Beatcast
Heart rate strap not connecting to your iPhone
By Andreas B. Diendorfer · ORCID · LinkedIn · Updated
Short answer
Most often the strap is asleep or something else is holding it. Put it on with damp contacts, quit the watch, bike computer and other apps that might have it, and check the app's Bluetooth permission. If that fails, look at the battery, then at whether the strap speaks ANT+ only.
Last checked: 12 October 2026.
The checklist, most likely first
1. The strap is asleep
Most sensors stay quiet until they feel a heartbeat. Moisten the electrodes of a chest strap and wear it. Arm bands need to sit snug on skin. Wait a few seconds before you give up on the list.
2. Something else is connected to it
By default many straps talk to one device at a time. A watch, a bike computer, a trainer, another phone app or the maker's own app can all be holding it. Close them or switch their Bluetooth off, then scan again.
Some straps do accept more than one. The two devices table has the models and the settings.
3. The app has no Bluetooth permission
If you tapped Don't Allow once, iOS remembers. In Settings, Privacy & Security, Bluetooth, switch the app on. Beatcast says "Allow Bluetooth for Beatcast in Settings, Privacy to scan" when this is the problem.
4. Bluetooth is off
Beatcast says so and tells you to turn it on in Control Center. Then reopen the list.
5. The strap is still listed in iOS Settings
If your strap shows under Settings, Bluetooth, tap it and choose Forget This Device, then try again in the app. Many straps never appear there at all, which is normal.
6. The battery
A tired battery makes a strap flaky before it makes it dead. Fit a fresh one if the model uses a coin cell, or charge it if it is rechargeable.
7. It speaks ANT+ only
We know of no iPhone with an ANT+ radio. A strap that sends ANT+ and nothing else needs an ANT+-to-Bluetooth bridge to work. The box or the maker's page should say Bluetooth.
Is it the strap or the app
Open the maker's own app, or any second app that reads a Bluetooth strap. If the strap shows up there, the strap is fine and your first app is the place to look. If it shows up nowhere, it is the strap: battery, contacts, or the dual connection.
After a firmware update
Some users report that a strap stopped connecting after an update, and the Garmin Cirqa had a recent case (see the Cirqa page). Reports stay reports until the maker confirms a bug. Removing and re-pairing helped some people, and did nothing for others.
Where Beatcast fits
If a strap shows up in Beatcast's list, it reads the standard Bluetooth heart rate service and the connection works. The list says what it is looking for, and when it finds nothing it tells you why. Beatcast on the App Store. Fourteen days free, then one purchase.
Questions
Why does my Polar H10 not show up?
Asleep, or held by another device, in that order. The Polar H10 page has the dual Bluetooth setting.
Why does my Garmin HRM-Dual read zero?
Dry contacts, or both Bluetooth slots taken. A zero from a strap that has lost skin contact is treated as a short gap, so it is not recorded and not written to Apple Health. See the HRM-Dual page.
Does the Wahoo TICKR need Wahoo's app?
No, per the standard service. Wahoo recommends one connected device where possible.
Good to know
Beatcast is not a medical device. It is built for training and general wellbeing, and it cannot detect, diagnose, treat or monitor any condition. If something about your heart worries you, talk to a doctor rather than to an app.
The Bluetooth word mark is a registered trademark of Bluetooth SIG, Inc. Apple, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, AirPods, Apple Health, Dynamic Island, Lock Screen and StandBy are trademarks of Apple Inc. Powerbeats and Beats are trademarks of Beats Electronics, LLC. All other device and app names belong to their owners and are used only to say which sensors Beatcast can read. Beatcast is an independent product and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or certified by any of them.
Got your device working? Report it in r/beatcast and it goes on the list.