Strava reintroduces Bluetooth app connectivity after causing frustration by removing heart rate monitor pairing

Strava has reintroduced the Bluetooth connectivity on the app after the frustration by many users when it was removed. 

The social media app for platform announced on Wednesday (November 18) that users would be able to pair their Bluetooth heart-rate monitors to the app once again, allowing them to track their beats per minute without the need for a separate GPS device. 

In October 2019, Strava announced that its app would no longer support Bluetooth and ANT+ device pairing due to a bug. 

Strava said that connecting the app with Bluetooth and ANT+ sensors was causing the software to crash. 

A Strava spokesperson said at the time: “In August we made the decision that Bluetooth and ANT+ sensors would no longer pair directly with the Strava phone app.

“We had seen significant fall in the proportion of people using this method of bringing data into Strava over the last few years, and we communicated to affected members directly at the time to tell them what was happening.

“Enabling Bluetooth and ANT+ connections directly with the app was making Strava unstable for millions of our members, regardless of whether they used the feature, so we felt like we had to make this difficult decision.”

 Nothing changed for Strava users who record using a GPS watch or bike computer a like a Garmin, but for anyone who used the app for their activities they were no longer able to measure power or heart rate data.  

The decision was met with consternation, as many users said they still used the app to record activities, while some questioned why Strava didn’t fix the bug. 

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But now after a period of BETA testing, Strava has reintroduced heart-rate monitor connectivity on the app, which will be welcome news to many users.