lardo20

I use an LG G3 android phone and the Wahoo Fitness app with my KICKR Snap trainer. The Wahoo Fitness app controls the KICKR Snap and monitors a heart rate sensor (Wahoo TICKR X) and cadence sensor. I also use the phone for offline navigation hiking apps (Gaia GPS & BackCountry Nav).

Recently the LG android phone updated to the Marshmallow operating system, and since then the phone's Bluetooth connectivity it junk and is no longer usable with fitness apps (Bluetooth sensors continually drop and it totally screws up controlling the KICKR Snap). Online searches show lot of LG G3 phones have Bluetooth problems after the Marshmallow update and there apparently is not a fix being worked.

Has any other Android phone users had Bluetooth problems after the Marshmallow update?

I was considering updating my phone to a Galaxy S7, but now I'm strongly considering an iPhone 6S (always used Android phones in the past). I'm guessing iPhone iOS updates are more stable since iOS only runs on their own hardware, as compared to Android which has multiple phone hardware vendors. Anyway, I'm frustrated that the fitness apps I use on my LG phone are no longer working after the Marshmallow OS update.

tedder

I'm on the Nexus 5x with Marshmallow and it's fine. I use the KICKR, RFLKT, ELEMNT, TICKR, BlueSC.

lardo20

Thanks for your input. Maybe this is just an LG G3 problem. I've tried multiple things (turning Bluetooth off/on, repairing sensors, power cycling phone, remove/reinstall apps) without any success so far. Same behavior with both Wahoo Fitness & MapMyFitness apps. Both worked great until the Marshmallow update.

tedder

Yeah, I know it doesn't completely help you, but I wanted to give you a datapoint.

Sorry for the headache.

I assume you've used "forget" on the sensors? Also you can try disabling the power savings mode on the (wahoo) Fitness app. The fact you've tried with two apps makes me think it's a BT issue, not an app issue, though.

lardo20

Yes I did, but no luck.

It's probably safest to either buy a Nexus phone (if I want to stay with Android) or buy an iPhone. That would minimize the headaches when they roll out an OS update.

It seems like other Android phone vendors add their own bloatware and apps (which you usually can't remove), which degrades the performance and in this case possibly created a BT problem.

tedder

Yep. They are generally the best-supported. We both went to the 5x so we could get on Project Fi. If I didn't hate the UI I'd be wise to switch to an iPhone.

I know none of this helps you though :/

estasnyc

Have you looked into the possibility of rooting your phone? That will give you the ability to remove any bloatware.

If you're going to get a new phone anyway you could try that first although there's always the risk of bricking your phone if you make a serious mistake.

I have a carrier-unlocked Motorola Moto E 4G LTE that I bought direct from Motorola on which I was able to unlock the bootloader as a prerequisite for rooting. You can't do this with any of the carrier versions of this phone.

If any of this is gibberish for you then get a new phone.

Rooting breathed new life into my phone. I was able to install many more apps than could otherwise fit into the 8GB of the phone's storage.

There's a 32GB microSDXC size limit that's actually more about the lack of compatibility with Microsoft's exFAT file system than any physical or electrical issue. I'm able to use all of a 64GB microSDXC card by splitting the storage into two partitions to have a 32GB FAT32 file system and the remainder as an ext4 file system to be used by the Linux operating system that lays hidden underneath all of the Android stuff.

Again, if any of this is gibberish for you then get a new phone.

lardo20

Thanks for the rooting idea. No, I haven't tried rooting my phone yet. I have friends that have rooted their phones, but I've never tried it myself. As I'm eligible to upgrade my phone (and I wouldn't mind getting a new phone anyway), I'll probably just buy a new phone.

I'd like to avoid this type of issue in the future with a new phone though, and it's probably safest to either buy a Nexus phone (or as you mentioned an Android phone that you can root), or just buy an iPhone. The Project Fi that @tedder mentioned sounds interesting.

dwing

Any progress with a fix to this? I'm experiencing same issue; LG3 bluetooth wahoo cadence and TickR sensors had been working perfectly until the OS update. Now the sensors drop and connect every 30 seconds. Tried forgetting the sensors and re-adding, etc still doesnt work.

mactagger

I have had similar issues with my GPS after a marshmallow update to my oneplus 2. When the screen is off, the GPS turn off after 5 to 10 min of use. I tried to turn off the battery optimization which but it made no change for me. I think this is a faulty implementation of doze or some battery saving scheme. Try and see of you have any luck with turning off the battery optimization for the apps you use. Good luck!

In addition, I have to second what was said about nexus devices. Best software support for any android device, so if my next phone is an android, I'm back to using nexus again.

John_V 

I'm not an Android user but I do use my iPhone as my cycling computer along with the Wahoo RFLKT, TICKR, Blue SC and the Cyclemeter app. Everything was working just fine until Apple released iOS 9, then I started having the exact same issue that you are having, regardless of which app I was using (I use Wahoo Fitness as a backup cycling app). The issue was Wahoo's BT library that allows for communication between the app and the BT devices. Once Wahoo fixed the issue with their library and Cyclemeter released their app containing the new library, everything went back to normal. It's my understanding that almost all the major cycling apps use the Wahoo library to communicate with BT devices.

