Figured I’ll give a try for support before I contact TR. I recently got a replacement strap for my Wahoo Tickr HR (the original kind). Ever since this new strap I’m having hard time getting TR to recognize the HR monitor. Sometimes it takes a while, sometimes I have to remove and re-strap multiple times, and sometimes just doesn’t work.
Initially I thought it was the Wahoo hardware problem. I contacted Wahoo and they advised me to try updating the firmware on the Tickr, but it’s on the latest. I try re-setting by flipping the battery opposite side. All of these still doesn’t work. However, I noticed using the Wahoo app everything seems to be working fine. It recognize my HR right away even after strap remove. This leads me to possibly a TR issue.
My TR is on my Mac OS 11.1
Anyone have this problem? Can’t seem to figure out a fix. Thanks
Mine sometimes has trouble connecting if I have the TR app open on multiple devices. Sometimes TR is open on my phone when I’m trying to run the workout on my laptop and it can’t find the Tickr. Not sure if this will solve your issue but it might be somewhere to start.
Sometimes closing the app isn’t enough, I’ve closed the app, then turned bluetooth off to fully disconnect any bluetooth connections, turn bluetooth back on, then try connecting via trainerroad
i’ve had really bad experience with bluetooth for indoor training (HR, power meter, trainer), with my mid-2014 macbook pro (multiple versions of OSX), with trainerroad, fulgaz and zwift. i now use my phone for everything and haven’t had issues since.
Are you connecting the Tickr to TR (on the Mac) via BLE or Ant+? If BLE, then the Tickr can only make one (pre-2020 version) or two (2020 version) connections. Concur with all of the recommendations above to ensure that the Tickr is not connecting to another device (e.g. phone, head unit, etc) via BLE and using up its connection(s).
Thank you all for the feedback. I’ll make sure other stuff are not connected when I try today.
What’s interesting is when I’m just getting on the bike without touching anything, the Mac still doesn’t recognize the TR right away. This is before I checked the Wahoo app.
Here’s one for you. My Tickr will read a heart rate on my Garmin even when I’m not wearing the strap. Two scenarios happened recently.
I couldn’t find my Tickr so I started my ride w/o it, but noticed that there was a BPM reading on my Garmin head unit.
Today I took the Tickr off after I noticed the BPM reading “stall” out and stay at a specific number. I put it in my jersey pocket and the Tickr continued to display a BPM reading on my Garmin for the duration of the ride.
i had this on a new tickr recently - which was finally resolved with a firmware update. However, what i also noticed, indoors particularly, is the need to wet the strap sensors to ensure good connection to the skin. If I forget to do this 9/10 times TR won’t pick it up.
I was planning on creating a thread about this myself as I have had issues with Wahoo Tickrs for some time now, but have finally managed to resolve them.
I have a Tickr X, and I follow these steps to ensure consistent connectivity:
Prior to opening TrainerRoad app, remove the battery cover and battery.
Wet the electrodes on the strap
Insert the battery and close the batter cover
Connect the strap and put it on
Double tap the Tickr to see the battery and connection lights activate
Open TrainerRoad
Go to devices to see the Tickr / Tickr X
Ensure the electrodes are still damp
Once you’ve finished your ride, remove the strap, wipe down the Tickr / Tickr X and wash the strap and hang out to dry. Remove the battery cover and battery from the Tickr / Tickr X and set aside until next workout.
Since I have been following these steps, I have had no issues with connectivity or heart rate accuracy and am very pleased with the accuracy of the HRM.
Took a lot of bullshit and faffing about with Wahoo support but got there in the end.
Hope this helps! I would encourage you to argue with Wahoo support if it doesn’t work - I received two dud Tickrs in a row and wouldn’t take no for an answer. I paid $140 for a HRM, it should fking work.
Wow, pull the battery after each workout? That’s some commitment to making it work. I try to open those battery compartments as little as possible – the plastic is so soft and easy to strip.
As OCD as it sounds it’s become part of the routine, and I’ve had instant connectivity to TR and my Roam every time I ride now. The battery also lasts much longer. I have found the Tickr will drain through batteries very quickly even if not used for days at a time - not sure if other users have experienced this but I’ve seen my Tickr randomly turn on throughout the day even though I don’t have TR open or my Roam on. So taking the battery out has become second nature to washing out my bottles, drying out my shoes etc.
As for the battery cover, yes they are flimsy but easy to open without using a tool - just depress slightly with thumb and twist and they open very easily.
I upgraded from a old to new tickr so I could have two Bluetooth connections running at the same time. It worked great for three months but has been on the fritz the last fortnight.
Initially, recorded heart rate was inaccurate (low) by 25%, which meant I took the strap off part way into trainer road workouts and ditched it. Does anyone know how to check if this is negatively affecting my HRTSS estimates? Perhaps someone from the TR team can chime in? @IvyAudrain intervals.icu has an option to “disregard HR for this workout”, which I have done on that site. see Shining and Tioga below
Two days ago, a firmware update appeared for the tickr, so I installed it and instead of reading 60% of real value (compare to my Apple Watch), The problem is now that it reads double my heart rate.
I’ve tried flipping over the battery, wetting the electrodes, cleaning the connections, and I’m about to warranty the thing. Any other suggestions before I return it? Thanks
There’s a known issue with the straps. I had the an older Tickr strap fail last last year. Replaced the strap, still didn’t address the issue. I replaced the Tickr early this year. It worked for a while and then had issues in both connecting and in reporting accurate data. After trying all the tricks I found in Google searches, I finally reached out to support. It turned out I was using an older version of the strap, even though I bought it brand new ( suspect: Amazon, clearing out old supply). Wahoo sent me a new strap. I used it some, but by that point I had moved onto Polar.
I would push on the strap side of things and make sure you have the most recent generation strap.
My experiences with the 1st gen and 2nd gen Tickrs seems to suggest that having two connections running simultaneously is useless, haven’t had any success with it whatsoever.
When I had serious issues prior to adopting my OCD routine, I unpaired and uninstalled my Tickr from TR/iPhone etc and began the pairing process all over again and then updated it within the Wahoo app. Seems to have worked for me ever since.
If you don’t have any luck with this, I would strongly suggest you contact Wahoo - here is the response I sent them a while back about my Tickr (which would just sit at 120bpm permanently, no matter how hard I trained)
I don’t believe a 20% off voucher is sufficient given that I expected the heart rate monitor to last longer than one year, especially considering Australian Consumer Law I am entitled to be covered by consumer guarantees that a product sold will work - my HRM in particular hasn’t been working as I expected it to and I believe I am entitled to a replacement, not just $27.99 off a new one.
They sent me a new one following this. I am a really patient person, perhaps too patient sometimes. But this whole experience really ground my gears and I had had enough.
I had a Gen 1 Tickr that worked flawlessly for the past year. Midway thru that time, one of the electrodes on the strap became delaminated (still worked fine, but didn’t want to make it any worse with additional wear). I ordered a replacement off-brand strap from Amazon which worked great with the Tickr hooked onto it. I should have reached out to Wahoo instead since people have had success with getting replacement straps.
Anyways, a couple of weeks ago, I misplaced the Tickr unit so I ended up ordering a brand new Gen 2 Tickr. It paired instantly to my iPad running the TrainerRoad app. However, the readings were very erratic and completely inaccurate at times. For example, I did a ramp test and it detected my heartrate was lower at the upper steps vs. lower steps.
I reached out to Wahoo customer support telling them about the inaccuracies and even showed them the screenshot of the ramp test (with the HR line). They provided a list of things to troubleshoot. None of them worked for me, so they ended up sending a brand new unit that’s arriving sometime next week.
