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In the past 8 months, TWO oticon intent chargers failed on me, the last one on an essential business trip

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I don’t even know where to start… I’m not sure what frustrates me more

How Oticon designs these chargers that are ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL to the life of many people with so little thought put into making it even remotely robust.

How they put a USB-C port on it even though it clearly cannot handle the negociation. Or how they cannot, at this outrageous price point, hire some engineers that could.

How not even a shitty Aliexpress (USB-C or not) device ever crapped out on me, but this essential piece of tech does, twice in a row.

Orrrr, might it be the fact these things are DEAD SIMPLE PCB’s in a cheap moulded ABS housing, for which Oticon charges a whopping €200+?

As you may guess, I’m beyond frustrated, and getting close to the point of ditching this brand altogether, after wearing oticon for close to 20 years…

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well they didn’t on me, they are even only on an external usb hub. So I don’t know what you’re charging. what cables you use or what settings you use on your power bank.

Yet.

I’m using the regular Apple USB-c bricks and occasionally a spigen 65w GaN charger.

No settings should cause issues, as the devices are supposed to negociate autonomously

the charger has a usb-c input as industry standard, comes with a usb-c to usb-A cable.

It operates on 5V only! you you use a super charger usb-c to usb-c you simply made a mistake here.

and 65W is overkill for the 5V charger and 3.8V rechargeable. use it with the usb-a cable and on a 5V line.

you seem to not know what you are doing.

@Gerhard_R said:

you seem to not know what you are doing

That’s not entirely fair, IMO. It’s 2025 - almost 2026 now - and it’s normal for recent USB devices to tolerate any basically “legal” USB power source. For a brand new and expensive charging case to die from being connected to mainstream, ordinary USB power supplies is not acceptable in this day and age, and hearing aid manufacturers should not expect us to travel with an extra power adapter because their “baby” is too sensitive. (And if for some reason they can’t solve a design problem that everyone else seems to have solved, they should use a connector other than USB!)

For what it’s worth, I’m not sure this problem is unique to Oticon. My initial Phonak Sphere charging case died almost immediately after I got it home, and I’m not sure if it was defective from the get-go or had a problem with the USB hub I connected it to. Since then, I’ve been paranoid and connected the replacement case only to a charger that I know is fairly low-powered - but again, I do not consider this kind of limitation to be acceptable nowadays.

@DonRadlauer said:

That’s not entirely fair, IMO. It’s 2025 - almost 2026 now - and it’s normal for recent USB devices to tolerate any basically “legal” USB power source

no you can inform yourself. actually read the charging booklet and it comes with a USB-A male plug for a reason.

I would come with usb-c to usb-c if it was meant for power charging. it isn’t.

Every hearing aid only had 1.45V zink-air batteries before, so you know hearing aids are low voltage, not high voltage. and if in doubt ask again before buying.

and when the first chargers dies, before you kill the 2nd, ask again how to use them.

@Gerhard_R said:

and when the first chargers dies, before you kill the 2nd, ask again how to use them.

I’m a software developer with 47 years of experience and the gray hair to prove it - and plenty of experience mucking about with hardware as well. And while I’m a newbie to hearing aids, I’m far more knowledgeable about computers and peripherals than my hearing-aid provider is.

Something I learned many years ago from my father is relevant here: The way to design systems and processes that will work well in the real world is to make it easier for people to do things right than to do things wrong. In this context, releasing a product with a USB-C connector on the case, in a world where USB is treated as a standard for essentially interchangeable devices, power sources, and cables, means that the manufacturer should expect people to plug the charger into whatever USB power sources they are using for their other USB devices. If the charging case is not able to cope with real-world USB power sources, it should absolutely not be fitted with a USB connector - if it’s proprietary, it should have a proprietary connector.

The way to design systems and processes that do not work well in the real world is to make it easier for people to make mistakes than to do things correctly - and then yell at them for not being careful enough.

Edited

In reply to @Gerhard_R

Lol okay, smooth ad-hominem, but your messages are unfortunately showing your own ignorance on the subject. Trust me, I know my stuff when it comes to electronics.

Placing a USB-C port on a 200€ device which isn’t compliant with the standard, forcing people who already have challenges in daily life to bring a second charger brick and cable even though good engineering could’ve prevented it, is malicious at best.

If you actually want to understand, start on this link. Then read more about the difference between maximum power ratings and requested power ratings. I can charge a 1W device on my 300W USB charger, doesn’t matter, at all.

The Basics of USB Power Delivery Negotiations3

Discover the Power of USB-C USB Power Delivery (USB PD) is a crucial aspect of USB-C technology, allowing for faster charging and increased power delivery capabilities of up to 240 Watts! If you haven't checked out our blog on The USB-C Connection...

Edited

:roll_eyes::roll_eyes::roll_eyes:

You clearly haven’t read the link, and aren’t interested in learning.

You also seem oblivious to the fact many USB-A bricks can also deliver 9 or 12V, delivering up to 45W

image

why do you keep talking about that?

why don’t you use a 5V one or change it to limit to 5V?

why do you want to lecture me if you killed 2 chargers? who needs to be lectured?

Oticon needs to be lectured, and you gotta learn not to defend companies when they make obvious mistakes.

I use the simple power brick my audiologist gave me. It is too easy. @insevh quoted text above:

@Insevh said:

image

specified USB 2.0. Well, that is pretty limited. 2.5W unless 1.2 which can boost to 7.5 W, but no higher voltages, just higher current ability. Play with fire, and you might get burned.

I’m sorry equipment was destroyed. Hope the future holds out for you.

WH

You are using the same chargers and two Oticon chargers fail? Something is wrong with one of your chargers. That is what is defective, not the Oticons.

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