Once again I am partway through a workout and just loose connection!! No its not my internet or anything else, it is the app. How on earth can you compare workouts to see if you have improved when the app keeps crashing and screwing everything up. I even download the workouts first now but once again today I am 8 minutes from finishing the chores and trying to better my previous performance and bang… off it goes so now I am back to square one all this and my Wahoo HRM loosing connection as and when it feels like it too. . You have noticed that I am angry no doubt but can anyone give any answers to this please because I will be looking elsewhere for training apps if this continues>>
for balance I have never had a sensor dropout in 2 years of use.
How do you know it is the app?
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what else can it be? no issues ever with my internet I have super fast broadband and never have any problems. I can’t use chromecast to view it on my tv from my phone because that is even worse, the HRM just looses connection when it likes (wahoo even replaced it but that didn’t help) the Direto bike trainer NEVER losses connection at all so that just leave s the app
HR sensors connect via bluetooth or Ant+ which have nothing to do with your broadband internet.
Just because you had the HRM replaced doesn’t eliminate that as the source of the problem.
My Tickr V1 is rock solid however if you’ve the new Tickr (2020 onwards) this is reported to have issues with connection stability, scroll to the bottom of this review.
Wahoo’s New 2020 TICKR & TICKR X: In-Depth Review | DC Rainmaker
Yes that is a separate issue I mentioned just to explain the issues all round I have had with Wahoo system in the 6 months or so of use. I had this on my 4DP test where halfway through the HRM decided not to work so I couldn’t get CTHR figures. The real bone of contention is workouts just stopping and the whole app logging itself off partway through a workout.
Thanks will check out that review
@ozmadman Without knowing your setup and overall environment I would suggest looking at what could be causing interference - other Bluetooth devices, microwave, phones, etc. The platform is very stable for me and I don’t have super fast internet. Reach out to the minions for trouble shooting.
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I agree with that last paragraph. My Tickr V1 was great until the press studs finally corroded and snapped out of the strap.
My family has had 3 V2 Tickrs and reliability is horrible. Connection issues, HR reading issues.
We’ve had one changed under warranty, but mine just died and i’ll be replacing with another brand
Mine is kept meticulously clean being dried after each use even going to the point of using electrical contact cleaner to ensure a good connection
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Loosing the will to live would make a great name for a new workout
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Actually, yes it would!!! ha ha maybe i can suggest it to the minions??
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I’ve been using Sufferfest/SYSTM since 2014 and touch wood connectivity issues are so rare for me but when they do happen I’ve been able to figure it out by basically turning everything off that can possibly connect to the device SYSTM runs on and then doing a workout with one device connected, if that goes well add another device and so on until you can isolate the problem. There can be some massively daft reasons why connectivity drops. One of mine was that I had other devices that were connected to the TICKR X (my phone) and when they came too close the TICKR X connected to the phone and was lost on my iPad. Internet could be one but chances are it’s not that but something on the rest of your network. Your Internet can be really fast but if you have lots of devices connected to it then it’s like a motorway, it only takes one other device to hog lane the lane and it causes congestion and could clog up and cause drop out. Also if you use cables then do you have the fastest router/switch etc? Virus software can also quarantine important files and stop things working. It just really could be a whole bunch of reasons
My own set up is an iPad in the garage connected by Wi-Fi. Connected to that is a KICKR, KICKR Climb, TICKR X by Bluetooth. I always download the workout in advance and I set up personal focus on the iPad so that no other app or notifications can interfere with SYSTM. Any other device such as my phone is left in the house upstairs where they are too faraway to interfere. That has proved a really good environment and extremely stable. I’ve not had a dropped connection for years. If you list what you use here I’m sure we can maybe come up with some suggestions.
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I am not getting full drop outs any more but lately the videos are stalling a few times during a ride. At least 2 - 3 times a week. And 100% are downloaded in advance. After 15 - 30 seconds the video restarts and then jumps to the correct point in the workout. No idea what that’s about either.
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Har. Actually, that’s what I thought it was when I first saw this thread posted.
