Cycling and fitness app Strava has announced it will be ending direct Bluetooth and ANT+ device pairing with its mobile apps.
In an email sent out to Strava Summit subscribers, the company explains the pairing of Bluetooth and ANT+ heart rate monitors and power meters is causing the app to crash.
“We recently discovered that pairing Bluetooth heart rate monitors and power meters directly with the app is causing Strava to crash for millions of athletes—most of whom don’t use these kinds of sensors. So to significantly improve the stability of the app, we’ll no longer support direct Bluetooth and ANT+ device pairing as of October 28, 2019,” writes Strava.
To be clear, those using standalone GPS watches and bike computers such as those from Garmin or Wahoo, for example, are not affected (those are more expensive than just a heart rate monitor). Only those looking to pair Bluetooth and ANT+ devices to the Strava app will no longer be supported.
Strava ends their email to offer a 20% off promo code for a Polar Vantage line of watches.
Of course, some people were not happy about the decision on social media.
Wow, @Strava is dropping direct Bluetooth sync from its apps. I have a couple of thoughts – a quick thread. (1/8) pic.twitter.com/2BYYKKx6GZ
— Freddy W. (@freddy_waller) October 16, 2019
Hey @Strava, after you stop direct Bluetooth syncing, I’ll need to use something else to record my activities. There’s not much point in paying for a subscription after that…
— dunxsta (@dunxsta) October 16, 2019
So @Strava was having difficulty getting Bluetooth to work properly tracking workout data and instead of fixing it — they give up? No Bluetooth = end of subscriptions #figureitout
— Patrick Milan (@pmilan) October 16, 2019
If you’ve been using a Bluetooth heart rate monitor for tracking your cycling or runs, than this hurts as you won’t be able to pair your unit to the Strava app. But if you’re an Apple Watch user, the Strava Apple Watch app does record your heart rate (it can be spotty at times, versus a dedicated heart rate monitor we’ve found).
