ANT+

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ANT+ is the wireless standard that lets a heart rate strap, power meter or smart trainer from one brand send its data to a watch or bike computer from another. It runs on ANT, a low-power radio protocol built for small sports sensors, and adds agreed data formats called device profiles. Garmin owns it. Certification of new ANT+ products ended in June 2025, but every existing sensor still works.

Most Garmin watches and Edge bike computers pair over both ANT+ and Bluetooth, and many sensors broadcast on both. The choice decides whether one sensor can feed two devices at once, whether a trainer responds to an Edge, and which advanced metrics reach the screen.

ANT+ and Bluetooth compared

	ANT+	Bluetooth Low Energy
Radio band	2.4 GHz	2.4 GHz
How a sensor shares data	Broadcasts to any receiver in range	Usually connects to each receiver separately
Receivers per sensor	Many at once	Typically two or three
Phones and tablets	Some Android phones; others need an adapter	Built in
Trainer control	FE-C	FTMS and brand-specific services
Encryption on common sports profiles	None	Available on newer straps, such as Garmin HRM 600 and Polar H10 on firmware 4.0.4
New profiles	Frozen since June 2025	Still developing, partly through private brand profiles
Garmin watches and Edge	Supported	Supported

My view

At its height, ANT+ was the better way for most athletes to connect sensors, and for several years it was the standard. One strap or power meter could feed a watch, a bike computer, and a laptop at once, with no need to unpair from one device to pair with another.

Phones changed that. Phone makers had no reason to cater to a small group of athletes, and once training moved into apps, Bluetooth was always going to become the default. Its weakness was the limit on simultaneous connections, which was a real problem in the early years. Many sensors now accept up to three Bluetooth connections, trainers such as the Tacx Nēra also connect over Wi-Fi, and Wahoo Direct Connect uses a cable. The demand for secure, encrypted connections finished the job because ANT+ couldn’t add security without leaving its installed base behind.

Device profiles athletes use

A profile defines what a sensor type sends and how a receiver should read it. Profiles guarantee the basic data rather than every brand feature, so two power meters can both send watts while only one shares pedal smoothness with a third-party head unit.

• Heart rate: beats per minute and beat timing from chest straps and arm bands. See the heart rate hub for which sensor types are accurate enough for training and HRV.
• Bicycle power: watts, cadence, left-right balance and, on supporting pedals and cranks, pedalling dynamics. This profile lets a power meter from one brand work with a head unit from another.
• Speed and cadence: wheel speed and crank cadence from small bike sensors.
• Stride-based speed and distance: the footpod profile, still used by Stryd and by treadmill sensors such as NPE Runn.
• Fitness equipment and FE-C: trainer data plus resistance control, covered below.
• Muscle oxygen: SmO2 from Moxy and Train Red sensors. The profile kept Humon Hex working on Garmin and Wahoo devices after Humon closed, as the muscle oxygen hub explains.
• Bike radar and lights: Varia radar alerts and light control on Garmin, Wahoo and other head units.
• Shifting: Shimano Di2 and SRAM eTap AXS report the selected gear to a head unit. Each brand runs its own wireless shifting system.
• Health: weight scales and blood pressure monitors.

One profile never arrived. An open ANT+ running power profile was discussed for years, and I speculated more than once that one would follow, but none was ever published. Running power stayed inside each brand’s ecosystem. Stryd reaches Garmin watches through the footpod profile and Connect IQ data fields, and Garmin running power reads about 30 per cent above Stryd’s watts. My 2022 look at the missing Garmin running power pod covers one likely reason: Stryd’s patents.

How ANT+ works

Garmin’s developer documentation describes ANT+ as a managed network on top of ANT, with agreed device profiles, channel settings and a shared network key. Every certified sensor of a given type uses the same frequency, message rate and data layout, so any ANT+ receiver can read a power meter’s numbers without a brand-specific app. Most sports profiles share one channel at 2,457 MHz, and a heart rate strap or power meter sends a fresh message about four times a second.

