Control laptop workout from phone? [Companion App]

Reviving an old thread but has any progress been made on this feature request.

Similar to the above posters as I run TR on the laptop and can’t quite reach the keyboard without having to stop pedaling.

Having a companion app would be helpful to adjust intensity, swap workout modes or extend WU/CD

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This feature is still not on our development roadmap unfortunately :pensive:.

We have some major projects in the pipeline that we think will blow you guys away, and our Development Resources are currently devoted to those projects at this time.

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I do like being blown away.

:exploding_head: :point_left:

Consider using a wireless mini keyboard/mouse.

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I solved it by using an app called remoteMouse and haven’t thought about the request since. Just need to keep your phone within reach, which is required for the companion feature anyway.

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Hi,

Is it possible to use Trainer Road apps on PC and smartphone simultaneously, in sync, during a workout?
For instance, I would like to use my phone to connect peripherals and / or control a workout and I would like to watch messages, data, graphs on a big screen / PC monitor.
Similar like Zwift Companion and Zwift.

Thanks!

You could cast the phone to a bigger screen?

Plenty of us use TrainerRoad to control our Trainer, while sending data to control our avatar on zwift, so that aspect should be possible. However, I’ve never tried two TrainerRoad devices at the same time.

I’m kinda struggling to see the point over just hooking up the PC to do it all to be honest, but I could be missing something - a long time since I’ve used TR on PC!

Thanks for the reply! :slight_smile:
Used case scenario would be:

  • I am struggling to reach keyboard / mouse to control PC

  • There are technical issue to connect devices to PC - i.e. phone is closer to trainer, HRM, hence signal is better

So I wanna control things via phone, but watch workout on a big screen.
I would agree this is not a key issue, but I would like to have that option if it is possible.

I don’t intend to connect to TR and Zwift simultaneously.

I was more saying that it’s possible to control one device, and send to another device, with the TR/ Zwift thing.

fwiw, I used to use and Android box for TrainerRoad - I used a USB extension lead for the ant+ dongle, and a mini keyboard for keyboard/ mouse!

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There’s been a couple feature requests for a remote control app for the same reasons you have but I think it’s fairly low down the list.

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Thanks for the answer.
To sum it up, not possible what I asked for. At least for now.

No, it is possible…as noted, you can cast your phone to the larger screen (if it is a smart TV) and then control TR on the phone.

Or you can use a mini Bluetooth keyboard to control the PC. That’s what I do…I put a 1/4 turn mount on the bottom of it and it sits where my bike computer normally would, right in front of my HB.

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Well, it is not exactly what I asked for, but some half-tweak.

Bike is not in the same room like TV. I have PC with large monitor.
I need to sync phone app and PC app. That is what zwift companion does for instance.

Your second proposal assumes that devices are connected to the PC. One of potential issues is a weaker signal between PC and devices.
I can reach a mouse from my bike, although it is not convenient during a ride. I can use it to start and finish. It is true you don’t need much of control during a ride, but… sometimes you do.
Also, I can install some touchpad app on my phone to control PC i don’t need additional device.
But possible device connectivity issue remains.

So, basically, those are all workarounds. As I understand, there isn’t a solution provided by Trainer Road.
As I already mentioned, I can live with that, I just want more convenience. :slight_smile:

USB extension cable? When I used one, my ant+ dongle was nearer the trainer than my phone on the computer mount is.

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yes, that would probably be an option. I ordered ANT+ dongle and that would be it.
I should live with control via mouse if I want to watch workout on a big screen.

Anyway, even in that case, it would be nice to have some sync between phone app and PC app. :slight_smile:

@zvm, I merged your post with an existing Feature Request that is very similar.

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I would love this feature as well. A “companion” app like Zwift has. Sometimes I get off my bike to drop my power a wee bit if I’m struggling. I’d prefer not to have to get off the bike. I’m gonna have to hook up a wireless keyboard and have it sit on a box or something near me next time, and even that is a PITA.

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Well that’s a disappointment. The app should of course be able to run as a client to the desktop app, like the Zwift Companion. It’s not exactly rocket science.

I just signed up, enticed by the better plans (Zwifts plans are decent, but they are unable to handle stuff coming up, like getting sick. No adjustments possible, its back to the beginning or just accepting that you lost a week), but I didn’t realise the mobile apps were so behind. We’ll see after I’ve tried TR a bit more, getting a better feel for the pros and cons, but stuff like this makes me consider taking the 1 month refund and just accept the inflexible Zwift plans.

I realize this request/thread is really old. But I’ve recently started using TR on my mac, which is connected to a larger monitor on my desk some distance from my bike+trainer setup. And, I have basically the same question as those who originally posted here — perhaps with a twist. Why can’t the existing TR app on my phone function as a ‘remote’ to the TR app on my mac (when running workouts off the mac)? My question relates to being able to do basic things like adding warm-up / cool-down times to workouts, or increase/decrease intensity, etc

This is precisely what Spotify does with both its iOS app and its Mac OS app. And, how I actually use it while doing TR workouts. I listen to Spotify from my mac (so I also get the TR interval chimes), but control playback of songs, podcasts, etc with the Spotify app on my phone at the same time.

I may be oversimplifying things, but this seems within the realm of possibility.

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Use a mini Bluetooth Keyboard……I put a quarter-turn mount on the back and it sits in front of my HB where my Wahoo normally would.

image

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