Drama with Bluetooth on the Windows App

The Sufferfest Software
#1

The Sufferfest guidance for the Windows app is " Most USB BT dongles do not seem to work consistently, so we do not recommend them"

So I realize I’m not taking suggested path. But still, my BT dongle works with 100% reliability on Zwift and TrainerRoad. And it eventually works with Sufferfest, there’s always just a bit of drama for Sufferfest. About 2/3 of the time I start a session some combination of my 3 BT devices (Tacx Neo II, Polar H10, Power2Max PM) either won’t show up, or won’t show up with the full set of advertised capabilities. If I “remove” and add them back, they’ll eventually show up correctly. It just adds about a minute to my workout setup, which is slightly cumbersome.

I’ve checked the obvious things, like making sure those other applications are completely shut down, etc.

Am I alone here, or are others seeing this? I’d just take the Sufferfest warning at face value, except Zwift and TrainerRoad are drop-dead reliable.

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#2

Bluetooth connectivity is fairly new to the Sufferfest and there are some combinations of Windows and Bluetooth hardware and drivers that are not playing nicely with our app. These are often device specific and can be difficult to troubleshoot. Please send us an email at theminions@thesufferfest.com and we can look more closely at your device connections and try to help sort things out for you.

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#3

I have the same problem with my Neobike.

At first I tried the ANT+ dongle but for some reason the changes in power arn’t always sent to the Neobike, this makes an interval start 2-5 secondes late or make an interval last 2-5 seconds to long. Very annoying.
Then I switched to a BT-dongle which I placed right next to the Neobike. About half the time it connects just fine, the other half of the time it only connects as controllable device but without power and cadence. I have to disconnect and reconnect (couple of times sometimes)

Now yesterday I had problems with my Garmin hartrateband (it was dying and is now dead) which was connected through ANT+.
I started using my Tickr, connected with BT and haven’t had any problems the last 2 rides. Maybe a coincidence, maybe it’s solved. I’ll continu testen next week (outside ride tomorrow and Sunday :smiley: )

The Neobike handles quick changes in power over BT a lot better (half is easy can be done in ERG without problems now, this wasn’t possible with ANT+)

Maybe it’s because I use a slow PC. It’s something old because I got tiered of moving the laptop all the time (about time for that Android app :smiley: )
It’s an Intel Celeron CPU, ION chipset, 4GB ram, SSD and Windows 10 (was previously used as HTPC for Kodi), when booted up it works without any hickups.

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#4

I tried Bluetooth. Gave up on the advice of Janis.
Back to ant+. Rock solid on W10 on my surface pro.

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#5

Also if you are using a BT headset you will see further troubles.
Often the Wifi connection will die somewhere in the workout and only a short change into flight mode and back will bring it back online.

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#6

I had everything on ANT+ and my headphones on BT today and oh god there was awful interference every now and then…

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#7

You are not alone. I just started using the app today and lost connectivity to my kickr twice in the middle of two different workouts. I had to do the same thing with removing and re-adding the device. My damn wahoo cadence sensor never worked so not sure what is going on. I never have these issues in Zwift.

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#8

Please reach out for support with those sensors! Theminions@thesufferfest.com. We can’t troubleshoot that here in the forum, but we would happily have a look to see if we can get you better connected!

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#9

For those with bluetooth connection issues, I found a little workaround that works better then disconnecting/reconnecting the sensors.

In Windows 10, just open the action pop-up from the right bottom corner and deactivate/activate bluetooth. Works every time after 1 go (on my machine)
image

Been talking with Therese from the helpdesk, after a lot of mails and trying a lot of things, I accidentally got here and it’s fine for me.

So thanks again Therese.

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