Downgrade of SC-E8000 display to SC-E7000

BigHairyDave

Member
Jan 24, 2020
15
5
Scotland
Does anyone know if you can "downgrade" the SC-E8000 display unit to the SC-E7000 ? I want to be able to use ANT+ to get sensor data on my Garmin device.

From what I have gathered so far all you can get via the E8000 display is battery percentage and Di2 gear (maybe cadence) ?
Whereas with the E7000 you can get that plus assistance level, cadence (definitely), speed.

The alternative appears to be adding the 100 sender unit thingy but apparently you need to lose the display completely and as I have Di2, add a junction box !

Any thoughts ?
 

Gary

Old Tartan Bollocks
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Subscriber
Mar 29, 2018
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the internet
Yeah. you just plug it in

I run the EN-100 instead of an E8000 display.
don't miss it.
I switch between a Garmin 530 or a tiny bar mounted TomTom multisport GPS for display/stats/GPS
I did have the E7000 display on another bike and didn't like it. being monochrome you couldn't simply glance at the screen and spot mode by colour. whereas with the EN-100 I can simply glance down at the 2 LEDs to see mode. The E7000 also didn't have the power band graphic which can be handy to use for conserving battery.

From what I have gathered so far all you can get via the E8000 display is battery percentage and Di2 gear (maybe cadence) ?
Whereas with the E7000 you can get that plus assistance level, cadence (definitely), speed.
do you have this the wrong way around?

you can get all that data (and way more) on your Garmin via the EN-100 when connected to the motor.
but not the power band graphic, just a percentage.
you have the option of using a dedicated STEPs display screen or an Ebike one (or custom if you want to set up something else)
If you're derestricted via chip/box in order to get accurate speed data using the STEPs data screen on your garmin you need to run a garmin wireless speed sensor.

It's basically pointless having a STEPs Display AND a connected Garmin
 
Last edited:

RickBullotta

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
Jun 5, 2019
1,743
1,488
USA
I'm thinking of doing the same thing - E7000. I like the idea of having a display, but I want to also do some telemetry capture on my Garmin Fenix watch.
 

raine

E*POWAH Master
May 9, 2019
398
325
SoCal, USA
Does anyone know if you can "downgrade" the SC-E8000 display unit to the SC-E7000 ? I want to be able to use ANT+ to get sensor data on my Garmin device.

From what I have gathered so far all you can get via the E8000 display is battery percentage and Di2 gear (maybe cadence) ?
Whereas with the E7000 you can get that plus assistance level, cadence (definitely), speed.

The alternative appears to be adding the 100 sender unit thingy but apparently you need to lose the display completely and as I have Di2, add a junction box !

Any thoughts ?

Yes you can "downgrade" by simply unplugging the SC-E8000 display unit and plugging in an SC-E7000 unit. (if you were wondering about some sort of software downgrade, that doesn't exist) I've switched around with the SC-E8000, SC-E7000, and EN-EW100 on my eMTB, and all were plug and play.

However, I eventually stuck with the EN-EW100 to use with my Garmin Edge 830 for the display as it is natively compatible with the Shimano STEPS system and shows me support level, support power, cadence, HR (from my Wahoo Tickr) plus the usual Garmin metrics. I found that having the Garmin made the E-8000/E-7000 display redundant, and just another thing I can take off my handlebar for a cleaner look, too :)
 

RickBullotta

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
Jun 5, 2019
1,743
1,488
USA
chicken n egg init?

Not really. The E7000 supports the additional telemetry, and it should be a simple matter of a software update to the E8000 to add them. Shimano sucks at software/firmware generally...
 

Gary

Old Tartan Bollocks
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Mar 29, 2018
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My understanding of ANT+ is that there needs to be a physical transmitter/reciever in the unit.
I know with all of my older Android phones that were not ANT+ compatible there was no APP/software available to enable it.
Correct me if I'm wrong (I'm no IT genius) but wouldn't this mean a rebuild of the E8000 display unit would be required rather than just a software update.
 

RickBullotta

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
Jun 5, 2019
1,743
1,488
USA
My understanding of ANT+ is that there needs to be a physical transmitter/reciever in the unit.
I know with all of my older Android phones that were not ANT+ compatible there was no APP/software available to enable it.
Correct me if I'm wrong (I'm no IT genius) but wouldn't this mean a rebuild of the E8000 display unit would be required rather than just a software update.

It has ANT+ but for some reason only transmits some Di2 data and battery info.
 

