Quick Answer: FitSwitch brings the same open-platform experience to the Peloton Tread that it brings to the Bike and Bike+. You get an on-screen metrics overlay showing your speed, incline, pace, and heart rate on top of any app, your run is broadcast to Apple Watch and Garmin for recording, and training apps that support FTMS can read your speed and incline—and even control your Tread's speed and incline where the app or watch supports it.
Table of Contents
- The Problem: Your Run Is Trapped in the Peloton App
- The Manual Method (and Its Limits)
- How FitSwitch Works on the Tread
- Metrics Overlay: Speed, Incline & Pace in Any App
- Connect Your Tread to Apple Watch & Garmin
- Training Apps & FTMS: Speed, Incline & Control
- Setting It Up
- FAQ
The Problem: Your Run Is Trapped in the Peloton App
The Peloton Tread is a fantastic piece of hardware. It knows your speed, your incline, your distance, and—if you wear a monitor—your heart rate. But all of that data lives inside the Peloton app.
The moment you step outside it, you're running blind:
- Open Netflix to pass the miles? No speed or incline on screen.
- Want to log the run in a real running app? It can't see the Tread.
- Want the run on your Apple Watch rings or in Garmin Connect? No connection.
This is the same wall Bike and Bike+ owners hit, and it defeats the purpose of premium hardware. You're forced to choose between Peloton's content with your metrics, or anything else with no metrics at all.
FitSwitch tears that wall down for the Tread.
The Manual Method (and Its Limits)
It is technically possible to open up your Tread yourself. Like the Bike, the Tread runs Android, so you can enable developer mode and sideload apps over ADB.
A typical manual attempt looks like this:
- Enable developer options on the Tread
- Connect a computer over ADB
- Sideload an APK (Netflix, a browser, a running app)
- Launch it
And it works—you'll get the app on screen. But here's where it falls apart:
- No metrics. Sideloaded apps have no access to the Tread's speed/incline sensors. You're back to running blind.
- No recording. Nothing reaches your watch or fitness account.
- No control. Apps can't change speed or incline.
- Fragile. A Peloton update can wipe your changes, and a wrong move risks bricking the device.
Getting an app on the screen is the easy 10%. Making the Tread's data actually flow to that app, your watch, and your training platform is the hard 90%—and that's exactly what FitSwitch does for you.
How FitSwitch Works on the Tread
FitSwitch reads the Tread's live data directly from the hardware and then makes it available everywhere a runner expects it:
- On the screen — a metrics overlay on top of any app
- On your wrist — broadcast to Apple Watch and Garmin
- In training apps — over the standard FTMS fitness-equipment profile
- Two-way — apps and watches that support it can set your target speed and incline
It detects that it's running on a Tread automatically and switches from Bike metrics (cadence/power/resistance) to Tread metrics (speed/incline/pace)—no configuration needed.
Metrics Overlay: Speed, Incline & Pace in Any App
Just like the metrics overlay on the Bike, FitSwitch draws a clean, slightly transparent bar across the bottom of the screen—but tuned for running:
- Speed — your current belt speed
- Incline — the current grade, as a percentage
- Pace — your minutes-per-mile (or per-km) pace, calculated live
- Heart Rate — from any connected monitor
The bar sits on top of whatever you're doing—Netflix, YouTube, a browser, or a running app—so you can watch a show on a long zone-2 run and still glance down at exactly how fast and how steep you're going. Session time and distance show along the bottom.
Connect Your Tread to Apple Watch & Garmin
This is where FitSwitch turns your Tread into part of your wider fitness ecosystem. FitSwitch broadcasts your run using the standard running profiles watches already understand—BLE Running Speed and Cadence (RSC) and ANT+—so your watch sees the Tread as a running sensor.
Apple Watch
Pair your Tread with a compatible workout app and your Apple Watch records the run—speed, distance, pace, and heart rate—so it counts toward your activity rings and lands in Apple Health.
Garmin
Garmin watches and head units can pick up the broadcast the same way they pick up a footpod, so the run flows into Garmin Connect with full pace, distance, and training-load tracking. ANT+ is built in, so there's nothing extra to buy.
Control from your watch
Because FitSwitch speaks the full two-way fitness-equipment protocol, watches and apps that support remote equipment control can set your target speed and incline from your wrist—handy for structured interval runs where you don't want to reach for the Tread screen mid-effort. (This depends on your specific watch/app supporting equipment control.)
Training Apps & FTMS: Speed, Incline & Control
FTMS (the Fitness Machine Service) is the universal Bluetooth language for gym equipment. FitSwitch broadcasts your Tread as a treadmill over FTMS, so any training app that supports treadmills can:
- Read your live speed and incline
- Record your distance and pace
- Drive your run—setting target speed and incline during a structured workout or a virtual route (where the app supports treadmill control)
That means guided running workouts, virtual routes, and structured interval sessions from third-party apps can run your Tread, with the app and the Tread staying perfectly in sync. FitSwitch also broadcasts over ANT+ for apps and devices on that ecosystem.
As with the Bike, training apps connect through the free FitSwitch Bridge companion app on your iPhone or Mac, which relays the FTMS connection. Check the current compatible apps list to see what's supported.
Setting It Up
Step 1: Install FitSwitch
Follow the FitSwitch installation instructions to set it up on your Tread. The same install that opens up your Tread for apps enables the overlay and broadcasting.
Step 2: Open Any App
Launch a streaming app, a browser, or a running app. The Tread metrics overlay appears automatically with your speed, incline, pace, and heart rate.
Step 3: Pair Your Watch or Training App
- Watch: Start a run/indoor-run workout and let it find the FitSwitch broadcast.
- Training app: Open the FitSwitch Bridge app on your phone, then connect to the treadmill from your training app.
Add a heart rate monitor for the full picture—FitSwitch works with any ANT+ or Bluetooth HR strap.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does FitSwitch work on the Peloton Tread?
Yes. FitSwitch supports the Peloton Tread and automatically shows running metrics (speed, incline, pace) instead of Bike metrics (cadence, power, resistance).
What metrics does the Tread overlay show?
Current speed, incline percentage, live pace, heart rate, plus session time and distance—on top of any app.
Can I record my Tread runs on Apple Watch or Garmin?
Yes. FitSwitch broadcasts your run over standard BLE (RSC) and ANT+ running profiles, so your Apple Watch or Garmin records speed, distance, pace, and heart rate.
Can apps control my Tread's speed and incline?
Yes, where supported. FitSwitch broadcasts your Tread as an FTMS treadmill, so training apps (and some watches) that support equipment control can set your target speed and incline.
Does the overlay work while watching Netflix or YouTube on the Tread?
Yes. The overlay is system-level, so your speed, incline, and pace stay visible on top of any streaming app, browser, or training app.
Does this need a heart rate monitor?
No, but it's recommended. Speed, incline, pace, and distance work on their own; adding any ANT+ or Bluetooth HR strap fills in heart rate.
Run Your Way
The Peloton Tread is excellent hardware—FitSwitch just stops it from being a walled garden.
With FitSwitch on your Tread you get:
- Speed, incline, and pace on top of any app
- Apple Watch and Garmin recording of every run
- Training apps over FTMS, including speed and incline control
- ANT+ and Bluetooth broadcasting to your whole ecosystem
Watch what you want, train how you want, and keep every mile in the apps and accounts you already use.
Get FitSwitch — open up your Peloton Tread.
Last updated: June 2026