Combined Shape Bike IQ

BLE Broadcast

BLE Broadcast turns your iPhone into a Bluetooth sensor. Instead of only receiving data, Bike IQ sends its own out, so a head unit on your bars can record the heart rate, speed, cadence, and estimated power that Bike IQ is working out.

BLE Broadcast is part of Bike IQ Pro.

Why You Might Want It

The obvious case is the one where you already own a head unit and do not want to give it up. Bike IQ's virtual power meter estimates watts from physics rather than from a strain gauge, and cadence comes from your iPhone's motion sensors. Neither of those exists on a Garmin or a Wahoo. Broadcast them and your head unit records them as though you had bought the hardware.

It is also how you get Bike IQ's data into anything that speaks standard Bluetooth sensors: a smart trainer, a second phone, a friend's computer, or an indoor app.

What Gets Broadcast

Bike IQ advertises itself as three standard Bluetooth sensors at once, which is why head units recognize it without any setup on their side:

  • Heart Rate
  • Speed and Cadence
  • Cycling Power, including crank revolution data

Because these are the standard profiles, your head unit pairs with Bike IQ the same way it pairs with any strap or power meter. It does not need to know what Bike IQ is.

Turning It On

  1. Go to Configuration → Integrations → BLE Broadcast and turn BLE Broadcast on.
  2. With Bike IQ open and in the foreground, put your head unit into its sensor search.
  3. Bike IQ appears as a heart rate, speed and cadence, or power sensor. Add whichever you want.

The Status section tells you where you stand: Advertising shows whether Bike IQ is currently discoverable, and Connected Devices counts how many head units are subscribed right now.

Approving Devices

Anything trying to subscribe has to be approved by you first. The first time a head unit connects, Bike IQ asks whether to allow it, and only then does data start flowing. Approved units are listed under Trusted Devices and reconnect on their own from then on.

Tap a trusted device to choose exactly what it receives. Heart rate, speed, cadence, and power each have their own switch, so you can send power to the head unit that records it and keep the rest off. A device you turn down goes to Denied Devices, receives nothing, and stops asking. Swipe it away if you change your mind and want to be asked again.

Things Worth Knowing

  • Pair with Bike IQ in the foreground. Your head unit needs to find Bike IQ while the app is on screen. Once paired, it reconnects normally.
  • Broadcasting and recording work together. Bike IQ keeps recording your ride while it broadcasts, so you get the ride in both places rather than choosing one.
  • Sensors you have paired still come in. Broadcasting out does not stop Bike IQ receiving from your own Bluetooth sensors. A real power meter reading is passed along in place of the estimate.
  • It costs battery. Advertising over Bluetooth runs continuously. Turn it off when you are not using it. See battery life.

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