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Fitness+ Apple Fitness+ Device Disconnecting

L

lambo13

macrumors member
Original poster
Nov 11, 2009
31
4
Have an Apple Watch Series 4 connecting to an Apple TV HD. Connects great, workouts start and I'm into it. Then it disconnects randomly. Has happened three times between yesterday and today, seemingly at random intervals. Sometimes I can finish a workout without disconnection, other times it happens a few minutes in.

Anyone else experiencing this type of disconnecting behavior? And if so, any thoughts on how to fix it?

Annoyingly, when it disconnects, you can't simply reconnect and resume your workout, because that would make too much sense. Even worse, when you reconnect the watch and restart the video you can't fast forward to where you left off!

Maddening. And so, so frustrating for a service that seems to be so otherwise highly polished.
 
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I definitely experienced this on a treadmill workout. At the same time, I noticed that my HR, distance etc didn't match the screen...then after a few minutes...it will disconnect. Seems promising but I couldn't even finish the first workout. I suspect it MAY be the distance from my tv to treadmill or that I was using AirPods connected to the AppleTV at the same time.

Also noticed it had a tuff time getting started...kept auto-pausing.
 
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jakespeed said:
I definitely experienced this on a treadmill workout. At the same time, I noticed that my HR, distance etc didn't match the screen...then after a few minutes...it will disconnect. Seems promising but I couldn't even finish the first workout. I suspect it MAY be the distance from my tv to treadmill or that I was using AirPods connected to the AppleTV at the same time.

Also noticed it had a tuff time getting started...kept auto-pausing.
Click to expand...
That's interesting - I also had AirPods connected to my AppleTV as well. Wonder if that's a factor.

In my case the distance wasn't an issue. I moved the Apple TV out in the open in front of our tv, just a few feet from where I was lifting.

I did however just do another workout but using Fitness+ on my iPad and it maintained a solid connection throughout.

Still can't believe they don't offer a resume function or the ability to fast forward through a workout. Seems insane.
 
Maybe I will try it from my phone and cast next time to see how that works. Could then pair my AirPods to the TV to listen.
 
jakespeed said:
I definitely experienced this on a treadmill workout. At the same time, I noticed that my HR, distance etc didn't match the screen...then after a few minutes...it will disconnect. Seems promising but I couldn't even finish the first workout. I suspect it MAY be the distance from my tv to treadmill or that I was using AirPods connected to the AppleTV at the same time.

Also noticed it had a tuff time getting started...kept auto-pausing.
Click to expand...
I got disconnected this morning on my first try. I was wearing Powerbeats pro headphones. Maybe you found something.
 
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I had the same issue yesterday, my watch was connected to an ATV HD, about 20 mins into a 30 min HIIT workout it disconnected. The last ~5 mins of the workout my activity data wasn't in sync with what was actually on my watch. Super frustrating bc I couldn't resume the workout! I had AirPods connected to my ATV as well. I'm going to try it with my ATV 4K and see if that makes a difference
 
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Interesting, this just happened to my wife 20 min into a 30 min strength workout. She didn't have any bluetooth headphones connected, but perhaps the distance to the appleTV is too much...
 
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This also happened to me. Series 4, Apple TV, and AirPods Pro connected to the ATV. Literally 5 feet away from the ATV. They need a quick fix of implementing a resume option, and then to address the issue permanently IMHO.
 
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Had this happen yesterday, so frustrating to put in 20 min+ of hard effort and then not be able to finish the workout! Had my AirPods connected to the ATV.
 
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I guess i feel lucky. I have 2 series 5 AWs that i rotate every day. I've run treadmill runs each day with AirPods Pro attached to ATV and haven't had any issues. How close is your ATV to your treadmill? Mine is right next to it on a shelf, not behind the TV or anything like that.
 
Most of my workouts have ended suddenly midway through with the “device connection lost” message. The workout ends on both the Apple TV (HD) and my watch (series 6)

It seems as though the connection drops out a while before (heart rate and calories stop updating on the Apple TV but continue live on the watch) but after 5 or 6 minutes I get the dreaded “device connection lost” screen and am left sweaty and irritated.
 
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I’ve had this too.
Similar things through all the posts above (and elsewhere: reddit/Apple Support)
  • AirPods or Powerbeats connected
  • TV HD (4th gen)
Can anyone confirm if they’ve had the issue without one or both of these?
 
sammjordan said:
I had the same issue yesterday, my watch was connected to an ATV HD, about 20 mins into a 30 min HIIT workout it disconnected. The last ~5 mins of the workout my activity data wasn't in sync with what was actually on my watch. Super frustrating bc I couldn't resume the workout! I had AirPods connected to my ATV as well. I'm going to try it with my ATV 4K and see if that makes a difference
Click to expand...
Exactly the same scenario here except on a treadmill. I thought it was a distance issue so I moved the ATV closer to my treadmill but it happened again. Distance is about 2m between arm and ATV and it always seems to die at the 20 minute mark. It’s driving me nuts and I end up going back to my iFit workout.
 
Drababan said:
I guess i feel lucky. I have 2 series 5 AWs that i rotate every day. I've run treadmill runs each day with AirPods Pro attached to ATV and haven't had any issues. How close is your ATV to your treadmill? Mine is right next to it on a shelf, not behind the TV or anything like that.
Click to expand...
I think you are lucky. Personally, I’m not about to redesign my house around technology that doesn’t work. Six feet should be close enough. I’ve completed all my one hour runs with AirPod Pro connected to the ATV with no issue. The fact that this always happens at the 20 minute mark tells me it’s something else.
 
This has happened to me with series 4 watch connected to Apple TV 4K, nothing else connected and watch within 5 ft of Apple TV at all times.
 
This has happened to me while using F+ on ATV with Watch Series 5 and 6, with and without Power Beats Pros, but only on workouts with more active content. EG: Disconnected during treadmill and rowing workouts, but not yoga or core workouts. SO frustrating.
 
I was having this issue a lot. Then today, I completed my first workout on the Apple TV. The only thing that changed was I connected my Apple TV to Ethernet! There’s a thread on Reddit about trying to suss out this issue too.
 
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Just wanted to confirm that for me the connection also died right around the 20 minute mark. I did attempt another treadmill workout yesterday and managed to get through without the headphones connected...however it DID keep auto-pausing on me around the same time frame. After that it continued on without any trouble.

For now, I'm headed back to Peloton....hopefully it improves soon.
 
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Disconnects on Spin, Yoga, HIIT and Strength workouts with AW6, ATV and AirPod Pros. However, workouts complete with AW5 and ATV 4K.
 
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Same problem with me - 'Device lost connection' comes up randomly during workouts with AW3, ATV and AirPod Pros. Have spoken to Apple (they didn't seem to think this was a recognised issue) who suggested unpairing and re-pairing my watch with my phone. I'm not convinced this will work so will try workouts with iPad first to narrow down the issue.
 
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This happened to me three times today, a few mins into a 10 minute workout, 10 mins into a 30 minute workout, and about 7 minutes into a 20 minute workout. I also had my airpods connected to the TV. Will try next time no airpods and see if that fixes the issue.
 
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