DeezNutzz

New Member
Jan 13, 2020
62
54
Temecula
I bought the e8000 display because of color lol and I only connect my phone nothing else so whoever is interested in the e7000 my email is [email protected] shoot me an email I’ll sell for $90 US dollars and free shipping anywhere if PayPal fee is covered
 

DeezNutzz

New Member
Jan 13, 2020
62
54
Temecula
Here is the display unit practically brand new
C2D37C61-6017-4A29-A5C4-A0AD53A50340.jpeg
 

BigHairyDave

Member
Jan 24, 2020
15
5
Scotland
Thanks for the offer but you can buy them new from Europe relatively easily (at least for now...) for around $125/£100 delivered.
 

raine

E*POWAH Master
May 9, 2019
398
325
SoCal, USA
It has ANT+ but for some reason only transmits some Di2 data and battery info.

They actually refer to it as "ANT + PRIVATE" because it doesn't communicate universally with any ANT+ devices, only devices that specifically incorporate STEPS compatibility (E-TUBE RIDE app, select Garmin and select Sigma cycling computers).

Yesterday evening I asked my Shimano rep if a simple firmware update would give the SC-E8000 more capability, but she said from what she knows the SC-E8000 doesn't have the ANT+ hardware, only Bluetooth hardware (for STEPS app connection and firmware update functions). Only the SC-E7000, SC-E6100, and EW-EN100 have both ANT + and Bluetooth hardware to do bi-communication with external monitoring devices i.e. Garmin, E-TUBE RIDE, etc. If it was a simple firmware update they would have done it already...

...so sounds like to get ANT + PRIVATE you'll need the SC-E6100 (no one wants that giant screen LOL), SC-E7000, or EW-EN100 (which I found the best option for my liking).

FUN FACT: Shimano's E-TUBE website says the SC-E8000 display is compatible with ANT + PRIVATE... but at the same time Shimano's E-TUBE RIDE website specifically says that the SC-E8000 display is NOT compatible... with the latter being correct for both.
 

BigHairyDave

Member
Jan 24, 2020
15
5
Scotland
That's what I had gathered, thanks for confirming that.

Looks like I'll need to try and source a reasonably priced SC-E7000

DeezNutzz, I'm trying to the get the one on my local eBay, but if I don't get that and you still have yours, we can hopefully work something out !
 

BigHairyDave

Member
Jan 24, 2020
15
5
Scotland
I managed to get a second hand one off eBay for £43.49 delivered ($56.47 for any americans..)

New they seem to be around £120 ish
 

RickBullotta

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
Jun 5, 2019
1,743
1,488
USA
They actually refer to it as "ANT + PRIVATE" because it doesn't communicate universally with any ANT+ devices, only devices that specifically incorporate STEPS compatibility (E-TUBE RIDE app, select Garmin and select Sigma cycling computers).

Yesterday evening I asked my Shimano rep if a simple firmware update would give the SC-E8000 more capability, but she said from what she knows the SC-E8000 doesn't have the ANT+ hardware, only Bluetooth hardware (for STEPS app connection and firmware update functions). Only the SC-E7000, SC-E6100, and EW-EN100 have both ANT + and Bluetooth hardware to do bi-communication with external monitoring devices i.e. Garmin, E-TUBE RIDE, etc. If it was a simple firmware update they would have done it already...

...so sounds like to get ANT + PRIVATE you'll need the SC-E6100 (no one wants that giant screen LOL), SC-E7000, or EW-EN100 (which I found the best option for my liking).

FUN FACT: Shimano's E-TUBE website says the SC-E8000 display is compatible with ANT + PRIVATE... but at the same time Shimano's E-TUBE RIDE website specifically says that the SC-E8000 display is NOT compatible... with the latter being correct for both.

E7000 display arrived yesterday. Will try connecting it to my Garmin Fenix 5 watch and report results!
 

BigHairyDave

Member
Jan 24, 2020
15
5
Scotland
Nope it won't work with the fenix 5. I tried last night. SC-E7000 display plugin and go !

Need a Garmin Edge 530, Edge 830, Edge 1030 or Edge Explore.

I don't know if any of the later watches will work.
 

RickBullotta

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
Jun 5, 2019
1,743
1,488
USA
Nope it won't work with the fenix 5. I tried last night. SC-E7000 display plugin and go !

Need a Garmin Edge 530, Edge 830, Edge 1030 or Edge Explore.

I don't know if any of the later watches will work.

I should I have said 5 Plus, but there's a guy who wrote an add-on for it that works with the E7000 allegedly. Will report back once I get it running (or not). Thanks!
 

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