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Echelon fitness firmware lockout: Difference between revisions

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Created page with "{{IncidentCargo |Company=Echelon Fitness |StartDate=2025-07 |Status=Active |ProductLine=echelon exercie equipment |Product=exercise equipment |ArticleType=Product |Type=Firmware lockout |Description=Echelon pushed firmware updates blocking third-party apps, requiring server authentication & breaking QZ compatibility for users }} {{Placeholder box|Short summary of the incident. Usually 2-3 sentences that summarize the contents or the article. When writing the article, ins..."
 
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|Type=Firmware lockout
|Type=Firmware lockout
|Description=Echelon pushed firmware updates blocking third-party apps, requiring server authentication & breaking QZ compatibility for users
|Description=Echelon pushed firmware updates blocking third-party apps, requiring server authentication & breaking QZ compatibility for users
}}Echelon pushed firmware update blocking third-party apps, requiring server authentication and breaking QZ compatibility for thousands of users
{{Infobox Incident
| title = Echelon Fitness Firmware Lockout (2025)
| date = July 2025
| affected_products = Echelon Connect bikes, treadmills, rowers
| company = Echelon Fitness
| type = Firmware update restriction
| affected_users = Thousands of QZ app users
| status = Ongoing
}}
}}
{{Placeholder box|Short summary of the incident. Usually 2-3 sentences that summarize the contents or the article. When writing the article, insert text in the space below this box, and then delete this tip box (and the other tip boxes below). In the visual editor, just click on a box and press backspace to delete it. In the source editor, simply delete the double curly brackets, and the text inside them.}}
 
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 enabled cross-platform compatibility with fitness platforms like [[Zwift]], [[Peloton Digital]], and others.


==Background==
==Background==
{{Placeholder box|Information about the product/service history to provide the necessary context surrounding the incident}}


==[Incident]==
===QZ and Cross-Platform Compatibility===
{{Placeholder box|Change this section's title to be descriptive of the incident.
[[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 mainstreamfitness platforms.
 
For nearly five years, QZ maintained compatibility with Echelon devices, with Viola noting that the app ''"helped Echelon sell tens of thousands of bikes"'' by making them compatible with multiple training platforms.<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>


Impartial and complete description of the events, including actions taken by the company, and the timeline of the incident coming to the public's attention.}}
===Echelon's Business Model===
Echelon Fitness markets connected fitness equipment ranging from $500 entry-level models to $2,495 premium bikes.<ref name="echelon-pricing">{{cite web |url=https://echelonfit.com/pages/app-faqs |title=APP FAQs |publisher=Echelon Fit |access-date=23 July 2025}}</ref> The company operates a subscription service priced between $29.99-$39.99 monthly or $399.99-$699.99 annually for access to live and on-demand fitness content.
[[File:Echelon.png|alt=Subscriptions from echelon's website [1]|thumb|Subscriptions from echelon's website <ref>{{Cite web |title=Choose your Premier Subscription – Echelon Fit US |url=https://echelonfit.com/collections/choose-your-united-sub?_ab=0&_fd=0&_sc=1}}</ref>]]


===[Company]'s response===
==July 2025 Firmware Update==
{{Placeholder box|If applicable, add the proposed solution to the issues by the company.}}


===Server-based auth system===
In July 2025, Echelon pushed a firmware update that implemented a server-based authentication system. The new system requires devices to:


==Lawsuit==
*Connect to Echelon's servers during startup
{{Placeholder box|If applicable, add any information regarding litigation around the incident here.
*Receive a temporary, rotating unlock key for device operation
*Maintain internet connectivity for basic functionality
*Block all third-party Bluetooth communications without server validation<ref name="viola-blog" />


===Claims===
According to Viola's technical analysis, the update is "non-reversible" - once installed, users cannot downgrade to previous firmware versions.<ref name="viola-blog" />
Main claims of the suit.


===Rebuttal===
===Impact on Third-Party Applications===
The response of the company or counterclaims.
The firmware update completely blocks QZ & similar third-party applications from communicating with Echelon devices. This affects not only advanced features like automatic resistance control, but also prevents basic manual workouts without internet connectivity and server approval.<ref name="viola-blog" />


===Outcome===
==Consumer Impact==
The outcome of the suit, if any.}}


===Financial Losses===
Users who purchased Echelon devices specifically for third-party compatibility are affected. 


==Consumer response==
*They have hardware investments ranging from $500 to $2,495 for devices
{{Placeholder box|Summary and key issues of prevailing sentiment from the consumers and commentators that can be documented via articles, emails to support, reviews and forum posts.}}
*subscriptions cost $29.99-$39.99 monthly to get back functionality.
*Loss of free or alternative platform access previously enabled by QZ<ref name="viola-blog" />


One affected UK user commented: <blockquote>''"I paid £1,199 for a bike in 2020, and a further £399 for 2 years of classes, so surely what I choose to do with the hardware I purchased outright is none of their business!"<ref name="viola-blog" />''</blockquote>
===Elimination of Offline Functionality===
The update removes all offline workout capabilities, requiring constant internet connectivity for any device operation. Users report being unable to perform basic manual workouts without server validation.<ref name="viola-blog" />
==Consumer Recourse==
===What to do if you own this bike===
Roberto Viola recommends affected users:
*Avoid all firmware updates & disable automatic updates
*Delete Echelon app to prevent forced updates
*make sure tablets can't access internet independently
*File complaints with regulatory authorities<ref name="viola-blog" />


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
<references />
 
{{Placeholder box|[[mw:Help:VisualEditor/User_guide#Editing_categories|Add a category]] with the same name as the product, service, website, software, product line or company that this article is about.


The "Incidents" category is not needed.}}
==External Links==
*[https://robertoviola.cloud/2025/07/22/how-i-built-qz-and-how-echelon-is-now-breaking-it/ Roberto Viola's detailed technical analysis]
*[https://github.com/cagnulein/qdomyos-zwift QZ (qdomyos-zwift) GitHub repository]
*[https://consumerrights.wiki Consumer Rights Wiki main page]


<noinclude>
[[Category:CRW]]
[[Category:Article sample templates]]
[[Category:Incidents]]
</noinclude>
[[Category:Fitness Industry]]
[[Category:IoT]]
[[Category:Firmware]]
[[Category:2025]]
[[Category:Right to Repair]]
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