Bosch Flow / Strava will not Sync

[8bit Barry]

I’ve connected the two and given permissions to Strava… the Flow recorded rides save to Flow app, but will not appear in Strava unless I save GPX data and import it manually using their website (not the phone app), which basically means in a round about way, it’s not syncing.

Can anyone help? It’s irritating to have to do all these extra steps.

 

[JP-NZ]

Had a similar problem, switched off the sync between Flow and Strava and now ride just with Strava.

Happy as

 

[8bit Barry]

Had a similar problem, switched off the sync between Flow and Strava and now ride just with Strava.

Happy as

Its such a shame. The data on the Bosch Flow is really good. The satnav feature in particular has me discovering areas of my local patch I have never seen before. Despite connecting the app it will not transfer anything from it. There has to be a setting or something as Komoot works seamlessly.

 

[JP-NZ]

Its such a shame. The data on the Bosch Flow is really good. The satnav feature in particular has me discovering areas of my local patch I have never seen before. Despite connecting the app it will not transfer anything from it. There has to be a setting or something as Komoot works seamlessly.

I can still use komoot and the navi on the Kiox whilst recording in strava. Why not record on Strava and use the features you want on Komoot/flow?

It is a bit crappy to use 2 apps to do the same thing though.

 

[8bit Barry]

I can still use komoot and the navi on the Kiox whilst recording in strava. Why not record on Strava and use the features you want on Komoot/flow?

It is a bit crappy to use 2 apps to do the same thing though.

Yeah you're right. I am doing the usual of trying to make multi national companies honour their customer commitments while wading through a sea of template generated email responses. Strava and Bosch gave me totally useless corporate answers. Googling the problem brings up literally nothing on the subject.

 

[RustyIron]

Thanks, gents, for sharing your dilemma. I've been screwing around with this Flow App for a week. When I first set it up, it recorded my "test rides" in front of my house and uploaded them to Strava. That pissed me off so I unauthorized everything. Now that I turned it all back on so I could do real rides, it refused to upload them to Strava.

It's entirely possible that the problem lies with Strava. I think I'll delete the App, reinstall it, and give it one more shot. If it fails again, I'll just stick with Strava for recording my rides.

 

[Tubby G]

I disconnected my Strava from the Flow app as I use a Garmin watch so it was doubling up my rides on Strava.

However, from memory, you have to tick all the little ‘authorisation’ boxes when you connect Flow to Strava in the app, and also ensure Flow has access to GPS at all times, even when the app is closed. You have to do this in settings in your phone rather than from the Flow app

 

[8bit Barry]

Thanks, gents, for sharing your dilemma. I've been screwing around with this Flow App for a week. When I first set it up, it recorded my "test rides" in front of my house and uploaded them to Strava. That pissed me off so I unauthorized everything. Now that I turned it all back on so I could do real rides, it refused to upload them to Strava.

It's entirely possible that the problem lies with Strava. I think I'll delete the App, reinstall it, and give it one more shot. If it fails again, I'll just stick with Strava for recording my rides.

Let me know how you get on and I will do the same and report back. Its encouraging that you actually had it working at one point as its never worked for me whatsoever.

 

[RustyIron]

Let me know how you get on and I will do the same and report back. Its encouraging that you actually had it working at one point as its never worked for me whatsoever.

Ok, just did some experimentation, and it seems to be working.
Here's what I did:
1. Delete the app.
2. Reinstall app. Reconnect bike. When I went to reconnect Strava, it was already connected.
3. Deauthorize Strava from the app. Delete the app. Hard reset iPhone.
4. Reinstall app. Reconnect bike. Reconnect Strava. Reconnect watch.
5. Start Ride function on app. Spin pedals on bike, run around the house with iPhone in hand. Spin pedals more.
6. Quit the ride by clicking the red box in the upper right corner.
7. Wait a minute for notification that the ride has been added to "Statistics."
8. Nothing else happened, so I checked Strava, and found that my ride was added.

Now I need to do another ride to see how it works in a "real" situation.

Note:
After reinstalling the app and re-pairing the bike, all the old stats and settings remained intact. There are no worries about losing anything.

 

[RustyIron]

One more bit of data:
I just sat down to look at what everyone else did today on Strava, and it seems the failed Flow Ride upload from earlier today has miraculously uploaded itself. This is AFTER I reinstalled the app. The failed upload from yesterday did NOT upload to Strava. I don't know what to make of it, but thought you all would be interested.

 

[8bit Barry]

I disconnected my Strava from the Flow app as I use a Garmin watch so it was doubling up my rides on Strava.

However, from memory, you have to tick all the little ‘authorisation’ boxes when you connect Flow to Strava in the app, and also ensure Flow has access to GPS at all times, even when the app is closed. You have to do this in settings in your phone rather than from the Flow app

Went round and round doing this multiple times with no luck. I’m going to try the step by step from Rustyiron below and report back, but thanks for the help.

