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So this is a recent issue..like, the last few days..
If you look at the video, basically ALL my ANT+ devices drop out at an alarming rate.
It does this even with a NEW ANT+ dongle (£12 wasted!).
It does it whether i use the 3m extension cable, with ANT+ right next to bike, or not.
It does it on my NEW AND OLD Laptop.
It does it if i turn OFF my Wifi, and just tether phone for 3g..
WTAF is going on.
I've hundreds of pounds of kit, and a zwift subscription, and it's BUSTED....
HELP, please...
DrP
Does it do it on the new laptop with old dongle? Does the new laptop and your trainer support Bluetooth? Not ideal if you have ant+ and want to use it but might get you riding till you can fix the other.
Does the new laptop have Bluetooth that you can use and pair it with the trainer? I know you have a pm on the cranks but might be an option.
Does it on new laptop with both dongles...ffs....
I could connect via Bluetooth, but I never had this issue before, and wasn't to use the more accurate pm on the crank as the trainer reads 20-40 w below....
The ant+ from pm to garmin head unit is faultless...!
DrP
What happens if you just have one device connected does that dropout?
Is this just since you started adding pm into the mix?
Feel for you mate, it's frustrating. I was livid on Sunday when it kept dropping. I was on the Academy group ride this morning and everyone disappeared again twice, but it seems it was a Zwift issue as many people commented that it happened to them.
Have you tried without the power meter and just using the trainer for power? I can see you have an Elite trainer but not sure which model you have, I have the Direto and just get power readings from that...it might be worth a try to take something out of the equation, that way it's a process of elimination to find the fault.
Disable Bluetooth on the laptop to stop the signal interfering with each other? WiFi can interrupt and cause drop outs as well I think.
Drac's iPad?
I can use the Bluetooth to connect to trainer for power and resistance....
But... wanted the pm!
And the pm was working fine for several weeks...
It all went wrong on Sunday am!
DrP
Neighbours?
Went through this pain a few weeks ago after moving setup to garage. I ended up having to change the channel of wifi extender I'd installed which appeared to do the job. 2.4Ghz channels 9-12 causes problems with ANT+. Issues appeared to go after setting that.
I know you've tried turning off your wifi, but could there bit interference from other nearby wifi?
Also - just had the email about big Zwift maintenance so maybe there is some known gremlins crept into Zwift.
I had this recently. Ant+ seems amazingly fragile ...
I did;
New ant dongle from Amazon
New 3m cable (mounting dongle c 30-40m from trainer / to the side)
powered usb hub (someone somewhere talked a lot about laptop USB port voltage).
Turned off laptop WiFi (I use Ethernet)
Changed wireless access point (this is all in my garage) to channel 1
Reinstalled windows 10 / blanked laptop / fresh install of zwift. Easy as my laptop lives in the garage and only has zwift on it .
Hope some of that helps ...
Can you try one of the other cycling apps to see if they pick up the ANT+?
Happy to send a code for TrainerRoad free trial if that would help.
Have you (or your neighbours) recently installed power line ethernet adapters? They're massively leaky from an RF point of view.
If you have an AM radio you could try searching for the source of the interference. You might also want to try connecting the ANT+ dongle to an Android phone or another PC to see if the same thing happens.
I doubt it's Zwift but who knows - I normally use Bluetooth and with a recent update it's started to drop the connection so I'm back on ANT+...
Stevios... that would be great if I could try trainer road...
At least that will tell me where the fault lies... zwift or hardware...
DrP
I suspect TR will do similar but it's definitely a parth of least resistance so I'd give it a shot.👍
If it continues....
Ball ache I know but id temporarily move the turbo setup to another room. Preferably one as far away from the normal turbo room as possible. Then you might get an idea if the problem is "environmental" at least.
Try knocking the graphics down to a lower setting. I was having ant+ issues about a year ago and that resolved it (a usb extension is also useful).
Despite having a high spec laptop, the fan was screaming with the graphics on max, I think it was going into some kind of heat protection mode and that seemed to result in ant+ dropouts.
the thing is..the connection between the ANT+ devices and teh Garmin 830 is faultless.... so clearly it's teh ANT+ to the PC, and not simply 'bad ANT+'..
