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Phonak Infinio Sphere Ultra and BT

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I normally don’t have issues connecting to classic devices, but yesterday I turned off BT on my Android phone for a while and when I turned it back on, my wouldn’t connect. I had to delete the Spheres from the BT list and start over, including with the Phonak app.

But the really interesting part of this is that when I initially looked at the list of BT devices on my phone, it had identified my Spheres as hearing aids. It was trying to connect to them as LE Audio devices. I found this quite interesting, given that the Ultra Spheres don’t support LE Audio yet.

This may explain some of the connection issues others are experiencing.

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@CaptainTrips said:

But the really interesting part of this is that when I initially looked at the list of BT devices on my phone, it had identified my Spheres as LE Audio hearing aids.

Fascinating…

What kind of phone do you have? And when you reset everything and started over, did it go back to normal? (I would have loved to see a screenshot of the pre-reset Bluetooth device list!)

If you have a half hour to spare, watch this VERY enlightening video on the different Bluetooth versions and standards8. In a nutshell, your LE option is for LOW ENERGY tasks, so phone calls will drop, connections to aids will be unstable, and you’ll blame the hearing aids when it’s the BLUETOOTH they were built to use.

I thought Spheres had ? In that case, the LE would perform minor tasks in the background, but the Audio part would control streaming/connection stability? Looks like that may not be the case, and LE could also be controlling critical tasks on your phone.

Sad thing is even the audis/dispensers out there are flying blind with all the tradeoffs and options available. Let us know what works for you.

the only problem i have noticed with my sphere hearing aids is that sometimes they don’t charge. i have had them for over 2 weeks now and twice they haven’t charged. i put them in the charger and they don’t charge. charging works again when i unplug the usb cable and plug it back in. have you guys encountered this problem? the charger is probably the cause of the problem

In reply to @CaptainTrips

Ask your audi if there is ANY background function running on LE. Then, disconnect & unpair your aids, turn off and on, and re-pair + reconnect your aids using their NAME (not the LE_R or LE-L in the list of nearby devices!). For instance, my aids initially listed the LE_R & LE_L in the lineup, but I removed them from the list and picked Champagne - the name of my rechargeables. Just that one name connected them to my phone’s BT.

Next explore what version of OS and BT is loaded on your Pixel 8. Perhaps others here can tell you what versions work for the most reliable connectivity.

I went that route with my older One+ phone a few years back and found out I needed to update the phone’s OS.

I know all this sounds like kickin’ the tires to see if the headlights go on, but perhaps others here will suggest similar “black magic” to resolve the issues. There are SO MANY variables involved in today’s tech: + BT + phone OS + ….. Good luck and keep us posted.

Yes, that’s what I remember seeing.. LE-R and LE-L. By coincidence, I will be seeing my audiologist five hours from now, so I will inquire. My Pixel 8 did receive the latest Android updates recently, that included LE enhancements. Also, I did recently upgrade my Spheres to Ultra, and that is the reason for my visit today.. to have and feedback tuning for the Spheres.

In reply to @CaptainTrips

@CaptainTrips said:

From what I understand, Phonak says Spheres are hardware ready for LE Audio, but they have not yet implemented the firmware for it and it wasn’t included in the recent Ultra update.

That is correct. Phonak has specifically advised all Infinio owners to avoid the extreme risk of hypoxia by not holding our breaths.

In reply to @1Bluejay

Okay.. back from my audi. They did something different for me. They have a machine that allows bench testing for feedback, rather than inserting a whisker mic into each ear. She said that this is a little more accurate because there is no sound leakage. I’m pleased with the results.

And, she explained the LE_R, LE_L. That is the protocol that the Phonak app uses to talk to the . It’s a proprietary channel. That’s why the HAs loose connection easier if you have the app open and you walk away from your phone.

Do you have stay connected enabled in the Myphonak app? That should help, even if you walk away, the app will reconnect when you are back in range.

With the app set to stay connected it should stay connected even in the background. And the only way to stop that is to force it shutdown.

In reply to @CaptainTrips

@CaptainTrips said:

And, she explained the LE_R, LE_L. That is the protocol that the Phonak app uses to talk to the HA. It’s a proprietary channel. That’s why the HAs loose connection easier if you have the app open and you walk away from your phone.

I think she needed to be even clearer: LE = Low Energy. This protocol saves phone and hearing aid battery life at the expense of optimal user experience! Cuz as you’ve experienced (and your audi confirmed) it’s the LE part of the equation here that trades off rock steady connectivity for power-saving. Your aids will get disconnected from your phone when you have your aids paired + connected by selecting LE_R and LE-L from the lineup of “available” devices in Bluetooth.

She may have neglected to show or tell you that there should also be a single name (like Phonak L90R) in that same lineup. If you select THAT option, and connect in , you will have ROCK STEADY phone connectivty, but your battery life will be shorter. How much shorter? Depends on your usage for phone calls, streaming audio, etc.

Does that make sense? As cvkemp pointed out, you can also keep the LE_R/LE_L connection and then “stay connected” in myPhonak app if you have that on your phone. It would likely default to the single name option (e.g., Phonak L90R) and battery life would be diminished.

I disagree with you my Oticon INTENT1 aids are le/le audio and connectivity is rock solid. I can walk away from my phone go in different rooms and even go out side and my aids stay connected and I can stream and even take calls. And the streaming sound is awesome. I just hope my Phonak Spheres come close to the connectivity and sound I have with my INTENT1 aids. And my INTENT1 aids aren’t even at the latest firmware update.

I have the Samsung S25FE phone and I have to be honest I never had that good of a connection with iPhone.

@cvkemp said:

I disagree with you my Oticon INTENT1 aids are le/le audio and connectivity is rock solid

Yes, Oticon has improved the LE performance for Intent1. But CaptainTrips (like me) is in the Phonak world. Phonak’s philosophy is Classic Bluetooth, and their LE experience leaves a LOT to be desired.

Sorry if it appeared as if I was extending to the other makers of aids, I was only speaking with experience about Phonak here.

Altho when I trialed the Intent (not the 1), I returned them cuz I didn’t understand LE and I had paired + connected the aids to the LE_R and LE_L options. Could not keep a phone call going for more than a few seconds on my Android phone - Samsung Flip4 at the time. On top of which, at startup, my aids would never be automatically connected to as they are in Phonak.

It’s this conundrum of aids + BT standard + phone quirks that make things so difficult for us.

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