 

[VWsurfbum]

Are you ending the ride?
It wont sync unless you press stop

 

[8bit Barry]

Are you ending the ride?
It wont sync unless you press stop

Yes, I go onto the phone and press the red button in the top right corner. Ends the ride, saves in Flow but doesn't sync to Strava

 

[VWsurfbum]

Yes, I go onto the phone and press the red button in the top right corner. Ends the ride, saves in Flow but doesn't sync to Strava

That was the extent of my help :/

 

[RustyIron]

That was the extent of my help :/

Perhaps you can shed some light on another question that's been burning in my mind. I would like it so the app only records when I tell it to, rather than starting automatically.

1. Does the ride start recording even if I'm NOT running the app?

2. Does the ride start recording if I'm running the app but NOT in the Ride screen?

3. Currently, the app can ALWAYS see my location. If I set it so it can see my location only when running the app, will it prevent the app from automatically recording?

I might go out later and test it out with every possible combination of parameters and conditions. I wish it was all spelled out in a manual.

 

[raaph]

Hi guys,

I have the same issue since the 12 of January.
My phone is an Oppo X5 Android 14 and my ebike is a trek Rail 5.

On my past 9 trips, only 2 of them got "randomly" synced to Strava (something like 15min after ending my trips, not in 10seconds as it used to be).
I did uninstall/reinstall both apps, disconnecting/reconnecting Strava in the flow app. Nothing changed :/

I'm "happy" I'm not alone regarding this issue, so it might be something wrong with strava as the latest update of Flow was in November 2023.

I guess we just have to wait for a strava update?!

 

[VWsurfbum]

Perhaps you can shed some light on another question that's been burning in my mind. I would like it so the app only records when I tell it to, rather than starting automatically.

1. Does the ride start recording even if I'm NOT running the app?

2. Does the ride start recording if I'm running the app but NOT in the Ride screen?

3. Currently, the app can ALWAYS see my location. If I set it so it can see my location only when running the app, will it prevent the app from automatically recording?

I might go out later and test it out with every possible combination of parameters and conditions. I wish it was all spelled out in a manual.

In my very limited experience, it always records? BUT I have the security on, so bike only runs if my phone is connected.

 

[Mikerb]

I very rarely use Flow.............my attitude on the various Apps connected to bikes is use them once to set up what you want on the bike ( ride profiles etc) then leave them alone. I have never updated a bikes software using an app.........if it works leave it alone!
Initially having used Flow to set up my bike I did connect to Strava and I used to get the "keep Ebike connected" message on my phone notifications. I always use Strava to record my rides and what used to happen was I would end and name the ride in Strava as usual and the phone would spend a few minutes synching before the ride would appear in Strava. then usually a bout 8 to 12 hours later I would get an identical ride come up in Strava but with" Bosch Ebike Ride" as the title rather than the title I gave the ride in Strava. I got fed up with getting 2 entries for one ride!! Not having used Flow for probably more than a year, I no longer get the "keep Ebike Connected" message in my phone notifications or the extra ride in Strava. Good!
My interpretation of what was happening, was that ride data from the bike together with GPS data from the phone was being uploaded to Flow.....from there to bosch servers ( where ever they are) and from there to Strava servers. I wondered if data gathered by Flow was being sent in real time to Bosch servers or being saved on Phone memory and only uploading when I finished the ride using the Strava app. I never did anything on Flow to start or finish the ride.
So it is the Strava server that is acting as the presentation portal. (ps my Strava is the free account version).

I always take my phone on a ride and run Strava ( including sending a Beacon to my wife for safety)...............I see no need for anything else.

 

[8bit Barry]

I very rarely use Flow.............my attitude on the various Apps connected to bikes is use them once to set up what you want on the bike ( ride profiles etc) then leave them alone. I have never updated a bikes software using an app.........if it works leave it alone!
Initially having used Flow to set up my bike I did connect to Strava and I used to get the "keep Ebike connected" message on my phone notifications. I always use Strava to record my rides and what used to happen was I would end and name the ride in Strava as usual and the phone would spend a few minutes synching before the ride would appear in Strava. then usually a bout 8 to 12 hours later I would get an identical ride come up in Strava but with" Bosch Ebike Ride" as the title rather than the title I gave the ride in Strava. I got fed up with getting 2 entries for one ride!! Not having used Flow for probably more than a year, I no longer get the "keep Ebike Connected" message in my phone notifications or the extra ride in Strava. Good!
My interpretation of what was happening, was that ride data from the bike together with GPS data from the phone was being uploaded to Flow.....from there to bosch servers ( where ever they are) and from there to Strava servers. I wondered if data gathered by Flow was being sent in real time to Bosch servers or being saved on Phone memory and only uploading when I finished the ride using the Strava app. I never did anything on Flow to start or finish the ride.
So it is the Strava server that is acting as the presentation portal. (ps my Strava is the free account version).

I always take my phone on a ride and run Strava ( including sending a Beacon to my wife for safety)...............I see no need for anything else.

Yes that's fair enough. I am going to try syncing it all again, but I appreciate your notes and experience.

