Troubleshooting

If you tracked the workout with a third-party app like Strava, Garmin Connect, or Zwift, the source app sometimes takes a few minutes before it writes the workout into Apple Health. Until that happens, MoveFirst has nothing to read, even though the workout already exists in the source app.

The reliable nudge is to open the source app yourself:

1. Open the app you used to record the workout (Strava, Garmin Connect, etc.) and wait a few seconds. The workout should appear in its feed.
2. Swipe back to the home screen to background it.
3. Open MoveFirst. The workout should sync within a few seconds and your earned time should fill in.

Apple Watch and the built-in Workout app write to Apple Health instantly, so this only affects third-party apps. Zwift in particular routes through Strava, which adds an extra hop and an extra possible delay.

A few things can cause this. Check them in order:

1. Open iPhone Settings → Privacy & Security → Health → MoveFirst and confirm Workouts is toggled on. HealthKit silently returns no data if access is denied. MoveFirst can't tell the difference between "no permission" and "no workouts."
2. In MoveFirst, go to Settings → Exercise Rewards and check that your activity type (running, cycling, strength training, etc.) is enabled. Disabled types don't earn time.
3. Check the minimum workout duration in the same screen. Workouts shorter than the minimum (5 minutes by default) are skipped.
4. Workouts manually added to Apple Health don't count. Only sessions recorded by an app or device (Apple Watch, Strava, Strong, etc.) qualify.

After fixing any of the above, force-quit MoveFirst (swipe up from the app switcher) and reopen it to re-sync.

The default minimum is 5 minutes, and it's configurable per user. Open Settings → Exercise Rewards and adjust the minimum duration to whatever feels right for you.

To keep things fair, MoveFirst skips workouts that were typed in by hand in the Apple Health app. Only sessions recorded by a fitness app or device count, including Apple Watch, Strava, Strong, Nike Run Club, Peloton, Whoop, Runna, Zwift, and so on. If you tracked your workout with one of those, it should appear in Apple Health as a recorded workout and earn time normally.

When you connect a new fitness app to Apple Health (e.g. installing Strong for the first time), all of that app's historical workouts can show up as "new" to MoveFirst. Current builds filter these out so they don't inflate your balance. If you ever see something off, force-quit and reopen the app. The server reconciles on the next sync and corrects any optimistic balance changes.

This usually means Family Controls authorization was revoked, or the app selection didn't save. Try this:

1. Open iPhone Settings → Screen Time and confirm MoveFirst is still authorized.
2. In MoveFirst, go to Settings → Blocked Apps, tap to open the app picker, re-select the apps you want to block, and tap Done.
3. Force-quit MoveFirst and reopen it.
4. Open one of the blocked apps. The shield should now appear.

Family Controls requires iOS 16 or later. If your device is managed by an MDM profile (e.g. school or work), Screen Time may be disabled entirely.

The shield posts a local notification that hands you back to MoveFirst. If notifications are off, that handoff is silent. Open iPhone Settings → Notifications → MoveFirst and confirm Allow Notifications is on. Then force-quit and reopen MoveFirst, and try a blocked app again.

This happens when you sign in with Apple using Hide My Email first, then later sign in with Google using your real email (or vice versa). The two addresses don't match, so MoveFirst can't automatically link them. You end up with two separate accounts. Going forward, pick one sign-in provider and stick with it. If you need accounts merged, email contact@movefirst.co.

Usually a flaky OAuth browser session. Force-quit MoveFirst and reopen it, confirm you have an internet connection, and try again. If one provider keeps failing, try the other (Apple or Google).

Check both sides:

1. iPhone Settings → Notifications → MoveFirst → Allow Notifications must be on.
2. In MoveFirst, Settings → Reminders must be enabled with a reminder time set.

Reminders are local notifications scheduled by your phone, so Do Not Disturb or Focus modes can suppress them at the scheduled time.

MoveFirst reads workouts from Apple Health, not directly from the Strava API. To make Strava workouts count, open the Strava app, go to You → Settings → Applications, Services and Devices → Health, and turn on Health sharing for the workout types you care about. The same pattern works for Strong, Whoop, and most other fitness apps. Connect them to Apple Health, and MoveFirst picks them up automatically.