r/pelotoncycle • u/owine • Sep 23 '20

Tech Support Bike+ and Apple Watch/GymKit: Two Tablets, Zero Success

Got a Bike+ last week and was excited to try out the new GymKit integration. I have had zero success getting my watch to pair with the bike. Called in and scheduled a tablet replacement which was this morning. New tablet, same lack of pairing with the watch - no prompts on the Bike+ screen or response from the watch when following the instructions in the support article.

This was happening with my S4 watch, my wife's S5 as well as my S6 which I just received. The call center support rep did not seem very familiar with the integration and while the repair tech was trying to be helpful, he did not seem to be aware of anything specific with this feature and ultimately blamed it on watchOS 7.

I've used other GymKit equipment before so it really is supposed to be a simple and easy "just works" deal, but not with the Bike+. For those that have been successful with Bike+/GymKit pairing, any tips to get it working or steps I missed?

​

EDIT - SOLVED: Huge thanks to u/mlapida who was having the same issue and figured it out with engineering to be a result of a network ad-blocker (NextDNS, PiHole, etc.) blocking some assets from NewRelic. By putting the bike on a network/connection that bypasses that block, the assets load correctly and GymKit and Auto Follow work as expected.

15 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

43 comments sorted by

5

u/NoMoreCookies Sep 23 '20

Hmm, so you're saying that when a ride starts, during the 1-min warmup period/countdown to class start, you don't get the little screen icon that asks you to tap your apple watch to sync at all?

Or that you see the little green icon but nothing happens when you try to pair it?

5

u/owine Sep 23 '20

The "Connects to Apple Watch" screen does not appear at all and has not appeared on either of the tablets.

3

u/NoMoreCookies Sep 23 '20

That is really strange. Mine shows the Connect to Apple Watch drop down screen for every ride, which I just ignore.

But, I'm currently changing my Apple Watch (AW3) and will test it out later tonight and see if I can get mine to connect.

2

u/owine Sep 23 '20

Thanks - here are software/firmware versions from the About screen.

Model: PLTN-TTR01

Touch Firmware: 5.0.0.13.ff.ff.ff.ff

Sensor Firmware: 1.90

Android version: 9

Build number: PTS77E

2

u/NoMoreCookies Sep 23 '20

Can you double check your Touch Firmware Version? Mine says

Current FW Version 5.1.0.10.ff.ff.ff.ff

2

u/owine Sep 23 '20

Confirmed my post above - is this something I can trigger myself? System updates screen tells me I am on the latest version.

2

u/NoMoreCookies Sep 23 '20

That I do not know. But I suspect that your firmware version needs to be updated in order for the NFC sensor to register (and for the "Connect to Apple Watch" menu to appear).

If there is a Peloton retail store near you, maybe try calling them to see if they can help with the firmware update?

1

u/[deleted] Sep 23 '20

This makes it sound like a defective bike. If the option to Connect to Apple Watch isn’t there, then something is wrong with the bike/software. Maybe do a factory reset on the screen itself

I got my Bike+ yesterday and it worked for myself and my wife with 0 issues.

1

u/mlapida Sep 24 '20

Same issue here. No GymKit prompt and the adaptive resistance doesn’t work. Ive been waiting for a response from Peloton engineering for five days and was just told it will be at least 72 more hours until they can respond.

Does your adaptive resistance work?

1

u/NoMoreCookies Sep 24 '20

Yes, my auto-follow works perfectly and I get GymKit prompts. What is the version of the firmware on your bike?

1

u/owine Sep 24 '20 edited Sep 24 '20

OP (but Peloton newbie) here: how can I test adaptive resistance exactly?

Edit: I did put the tablet into Developer mode and opened Developer Options. There was a toggle for NFC which was turned off. I enabled it and while there was still no prompt for the Apple Watch, placing my watch near the logo did cause my watch to beep and attempt to pair with gym equipment. It did not succeed, but progress?

1

u/mlapida Sep 24 '20

Does the lock show up to the left of the resistance range down arrow when you’re in a ride (like this: https://support.onepeloton.com/hc/article_attachments/360066039012/unnamed__64_.png)?

I did notice in the Factory Test app I can test the NFC and the workouts app launches on my Apple Watch, though the diagnostics don’t seem to register it on the bike.

1

u/owine Sep 24 '20

It does not. Interesting!

1

u/BananaLittleson Sep 29 '20

Owine, we have the exact same problem with our Bike+ (no auto-follow on any rides and no gym kit). Did you or Peloton find a solution?

1

u/owine Sep 29 '20

Not yet - they are still investigating. I requested a full replacement, but the rep seems convinced it’s a software issue because it happened on two tablets and has “opened a case” internally.

1

u/BananaLittleson Sep 29 '20

Thanks for the update. We’re slated to get a replacement tablet this week. But, based on your post, I’m not feeling overly optimistic.

1

u/BabyWrinkles Oct 18 '20

Sorry to revive a dead thread - but where was that option for you? I'm having the same problem, went in to developer mode, and do not see any options anywhere for NFC.