DrP
2.4Ghz channels 9-12 causes problems with ANT+. Issues appeared to go after setting that.
I've used a wifi analyzer on my phone... there's a big 'virgin media' peak right on 9-12... However, I'm sure that's not new... I might ask my neighbour/upstairs if it's theres, and if they could turn it off so I can run a test!
sigh...
DrP
You know zwift is still in alpha release for windows and android don't you?
My ex-neighbour (I moved, that wasn't python for him dying) had a Sky Q setup that smashed virtually every 2.4ghz channel and made ant+ unusable.
Trainers didn't work neither did heart rate monitor, power meter etc. until I was down the road.
It also mucked up the baby monitors which previously used to cause issues with the neighbouring houses WiFi.
I'll pop the turbo and HR monitor in my boot and bring them to work... (actually, just looked at the wifi analizer and there's a big peak from 9-12 here too!)
OK...will think of something!
The other thing i want to try is trainer road etc, to see if it's zwift...
You know zwift is still in alpha release for windows and android don’t you?
No..is it?!
DrP
Hmmm...I use Virgin too, wonder if it's something to do with them at peak times?? My issues like yours were Sunday morning when many will be using wifi.
so i'm not using virgin wifi (virgin router, with Mesh wifi..), but there's lots of it about.
However, I don't really 'buy that' because surely ALL my ANT+ receivers would mess up? The garmin devices (x2) etc?
DrP
I'm very much inclined to think it'll be zwift. It's shonky at best.
It doesn't play nicely with my trainer if it doesn't pair in specific order (power, cadence, resistance then hr in that order and only in that order) . It still sees the device, still claims to be paired but then just doesn't read the power/hr or control the resistance (is the usual one). 95% of the time powering on once I'm in the pairing screen then putting my hr monitor on once everything else is found is enough to ensure a decent connection, some times it just plain won't play and others I have to disconnect anf manually repair in sequence but this - without fail - causes zwift to crash out if I unpaid the resistance first...
Otoh it works fine every time I've tried on my ipad, which would be great except its a crap method of running zwift.
What powermeter are you using? My power cable essentially deteriorated at the port of my Hammer 2 and it was cutting out without me realising. There is software that allows you to record powermeter data and look for dropouts on the net.
I know you say you have tried it on two laptops, but I would seriously suggest knocking the graphics back on both and trying it. My dropouts were the same as yours and it was infuriating. I haven't had a drop-out since changing the graphics setting.
I think Zwift is the easy target but the ANT+ stuff is probably dealt with by Windows at a system level.
will try the graphics...
The old laptop has rubbish built in graphics, and runs in basic..
The new gaming laptop has nvidea 1650ti and runs beautifully in ultra high.
I'll knock the graphics back, but.... this isn't an old issue - it's new, and i was previously running the graphics as they are without fault...
Is there a programme that i can use to simply see the ANT+ signal input?
Like, it'll show the power meter is connected and it's signal, and readings, but isn't zwift or the like?
DrP
Do the meters etc not have their own software - eg mine is faultless through the elite software.
that's a thought...will try the elite laptop software via ant+...
https://www.elite-it.com/en/products/app-software/my-e-training
DrP
If you still want a TR code send me your email address and I’ll pop one through
EDIT: I’ve tried to send you a pm. Hope it’s worked
I’ll knock the graphics back, but…. this isn’t an old issue – it’s new, and i was previously running the graphics as they are without fault…
Mine was the same, fine for months and then they released an update and it started to play up. I can only assume the update added more processing load.
i asked on Zwift forums...no recent updates have occurred...
I'll give the elite trainer app a go when I'm home - i wonder if i can link my Power meter to it?
DrP
i wonder if i can link my Power meter to it?
Pretty sure there is that option in the pairing /setup process for the turbo
cool..that'll be one factor figured out at least!
DrP
There is a site called zwiftalizer that will analyze zwift log files. Might be worth uploading a log from an affected session to it.