 

[Mikerb]

Yes that's fair enough. I am going to try syncing it all again, but I appreciate your notes and experience.

So a few things from my experience of it that may help you.
Flow needs to be running on the phone permanently open in background and connected to the bike
So phone gps and Bluetooth must be permanently on.
Flow needs to be excluded from apps put to sleep by the OS on the phone
Possibly....the phone needs enough memory to store bike/gps data until the ride is closed.
Flow needs to be connected to Strava
Flow needs to be configured in settings for rides for c24 hours so that any ride time within whatever time you set is recorded as one ride.

 

[8bit Barry]

Ok, just did some experimentation, and it seems to be working.
Here's what I did:
1. Delete the app.
2. Reinstall app. Reconnect bike. When I went to reconnect Strava, it was already connected.
3. Deauthorize Strava from the app. Delete the app. Hard reset iPhone.
4. Reinstall app. Reconnect bike. Reconnect Strava. Reconnect watch.
5. Start Ride function on app. Spin pedals on bike, run around the house with iPhone in hand. Spin pedals more.
6. Quit the ride by clicking the red box in the upper right corner.
7. Wait a minute for notification that the ride has been added to "Statistics."
8. Nothing else happened, so I checked Strava, and found that my ride was added.

Now I need to do another ride to see how it works in a "real" situation.

Note:
After reinstalling the app and re-pairing the bike, all the old stats and settings remained intact. There are no worries about losing anything.

Yes this worked a treat.. Everything is connected now. I think I must of had an older version of Strava on my phone. All the rides are still there since I bought the bike. Thanks so much.

 

[RustyIron]

I've come to the conclusion that the Flow App's Strava-syncing feature is a POS. I started the ride today as normal, concluded the ride, and it was saved in the Flow App. That was over two hours ago, and it still hasn't shown up on Strava. I need consistency and reliability above all else. Strava just works. Flow is a second-rate imposter.

 

[8bit Barry]

I've come to the conclusion that the Flow App's Strava-syncing feature is a POS. I started the ride today as normal, concluded the ride, and it was saved in the Flow App. That was over two hours ago, and it still hasn't shown up on Strava. I need consistency and reliability above all else. Strava just works. Flow is a second-rate imposter.

I did a test ride and a trail ride yesterday and everything synced - I’ll monitor it and report back if I get the same outcome.

 

[Ark]

Miines always synced fine, just the flow app freezes sometimes mid right if your using your phone as a display....

do yo u have any restrictions on the apps data usage or something My problem is I can't export any rides or anything manually from the flow app it just does nothing when I try.

I sync mine to both komoot and strava, never had a problem with missing rides

 

[BIG-DUKE-6]

This happened to me. Ended being the battery in my speed selector was dead . Re synced just fine.

 

[8bit Barry]

Well all was syncing well, then I went for a blast this afternoon and its all gone south.

The Flow app didn't pickup the start of my ride. I stopped for a coffee, switched off the bike for 15mins. Turned it on again. It then recorded the last half of the ride. When I got back, switched off the bike, stopped the ride in the Flow app. Flow shows I travelled 17 miles (which is correct) but displayed only half the route on the map (8 miles). It didn't sync anything to Strava when I stopped.

So I downloaded the GPX data from the Flow app, uploaded it to Strava and it shows half the ride - 8 miles not 17miles as Flow shows. Weird.

Then up pops a message from the iPhone about whether I should allow the app to track me. I have set all this before, the 'ALWAYS' option seemed to have disappeared so I manually set it again in.

 

[pinoymamba]

Mine has integrated well. My only issue has been the HR from Apple Health to the flow. There is a delay in data so I'm thinking an authorized BT HR trap would be better. I'm just upset I can't export all that data (HR and Power) to Garmin connect and I don't feel like paying for Strava's premium service....

 

[raaph]

I’ve connected the two and given permissions to Strava… the Flow recorded rides save to Flow app, but will not appear in Strava unless I save GPX data and import it manually using their website (not the phone app), which basically means in a round about way, it’s not syncing.

Can anyone help? It’s irritating to have to do all these extra steps.

Hi Barry,

Just to let you know the automatic sync from Flow to Strava is back for me since the 2nd of February. Hope the same for you

 

[8bit Barry]

Hi Barry,

Just to let you know the automatic sync from Flow to Strava is back for me since the 2nd of February. Hope the same for you

My Flow app completely lost sync with the bike over the weekend. I went on a ride on Friday and it recorded nothing. I tried everything to get it to sync (reboot phone, delete and reconnect bluetooth), but in the end I deleted Flow and reinstalled it. I went for a ride yesterday and I also used the Strava app to record the ride as a backup. The Flow app sent the ride to Strava, so I am hoping it now works again!

 

[JP-NZ]

Are you ending the ride?
It wont sync unless you press stop

The fact that the flow app can’t auto end a ride pisses me off. The fact that I’ve turned the bike off should be reason enough to end the ride.

If I go back into the flow app and it end say a day later it messes with all my active cycling time on Apple health and puts 100s of minutes exercise in.

What a ball ache