ZwiftGame Android FAQ (v.1.0.50775)

Android
1

Hello Android Zwifters!

Hope everyone is doing well and staying healthy.
We’ve got some details on the latest release, a reposting of some old (buried) ANT+ info, and our first draft of a FAQ.

ALERT: this release may take a few days to propagate due to Covid-19 issues that are affecting Google’s review times.

Android-specific fixes in release 50775:

  1. ANT+ is now enabled automatically, no extra tap of icon required

  2. Fixed Bluetooth (BLE) “No Signal” bug where Speed & Cadence sensors could not be paired simultaneously (finally!)

  3. Fixed BLE issue with Saris H3 resistance

Recap of ANT+ supported device types:

Supported:

  • Bike Power meter (includes Cadence if device broadcasts it)
  • Bike Speed+Cadence two-in-one sensors
  • Bike Speed-only
  • Bike Cadence-only
  • Heart rate monitors
  • Run Footpods

Unsupported:

  • Controllable trainers using FE-C protocol. This is planned for a future release, but we have no firm date yet. Thanks everyone for their upvoting of FEC support. We’ve heard you, and are now working out the development plan.

Recap of ANT+ requirements:

Note 1: If your phone or tablet has native ANT+ you will not need the USB Service, nor an ANT+ dongle.

Note 2: almost all Samsung devices released over the last few years have native ANT+ support. This includes all variants of the Galaxy S6, S7, S8, S9, S10, Note 9, Note 10, Tab S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, etc.

For ANT+ hardware to work with Zwift Android, ensure the ANT+ service apps listed below are installed.

  1. ANT Radio Service
  1. ANT USB Service (only if you are using an ANT+ Dongle)
  1. ANT+ Plugins Service
    https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dsi.ant.plugins.antplus

App Permissions:

When running a freshly installed version of ZwiftGame Android, you will be prompted to enable both your Location and Bluetooth settings.

When taking an in-game screenshot for the first time, you will be prompted to enable camera permissions.

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On Android, Locations permissions give an app the ability to use your Bluetooth radio. Allow this prompt or Zwift will not find your trainer or sensors

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Frequently Asked Questions

Will Zwift run on my Android phone or tablet?

In general, if your device can download the Zwift game app from the Play store, it meets the minimum hardware requirements.

What are the minimum hardware requirements to run Zwift on Android devices?

The minimum requirements are:

  1. arm64-v8a ABI (Arm64 architecture)
  2. 1 GB of RAM minimum. We highly recommend 2+ GB.
  3. OpenGL ES 3.0 or higher
  4. Android 7.0 or higher. [We dropped support for 6.0 on Jan 15, 2020]

Is my Android device supported ?

Search for Zwift on the Google Play Store.
If Google says that your device is not supported it means your Android device lacks the necessary hardware. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.zwift.zwiftgame&hl=en_US

Note: sometimes Zwift will appear downloadable, but is known to NOT work on these devices:

  • Samsung Galaxy Tab S, Tab E, most Tab A variants
  • Samsung Galaxy S5, J7

Why won’t Zwift run if it meets the minimum requirements?

It might run, but perhaps not as well as it had a more powerful graphics processing chip, and more RAM.

Is ANT+ enabled automatically?

As of version 50775, ANT+ is enabled by default.
Note you may still need a ANT+ dongle; check your device specifications!

I get a “Device not Compatible” message in Google Play Store even though the hardware should be compatible.
This may be solved by purging the cache of the Google Play app on your device, then its stored data. This helpful article explains how to solve this issue.

Do I need USB Service if my device has native ANT+ support?
No.

Why won’t ANT+ work on my latest, greatest Android device?

  • Did you install the ANT+ service apps referenced above? You don’t need the USB Service if your device has native ANT+ support.

  • Have you confirmed with the device manufacturer that this model has ANT+ hardware?

  • Is it running a custom ROM? If some key Android components are stripped out of a ROM, it might cause Zwift to run poorly, or not at all.

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Thank you for riding Zwift Android, and we sincerely appreciate your feedback!

3 Likes
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Do you still need this if your device has native ANT+, such as the Samsung devices listed?

