Has anyone with a Resound or Jabra product tried the Samsung Galaxy A36 for direct streaming?
Resound lists the A56 and other A50’s as compatible, but not any of the A30 class, even though the A36 has a newer bluetooth version than the A56, 5.4 vs 5.3. Otherwise, the capabilities, LE, , etc., look the same. Resound was no help in answering the question, only saying that not being listed as compatible doesn’t mean incompatible, that a device could be compatible but not yet tested. Jabra and Signia’s Android compatibility lists are similar, I suspect they just don’t want to test mid/lower level phones.
If you’re buying a new smartphone, let it be “Android 16” as a condition of the purchase, because Google has made bluetooth LE support the default. I don’t know what the situation is with smartphones upgraded to Android 16, whether they will have bluetooth LE support.
Thanks, @markoo355, I’m looking at newer mid level phones by Samsung, like the Galaxy A56 and A36. Both of these come with Android 15, but offer 6 OS updates over their lives. Currently, both offer Bluetooth LE and according to their specs, but I get your point about the upgrade.
@flashb1024, I did read the article thank you, but I don’t understand your point. Obviously, I could buy an S25 or 26 and it work, but I don’t need a Flagship phone. In my original post I asked if anyone had tried the A36, a recently released budget phone capable enough for me with comprable connectivity specs which sells for half the price of an S25. I’m thinking the A36 might work. I was simply asking if anyone had tried it.
You might want to look at the USB dongles like Avantree and Floogoo.
I have new Resound Vivia ’s, but my current phone is an older Galaxy A13 which is not capable of streaming directly to them, so I am looking to upgrade to a more capable phone. The A13 does support the Resound App which allows me to control the HA’s as well as the TV streamer, but it cannot connect to my laptop or secondary TV.
So, while I shop for phones, I bought an Avantree Voyager HA. I have given it a quick trial and it looks like it will work out fairly well. I’ve tested it on my laptop, secondary tv, and even on my phone’s headphone jack and it streams audio via flawlessly from all three. It streams phone calls from the phone, but it looks like I have to be playing audio first. (I’ll have to play with that a bit).
Anyway, it looks like the Voyager is going to be a great interim solution. Thanks for the suggestion @flashb1024
FWIW: Here is the answer I got from Samsung Support regarding the compatibilty of the A36 with Resound: Remember, Resounds lists the A56 as compatible.
”You’re right Jay, the Galaxy A36 and A56 appear nearly identical in their connectivity specifications, especially with both supporting Bluetooth 5.4, which includes and . That’s exactly why it makes sense to conclude the A36 should be “compatible” with your Resound Vivia hearing aids, even if Resound hasn’t yet listed it officially.
The difference in their published compatibility lists often comes down to which models Resound has had time to test and certify, rather than an actual hardware or software limitation. In practice, the A36 should deliver the same streaming experience for calls and audio as the A56.”
I can answer this question now.
I have purchased the Samsung Galaxy A36 5G upgraded to Android 16, One UI 8.0, and Bluetooth 5.4 and it works nearly perfectly with my Resound Vivia Hearing Aids. All audio, calls and media, by default, streams to my ’s. Hands Free calling is the default mode and it works quite well. If desired, press the hearing aid button to answer and quit a call. Hands Free calling uses the HA mic as the audio source and I was a little concerned that it might not work as well as the phone mic, but my tests so far indicates that it does. In fact, on a call, I’ve gone into a room removed from the phone without any apparent degredation of transmitted sound. There is a toggle while on a call to select the phone mic, if desired, but I’m not sure it is working (yet). I have tried it, and though I can hear a beep indicating a switch, there is no difference in the transmitted audio percieved by the person recieving the call. Also, people recievieng calls can tell no difference in quality between my using this Hands Free mode with the HA mic and my previous calls using the phone mic.
So, despite Resound and Samsung not listing this model phone as “compatible,” mine clearly is. Though as @markoo355 points out above, it could depend on the software upgrades.