ANT Forum

Hi all,
Having serious issues with ANT+ connectivity on the above phone. Primary use case for me is cycling computer, using IpBike, with following ANT+ sensors: Garmin Premium Heart Rate Monitor (soft strap), Garmin Bike Speed Sensor and Garmin Bike Cadence Sensor. Sensors work flawlessly with other ANT+ computers, so I presume the issue is with the Z5. Here are the observed behaviors, along with software configurations:
1) ANT+ Radio Service, ANT+ Demo, IpSensorMan, IpBike installed:
a. IpSensorMan detects all devices, then signal will be dropped between 5-20min after tracking.
b. ANT+ Demo does not detect devices unless ANT+ plugins service is installed (as per sys notification)
2) ANT+ Radio Service, ANT+ plugins service, ANT+ Demo, IpSensorMan, IpBike installed:
a. IpSensorMan and ANT+ demo will not detect speed, cadence sensors, will detect HRM strap, but will not report accurate figures and will drop signal entirely after 5-20min of tracking

Note that in all cases, the device will only re-detect the ANT+ signal after a full reboot. I have tried to kill/restart IpSensorMan, uninstall/reinstall ANT+ radio service and plugin service, uninstall/reinstall ANT+ Demo, and nothing works to make the Z5 pick up the ANT+ signal again short of a full reboot.

There are some observed behaviors that *may* be correlated, though I have not been able to replicate the correlations with enough confidence to know for sure:
1) Signal drops may be correlated with device checking for Gmail new messages
2) Signal drops may be correlated with device initiating 'Throw'

Any help would be much appreciated.      

Yes, it does sound similar. I am not a dev and phone is not rooted, but I am happy to root and/or walk through whatever steps you need to assist with debugging.

Update: I contacted Sony. After some back-and-forth they sent the below instructions. After I updated software I tested the device once. Three ANT+ sensors were detected/tracked and seemed to report accurately for over 1.5 hours. I am traveling now unfortunately so cannot test again for a few weeks, but something positive seems to have changed in the Sony code update.

Thanks.
Ben

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Dear Benjamin,

Thank you for contacting Sony Xperia™ Online Support.

In regard to your inquiry, we are sorry to hear that you are having issues with your device's ANT+ connectivity, however we'll be more than glad to assist you solve the issue as soon as possible.

In this case, the issue could be due to a minor bug in the device's software, therefore we suggest you perform a software repair in order to rule out any possible bug the device could have. Please keep in mind that this process erases the internal memory of the device, so we recommend that you perform a Data Back Up before proceeding with the software repair guide below.

We have an extended guide that should help you fix the issue on your phone, please follow the instructions carefully:

Visit this link:

http://www.sonymobile.com/us/tools/pc-companion/

Click on Download PC Companion

Run the software and install it

Turn the phone off and disconnect it from the computer


1. No matter what the program says do not connect the phone until you complete step 9
2. In the welcome screen you will see the different modules available for you including the "Support Zone" option. Click on "Start" below it.

3. On the next page Click on "Start" under "Phone Software Update"

At this point if you get an error stating that "Unable to install update components" or "Server is busy" , then please proceed to step 12

4. The program will say that there is no phone connected. Click on the option below that reads: "Repair my phone" the program will issue you a warning about the content that you will lose during the update
5. Choose the option to continue.
6. The program will issue a final message warning you of possible data lost during the update. Click on the checkmark and then on "Next".
7. After that, the program will download the necessary information (5 to 6 minutes) and it will present you with a list of phones.
8. Choose your phones model from the list then click on "Next" then you will see a new section telling you how to connect the phone. (don't connect it yet)

At this point the phone must be off and disconnected from the PC.

9. Connect the cable to the PC not to the phone, then while pressing and holding the indicated button (in the steps on screen an specific button will be shown for you to press on the phone) connect the cable to the phone and keep holding the indicated button until the program says "the update of your phone has started..." (in some cases a message of "Installing drivers" will appear before the message of "the update of your phone has started..." is shown.)
10. If you failed to follow the steps correctly the phone will turn on and it will request that you "Proceed with the following steps, slide down the notification bar", If this happens disconnect the phone from the cable, turn it off and repeat from step 9).
11. If the phone is connected properly, PC Companion will proceed with the update ( It will tell you to let go of the back key) then wait for the update to finish and follow instructions on screen to disconnect the unit.

Dear Customer,
12. If "Unable to install update components"
1. Close PC Companion
2. Install Java from: http://www.java.com
3. Start PC Companion again and try to do the software unlock process once more.

Note: If you wish only to update the unit wait for the program to open and then select the quick link on the upper left corner that says "Update Phone/Tablet" and follow the instructions to perform the update. (the PC may request for the phone to be placed in Mass Storage mode. Do this by going into Settings>Xperia>Connectivity>USB connection mode)


As part of Sony Mobile's commitment to excellent customer service, we offer a wide variety of mobile products to suit your lifestyle. If you require more information, or have any other questions, please visit http://www.sonymobile.com or call us at 1-866-766-9374.

Kind Regards,
Leonard



Sony Xperia US Customer Services      

I was able to test with a Garmin HR strap this morning in the hotel. The Z5 detected and accurately tracked for 2 hours, using the IpBike program and beta version of IpSensorMan.

Still happy to capture logs or test further if it would help you guys.      

Hi, quick update:
The Z5 dropped ANT+ signals three times this morning, and I tried my best to replicate in order to observe correlations. As far as I can tell, two things correlate with signal drops (note that all hardware/software config remains the same as per original post above unless otherwise noted):
1) Device checking Gmail. I watched this happen twice: IpBike indicates 'heart rate sensor stopped' and IpSensorMan indicates HRM status 'closed' almost immediately after a new email message notification appears on the status bar of the phone. The device will not detect ANT+ signals again until after full reboot.
2) BLE sensor detected. I observed this only once. The device picked up a BLE sensor within range (I do not usually use BLE sensors, this was just an oversight on my part) and immediately the ANT+ signal was dropped. ANT+ signal would not be detected again until a full reboot.

Nothing else on the device has changed since I ran the update as described on my 16 Feb post, unless Sony pushed an update to the phone without me knowing it. More than happy to fetch logs etc. if someone can walk me through the process. I am contacting Sony again with the same update, and will let you know if they post a useful fix.

Thanks,
Ben      

Hi wintersab,
With the new Sony Xperia Z3 and Z5, sony pushed an update sometimes in August into my phone. After that my Garmin cadence and speed bike sensor running with ipbike experienced signal lost. The ipbike app most heart breaking message is, "Are you on airplane mode?" Obviously i was not on airplane mode, I realised with the new Sony update , every app that was first installed,there will be a prompt to to user to allow or deny access to many features of my phone. Somehow with the new update, Sony tries to optimize battery use by limiting background data. I discovered that when i go into setting->app->configure app->battery optimization and select the 3 apps to not apply battery optimization, the signal from the app didn't drop anymore. For the bike computer app, the 3 apps i selected was ipbike, ipsensorman and Ant Radio Service. Hope this helps.