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Forerunner 245m virtual run zwift issues

Welshrocket
over 3 years ago

I don't know if anyone else has experienced this?

I recently took to using my Forerunner 245 music in virtual run mode with zwift. I've also used the virtual run mode as part of a workout in the Garmin training mode.c I've connected to zwift both via Bluetooth and via the zwift companion app.im doing this when running indoors on a non-smart treadmill.

What I'm finding is that zwift will lose connection to the Garmin watch and stop receiving data frequently. This then requires a drop back to the menu to pair once more. Not easy when your running.

When looking into this a little more I have noticed that the disconnection happens when the watch issues an alert. So initially I had lap alerts setup at 1k intervals. When the lap alerts sounded then connection was lost. I switched off auto lap and alerts and still found that while in training mode the pace alerts also caused the same problem. 

It's pure speculation but I wonder if sounding the alert on the watch causes a draw on the watch battery and it causes it to drop the Bluetooth connection.

Anyone else seen this or have suggestions? What's the best way to raise this with Garmin?

I have logs from both zwift and Garmin watch saved away.

  • 0 over 3 years ago

    Was having a similar experience today. First run with my Garmin Tri HRM strap. I HAD a run pod that worked fine until I lost it, but todY I was walking and it kept my guy just standing there. Thought it was while I was futzing with my tablet and not moving my arm, but then I noticed the MENU icon kept popping up. Showed I was connected and avatar started moving again.

    Also noticed my watch kept falling behind on treadmill distance.  Got frustrated and turned zwift off and watched youtube instead.

  • 0 over 2 years ago

    I experienced the same with FR245 - Zwift drops every time Garmin watch shows an alert, even HR alert. Still searching for answer/resolution. 

  • 0 over 2 years ago

    on the Virtual runs always seems to disconnect. At first it was every 28-30 minutes now its just unbearable . 

    No more garmin products for me.

  • 0 over 2 years ago

    I've had this exact same problem as well, every time an alert is shown on the watch (lap, next training step, speed, etc) the watch disconnects from Zwift. I've tried messing around with the settings like disabling the vibration and alert sounds to see if those helped in case it was a power issue but nothing seems to have solved the issue.

    The only way to partially solve the issue is to go back to the bluetooth pairing menu in Zwift and reconnect the watch.....and even then sometimes that doesn't solve the issue, it will still continue to disconnect. 

    The 245m is unusable with Zwift at the moment and should not be advertised as compatible if Garmin refuses to fix this issue. 

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to 7597387

    There seems to be a general problem with the FR245 losing Bluetooth Connection for a short time, after giving an alert/message.

    I had that too with a BTLE HR strap (see link below). For me, ANT+ works much better.

    Garmin Forums

    Can you please file that as a bug and hopefully get it fixed?


    forums.garmin.com/.../heart-rate-gaps-after-leaving-heart-rate-zone-warning

  • 0 over 2 years ago

    Temporary solution found!

    I've now tested this on several runs and I believe I've found a way to prevent the watch from dropping connections with Zwift during runs, even when there's an alert shown!

    With the FR245 music, simply connect it to some headphones and play music (I leave the headphones in the treadmill cup holder). The fact that the watch is connected to headphones and playing music seems to force the bluetooth radio to always stay on, even during alerts. The watch no longer disconnects during my run and it solves the problem.

    This proves to me that Garmin should be able to solve this issue without the headphone workaround, they need to force the bluetooth radio to stay powered on during the Virtual Run activity the same way the music broadcast does it.

    If anyone from Garmin is reading this, this should not be considered a permanent solution, we should not have to connect headphones to the watch in order to make the virtual run activity usable. Hopefully this helps out other runners looking to get the functionality they paid for in the mean time! 

    I've proven this fix on both firmware version 8.20 and 8.78(beta) 

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to 7597387

    This problem seems to be unsolved, I am seeing the same on my Epix gen 2