I don't know much about the Android OS but I understand that each phone manufacturer has certain requirements of the OS for their particular hardware. This may be the reason that you are having issues and others with different phones are not. I would contact Wahoo and see if they have any reported issues with their BT library on your model phone with the new OS and if so, are they working on a fix.

lardo20

I did submit a ticket with Wahoo support last night, and they responded early this morning (amazing response time!). Below is the main substance of their response:
I did some more google searches and ran across another vendor's discussion of the Android 6.0 Bluetooth issues (https://www.thetileapp.com/android-6...w-connectivity). The vendor (Tile Inc.) said they worked with Google on a fix and that a patch was implemented in the release of Android 6.0.1.

The Tile statement agrees with what Wahoo says.

Calla lily

I guess this is my problem too. I have a Samsung Galaxy s5. It updated to Marshmallow a few weeks ago. I use a RFLKT along with the Topeak Panobike speed and cadence sensor. The combo was working fine, with Marshmallow and the Wahoo app (the only app I could get to work with the sensor except the Topeak app which I didn't like), until last week. Now it's constantly dropping the connection with the Topeak sensor. It's strange that it was working with Marshmallow until last week, and then it worked 1 day out of 4.

Seattle Forrest

If you prefer Android over the walled garden, you can keep your phone and use a stand-alone bike computer, too.

lardo20

I've already ordered the ELEMNT bike computer (just waiting for delivery), but I also do other non-bike fitness activities which I used to use the phone to record my heart rate monitor.

Seattle Forrest

Personally, I just use a GPS watch whether I'm cycling, running, hiking, swimming, or something else. That gets me "one device to rule them all" but it's also pretty independent of my phone, so if a software update breaks things for a while or the battery runs out, I still have my data.

dwing

Update notes Re Lg3/wahoo fitness app/TickR/RPM/connection connecting & dropping every few seconds:
Submitted problem to Wahoo Support who answeered back saying they havent heard of the problem, lol, ok right. I'm guessing this would be resolved with the latest Marshmallow update but my carrier (att) and others probably arent releasing it to Lg3 owners for some reason.
So, i kept messing with it, uninstalled a bunch of apps and force stopped others, readded strava, wahoo fitness and utils, etc. and my tests just sitting while wearing TickR still resulted in connection constntly dropping and reconnecting.
Then, I did a training session and decided to turn "Connection Announcements" OFF, start a session, and watch MSN Sports app (Tour California). I noticed the connections dropping as usual as i started. But after watching Msn sports app for approx 30 mins i switched back to wahoo and the sensors were displaying and not dropping. Watched msnsports another 30, switched back and again the sensors appeared to b holding.
I've since done several 1hr+ rides. Sensors take a few minutes to connect, they drop/reconnect for a few more minutes, then they stay connected for remaining ride. I had Spotify playing music each time ,,probably doesnt have anything to do with it but just noting it. And I've watched and verified the sensors are displaying the correct readings as my cadence varies and HR changes on climbs.
So, at least it's working again other than starting out. The OS has not been updated nor has Wahoo Fitness. I think strava got an update, but it started "working" b4 that. There has been a bunch of other updates to other apps so maybe something changed.
Anyone having the issue i would suggest doing the wahoo usual reinstall, reset the profile, turn connect announcements off, start wahoo session, start another app and leave wahoo in the background until youre done. Do that a few times and then start switching back to wahoo during a ride to see if th sensors are holding.

Ravenwing

This has worked the best for me as well. I also have an old Garmin 800 that I use on the bike, but I don't sync it to Garmin Connect, just use it for the easy to read display. I track all my activities with my Fenix 3HR, and just carry the phone in case of emergencies. I've been fortunate with my LG V10 so far though, its been rock-solid with BT connections.

ericy

Resurecting this old thread - these bluetooth problems are biting me hard.

I have a bunch of Wahoo devices and a Galaxy S5 with Android 6.0.1. While the TICKR seems to behave well, the BlueSC simply fails to connect in any way shape or form. My Kickr has the same problem - simply can't do squat with it. The phone just spins - it can never find out the firmware version or read the sensor values.

I used to use this very same phone with these same Wahoo devices (except for the Kickr - just got that), and while it wasn't great, I was able to get it to work well enough to function. That was almost certainly before the current Marshmallow update. This summer I was using my new Bolt, so I never paid as much attention to the connections to the individual sensors until now.

As a workaround, I found my wife's old Galaxy S4, and I can connect with those. I had thought that Bluetooth was supposed to be getting better, and instead it has gotten worse.

I submitted a ticket with Wahoo - I don't know if anything will come of that or not.

Shadowx

Having problems here too, samsung galazy s7. after the update my polar beats app started locking up on longer rides. just started using wahoo fitness. Got a speed sensor on the front wheel and my heart rate monitor on my chest. phone on the handlebars I'm getting 3 out of 5 bars on bluetooth signal. speed sensor wont connect on the back wheel. not happy. Also its having trouble finding devices and connecting to them. so far restarting my pone every couple days when i am having problems seems to be a temporary fix.

ericy

Wahoo support is blowing me off. They are telling me that "my phone is not compatible" Try a different phone.

ericy

Wahoo may have blown me off, but Verizon came through, without my even needing to bug them (or Samsung) about it.

As it turns out, there was an update that they pushed down earlier today which corrected the problem:

https://www.phonearena.com/news/Veri...-patch_id98057

Quote:

The new software build to version MMB29M.G900VVRU2DQH2 brings the Android August 2017 security patch to the former flagship. In addition, the update fixes an issue that prevented the phone from connecting and pairing with some Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) devices.

Sure enough, after I installed the update, I could use the Wahoo Utility to connect to the Kickr and it was able to read the FW version and all of the other expected stuff. Before the update, the Wahoo app would just spin in circles and never return any information at all.