How to connect a Concept2 PM5 to your iPhone and Apple Health
The PM5 monitor on a Concept2 rower has Bluetooth built in, so your iPhone can read your pace, stroke rate, power and distance live as you row. You don't pair it in the iPhone's Bluetooth settings. Instead, a rowing app connects to the monitor directly, and that app saves the finished row to Apple Health.
This guide walks through it with Streaks Strokes, then covers the problems that stop a PM5 from showing up. Most of the troubleshooting applies to any PM5 app.
What you need
- A Concept2 rower with a PM5 monitor. That's any RowErg, or a Model C, D or E fitted with a PM5. Older PM3 and PM4 monitors don't have Bluetooth.
- An iPhone with Bluetooth turned on.
- A rowing app. Concept2's free ErgData app works, as do third-party apps. The steps below use Streaks Strokes.
- An Apple Watch (optional), for heart rate on your wrist.
Connect your PM5, step by step
- Wake the monitor. Press any button on the PM5 or pull the handle. A sleeping PM5 doesn't broadcast over Bluetooth, so your phone can't see it.
- Open the app and allow Bluetooth. The first time you open Streaks Strokes, it asks to use Bluetooth. Tap Allow. This is the step most often missed.
- Confirm it's yours. The app finds the PM5 and connects. If it can't be sure the machine is yours, in a gym with several rowers for example, it asks you to confirm it with a tap.
- Row. The app remembers the machine and connects to it on its own whenever you open the app nearby. There's nothing to pair each time.
To add another machine later, such as one at work or at the gym, go to Settings → Connected Rowers → Add a Rower, choose Concept2 RowErg PM5, and pick it from the list. The app asks where the rower is so you can tell your machines apart.
Save your rows to Apple Health
The PM5 doesn't write to Apple Health itself. The app on your phone does that when you finish a row.
- When Streaks Strokes first opens, it asks for Health access. Tap Allow Health access and turn on the categories it asks for.
- If you skipped that step, open the app's Settings → Manage Health. You can also change access in the iPhone's Settings app, under Privacy & Security → Health.
Each finished row is then saved as an indoor rowing workout, with its duration, distance and active calories. If you wear an Apple Watch, the watch records the workout and your heart rate as you row. Rows saved this way count towards your Activity rings.
Connects to your PM5 once and remembers it, shows every stroke live, and saves each row to Apple Health.
When the PM5 won't connect
Another app is already connected
A PM5 talks to one app at a time. While ErgData, or any other rowing app, is connected, the monitor stops broadcasting and no other app can find it. This is the most common reason a PM5 "disappears".
Close the other app fully. On iPhone, swipe up from the bottom of the screen, pause, and swipe the app away. If someone else in the house uses the rower, check their phone isn't connected either.
The monitor is asleep
The PM5 goes to sleep after a few minutes without use, and a sleeping monitor can't be found. Press a button or pull the handle to wake it, then try again.
Bluetooth isn't allowed for the app
If you tapped Don't Allow when the app asked for Bluetooth, it can't search. Open the iPhone's Settings, go to Apps → Strokes (the app's name on your phone), and turn Bluetooth on. Also check that Bluetooth itself is on in Control Center.
It's paired in the iPhone's Bluetooth settings
The PM5 doesn't need pairing in Settings → Bluetooth, and apps connect to it directly. If you see it listed there from an earlier attempt, tap the info button beside it and choose Forget This Device.
The monitor's batteries are low
The PM5 runs on two D-cell batteries. If it keeps switching off or won't wake, replace them. Weak batteries can cause problems that look like Bluetooth faults.
Old monitor firmware
Any PM5 firmware can connect to Streaks Strokes, but newer firmware fixes bugs and adds features. A few extras in the app, such as the average force curve after a piece, need firmware from May 2026 or later. Your rower's page in Settings → Connected Rowers shows its firmware version and anything that isn't available on it. Concept2 provides free tools for updating the PM5.
Using a heart-rate strap
Apple Watch is the simplest way to get heart rate. If you prefer a chest strap, pair the strap with the PM5 itself. Streaks Strokes then reads your heart rate through the monitor and switches to it whenever the watch loses its reading, which can happen when you grip the handle hard.
What the PM5 shows while you row
When you pick a time or distance workout in Streaks Strokes, the app sets up the PM5 to match, so the monitor counts the piece the same way the app does. The machine's resistance and readings are still its own: the app chooses the workout, not the damper or the numbers.
More guides
- Does rowing close your Apple Watch rings?
- How to pace a 2k rowing test (and what a good 500 m split is)
- Can you track a rowing machine with an Apple Watch?
- Zone 2 rowing: how to find your zone and stay in it
A rowing app for iPhone and Apple Watch that connects to your Concept2 PM5. Free to download, no subscription.