1 Like
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Hi Dave!
USB Service not required for devices with native ANT+
I will clarify the post.
Thank you for the quick improvement!
-Will

2 Likes
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4 posts were split to a new topic: Android “RSSI Information not available”

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The Huawei Mediapad M6 runs Zwift VERY well (average framerate over 50 in a short test), looks like it is using the Basic setting at 720p. It scores very similar to the Samsung Tab S6 in benchmarks, so it could probably run a better quality or resolution.

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Hello Henk ! Good suggestion. I’ve added a note to my dev list to investigate.
I’m don’t think we have an M6 available, so we’d need to order one.
The good news is once I have one available, it’s a one-line change to enable better graphics settings for that device, and straightforward to test.
Thanks for the post!
-Will

1 Like
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Hi Will. Thanks for checking. I suspect that the M6 is not very widely available, I ordered mine from China. So if it doesn’t happen, I’d understand - the high framerate is amazing, better graphics is a nice to have. If there is any information that I can send you, let me know.

A separate note, looks like multiple accounts on the same device has been added back on Android. Thanks! It is a small detail, but makes using the same tablet for both my wife and myself less tedious :+1:

9

Hi Will

Was something changed with ANT+ behaviour in 1.0.50776?
I don’t find any release notes.

It seems that my Garmin ANT+ Cadence Sensor is now updating with a less frequency / delay.
Already checked battery, so can exclude this.

Hope for your feedback.
Thx for your work.

10

Hi,

Is there a list available for what the most popular devices will run the game at? Or do they all run the same settings? Can you change them?

Thinking Samsung phones and tablets and pixel devices?

1 Like
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Matt,
Sorry for the lengthy delay in replying - no - we did not make any ANT+ changes in 50776.
I’ll check around and see if others are reporting this.
Thanks for the feedback,
Will

12

It looks like the ANT+ USB plugin is way out of date, last updated in 2015. On my new tablet it gives a message that it was built for an older version of Android, may not work properly, and to check for an update.

I did report it via the email android@thisisant.com, but perhaps if Zwift asked around it would carry more weight? :wink:

13

Henk !
I just emailed my thisisant contact, and passed your note along.

What tablet & os are you using?

I’ll update that email thread w/ your details.
Ride On,
Will

1 Like
14

Hi Will,

I am using a Huawei Mediapad M6 tablet, which is running Emui 10.something (based on Android 10).

However, I just checked quickly, and the same happens on my Xiaomi A3 phone (screenshot below), which runs pretty much stock Android, also version 10.

Let me know if I should check any other devices, but it appears to be on Android 10. I’m not sure I have a phone still on Android 9, not one capable of running Zwift anyway :slight_smile:

Screenshot_20200619-082957
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15

Ah right the MediaPad M6. I recall us discussing recently.

I’ve gone ahead and added all this info to the email thread.

Thanks for the prompt reply!

1 Like
16

Wow… not even a day since you mailed them, and it is updated!
Thanks, Will!

17

Im using nokia 8 that run android 9, before 12 june update everything was running smooth, im using wahoo speed, cadence and heart rate sensor but from june 12 im experiencing disconnected sensor ( all of them ) almost every 7-10 minute and this is really annoy me, could you give any hint for this ?

18

More ANT+ stuffs:
On some devices, for example this happened on my older Xiaomi Mipad 4, the permission needed for the ANT Radio Service doesn’t seem to be available within the settings UI. But it was possible to grant the permission via ADB. The permission in question is: com.dsi.ant.permission.ANTRADIO

However, an update to my Huawei M6 tablet last week (Emui 10.1, I believe) appears to have disabled or removed access to the permission entirely.

Side note: I was surprised to find that a number of my devices actually have ANT+ support built-in, no need for an external dongle - this includes the Xiaomi Mipad 4 tablet, and also my Xiaomi A3 and older Nokia 6.1 phones, which all use Snapdragon 600-series chipsets.

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I still don’t understand why the Tab A 2019 is incompatible since it seems to meet the required conditions.

2 Likes
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Is the Nvidia shield supported yet?

1 Like
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Hi Henk just a quick follow-up:
In our latest release 53343, your Huawei M6 is enabled w/ higher graphics settings. Let me now how it goes!
-Will