Zwift quietly released a new update that supports Wahoo Direct Connect. The update comes almost a year and three months after Wahoo released Direct Connect. With this update, you will be able to use Direct Connect adapter to hardwire your KICKR 5 or ROLLR to your home network via an Ethernet cable rather than using Bluetooth or ANT+ wireless connection.
Currently, Direct Connect is only available on Zwift for Mac OS, iOS, and Apple TV. Zwift game app v 1.23.3 or newer is required. Windows users should see Direct Connect support in an upcoming release as “this feature is still being polished for PC” according to Zwift.
BIKE TRAINER COMPATIBILITY
Wahoo KICKR 2020 (V5) and the recent Wahoo KICKR ROLLR support Direct Connect. No other trainer on the market support this option. For this to work, you also need to purchase the Direct Connect pod which you can get from Wahoo for $99.
HOW IT WORKS
The Direct Connect comes in this simple box. Inside you’ll find the Direct Connect dongle and a quick disconnect cable that connects to the KICKR’s RJ11 port.
You connect the Direct Connect pod to your KICKR using the supplied quick disconnect cable.
Then connect the Direct Connect pod to your Internet router using an ethernet cable. Mac users can connect the KICKR directly using an Ethernet cable to their Mac. Windows PC users should be able to do the same once the Zwift PC version gets updated with Direct Connect support.
Once everything is connected, open Zwift and go to the pairing screen. Open the power source pairing menu and you should see the KICKR listed with an Ethernet jack icon next to it. You can pair the cadence and controllable as well. And that’s all there is to it. You should now be able to ride and that should resolve all your dropout issues.
Have you tried it? Let me know your experience down in the comments.
Thanks for reading!
