Zwift ATV Companion app setup

General Discussion
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Hello, I have read many posts where folks prefer connecting their sensors to the companion app first including an Apple Watch for heart rate and then use the Apple TV for the game. I cannot for the life of me figure out how to do this. My setup is Iphone, atv, Apple Watch and an elite direto. My Apple TV pairs with my trainer just fine but I am having trouble getting the Apple Watch to pair with the atv after the fact using the companion app. It works sometimes but not always.

If I try the connections in the companion app nothing happens.

I would appreciate someone explaining how to use the companion app for the connections to my trainer and Apple Watch for hr and then bridge over to the Apple TV. It seems the way I am doing it is the opposite. Any help is appreciated.

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This is how I do it. Might seem long, but takes less than a minute.

This is my routine for connecting to Apple TV with Companion app. I have an Apple TV 4k, Zwift Companion (ZMC) running on an iPhone XS, and an Apple Watch (s3, but I don’t use the watch for heart rate, I use a tickr wrist monitor, no dropouts).

This algorithm assumes you used the same method for your last workout. If I open the Companion app (which I used for 3 connections in my last workout; kickr (& climb), and ATV I see that the ATV Zwift app no longer is connected to all my devices. So I have to run through the routine below. So, assuming you’ve filled your water bottle and just arrived at your bike for your workout:

  1. Open your Companion app on your iPhone.
  2. Turn on the Apple TV (ATV) with the ATV remote.
  3. Start the Zwift app on the ATV. Pedal a stroke on your smart trainer to wake it up. Turn on your HR monitor.
  4. on the ATV, click the right arrow with your name in it to take you to the connections screen.
  5. You’ll see that your ATV is not connected to anything. The Companion app seems to have dropped its connections to your devices from the last workout.
  6. Left swipe on ATV remote to select “Connect via Apple TV” in the top left of your screen. For some reason the ATV Zwift app has lost its connection to the iPhone and the connections need to be reset. ATV will connect to two bluetooth (BT) devices now, but first you need to switch off the BT connection on your iPhone. That’s in the next step.
  7. On your iPhone, swipe down from the top left of the screen (in iOS12). Tap the bluetooth symbol to turn off the BT transceiver in the phone. Your ATV should now show your smart trainer ready to be connected. If not, pedal one stroke on your smart trainer to wake it up (and wake up your cadence sensor). Turn on your HR monitor if it isn’t already on.
  8. Using the ATV remote, connect your 1) smart trainer, 2) cadence sensor (if any), 3) heart rate monitor (if any). At this point, the ATV screen should say “Apple TV is out of bluetooth connections. Would you like to connect using the mobile Companion app?”. With your ATV remote, swipe to ‘Yes’ on your ATV and click it.
  9. Now, on your iPhone, tap the BT symbol again to turn on the BT transceiver in your phone.
  10. Your ATV should show your smart trainer and one other BT device (eg cadence sensor connected). Your third device (eg HR monitor) should say ‘Not connected’ within its square box on the ATV.
  11. Using your ATV remote, swipe to the device that is not connected, click on it, and wait for your iPhone to detect it. When it does, click on it. (If you’re using the ZMC app on your Apple Watch it should now show in the list of HR monitors at this point). I select my Wahoo tickr HR monitor, but my Apple Watch is listed as an option too.
  12. Check one last time that all your necessary devices are connected. If one has been dropped, swipe to it with your ATV remote and click it; wait for your phone to detect it and click on it to connect. Once everything is connected to Zwift via your iPhone ZMC app, swipe down on the ATV to the blue ‘Let’s Go’ button at the bottom of the screen.
  13. You should see the event selection screen. Choose your workout, group ride etc.
  14. Once you start riding, if you see that HR or cadence data is missing, click the ‘Menu’ button on your ATV remote, swipe across to the square button with a ‘B’ in it that has the word ‘Settings’ below it. Click it and try to reconnect to your device. Connect it. Swipe down to ‘Let’s Go’.
  15. Ride on.

Hope that helps.