HR broadcast to Garmin Edge 1000

[Blieker]

Hello. 

I can connect to the Garmin Edge but he don’t broadcast the HR. 

Anyone?

[Triletics]

@Blieker Edge 1000 supports only ANT+ sensors. You can't pair BLE HR monitor with it.

[Blieker]

Nope. Also BLE 100%

[Triletics]

@Blieker my old Edge 1000 didn't support sensors. It supported BT but sensors worked only via ANT+ but that was long ago (Edge 1000 has been discontinued quite a while ago). Might be the support came with one of firmware updates but I'm not aware of that (searching official forums, people mention only ANT+ sensors working with Edge 1000 🤔). Have you tried to pair Charge 6 with any other receiver (for example, PC and Zwift)? That would give at least evidence that broadcasting works.

[Blieker]

I’m very sorry. I have a edge 1030. This must support ble sensors. It connect bit shows no hr

[Triletics]

@Blieker 1030 does support BLE (now I own 1030+ and it does support BLE and ANT+ so 1030 is no different). If you can see it on the list of sensors and connect but it doesn't receive HR then the problem is most likely on the Charge 6 side. I can't verify it though as I don't have Charge 6. Like I said before, try to pair it with another receiver. If you'll have same issue then apparently something is off with C6 broadcasting (and knowing how solid 1030 is this is my bet).

[Blieker]

Thanks. It works fine with the ipad and zwift. 

[Triletics]

@Blieker I tried to use broadcasting from the different watch as it cannot be so different so here are some thoughts. Make sure you are not paired with any other device. If previously you broadcasted to iPad or any other receiver make sure they will not hi-jack the connection again. That happened to my G. watch (even if the app on the phone wasn't running it remembered being paired to the phone and refused to be found by 1030). Also, I noticed 1030 looks for ANT+ sensors first and not finding BLE HR. Probably you already did that but here's some hint:

It may however not be your case. I suspect, the 1030 stops on ANT+ sensors in case any such sensor is found (my watch supports both, ANT+ and BLE). One thing I noticed is that there is a delay before you can see your HR on the screen on the bike computer. Maybe give it a few more seconds and it may appear (like it did on mine)? Otherwise, I'm not sure what else I could do to help you. Certainly, not going to buy Charge 6 just for troubleshooting 🤣

[shinboner]

I have the same problem Unfortunately the HR broadcast feature does not seem to work with bike computers. Tried it with Garmin 1040 solar and Elemnt roam, both connected no problem but will not show HR. Tried it on Zwift it connects and then broadcasts. With Zwift I got a approve to share on the 6 but this was not the case with the 2 bike computers.

[Triletics]

@shinboner interesting. I'm wondering what's different about bike computers. The HRM BLE protocol is quite standard although it might be some things may not be implemented by Fitbit correctly to match the spec fully and bike computers expect implementation match to work. Zwift may be more forgiving. I have no issue with broadcasting from Fenix 6 and 7 to my 1030+ over BT. But knowing Fitbit, they tend to cut corners rushing to get product out the door and not fully testing it (apparently, they didn't test it with bike computers). I have old PolarV650 which supports only BT so if I ever get C6 I can test it against it, too (my Garmin watches broadcast to it with no issues).

[shinboner]

Yeah, I'm not sure but its super disappointing as thats what I bought it for. Wanted a sleek little tracker to broadcast to Zwift and on the bike. looks like I will be returning it as I dont have a great deal of faith that it will be fixed anytime soon knowing Fitbit/Google.

[Triletics]

@shinboner for that purpose it makes more sense to look for something that supports ANT+. My experience with BLE sensors isn't great. BLE isn't as stable and easy to use as ANT+. Zwift was dropping connection randomly (from anything, from HRM to smart trainer). That was super annoying. Eventually, I got USB ANT+ dongle that works with PC but also with mobile phones and tablets (via OTG). Much better solution. ANT+ is a superior tech to BLE when it comes to sensors and if I think how much time I wasted interrupting Zwift workouts because connection of any sensor dropped.... getting angry just thinking about it 🤣

[Blieker]

Me exactly the same. Very disapointing. I think that is send my back...

[shinboner]

Yep, Thats what I was thinking. Are there any smaller trackers that broadcast via Ant+?

[Triletics]

@shinboner this is more complicated. ANT+ is usually domain of more expensive sports watches and smaller trackers rarely support it. But think whether you need to broadcast at all. You may be better off with something that can connect to external HRM (tracker or watch) and use that HRM with Zwift and bike computer. Majority of sports brands supports external HRM connectivity. If you don't want chest strap (which probably is best for accuracy) you may go with armband like Polar Verity Sense (it's tiny HRM that supports ANT+ and BLE and is very accurate). Think what you really need because broadcasting from watch may be a solution but not the only one. I never broadcast from watch (maybe once or twice when I forgot external HRM). Instead, I connect external HRM to all devices I want to get HR on (so watch, bike computer, Zwift and whatever there may be are fed from the same source).

[Triletics]

I tried to broadcast HR from Galaxy Watch 5 (using 3rd party app) and I encountered a similar problem. While I could connect to mobile phone and PC and successfuly receive HR, my 1030+ found the HRM but hasn't connected properly. Also, instead name of the sensor I could only see its BT MAC address (is it the case for you with Charge 6?). I contacted a guy who wrote the app for Galaxy Watch whether he encountered (or tested it with bike computers). The app is still in development so that may change but seems like it's implementation problem. I believe both Charge 6 and the app I used on GW5 skipped something crucial that is needed by bike computers 🤷

[shinboner]

On the 1040 and the Roam it did have the name Charge 6. In the instructions for the 6 it does say that it should come up with a notification on the 6 to approve sharing, that did happen connecting to Zwift on the MAC but I could get no notification to share with the bike computers

[Triletics]

@shinboner @Blieker I think I know why it doesn't work. When pairing the Charge 6 with a mobile phone there is an extra BLE handshake done that forces the user to confirm sharing HR before the connection is fully established. However, the majority of fitness equipment skips that for a very simple reason - it's unlikely the external heart rate monitor will have the ability to confirm anything. Chest straps or armbands have no display or any way to interact back to the device that requests connection. Usually, after selecting the BLE HRM the connection is established instantly without any extra communication. It's obvious the developers had no idea how external HRMs work. On 1030 after finding the device the "connect" button disappears right away because 1030 "thinks" after the initial connection, it's all done so doesn't push towards an extended handshake. I tried to pair C6 with Fenix 7 as external HRM and it shows exactly the same behaviour. In other words, this feature is not going to work with the majority of fitness equipment.

[Matt_bike]

I agree with the assessment, as to the cause of the lack of connectivity.

I hope the firmware update can solve that, the connectivity to my bike computer is literally the only reason I got this Fitbit.

[Triletics]

Today, I noticed interesting behavior. When I was starting my run, I had Charge 6 and Fenix 7. Before, I tried to test whether Charge 6 could broadcast to Fenix 7. It failed but I left it on the list of paired sensors. Today, when I launched Run, I saw the message "Charge 6 connected" despite Charge 6 wasn't broadcasting! Of course, I didn't get any HR because it didn't connect correctly but there is something very strange in Fitbit's implementation. Later, I checked other devices and the same. On Edge 1030+ I can open a list of sensors, press "Connect" and it does connect. Charge 6 must be broadcasting something all the time because all the devices see it and try to connect. It must be responding with something that confirms a connection without really establishing it.