Wahoo Elemnt app intermittent connectivity to Android

Never had the problem, but if you haven’t tried yet it could be worth deleting and reinstalling the app.

As above and also do a factory re set on your wahoo device.

Thanks. I'll try both of those

Have a proper deep dive into the settings and see if there any excessive power saving options lurking in the background.

Changed that too. It's a One+ so lots of menus buried in there

If the full reset etc doesn't work, I'll contact customer support

I had an issue recently, unpaired my phone via the app and then added it as a new phone and its been great since.

My Wahoo also did an update yesterday, so if you've not done that yet it might be causing an issue.

Wahoo Bolt is fully up to date

Paired and unpaired a few times. Installed and reinstalled app and it's still not playing ball. I contacted customer services and they've sent me some instructions. My guess is that it's some battery optimisation setting that is randomly turning Bluetooth on and off

Update: Wahoo customer service have told me that my new phone is not compatible with a v1 Bolt I bought in November and I need to use another handset.

🤦‍♂️

Nightmare. I had a similar thing with my Garmin Forerunner235 & previous phone - a Lenovo P2.

Buried in a compatible phone list that I managed to find, was my phone. It would intermittently connect, then refuse to connect for days on end and i'd have to do a 'forget device' and start from scratch whereby it would start working for a while.
The problem (almost) completely went away when I bought a Pixel 4a, although it has happened a few times after a Garmin s/w update (no surprises there, then) and gets fixed with another update a week or so later.

I don't really understand why this should be a problem - Bluetooth as I understand it, is a standard. Stuff should just work on it and is backwards compatible.
I know there are varying standards of BT, but I thought that would just mean you miss out on sound quality improvements or suffer a bit more lag with older devices.

Just had a quick look on the Wahoo website & can't see a compatibility list.
This is all i can find.

https://support.wahoofitness.com/hc/en-us/articles/115000441004

If you search through the 'original elememnt & bolt' section it sends you to the same article.
Nothing here to suggest it shouldn't work.

Android System Requirements:

Android version 6 or newer
Bluetooth 4.0 (Smart) or newer
Third party app access to Bluetooth
Compatibility with the Wahoo ELEMNT App from the Google Play Store

Compatible Devices:

Most Android devices running Android 6 or newer with Bluetooth 4.0 will work. However, Wahoo Fitness has not tested complete compatibility with all devices. Please download the ELEMNT App from the Google Play Store to ensure that it installs on your device before purchasing a product.

The bit in bold - my addition - suggests that so long as the companion app installs, then it should be OK.
A bit rubbish that they tell you categorically it's not compatible. You should ask for their list of devices that are compatible & question the meaning of the text above from their site.

Thanks @stumpy01

I've asked for clarification. I'm very annoyed by this.

@stumpy01 - thanks for your help  I badgered them about meeting min specs and the App works on the phone etc.

Wahoo did some digging and apparently it's the bluetooth chip in my phone handset that is not compatible with the App. Other phones use the chip too.

The bit I don't get is surely bluetooth just works the same way irrespective of the hardware and BT version number? Or is it much more complicated than that?

Anyway it's on their To Do list but without a resolution date
🤦‍♂️

That's what I thought might be the case. I dunno why, but like I said I had the same problem with my Forerunner235.
Maybe they just haven't done the coding that allows it to talk to that chip properly or something?

Not ideal but could you get a cheap second hand phone for connecting to your Wahoo?

I wouldn't hold my breath for a resolution. 🙄

I only connect my phone to the wahoo occasionally so I can see messages on the unit. It syncs to Strava without the app and it downloads my rides from RidewithGPS without the app.

I used to download gpx files to my phone then sync to Wahoo. Apparently Wahoo say that's a last resort and that you should put your gpx on RideWithGPS then sync to the unit.

I don't think it syncs to RideWithGPS if you're in the middle of nowhere without a signal. Also I use the App to tell the unit which route we're going to follow as it's easier than scrolling on the unit

I've just had an issue with my wahoo roam. After a ride it said it had failed to sync with strava but my ride was on Strava. Charged the unit but it wouldnt switch back on, kept cycling through where wahoo would appear on the screen and blue lights at the top but wouldnt load. A quick Google suggested strava was the issue. I unpaired the device and it turned on, on its own. Then paired it and it works fine.

Just wondered if your unit has a strava issue too? Seems strange and too easy an answer that it's a Bluetooth problem.

Hi
I had an issue with my Wahoo Roam syncing on Tuesday, no matter how many times or what I tried, however after my ride on Wednesday synced no problem, don't think my Wahoo updated in the meantime but my Android phone (Motorola One+) did run a few updates, including a few Android services which I guess must have solved whatever issue it was.
Might be worth checking o make sure your phone is fully updated and trying again?
cheers
mat

You can use either the Wahoo app or your phone's hotspot to sync stuff back and forth from the unit.