KICKR HEADWIND Gets Its Biggest Firmware Update Since Launch
Today was a day I saw coming — mainly because I was inadvertently put on the beta firmware for this before Christmas. At the time I assumed a few features had slipped in under the radar earlier in 2025. They hadn’t. Wahoo confirmed I shouldn’t have had it. I’ve been using it fairly extensively since then, which made it somewhat ironic that I couldn’t successfully update to the live firmware today.
What’s New
As fan firmware updates go, this is a significant one.
Wahoo has released firmware 2.0.43 for the KICKR HEADWIND, the fan’s most substantial feature expansion since launch in 2018. The update adds Bluetooth low energy sensor support and extends control beyond the original heart rate and speed inputs. The HEADWIND can now draw data from power meters and smart trainers, KICKR RUN treadmills and running foot pods, and CORE body temperature sensors.
The headline addition is adaptive cooling, which combines data from multiple active sensors simultaneously to modulate fan speed. This matters because different metrics behave differently: some are proxies for effort or heat, others carry a lag. Being able to blend inputs — or select the most appropriate sensor type for your session — is a meaningful improvement over a single-source approach.
The update also refreshes the Wahoo app interface and requires app version 6.80.0 or later. Legacy modes — heart rate, speed, and manual control — remain available and can still be selected directly from the buttons on the device. Wahoo warns that existing settings may be reset during installation and will need to be reconfigured in the app.
How to Update
Open the Wahoo app, go to Devices, and select your HEADWIND with the fan nearby. The fan must be plugged in and either on or in standby. Once the app connects, it will guide you through the update process.
In practice, it may not go smoothly. Wahoo acknowledges the update can require multiple attempts on newer phones. I tried five times on an iPhone 15 Pro without completing the process.
Last Updated on 23 March 2026 by the5krunner
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tfk is the founder and author of the5krunner, an independent endurance sports technology publication. With 20 years of hands-on testing of GPS watches and wearables, and competing in triathlons at an international age-group level, tfk provides in-depth expert analysis of fitness technology for serious athletes and endurance sport competitors.
Wow, that’s an insanely awesome update — I really wasn’t expecting that anymore. Especially since I’ve already been having major issues with the new Garmin chest straps (HRM 200 and 600).
I obviously accidentally knew about it ages ago (as per the article, and yes it is a good update), i was more hoping it would herald dual device control as i reckon quite a few people need two of these for particularly sweaty sessions. Or I also hoped it might herald a new HEADWIND. perhaps more powerful. No intel on either of those.