Yeah..used that in the past...
OK.. so Trainer road had no connection or dropout issues...
Then I used Zwift again, and it had dropouts...but.. then it seemeed to be fone. I did 2 5 min rides... But check out the data here:
Top = trainer, mid = PM, bottom = HR monitor
Clearly I'm getting lots of lost data..which may be interference...
Hmm...
Why trainer road work fine..me no know!!!!
DrP
I have not used that tool, what is the y-axis 'signal'? Is it just an arbitrary number?
Edit: looks like it may be Hz. If it is Hz, it is interesting that you don't appear to be having total dropouts, just a reduction in speed (I guess that is shown with the number of failed Rx - responses).
Why trainer road work fine..me no know!!!!
I'm probably wrong about this, but I assumed when I had the same experience that the programmers at zwift spent more time making nice graphics while at TR they spent more time making the devices work.
But I am pretty sure that the Ant+ stuff will be done at system level and the zwift programmers will just use the windows/ant API calls. That trace above looks like message dropouts between the dongle and the ant devices, that is probably nothing to do with zwift.
Having said that I cannot explain why TR isn't doing the same! Maybe a longer test is needed.
We have had ANT+ issues with Zwift too and after a lot of messing around with different dongles / positions I came to suspect it was nothing to do with connection between ANT+ and trainer and more to do with the ANT+ data having to do a round trip to Zwift servers via internet and back to PC. Essentially this is how the Zwift Mobile Companion works too if you are using Bluetooth and not ANT+ to connect to a trainer.
Our internet isn't the best and we have a lot less issues by avoiding anyone else streaming on the internet while someone is Zwifting, plus making sure PC does nothing else, no other users logged in, no background tasks. We've recently changed to more reliable broadband so I'll have to see if that improves things further.
I would agree with stevious regarding TrainerRoad. It is a much more stable piece of software and they spend a lot of time trying out different hardware and the tech support is top notch. They will respond within hours usually and check your log files etc. Doesn’t help with your issue but customer service is brilliant.
thing is... zwift's prettyness is REALLY motivating isn't it....
My PC is decent enough (Just bought a new one!!!) so that should cope OK....
Hmm..will try the ZA group ride at 1700 for a longer log..
DrP
I assume many of you have the following from Zwift in your inboxes today...
"Zwift will be undergoing scheduled maintenance starting next week on Tuesday, Oct 27 at 2:00am GMT in order to upgrade our system performance and stability, ensuring even greater service and reliability for you and the entire Zwift community.
This update will take approximately 4 hours and will impact access to the Game (all devices), Zwift.com and Zwift Companion (including your ability to log-into Zwift and save any activities.). As this is a significant amount of downtime, we are alerting you in advance, so you can plan accordingly."
I wonder if that will improve anything???
I agree DrP. But I use both as I think both have their place as they achieve very different things. Good luck! Zwift has def got more unstable the last few weeks. Lots people have had problems but I can’t remember many across the summer.
Fwiw I get ant plus dropouts with my elite trainer (zumo) on fulgaz and rouvy but never with rgt or the elite my e training apps, so there is definitely some dependence on the software being run. Still not dabbled with zwift yet.
well.. managed an hour on teh ZA group ride... connected OK..no noticable dropouts..
12% poor packets... BETTER.... but still no clear reason why it's better...!
DrP
Same graphics setting DrP?
Since re-starting with Zwift mid Sept, I've had ANT dropouts. Three consecutive rides all about the 40 min mark. Came back and then went again.
Same setup as May when I stopped. Except now I have a proper ethernet connection to the shed and all other internet stuff is rock solid.
Changed to bluetooth (to cut out any problems with ANT Dongle on Mac). Been fine since but only done two rides. Won't got back to ANT tho as now have a BT HRM as well.
I actually pushed the graphics up to full 2040 (or whatever) 4k!!
Not sure what's different. Technology eh...
DrP
You may have read this already, but someone just posted it on our club chat:
https://zwiftinsider.com/how-to-fix-ant-dropouts-in-zwift/