Strava mobile app to lose support for Bluetooth and ANT+ sensors
Come October 28, Strava will remove direct Bluetooth and ANT+ sensor support for Summit members using its mobile app. The news was first announced in early September, with Strava recently sending out another reminder of the impending feature removal.
Strava’s original statement — included below — points to a lack of app stability as the reason for removing support of external sensors. The company then goes on to suggest that its users should use an alternative app if sensor data is needed, such as the Wahoo Fitness app.
It’s an update that has seen a number of vocal online users cancel their paid subscriptions to Strava Summit. Thought-leaders in the space, such as Ray Maker of DCRainmaker, have been quite critical of Strava, too.
This has hit the news again as Strava has informed all remaining users that sensor pairing goes away Oct 28th because Strava can’t make their app stable (actual wording). So they recommend other stable apps instead. I feel like Strava really tries extra hard to annoy their users. https://t.co/JnxrADPc5h
— Ray Maker (@dcrainmakerblog) October 16, 2019
With one fewer connection option for users of power meters, heart rate, cadence and other external sensors, I don’t doubt that GPS device companies are currently rubbing their hands in glee.
Below is the statement taken from Strava’s support website.
“As of October 28th, 2019, Bluetooth and ANT+ sensors will no longer pair directly with the Strava phone app. This means that, for example, if you record activities using the Strava phone app, you will not be able to record your heart rate or other Bluetooth sensor data. Supporting Bluetooth devices was causing the app to crash during recording, whether or not a sensor was connected. Disabling this feature significantly improves recording stability for all athletes.
While this update will reduce crashes for millions of athletes, we understand that it will be disappointing for the athletes who do use the feature.
Strava will continue to record heart rate from sensors in our Apple Watch, Samsung Galaxy/Gear and Android WearOS apps. Sensors connected to or built into a watch or cycling computer are not affected by this change. Any activities that include sensor data that were recorded with a third-party device or app that syncs with Strava will upload as normal.
How to upload data from your Bluetooth or ANT+ sensor to Strava
The easiest way to upload your data is to record your activities with sensor data using the Wahoo Fitness app. It works with both sensor types and can automatically upload your activities to your Strava account.”
Is the Bluetooth and ANT+ connection something you made use of in Strava’s phone app? If so, where will you head now?
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