ANT+ sensors broadcast. A sensor transmits, and any number of receivers can listen, so one chest strap can feed a watch, an Edge and a Zwift laptop at the same time. A standard Bluetooth sensor connects to each receiver separately and usually manages two or three connections. That difference still matters to a triathlete recording on a watch and a bike computer, or to a rider whose power meter feeds both an Edge and an indoor training app.

The ANT+ network key controls access to the shared network. It does not encrypt the data. The underlying ANT protocol supports AES-128 encryption, but the common sports profiles, including heart rate and cycling power, never used it, and that gap is what ended the certification programme in 2025.

ANT+ FE-C: one control language for smart trainers

ANT+ FE-C, short for Fitness Equipment Control, added two-way traffic. A trainer reports power, speed and cadence, and the app or head unit sends back commands: hold 250 watts in ERG mode, simulate an 8 per cent climb, or set a fixed resistance level. Before FE-C, each trainer brand used its own control language, so an app had to support every brand separately.

Tacx switched on FE-C first, in June 2015, and Zwift, TrainerRoad, and Kinomap supported it within days. Most trainer makers followed within months, and Garmin added FE-C trainer control to its Edge bike computers the same year. A rider can now choose a smart trainer for ride feel and noise, then pick the app separately. Features such as Zwift’s Watt Lock run on the same ERG control.

Bluetooth does the same job through the Bluetooth SIG’s Fitness Machine Service, FTMS, alongside brand-specific services. Garmin’s Tacx trainer documentation lists FE-C, FTMS, a Tacx-specific Bluetooth service and FE-C carried over Bluetooth as separate routes, and an app that reads a trainer’s power over Bluetooth may still be unable to control it. Garmin’s Edge computers control trainers over FE-C, so confirm FE-C support before buying a trainer to use with one.

Why Bluetooth won the phone

ANT+ never reached every phone. Samsung added ANT+ radios to the Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note 3 in 2013 and to later models, and Sony, HTC and others also shipped ANT-equipped Android phones. Apps reached the radio through two Android services, ANT Radio Service and ANT+ Plugins, which phone makers often pre-installed. Android phones without the hardware needed a USB ANT+ stick.

Apple never fitted ANT to an iPhone. In 2010, Wahoo began selling the Fitness Key, a 30-pin dongle that gave an iPhone ANT+, and later iPhones also needed Apple’s Lightning-to-30-pin adapter. Bluetooth Low Energy removed that friction because it is built into every phone and tablet, so a strap or trainer with Bluetooth works with an app on first pairing. Polar built around Bluetooth for years before adding ANT+ to its OH1+ armband and H10 chest strap in 2019, and Coros‘s newer watches pair only with Bluetooth sensors.

Adapters still fill the gap. NPE CABLE and NPE WYUR convert ANT+ to Bluetooth for phone apps, and RunBridge passes a treadmill’s Bluetooth FTMS speed to a Garmin watch as a standard footpod signal.

Why certification ended in 2025

Garmin ended the ANT+ membership and certification programmes on 30 June 2025, after taking final applications on 31 March, citing a changing regulatory landscape. The reason is the cybersecurity part of the EU Radio Equipment Directive, Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/30, which became mandatory on 1 August 2025 and requires wireless devices handling personal data to protect it. Adding encryption and authentication to the heart rate and power profiles would have changed their message structure and broken compatibility with the sensors already in use, so Garmin closed the programme instead.

The ANT programme pages say the profiles and developer documentation stay available and that licensing of the underlying ANT protocol continues. Existing sensors keep working, and Garmin’s new watches and Edge units still pair with ANT+ through dual ANT+ and Bluetooth chips.

Heart rate, speed, cadence, and power remain open across brands, but newer, richer data is moving to Bluetooth, and not always to open profiles. Garmin’s Varia RearVue 820 radar still broadcasts the open ANT+ radar profile, while its vehicle size and lateral position features need a Garmin-only secure Bluetooth link that Garmin does not plan to share with other brands. My analysis of where ANT+ goes next tracks these changes.

