Connecting asensei to a WaterRower

asensei is now compatible with WaterRower rowing machines with Bluetooth support.  This means that great indoor rowing workouts and training programs from asensei's coaches such as Eric Murray, Dark Horse Rowing and Johan Quie are now available for WaterRower users for the first time.  Read on to learn how to connect.

Which WaterRowers are compatible with asensei

Only Bluetooth equipped WaterRowers work with asensei.  In practice this means that you must have a WaterRower with an S4 Performance Monitor and a ComModule installed - as shown in the image below.

If you have a WaterRower with an S4 monitor and would like to purchase a ComModule to add Bluetooth functionality to your rowing machine you can do so here:

• USA - https://www.waterrower.com/ca/commodule.html 
• UK - https://www.waterrower.co.uk/commodule 
• Germany - https://www.nohrd.com/de/waterrower-com-module.html 
• Others: https://www.nohrd.com/de/chose-country/ 

To find out more about the ComModule, you can read the article ComModule - Connect Your WaterRower which covers installation, connection, and more!

How To connect to a WaterRower with a ComModule

asensei looks for a Bluetooth connection after you start your workout.  So start your workout first before connecting.  When you reach the connection video in the workout asensei will display SCANNING FOR... on screen and will start to look for a suitable Bluetooth enabled rowing machine that is advertising.

To make your WaterRower S4 Performance Monitor with ComModule console ready to connect you should do the following once you reach the connection video in the workout:

1. Turn the S4 Performance Monitor on using the Power button.

2. Press the button on the top of the ComModule which should flash Blue to indicate it is advertising (ready to connect).  

The rowing machine will now be visible to asensei and should connect automatically.  Once the connection is established the workout will progress. 

Troubleshooting Connections

If your WaterRower does not connect then try the following:

• Press the button on the top of the ComModule again and check that it flashes blue. If the light does not turn on you may need to charge the ComModule via the supplied USB cable, which requires you to detach it from your S4 Performance Monitor.
• If the ComModule button flashes red you may need to charge your ComModule which you should be able to do via the supplied USB cable - you need to detach it from the S4 Monitor to do so.

Known Limitations

• The effort to achieve a given split time on a WaterRower is known to differ from other rowing machines (such as a Concept 2), so we would generally recommend that you use asensei on a single brand of rowing machine only.  if you use a mixture of rowing machines then you may find that your split targets will be less accurate for you.  Currently asensei does not attempt to normalize between different types of rowing machines.  For more information see this article: Working out on multiple types of rowing machines.
• The CREW X ASENSEI FAST FRIDAY workout in the CREW x ASENSEI program (subscribers only) will not progress when you reach the 500m race segment at the end of the workout.  You must tap the screen and hit Stop to end your workout.
• Various workouts talk about Concept 2 specific features, but the workouts should be fully functional other than those mentioned above.
• If you created your asensei account some time ago and are coming back to the app the legacy connection video displayed for existing asensei users only gives instructions for connecting to a Concept2 rowing machine, even though WaterRower is now supported.  To have asensei display the new connection instructions video you need to logout of your asensei app and back in again.