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Thanks for the info. Mine is pretty basic. Android phone that I use to do the workouts, pc but that is wired and is not used for the workouts. Fire stick and Chromecast disconnected and the Direto trainer and HRM so the only Bluetooth connections are the HRM, The Direto and that’s it No other Bluetooth devices.
It will seem like a faff doing this but a bit of short term pain to work things out will help you in the long run. Its a process of elimination and is what I would do.
First thing I’d do is check that everything on your phone is up to date, all the OS updates are done, SYSTM is on the latest version and all your devices are upto date with firmware. You could do a delete of the SYSTM app and re-install (you wont lose any data except any downloaded videos but you will have to fill in your weight etc). Check you’ve got a decent amount of space left on your phones storage. Download a workout from the library (ideally one thats crashed before). If you’re happy thats done and you can do no more to get the phone upto date then next get a Bluetooth signal strength app on your phone (should be quite a few on the Play Store). Using the app scan around you and see if you can account for every device listed (i.e check it’s yours). Bluetooth can pick up things further down the street at times and through brick walls (I can vouch for that as I had to self isolate for 10 days from Christmas Day when the NHS Covid app pinged me because my neighbour who sleeps in a bedroom next to mine (albeit through a massively thick wall) got covid and because we had our phones literally a couple of metres apart and I got deemed a close contact). If your phone detects other devices that are not yours then they could easily be a source of interference that you can not control. You should also be able to see Bluetooth signal strength to make sure you’ve got a good signal on all your cycling devices. Turn off everything that appears in your list and all the devices like the computer. Also if you’ve got mobile data on your phone turn off your WiFi and turn off the router. WiFi can interfere with Bluetooth so you need to keep some distance between the two where possible. As you’ve got a phone and you’ve downloaded a workout then all you need mobile data for is to log into the SYSTM app and share the workout. It should not use much. Add your direto and your HRM devices to SYSTM again. Make sure the strap is tight on your HRM. Do the workout and see how it goes.
If the workout crashes/drops connection then you definitely know it’s one of these 3 devices, the phone, the HRM or the Direto. That at least does narrow it down and I would start there by maybe buying another HRM if possible (its the cheapest option) and see how you go using the same workflow as above as a first step or put the HRM on all day and record a walking workout or something with another app so you can record your heart rate. You might see if dropouts occur on another app.
If you do not get a crash/dropout on SYSTM then you can gradually start adding devices back on (try adding the WIFI back first). Add another device each time you workout and if you get a crash/dropout then backtrack a step and see if all is good again. If so you may have found your possible source.
Hope this helps
James
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Wi-Fi and BTLE are known enemies. They love to dual and BTLE is ALWAYS the loser. So what do you do? Move Wi-Fi to 5GHz band, if you can. I have over 20 local Wi-Fi connections (yes, my neighborhood is THAT busy) so when doing a workout on my MAC, I shut off Wi-Fi and use downloaded videos. MACs do NOT support ANT+ out of the box and I’m not about to install the software to make it happen, again. I have no known device dropouts anymore. I even threw in a Garmin 5S watch into the mix and it picked up the Garmin HRM and ruled the roost (it has multicast BTLE on it so Wahoo will stay connected as well).
So, I’ll double down on shutting off Wi-Fi first and scanning for both Wi-Fi and BTLE devices. Oh, and watch for boosted (and thus illegal in most places) Wi-Fi signals. They are a bear to troubleshoot.
Thanks James you have been very helpful. I am away camping as from today (Saturday) and no bike riding for a week so a well earned rest but I will definitely run through your suggestions when i get back cheers Paul
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Thank you too, my wi-fi is already on 5GHZ so I have tried that already. If I turn off wi-fi will the workout sync with Strava or not until I turn it back on again?? thanks
FWIW: You might also try another app, like Zwift, and see how that works. Also, until fairly recently, the consensus was that ANT+ was better than BT. I had been using ANT+ for everything and it was working fine but not when I started SYSTM. I went back and forth with minions troubleshooting and eventually the problems got resolved, though not through any changes I made. I did switch to BT on the trainer as ERG mode response is quicker, though only on SYSTM. Trainer response via ANT+ on Zwift is still fine. My arrangement has my trainer and notebook (with ANT_ dongle) on which I run the app ~6-8 feet from my WIFI router.
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