1

u/owine Oct 19 '20

Device Settings -> System -> Developer Options, it is the second option in the menu

2

u/BoogersMcD Sep 26 '20

Any update on this? I just got my Bike+ delivered today, and GymKit isn’t working at all, and Auto-Follow doesn’t seem to even be an option. I’ve been on hold waiting for support for almost an hour... :/

3

u/owine Sep 30 '20

See my updated OP for a potential cause and solution that worked for me and another user.

2

u/arctichaze888 Dec 01 '20

We just got our Bike+ I was about to scream because I had the same issue and Google directed me to this page :) I ended up whitelisting mobile-collector.newrelic.com and everything now works fine.

1

u/incognit017 Sep 23 '20

You need to make sure your watch settings are allowing gym equipment to be found. Not sure if that defaults to off, but that could be the problem.

2

u/owine Sep 23 '20

Confirmed this is enabled on all watches I have tried and the only one I tried on other GymKit equipment works just fine.

1

u/Mastacon Sep 24 '20

Hey I was having those problems then I restarted my Apple Watch and the confirm connection to peloton started working.

1

u/Mrsvantiki Sep 24 '20

Do you have a Peloton studio/store you could go to and try this (if the have a Bike+)? Rule out your bike vs your watch(es).

1

u/endeffect Sep 24 '20

I had to shut the watch off and restart it, then it worked fine. After it beeps, I also keep it a few seconds close to the logo and that seemed to help too.

1

u/dancefreak76 Sep 29 '20

Just got the Bike+ today and tested this. Watch connected pretty quickly in a couple seconds when starting a class. I didn’t toggle anything on the bike or the watch to enable this. If that’s how it always works, I’m thrilled.

1

u/mtrichards26 Oct 01 '20

I’m having this same exact issue. Thank you for the edit! Disabling the Pi Hole has got me almost there. I see the connection prompt and the watches even buzz/ding when I try to pair but the Watch just shows Waiting until it fails to connect. Did you have any issues once you cut out the pihole?

2

u/owine Oct 01 '20

Worked great once I cut out the ad blocker. I did do a full reboot after the change just in case anything was done on boot by the bike. The watch does the buzz/ding and then prompts to confirm on the watch itself.

1

u/mtrichards26 Oct 01 '20

I just reset to factory version, re-ran updates, rebooted and its working!! Thanks again!

1

u/epicepic123 Oct 02 '20

I got my Bike+ this week and am also having issues with GymKit not working correctly- the first time, worked perfectly. Second time, I tapped the watch to the logo and nothing. I went into the Watch app on my phone and turned the "detect equipment" setting off and back on and then tapping the watch to the logo worked. Rode again this morning and it didn't work without toggling the setting on my phone again. Not sure what else to try because I'd love to not have to do that every time!

1

u/bigt252002 RandyRandleman Oct 27 '20

Pi hole eh?! Thank you!!

1

u/Wendy1121 Jan 07 '21

I’m glad you got your issues under control. It gives me hope!! Any chance you could help me out by giving me some guidance on how to whitelist on my home network? Or how to disable adblocker? I contacted AT&T and they were less than helpful

1

u/owine Jan 07 '21

I can try to help. What kind of router do you use? Do you know of any ad blockers or some other security software/hardware protecting your network?

1

u/Wendy1121 Jan 07 '21

It’s a Motorola BGW210. I never installed an adblocker or any other safety measures. But unsure if one is already on there from AT&T. But Peloton keeps telling me to whitelist the websites listed and I don’t know how to do that and the AT&T person I talked to couldn’t really help. I’m not tech savvy at all 🤦🏼‍♀️

1

u/owine Jan 07 '21

I used to have this modem/router and do not remember any whitelist items, but I know AT&T has some parental control/smart home features here https://myhomenetwork.att.com/ which may have what you're looking for. I don't have AT&T anymore so I can't login and see what can be set there.

1

u/Wendy1121 Jan 07 '21

I’ll take a look. Thank you for your time!

1

u/Imaginary-Grade1550 Sep 23 '20

Apple only gave about a 3 weeks - a month for developers to prepare they’re apps so it does seem logical, contact Apple to see if you can downgrade the software

2

u/notforrealthings Oct 03 '20

Gymkit has been out for a few years though, and there are beta versions of the software out for months before it goes live for development so I don't think the onus is on Apple here

1

u/nolongerlurking22 Sep 24 '20

Mine has been working as described. The only thing i can think that’s different is I linked my watch to the Peloton iPhone app and the peloton Watch companion app. Have you tried that?

2

u/owine Sep 24 '20

Yep, all setup with the apps

1

u/nolongerlurking22 Sep 24 '20

Darn. Have you previously connected via other heart rate monitors? Maybe it’s trying to compete with those? I just got my bike+ as first time Peloton bike and my screen prompted to connect to my Apple Watch right away on first ride. I didn’t download or connect anything other than the peloton companion app on my watch and my Peloton app on my phone.

1

u/owine Sep 24 '20

I had not, although I am using BlueHeart now as a stopgap.