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    FeaturedReferenceHow Zwift Works

    6 Ways to Activate a Powerup In Zwift

    Eric Schlange
    By Eric Schlange
    December 13, 2021
    15

    Powerups have been a part of Zwift since early days, but they’ve evolved over the years as Zwift fine-tunes their usage and expands the list of powerups.

    While many riders are still trying to figure out how to use all the powerups properly (see our Misused Powerups series), we thought it might be helpful to explain all the ways a powerup can be activated. Because what good is a powerup if you can’t use it?

    #1: Spacebar

    Long a favorite keyboard shortcut for Zwifters, the spacebar is one big powerup trigger. Just tap it and go.

    On a related note: tying powerups to the spacebar means you can do fun things like implementing a wireless, handlebar-mounted Bluetooth button so you can activate powerups without taking your hands off the hoods. Brilliant!

    #2: Companion App Tap

    If you’ve got a powerup, it will show up on the home screen of your phone’s Zwift Companion app. Just tap it whenever you’d like to use it.

    Watch out that you don’t let a drop of sweat or errant finger trigger the powerup accidentally. That mistake could really hurt if you’re holding an anvil!

    #3: Play Button on AppleTV Remote

    Here’s a little-known powerup activation method: the play button on the much-hated AppleTV remote! That’s right. If you’re holding a powerup and hit “Play” it will be immediately triggered.

    And you thought that remote was good for nothing!

    #4: Mouse Click

    On a Mac or PC, but don’t have a keyboard nearby? You can click the powerup icon on screen to activate it.

    #5: Tapping Your Screen

    Zwifting from a touchscreen device like a phone or tablet? Tapping the screen will activate the powerup, just like a mouse click.

    #6: Wahoo KICKR Bike Button

    Wahoo KICKR Bike riders have a super-sweet powerup shortcut built into their handlebars. That’s right: if you ride a Wahoo KICKR Bike, the top-right hood button activates your powerup!

    In order for this to work, you have to have the bike paired via Bluetooth in the “Controllable” box of the pairing screen.

    Questions or Comments?

    Post below!

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      Eric Schlange
      Eric Schlangehttp://www.zwiftinsider.com
      Eric runs Zwift Insider in his spare time when he isn't on the bike or managing various business interests. He lives in Northern California with his beautiful wife, two kids and dog. Follow on Strava

      15 COMMENTS

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      KB824
      KB824
      8 months ago

      thanks I did not know about the space bar one. It’s weird lately the powerups have not been showing up on screen, once I had to tell someone to activate my aero in the sprint and tell them exactly when to activate it which is not one you included!

      0
      Reply
      Ed500
      Ed500
      8 months ago

      In about 80% of the times I race in Zwift, the companion app doesn’t synchronize with my iPad. How can this be solved ?
      (PS: I would like to continue using this combination, with the companion app on my iPhone as the remote control).

      0
      Reply
      P Sauve
      P Sauve
      8 months ago
      Reply to  Ed500

      They both have to be logged into the same WiFi network. That bit me early on.

      0
      Reply
      Brian White
      Brian White(@bwhite234)
      8 months ago
      Reply to  Ed500

      Sometimes entering an event the event doesn’t carry the power up over to the event. You have close and reopen the companion

      0
      Reply
      Eric Schlange
      Author
      Top Member
      Eric Schlange(@eschlange)
      8 months ago
      Reply to  Brian White

      Powerups are no longer carried over into events… that was an old function that Zwift disabled quite a while ago.

      0
      Reply
      Josh Molnar
      Josh Molnar
      8 months ago

      Whoa the play button on Apple TV? If I would have know that….After the new update where you need two swipes + 1 push it has cost me dearly in sprint finishes. Thanks for the awesome tip!

      1
      Reply
      Dustin
      Dustin
      8 months ago

      Anyone else having the issue of the bonus XP powerup, not showing up on the companion app to activate?

      0
      Reply
      Eric Schlange
      Author
      Top Member
      Eric Schlange(@eschlange)
      8 months ago
      Reply to  Dustin

      The bonus XP powerup is automatically “activated” as soon as you receive it. You get the bonus XP right away, and the powerup disappears.

      0
      Reply
      Dustin
      Dustin
      8 months ago
      Reply to  Eric Schlange

      Thanks Eric, I didn’t experience the issue in the latest crit race I did, however the previous one would not automatically activate the + powerup and I would have to manually clear it on my android device powering Zwift. The companion app would show that I had no powerup. Hopefully just a small glitch at the time.

      0
      Reply
      Patrick Tan
      Patrick Tan(@cyclistsg)
      8 months ago

      Guess I am the odd one using voice recognition to activate the Power Up via a 3rd party application that has been tuned close to perfection (based on my voice and accent).

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKC_8AhWFc0

      Last edited 8 months ago by cyclistsg
      0
      Reply
      Craig
      Craig
      8 months ago

      Also on the Wahoo Kickr Bike the button on the handlebars will activate a power-up

      0
      Reply
      Eric Schlange
      Author
      Top Member
      Eric Schlange(@eschlange)
      8 months ago
      Reply to  Craig

      Ah, true! Added it to the post above.

      0
      Reply
      Kristoffer Smed
      Kristoffer Smed
      8 months ago

      I always use voice activation 😆

      0
      Reply
      Kristoffer Smed
      Kristoffer Smed
      8 months ago
      Reply to  Kristoffer Smed

      If you do not know, your power-up can be activated by yelling “To infinity and beyond!” on all devices/apps 😉

      0
      Reply
      John
      John(@profjohnbowers)
      8 months ago

      Did not know about the mouse click. Now I know why my power ups disappear sometimes. Wiping sweat off the track pad almost definitely triggers a click some times.

      1
      Reply
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