A short history

Year	What happened
1998	Four engineers form Dynastream Innovations in Cochrane, Alberta, and build a shoe-mounted accelerometer footpod
2003	ANT launches as Dynastream’s low-power radio protocol
2004	ANT+ adds shared device profiles so different brands can work together
2006	Garmin buys Dynastream for about $36 million
2010	Wahoo’s Fitness Key brings ANT+ to the iPhone through the 30-pin port
2013	Samsung adds ANT+ to the Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note 3
2015	Tacx enables FE-C trainer control, and Garmin Edge follows
2018	Dynastream becomes Garmin Canada
2019	Polar adds ANT+ to the OH1+ arm band and H10 chest strap
2025	Membership and certification end on 30 June

Kip Fyfe, who led the Dynastream team that created ANT, went on to co-found 4iiii Innovations, whose Viiiiva 2.0 strap still broadcasts on ANT+.

What to buy now

• Buy dual ANT+ and Bluetooth sensors where offered. They work with older head units, new watches and phone apps.
• For a smart trainer used with a Garmin Edge, confirm FE-C support. For phone, tablet or Apple TV apps, FTMS over Bluetooth is enough.
• Keep ANT+ for a sensor that feeds several devices at once, such as a strap paired to a watch and an Edge in a triathlon.
• Keep a power meter on ANT+ when pedalling dynamics and other rich metrics need to reach a head unit from a different brand.
• Choose a strap with encrypted Bluetooth, such as the Garmin HRM 600, for anyone who wants heart data kept private.

This page is part of Garmin Features Explained, alongside the Garmin Hardware pages on sensors and chipsets.

Quick answers

Is ANT+ being discontinued?
Garmin ended ANT+ certification and membership on 30 June 2025. Existing sensors and receivers keep working, Garmin still builds ANT+ into its watches and Edge units, and the profiles remain published. New sensor types and new metrics are arriving on Bluetooth instead.

Is ANT+ better than Bluetooth?
ANT+ is better when one sensor must feed several devices at once, and for FE-C trainer control on a Garmin Edge. Bluetooth is better for phones, tablets and laptops, supports encryption, and is where new sensor features now appear.

Does the iPhone support ANT+?
No. iPhones have never had an ANT radio, so iPhone apps use Bluetooth sensors or an adapter that converts ANT+ to Bluetooth, such as NPE CABLE.

What is ANT+ FE-C?
FE-C is the ANT+ profile for controlling fitness equipment. It lets an app or bike computer set a smart trainer’s target power, simulated gradient or resistance, and read back power, speed and cadence.

Is ANT+ encrypted?
The common sports profiles are not. The ANT+ network key controls access to the shared network but does not encrypt the data, which is why Garmin could not meet the EU’s 2025 cybersecurity rules without breaking compatibility.

Do Garmin watches still support ANT+ sensors?
Yes. Current Garmin watches and Edge bike computers pair with both ANT+ and Bluetooth sensors, and Garmin has indicated it will keep ANT+ available through dual-protocol chips.

ANT+ articles on the5krunner

The future of ANT+

• ANT+ is doomed to die a slow death
• Garmin running power footpod: where is it?
• Garmin running power zones: how to set them up
• Garmin leak: a running power pod (2018)
• Polar adds ANT+ support (2019)

Bridges and adapters

• NPE WYUR and CORD review
• Xert, Karoo and NPE CABLE link ANT+ devices to phone apps
• Make an old Vasa ANT+ sensor broadcast over Bluetooth
• Vasa swim erg: record its ANT+ power properly
• RunBridge: treadmill pace on a Garmin
• NPE Runn review

Indoor training and trainer control

• Avoid Zwift dropouts
• QZ connects almost any indoor machine to Zwift and Garmin
• Amazfit adds FTMS rowing machine support
• Zwift Watt Lock holds target power in free rides
• Garmin Tacx NEO 3M opinion
• Wahoo KICKR Bike Pro review

Sensors

• Garmin HRM 600 review
• Garmin HRM-PRO review
• 4iiii Viiiiva 2.0 buyer’s guide
• Polar OH1+ review and its 2019 ANT+ update
• Garmin CIRQA upper arm wear and ANT+ broadcasting
• Favero Assioma long-term review
• Stryd review
• Garmin Cycling Dynamics for Vector (2014)

Related hubs: heart rate, muscle oxygen sensors, Garmin Edge, best smart trainer and best cycling heart rate monitor.

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