After a couple of unsuccessful attempts at getting my Zwift on I’ve found a super simple, and relatively cheap, way of accessing the online cycle trainer. Oh I forgot, wire free to boot!
Want to know more? Here’s how!
So you will need (click the links):
- A turbo trainer
- A tv
- A Bluetooth cadence and speed sensor
- An Amazon firestick
- A phone/tablet to run Zwift on
- A zwift account
Turbo trainer
You can use almost any turbo trainer, it doesn’t have to be a smart turbo. All you need to be able to do is pedal! I have used my Elite force mag elastogel.
Tv
Well the bigger the better I suppose? Mine was an old 32” Samsung I had kicking around. Tv must have a hdmi input to run an Amazon firestick.
Bluetooth cadence and speed sensor
Less than £10 will get you one of these from eBay. This will provide the ride data for the Zwift app.
Amazon Firestick
For £40 these things have to be one of the best little inventions in a long while. All the catch up tv and live free to air tv you want with a load of other handy apps alongside. And that’s what we will power the Zwift connection with.
Zwift account
Possibly the most expensive part of the whole affair. In honesty I did balk at the cost initially, £10 a month, but soon got over it after a quick trial seeing how it would reduce turbo boredom!
Phone/tablet
I’m running this all on an iPhone 6, but you can run on an iPad or on android compatibles as well. They must have Bluetooth capability and have it switched on.
Ok so you have all your stuff, here’s how you put it together.
1. Setup your turbo trainer in front of your tv at a sensible enough distance and height that you can see it when on the hoods.
2. Fit up your cadence/speed sensor as instructed.
Mine without zip ties cut!
3. Setup your amazon Firestick on the tv as instructed.
4. Install Zwift on your phone or tablet and setup an account.
5. Start the Firestick and go to the apps section. Download the app Airplay/DNLA received (this costs £1.84) as this is the app we will be screen mirroring to.
6. Run AirPlay and turn on screen mirroring on your phone/tablet. You should be able to select FireTV_99 in mirroring. You should now have your screen mirrored on the tv!
7. Start your Zwift app and login. On the paired devices screen select speed sensor and cadence sensor and follow the setup for turbo trainer and personal details.
8. Go zwifting!
Hope this is a help for anyone reading! I can’t say exactly how it would work for android devices but I can imagine it’s pretty similar.
Zwift mirrors smooth enough intro the big screen, I can imagine that it’s not as smooth as direct cable connection but it’s more than good enough for me!
Maybe I’ll see you around the cyber cycleways!
BC
BOURNEMOUTH CYCLIST 
It appears from your last screen that you have to have Apple TV to use this method. Is that right? I was looking to connect my iPhone 6 to Fire TV directly. I don’t have Apple TV. If I did, I’d just connect Zwift through Apple TV. Please clarify. Thanks!
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Hi there, you do not need Apple TV. You just need a WiFi connection and a screen mirroring app on your firestick. I used air pin but others are available. Both the firestick and your device must be connected to the same WiFi source as this is how it mirrors. The app on the firestick mimics an Apple TV. Hope that helps!
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Very new at this. With they way you have yours setup through firestick you can’t control the resistance on smart trainer correct? Because there is no communication to the smart trainer itself? I have a smart trainer. Trying to figure out how to connect my ipad to the trainer and run zwift. Not going well
Thank you
Bob
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Hi bob,
I’m not too sure on what you mean? The tv output is over tv mirroring and shouldn’t affect any Bluetooth connections. I still use my zwift to connect to the sensor on my turbo. Admittedly I’m not using a smart turbo trainer so don’t have experience to draw from on that one, but I’m fairly sure the turbo trainer wouldn’t use tv mirroring to connect.
Thanks
Jon
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Thank you. The instructions worked for me on my Firestick without an Apple TV
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No problems at all!
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Hi Jon – stumbled on this old post of yours. I’ve signed up for a fundraiser which requires me to ride 1,000 miles by the end of Jan. Struggling to commute on the bike in this weather and the turbo trainer on its own is direly boring. Might give this set-up a go as I have most of the kit anyway (rather than buy a smart trainer) – how do you fund Zwift with no power meter? Does it work OK with just speed and cadence sensor? Thanks – Stuart
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I Stuart, thanks for your comment. It works absolutely fine. Power meter is an expensive way to have the same fun!
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Hi. Not sure if this thread is still active? I have various ways of getting Zwift on my TV. I have tried firestick and it’s ok. If I use Android phone (beta) I can mirror to the full size of my screen but on iPhone, although in Landscape, I can’t get it to be completely full screen. I’ve played with Aspect ratios on the TV. Is there anything that you know of in the app settings or iphone settings to help with this?
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