
However, I would strongly suggest stepping back for a moment and rethinking undoing all you’ve done so far.
You’ve spent a lot of time and money getting everything you’d need for an ideal set-up. You are 99% there, and just need a device that will run Zwift. As noted by Aaron, many phones and tablets run Zwift perfectly well. Considering all that you will have invested so far, getting something you can Zwift with secondhand will be a relatively small proportion of all that.
If you really do want to use Zwift, it seems crazy to turn back now that you’re at the threshold.

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There’s a supported devices page, and even though I personally believe it’s pretty terrible from a hardware perspective, it does very clearly state that Windows 10 or newer is required.

This is like driving 50 miles to the cinema and kicking off because the movie you wanted to see isn’t on.

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There’s always AppleTV . . .

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Hi @John_Danielsson

My name is Steven and I’m a long time Zwift support agent, and proud member of the team. Welcome to the Zwift Forums.

I can really sense your disappointment and I get where you’re coming from. I’m really hoping my message reaches you in time and that you’ll reconsider trying Zwift before going through all the trouble packing up the KICKR and returning it all.

While I won’t go into all the reasons why Zwift no longer supports Windows operating systems older than Windows 10 (that was explained enough by others here in the thread), perhaps you’re not aware that Zwift is supported for use on other device platforms which you may already have, and which will allow you to try out the app.

You can find more information about supported devices to run Zwift in this article.

I very much hope you’ll consider reviewing this article before you finalize your decision as to whether or not you give Zwift a try. Zwift has an amazing community where much fun is had while indoor cycling and running. We’d very much love to see you out there on the roads of Watopia and beyond!

Ride On.

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John,

I can empathize with the frustration of having invested a lot of time and money only to hit a roadblock… but you’re so close to having an awesome indoor cycling experience. The Kickr is the Cadillac of trainers.

I hope you’ll sleep on it, reconsider, and talk to us about other options - tonnes of them won’t break the bank. (ATV4k or phone streamed or connected to a TV/monitor, upgraded PC etc)

EDIT - as others pointed out, the Windows 10 upgrade is free if your computer supports it.

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Try Apple TV, this is a fairly inexpensive and simple device.

iPad will also work.

Windows 7 is very old now. That’s all I can suggest, but if you choose to give up cycling totally then sorry about that.

Echoing what others have said above…why not upgrade to Windows 10 for free? If you’re on a PC that has Windows 7, I’m assuming it has lower than ideal specs to run Zwift and it’s probably best to run the game at a 720 resolution or lower once you’ve upgraded Windows so your computer doesn’t overheat.

Download Windows 10

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Hope your PC doesnt also have integrated graphics

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There’s always the option of installing linux on your older hardware. It will bring it to new life and zwift works just fine using the wine emulator, great performance aswell. There are other drawbacks though.

And in Linux
hwinfo --gfxcard | grep “Model:”
or
lshw

Zwift is a game…all games have HW & SW requirements and Zwift’s are listed. You obviously know that you choose to operate an unsupported and potentially unsafe OS per MS.

No reason to be disappointed in Zwift. So @John_Danielsson if you are disappointed…

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The OP hasn’t replied to any of us, hasn’t been ‘seen’ for two days, and his account shows zero riding time. Probably just gave up when he said he would. :man_shrugging:

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