Zwift framerate drops after iOS 26 upgrade

Bugs and Support
1

I use a Kickr Core, Zwift Play and an Apple Watch on an Apple TV through the Companion app.

I upgraded to iOS 26 and since then, I get framerate drops after about 20 mins. It works fine at first.

The video start stuttering and then drops to about 1 frame every 3 seconds.

I’ve found if I hold the back button on the remote and go back to the tvOS menu and then go back to Zwift, and it’s stops stuttering for about 5 seconds and then start stuttering again.

Don’t know if related but the last two rides it’s happened on were both on New York on the new routes, specifically either being on or near the Brooklyn Bridge. I did do the Stage 5 ride on NY and I had no issues but that prior to upgrading to iOS 26.

I think the issue is Bluetooth related. I loaded Zwift again with no pairing and it seemed fine.

2

Do you force-close Zwift after riding on your ATV? Because you can get glitches if you don’t.

Which model of ATV do you have? May be worth rebooting it via the Settings menu.

I’ve ridden a fair bit on the new routes on my ATV with tvOS 26 and I haven’t seen this.

It wasn’t in a keep-together Meetup, was it?

3

Not sure on the model, but I haven’t updated to tvOS 26 and I’m not sure it’s done it automatically.

No, wasn’t a meetup.

I rebooted it a couple of times trying to sort stuff out.

4

You should be able to check the model from the Settings menu on the ATV.

Sorry, I took your reference to iOS 26 as meaning you’d updated the ATV. So you’re referring to iOS on your phone?

5

So, I got home and checked the ATV only to find it has actually updated to 26.1, since I posted this.

My ATV version is A2169.

I haven’t tried a ride yet though.

6

I was curious about your exact model in case it was the slowest supported ATV for Zwift, i.e. the HD model. But yours is the 2nd gen 4K, one gen newer than mine.

No-one else has reported a problem like this on ATV on the new routes, so I’m inclined to think this is something at your end.

You didn’t reply as to whether you always force-close Zwift after you’ve finished riding. If you don’t, and you leave it running in the background, then this could easily be the issue.

7

Could this be a RAM/memory issue. Apple iOS devices work magic with minimal RAM but when things go wrong they go very wrong.