

The links below are affiliate links, which means that if you choose to make a purchase, as an Amazon Associate I’ll earn a commission. Dodgy connections are a pain, especially when you’re racing.

Sometimes, the other programs can take over or divert power away from the USB port.Ĭonsider getting an electrically-powered USB hub. The other thing to be aware of is power to the USB. The salt can easily destroy a USB dongle and may cause damage to the computer itself. Even with a fan, pain cave’s abound with sweat and heat. Lastly, the dongle itself may need to be fairly robust. However, if you have one of the older ones it is worth checking they are not relying on some old proprietary software. The first thing you need to know is that your trainer links up to it.įortunately, most smart turbo trainers and smart watches like Garmin Forerunners have ANT+ these days. The best way to think about an ANT+ stick is that it is a bridge. What you should be looking for in an ANT+ USB dongle When you’re riding up Alpe du Zwift, the application tells the trainer how hard the gradient is.Īnd the trainer changes the resistance and tells the application how hard you are training. your smart trainer and computer, use to talk to one another. It is a wireless technology protocol that devices, i.e. What ANT+ isĪNT+ is an acronym for Adaptive Network Topology, a openly available (but closed) technology made available by Garmin. Here we look at your usb ANT+ dongle options, as well as what ANT+ is and why you might want to choose it ahead of Bluetooth. No matter how good your smart trainer is, if you are using a laptop you will need it to talk to your computer. So here we look at your options when it comes to getting the best ANT+ dongle for Zwift. You'll need a USB2 stick no matter what devices you're pairing.Connectivity is crucial no matter what indoor cycling app you are using.
Test garmin usb ant stick mac#
TrainerRoad Windows and Mac Desktop App: USB1 sticks are not supported on either our Windows Desktop or new Mac Desktop software. Note: if you've updated to the new Mac app, you will need to use USB2. You will need a USB2 dongle to use the Wahoo KICKR with the TrainerRoad Legacy desktop app. TrainerRoad Mac Legacy (Adobe Air) Desktop App: USB1 dongles will work with TrainerRoad Legacy (Adobe Air) on Mac Desktops unless you're trying to pair a Wahoo KICKR. The above ANT+ USB sticks are all examples of USB2 products.

Additionally, all mini ANT+ USB sticks are USB2.

If neither of the above are applicable to your ANT+ stick, it's probably USB2. If you have a Garmin-manufactured stick, the inner portion of the plug-in point will be white. The stick will be labeled "USB1-Wireless USB Stick" on the reverse side of the stick.Ģ. You can tell if your ANT+ stick is a USB1 model in two ways:ġ. However, if you're using an older ANT+ stick, there's a chance it may be USB1. All recently purchased ANT+ sticks will be of the USB 2 variety. Determining what kind of USB stick you haveĪNT+ USB 1 sticks are no longer in production. USB2 not only offers the ability to pair more devices, but it also features more robust connections once devices are connected. USB1 has 4 channels (and can thus connect up to 4 devices) whereas USB2 offers 8 channels (and can thus connect up to 8 devices). The number of channels determines how many devices the stick can handle, as each connected device operates on a single channel. The primary difference between USB1 and USB2 is the number of ANT channels the stick supports. Depending on your computer and device setup, the type of USB stick you use can matter. There are two types of ANT+ USB sticks: the USB1 and USB2 stick. If you're using TrainerRoad on a desktop or laptop computer with ANT+ devices, you probably already know that you need an ANT+ USB stick.
