How to cast from and to a Nordictrack (2024)

The Nordictrack bike and treadmill come with a large screen to watch live exercises. As the Nordictrack is a connected device with access to WiFi, you may wonder if it is possible to cast from and to a Nordictrack. Is it even possible and how to do it then? This is what this article is all about!

If you are still hesitating between buying a Nordictrack or a Peloton, please note I have written a similar guide for Pelotonhere. I recommend you check it out (spoiler: it’s easier on a Peloton).

Can you cast a Nordictrack bike or treadmill to a TV?

It is possible to cast directly a Nordictrack to a TV by unlocking the privileged mode. Though popular, this method to cast is regularly blocked by product updates. A reliable workaround is to install iFit on a phone or tablet and to cast from this device instead.

Casting from a phone is interesting because it can connect by Bluetooth to the Nordictrack sensors. You can therefore cast the iFit app with your metrics to the TV.

How to cast a Nordictrack bike or treadmill to a TV

1. Download the iFit app on your phone or tablet.
2. Launch the app and register into your account.
3. Make sure the Bluetooth is activated and check that iFit finds your Nordictrack.
4. Launch an exercise from your phone instead of the Nordictrack.
5. Click on the casting logo.

If you look around Youtube, you will also find that it is possible to unlock the casting option of your Nordictrack by unlocking the privilege mode and installing some apps on the Nordictrack tablet.

This is not something I recommend because the experience is really poor. The casting often stops for no reason, it may even freeze the Nordictrack exercises from time to time. It really isn’t reliable. Moreover, updates are regularly pushed to block the hacks people share online. New hacks are then found and blocked again some weeks later.

So though you may manage to have it working today, this is not a guarantee it will work tomorrow. If you are still interested in going this way, the Youtube channel of “Nelson Munoz” is the way to go. He tries to find ways around the limitations after every new update.

Alternative method: directly from the TV

Instead of casting from the Nordictrack or phone, you can launch the iFit app directly on your TV by following these steps:

1. Download the iFit app on your TV, Roku stick, Fire TV stick, Android TV, or Apple TV.
2. Launch the app and register into your account.
3. Launch an exercise from your TV instead of the Nordictrack.

Can you cast to the Nordictrack screen?

It is not possible to cast directly from a computer or phone to the Nordictrack. However, it is possible to watch videos on it thanks to a web browser. Thus, you can watch directly Youtube, Netflix, or any other streaming service without having to cast it from another device.

Please note that when you “cast” to your Nordictrack, your running or cycling metrics won’t show up.The Nordictrack does not support overlays.You can ride but without having visual feedback.

How to cast to the Nordictrack screen

In order to watch videos on your Nordictrack, you have to enable the privileged mode. Since recent updates, going into this mode is more difficult than it used to be. That’s why the method I describe below goes through a factory reset.

This factory reset will allow you to unlock the privileged mode and install the apps you need to watch videos on the Nordictrack. Eventually, you can allow the updates again, you should still have access to all the apps you have installed before that.

The procedure I describe below comes from another article I wrote about how to watch Netflix or Youtube on a Nordictrack. If you are interested on reading it, you can find it here:

Step-by-step tutorial on how to “cast” videos to a Nordictrack:

1. Switch off your Nordictrack and wait a few seconds.
2. Locate a pinhole on the side or back of the screen console. This is the reset button.
3. With a paperclip, press and hold the reset button.
4. Switch on your Nordictrack while holding the reset button throughout the boot sequence.

   The Nordictrack will go through a factory reset that will allow you to enable the privileged mode.

5. When asked for Wi-Fi select “Continue without Wi-Fi” or “Skip”.

   You don’t want to have the updates go through at this point. Otherwise, the privileged mode will be blocked again.

6. You can now activate the privileged mode by tapping 10 times, waiting 7 seconds, and tapping 10 times again. “privileged mode is enabled” should now pop up.

   It can be done in many areas of the screen. Make sure it is done in an area that isn’t interactive. Many people are successful by doing it in the “maintenance settings” menu within settings.

7. Swipe up to show the android navigation button and click on the circle.

You should now arrive on the home screen where you can see apps like on a regular Android tablet.

8. On the home screen click on settings.

If the settings button is unavailable on your home screen, you will find it by clicking on the white button with the six dots. It will show the list of all the apps including the settings.

9. Go into security and activate “Unknown source”.

This option will allow you to install other apps on your Nordictrack such as Firefox or Netflix.

10. You can activate now activate the Wi-Fi, but refuse all updates at this point.
11. Go back to the home screen with the circle button.
12. Open the web browser and go to https://m.apkpure.com/
13. Download the Taskbar app and then the Firefox or Netflix app.
14. Swipe up and click on the circle to go back to the home screen.
15. Click on the white circle with the 6 dots.

15. Go in the downloads and install Taskbar
16. Open the Taskbar app, activate it in the top right corner (1), and click on General settings (2)

17. Now activate “Launch on boot”.

    The Taskbar app will simply add a taskbar that is always accessible. This is important because after finishing this procedure, you won’t have access to the android navigation menu anymore. The taskbar will be your only option to launch apps such as Firefox or Netflix.

18. Go back to downloads and install Firefox, Netflix or whatever app you need.
19. Then press and hold their icon in the taskbar to click on “Pin to recent”.
20. You can now accept all the updates the device asks for.

You may be prompted to do several updates, so be patient. After all the updates are finished, you won’t be able to go into the privileged mode again. But if you installed all the apps you wanted before and pinned them to the taskbar, they will still be available even without the privileged mode.

I recommend that you install Firefox instead of Chrome, I explain why in more detail in my other article about how to watch Youtube or a Nordictrack. If you did forget to install an app, you will need to go through all the steps once again.

This procedure should work with all the recent machines from Nordictrack but is not guaranteed on old models. Known models to work are the s22i, s15i, s10i, x32i, x22i, and most “Commercial” models.