Ride tracking vis BMW Connected App

FoxCorp · Mar 18, 2023

So I believe that you should be able to track each ride on the 1250GS by pairing your phone and the BMW connected app to the bike and the TFT.

Having done that it seems that the app only tracks bits of the ride when it feels like it. Sometimes more if the ride, sometimes hardly any of it. The logs generally look like this:

Am I doing something wrong or is there a problem?

Wapping · Mar 19, 2023

How much other data (if any) from your ride did the app collect? In other words, did annything else record correctly?

For whatever reasons, your BMW Connected app was only partially or intermittently recording the track of your ride.

The reason why can be varied, anything from a glitch in the app, a problem with the app’s settings, a poor satellite lock, a problem within your phone or something else.

BMW’s ‘Help page’ only has this: https://support.bmw-motorrad.com/s/...p-Navigation-Statistiken-W2vqs?language=en_GB

Me? I’d delete the app, reinstall it, check the settings and the pairings. Then I’d ride the route (or ride somewhere different) to see what happened.

FoxCorp · Mar 19, 2023

Thanks - the ride was about 90 miles and it seems to record small bits of it, the other data (speed/angle etc.) weren't logged wither so wondered if it was the app or the bike. From looking at the display as I ride along the bike seems to be connected to the phone all of the time and as you say, there isn't much info out there!

Wapping · Mar 19, 2023

OK, I’m not surprised the other data wasn’t recorded by the app, as that too relies on being able to compute it from the same data that goes into recording the track. I did though want to check.

I don’t think there is an off-the-shelf, magical solution to your problem. I’d suggest deleting the app entirely, reloading it from scratch and trying again. Let us know how this goes, please.

MartinK · Mar 19, 2023

Could it be something to do with where you have your phone (on your person or in a container)?

I seem to remember mine only records when the phone has "Location" switched on and a valid GPS signal???

Maybe I remember incorrectly!

Wapping · Mar 19, 2023

You need ‘Location’ to be always on and probably set the phone so that it doesn’t go to sleep. The Connected app is reasonably power hungry, so you are maybe best off powering it in a cradle or having it attached to a power brick thing.

I wouldn’t necessarily recommend having the phone in a ‘container’, if that ‘container’ is a metal pannier or top box.

FoxCorp · Mar 19, 2023

deleted & reinstalled the app & went for a quick ride this afternoon. Got 2km down the road and the bike decided that the ride had come to an end despite me riding on for another 17 miles.

The phone is in a outside pocket and the location is set to always so I'm wondering of it's the bike rather than the app. My tracker app recorded the ride correctly so guessing it isn't a GPS issue.

Let's see what the dealer says when it goes in for a service later.

Wapping · Mar 19, 2023

Do you have a second phone you can try it with?

FoxCorp · Mar 20, 2023

That’s a good idea - let’s see what the wife thinks about me borrowing her phone!

Barnoe · Mar 20, 2023

Try installing Map my walk.
set to track and go for a walk

if thats the same, then your GPS on your phone maybe playing up.
if that works then its a problem with the bike app

Wapping · Mar 20, 2023

My strong suspicion is that it is the app and / or the phone and nothing to do with the bike per-se. I base that on nothing more than the belief that, whilst the Connected app can be controlled by the whirlywheel thing (if the bike has one and the phone sits in a cradle) it operates otherwise totally independently of the bike.

FoxCorp tells us that another app did record his ride perfectly. This leaves me wondering if he had the ‘tracker app’ running in the foreground and the Connected app running in the background? If so, I am guessing that the Connected app might need to be promoted. Another possibility, I guess, is that the phone might not be able to deal with two ‘tracking’ apps running apparently simultaneously? Again, just a guess.

Installing the Connected app into a fresh phone and trying again, might tell a different story.

FoxCorp · Mar 24, 2023

*update*

Tried a different phone this morning and managed to get the entire ride logged without incident (by the look of it) so seems that there is some more investigation about why my phone doesn't work.

Good news is that it seems the bike seems ok!

Wapping · Mar 24, 2023

OK, you now at least know it’s the phone or the phone’s relationship with the app, which is causing tge problem.

EPG_19 · Mar 25, 2023

FoxCorp said:
*update*

Tried a different phone this morning and managed to get the entire ride logged without incident (by the look of it) so seems that there is some more investigation about why my phone doesn't work.

Good news is that it seems the bike seems ok!

Were they both apple phones?

Wapping · Mar 26, 2023

The Connected app should function equally well on both Android and Apple phones.

OP, have a look at:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qG5GtYeY-4U" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>

FoxCorp · Mar 26, 2023

EPG_19 said:
Were they both apple phones?

Yes - problem one is a 12 and the second one was a new SE

EPG_19 · Mar 26, 2023

FoxCorp said:
Yes - problem one is a 12 and the second one was a new SE

It’s the way apple manages the background apps and power saving imo

Wapping · Mar 26, 2023

FoxCorp said:
Yes - problem one is a 12 and the second one was a new SE

That shouldn’t matter at all. I have two generationally different models of iPhone. Both run the Connected app correctly. My only problem is that the TFT screen of my 1600 creates an electrical interference on both phones, which corrupts the app. But you don’t have a 1600.

Onahi · Apr 12, 2023

Wapping said:
The Connected app should function equally well on both Android and Apple phones.

That should be the case, but unfortunately not. The vast majority of issues regarding BMW Connectivity are from IOS users. Device settings, Battery, app optimisation, and more common, A2Dp licence. (file sharing)

Hann · Jul 27, 2023

Are there any dedicated threads on this site that are about the Connected App and their problems/connectivity or (lack thereof)...?
The App on my bike worked OK for the first year or so but is now very hit and miss whether or not it records a ride or not.
Sometimes it will start to record a ride (when you start out for the day) but then after you stop for half an hour or so will not continue to record from then on.
The TFT seems to `see` my iphone reliably - the connected/battery/signal icons appear at the bottom of the screen but this does not seem to guarantee that it`s going to actually record anything...
The white box with the speed limits is a bit flakey only rarely appearing (this is a good clue that the App is actually recording). The `show speed limits` is ticked in settings.
The App is set to be visable `always` in settings.
It`s all a bit crap, actually.

Ride tracking vis BMW Connected App

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