Echelon kills smart home gym equipment offline capabilities with update

A firmware update has killed key functionality for Echelon smart home gym equipment that isn't connected to the Internet.

As explained in a Tuesday blog post by Roberto Viola, who develops the "QZ (qdomyos-zwift)" app that connects Echelon machines to third-party fitness platforms, like Peloton, Strava, and Apple HealthKit, the firmware update forces Echelon machines to connect to Echelon’s servers in order to work properly. A user online reported that as a result of updating his machine, it is no longer syncing with apps like QZ, and he is unable to view his machine's exercise metrics in the Echelon app without an Internet connection.

Affected Echelon machines reportedly only have full functionality, including the ability to share real-time metrics, if a user has the Echelon app active and if the machine is able to reach Echelon’s servers. Viola wrote:

• On startup, the device must log in to Echelon’s servers.
• The server sends back a temporary, rotating unlock key.
• Without this handshake, the device is completely bricked—no manual workout, no Bluetooth pairing, no nothing.

Because updated Echelon machines now require a connection to Echelon servers for some basic functionality, users are unable to use their equipment and understand, for example, how fast they're going without an Internet connection. If Echelon were to ever go out of business, the gym equipment would, essentially, get bricked.

Viola told Ars Technica that he first started hearing about problems with QZ, which launched in 2020, at the end of 2024 from treadmill owners. He said a firmware update appears to have rolled out this month on Echelon bikes that bricks QZ functionality. Echelon didn’t respond to Ars Technica’s request for comment.

In his blog, Viola urged Echelon to let its machines send encrypted data to another device, like a phone or a tablet, without the Internet. He wrote:

Users bought the bike; they should be allowed to use it with or without Echelon’s services.

Echelon is in hardware, software, and subscription sales, which makes independently running equipment and apps like QZ potential threats. Yet, it's still vexing to see another example of a company changing the capabilities of its products after people already bought them. Not all Echelon owners use QZ, but many owners may be impacted when the machines lose key functionality if offline.