Echelon fitness firmware lockout: Difference between revisions

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A July 2025 firmware update pushed by [[Echelon Fitness]] retroactively blocked third-party fitness applications from connecting to their devices. The update affected users of [[QZ (qdomyos-zwift)]], an open-source bridging application that enables cross-platform compatibility with fitness platforms like [[Zwift]], [[Peloton Digital]], & others.

A July 2025 firmware update pushed by Echelon Fitness retroactively blocked third-party fitness applications from connecting to their devices. The update affected users of QZ (qdomyos-zwift), an open-source bridging application that enables cross-platform compatibility with fitness platforms like [[wikipedia:Zwift|Zwift]], [[wikipedia:Peloton_Interactive|Peloton Digital]], & others.

==Background==

===QZ & Cross-Platform Compatibility===

[[QZ (qdomyos-zwift)]] was created in September 2020 by Italian software engineer Roberto Viola.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://robertoviola.cloud/2025/07/22/how-i-built-qz-and-how-echelon-is-now-breaking-it/ |title=How I Built QZ—and How Echelon Is Now Breaking It |author=Roberto Viola |date=22 July 2025 |access-date=23 July 2025}}</ref> The application functions as a Bluetooth bridge that intercepts proprietary communications from closed fitness devices & translates them into standard protocols compatible with other mainstream fitness platforms.

QZ (qdomyos-zwift) was created in September 2020 by Italian software engineer [[wikipedia:Roberto_Viola|Roberto Viola]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://robertoviola.cloud/2025/07/22/how-i-built-qz-and-how-echelon-is-now-breaking-it/ |title=How I Built QZ—and How Echelon Is Now Breaking It |author=Roberto Viola |date=22 July 2025 |access-date=23 July 2025}}</ref> The application functions as a Bluetooth bridge that intercepts proprietary communications from closed fitness devices & translates them into standard protocols compatible with other mainstream fitness platforms.

For almost five years, QZ maintained compatibility with Echelon devices. Viola notes that the app ''"helped Echelon sell tens of thousands of bikes"'' by making them compatible with multiple training platforms. Viola also personally recommended the Echelon as the ''"best indoor bike on the market."''<ref name="viola-blog">{{cite web |url=https://robertoviola.cloud/2025/07/22/how-i-built-qz-and-how-echelon-is-now-breaking-it/ |title=How I Built QZ—and How Echelon Is Now Breaking It |author=Roberto Viola |date=22 July 2025 |access-date=23 July 2025}}</ref>

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*make sure tablets can't access internet independently

*document current functionality for potential claims<ref name="viola-blog" />

If it prompts you to install a firmware update on reboot, you may avoid this by rebooting the bike again, then, in WiFi settings at the first opportunity, entering a custom SSID and leaving it blank. For some reason, this appears to be the only way to get it to switch from an existing connection. You will need to enter your actual WiFi details again on the member login screen.

==References==

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-A July 2025 firmware update pushed by [[Echelon Fitness]] retroactively blocked third-party fitness applications from connecting to their devices. The update affected users of [[QZ (qdomyos-zwift)]], an open-source bridging application that enables cross-platform compatibility with fitness platforms like [[Zwift]], [[Peloton Digital]], & others.
+A July 2025 firmware update pushed by Echelon Fitness retroactively blocked third-party fitness applications from connecting to their devices. The update affected users of QZ (qdomyos-zwift), an open-source bridging application that enables cross-platform compatibility with fitness platforms like [[wikipedia:Zwift|Zwift]], [[wikipedia:Peloton_Interactive|Peloton Digital]], & others.
 ==Background==
 ===QZ & Cross-Platform Compatibility===
-[[QZ (qdomyos-zwift)]] was created in September 2020 by Italian software engineer Roberto Viola.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://robertoviola.cloud/2025/07/22/how-i-built-qz-and-how-echelon-is-now-breaking-it/ |title=How I Built QZ—and How Echelon Is Now Breaking It |author=Roberto Viola |date=22 July 2025 |access-date=23 July 2025}}</ref> The application functions as a Bluetooth bridge that intercepts proprietary communications from closed fitness devices & translates them into standard protocols compatible with other mainstream fitness platforms.
+QZ (qdomyos-zwift) was created in September 2020 by Italian software engineer [[wikipedia:Roberto_Viola|Roberto Viola]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://robertoviola.cloud/2025/07/22/how-i-built-qz-and-how-echelon-is-now-breaking-it/ |title=How I Built QZ—and How Echelon Is Now Breaking It |author=Roberto Viola |date=22 July 2025 |access-date=23 July 2025}}</ref> The application functions as a Bluetooth bridge that intercepts proprietary communications from closed fitness devices & translates them into standard protocols compatible with other mainstream fitness platforms.
 For almost five years, QZ maintained compatibility with Echelon devices. Viola notes that the app ''"helped Echelon sell tens of thousands of bikes"'' by making them compatible with multiple training platforms. Viola also personally recommended the Echelon as the ''"best indoor bike on the market."''<ref name="viola-blog">{{cite web |url=https://robertoviola.cloud/2025/07/22/how-i-built-qz-and-how-echelon-is-now-breaking-it/ |title=How I Built QZ—and How Echelon Is Now Breaking It |author=Roberto Viola |date=22 July 2025 |access-date=23 July 2025}}</ref>
@@ Line 99: / Line 99: @@
 *make sure  tablets can't access internet independently
 *document current functionality for potential claims<ref name="viola-blog" />
+If it prompts you to install a firmware update on reboot, you may avoid this by rebooting the bike again, then, in WiFi settings at the first opportunity, entering a custom SSID and leaving it blank. For some reason, this appears to be the only way to get it to switch from an existing connection. You will need to enter your actual WiFi details again on the member login screen.
 ==References==