There is no blue EXIT button on the Apple TV version of Zwift, on the page where one chooses a world and sets a workout. Also, pressing the Apple TV MENU button does the opposite of what it should. This is bizarre, and creates inconvenience, as follows:
When struggling to get a custom workout loaded onto the Apple TV version of Zwift, I sometimes need to bail out so that I can go back to my computer and fix some issue.
When Zwift on Apple TV loses sound, I have to bail out to reboot Apple TV (even though this is a Zwift bug).
With no EXIT button, well, at least I should be able to push the MENU button on the Apple Remote to move up one level (which would be exit). Guess what: pushing the MENU button starts the game. It goes down a level, instead of up a level!
Now I have to end the ride, wait for the spinny thing to stop, dump the ride in the trash, and finally I am out. Please fix these two bugs.
I don’t know if it’s different on different remotes and models of ATV, but I find by double-clicking on the Apple TV App/Home button (circled), you get a view of all the apps currently open, which allows to swipe up on the Zwift App, which hard closes it.
@Bill_Nowlin, Thanks for raising your concerns on these issues. I’m Steven with Zwift tech support. Looks like this is your first post on the Forums, so welcome!
In my own personal experience using Apple TV for Zwift, the user interface --particularly how the Apple TV remote works-- may sometimes seem a bit counterintuitive. I know Zwift’s developers are working to improve it.
If I’m not mistaken, the “EXIT” button is only going to show up on the computer (e.g. Mac and Windows) versions of Zwift. On Apple TV and mobile Zwift, you just force close the app when you’re done (after saving your ride), comparable to how you’d close any other app running on the device.
What specific issues are you having creating custom workouts on Apple TV? Are you talking about importing the ZWO files, importing workouts from third-party sites like TrainingPeaks, or are you using the in-game workout creator tool to build and create your workouts? I might be able to help identify any known issues and advise you accordingly if you’re able to provide some examples and specifics.
On a side note, I’ve always found it a bit easier to create the workouts from Zwift (in-game) using a computer because the UI is a bit more friendly for that explicit purpose. It seems your experience in that regard is similar. I’ve always found that Apple TV is great, however, if you’re ready to just jump in and ride without messing about in the menus a lot.
As for the Apple TV/Zwift sound issue, that sounds very much like a known issue, but I’ve reached out to a higher technical authority on our team to confirm it. I strongly suspect that’s a known bug, however, and if so I’ll try to get a status update on that for you.
@Bill_Nowlin , I heard back from the team regarding the sound issue, and it doesn’t appear that we have any outstanding known issues for that. However, we’d like to know a bit more about the issue as we seek to better understand it, and provide you with continued support on it.
Can you confirm when (precisely) the sound is failing? Is it happening between Zwift app sessions (e.g. moving between Zwift app and ATV home menu) or during the actual game session (e.g. moving through menus, or midway through an activity)?
We’re also curious why you’re needing to reboot the entire Apple TV to resolve it. I’d mentioned in my previous response about force closing Zwift and restarting the app; we’re curious to know if that resolves the issue as opposed to a full Apple TV system restart/reboot.
I’m also curious if the sound issue only occurs if using Apple TV with a specific brand/model of TV. Have you tried a different TV to see if the issue is isolated to only one TV in your environment or if it happens regardless of what TV is used?
Hello Steven D. Thank you for your help. The “force-close” does indeed do the trick. (I’m still hoping the menu button will do the right thing someday, but hey, it’s a low-priority request.)
Regarding the two issues:
Sound: I will Zwift, save my ride, return to the IOS home screen (with the Zwift app icon). The next time I Zwift, there is a small chance that Zwift will not make any sound. No music, no cycling noises, no crowd noises. If I exit Zwift, the Apple TV noises (moving focus from app icon to app icon) still work. If I go back into Zwift, the app will still not generate any sound. The only work-around I have found is to reboot the Apple TV.
Custom Workouts. This is user error. I use ZwoFactory. While it’s easy to use, I’m the kind of guy who can still screw up the menu. Sometimes I find out when I look at it in the game. So that’s why I want to exit the game quickly.
A final note: when in the Training selector page, I find it nearly impossible using the Apple remote to scroll down to the orange “Workout” button at the very bottom. The focus just won’t go there. Scrolling through the pre-built workouts is unbelievably hard to do. Swipe swipe swipe, I just can’t get the focus to move to the bottom, or to the orange “Workout” button. And woe unto me if I accidentally get the focus over on the FTP slider. That is a horrible thing to have happen. It’s almost impossible to put the slider back where it was. A work-around exists, however: select the custom workout I want. Hit the menu button to pop out. Select “Training” again. The screen will open with that workout selected and the UI focus on “Workout”, so that all I have to do it hit it.
All in all, I love your product. It makes structured work-outs and riding indoors fun. Thank you.
Hi @Bill_Nowlin , thanks for getting back to me with that information!
Regarding the sound issue, I’ve taken what you’ve reported and passed it along to the team.
Just so I’m 100% clear on your process, when you say that you “Return to the home screen”, do you mean to say that you are force closing (e.g. swiping the app closed entirely) or are you just minimizing it after saving your ride?
You did say that you “exit Zwift”, so I just want to make sure I understand you correctly that by “exit Zwift”, you mean you’re force closing the app.
Otherwise, I think I understand your process clearly, and I appreciate your attention to detail on that.
As for the custom workouts, thanks for clarifying. I do agree that oftentimes the struggle is real when navigating the Zwift workout menus in-game on Apple TV. It’s a bit of a learning curve with the remote, and it’s been my personal experience that the UI isn’t quite as smooth and easy to use as other other device platforms that can run Zwift.
It’s functional but again, just hasn’t been as quick and easy to use for me personally, and I think that’s the case for others as well. I’d agree that there’s a bit of room for improvement there, and as I understand it, Zwift’s developers are aware that’s the case.
All in all, it’s great to hear that you’re enjoying Zwift, and ultimately that’s what it’s all about. Fun and some great exercise as well!
Hi Steven, and thanks again for being so patient with me.
“Exit Zwift” - alas, I only learned how to force-close an app on Apple TV today, from this kind forum. So all I was doing was going to the Apple TV screen where the Zwift app icon is, moving to some other icon, moving back, and tapping again. So I guess that’s not really telling Zwift to start anew. I will certainly force-close it next time (if ever) I lose sound.
I note with glee that Apple has added down, up, left and right buttons on its newer remotes. They must have thought they were so clever with the swipey-thing, but all it does is frustrate the heck out of people. Steve Jobs must have been rolling over in his grave.
You’re welcome @Bill_Nowlin and thanks for confirming that!
It’s been my experience that having a stale Zwift app session that sits idle and isn’t force closed between app sessions will oftentimes result in some undesirable, buggy behavior in Zwift. Since restarting/rebooting your Apple TV basically force closes all apps (including Zwift), it’s not surprising to hear that the sound issue was resolved by doing so.
It’s why we suggest force closing the app between rides (after you’ve saved, naturally). I’m reasonably confident that if you make that a regular practice, it should improve matters for you.
But, please do let me know if force closing Zwift doesn’t help.
I agree, the newer Apple TV remotes have some nifty features, and I’m both hopeful and confident this will continue to improve the Zwift experience for all.
