Installing a "Avantalk C82 LEA "on a "2020 M1 MacBook Air" which lacks a "USB audio port"

I’d turn the BT off on the pixel if you’re trying to pair the aids to a new device. Turn off anything the aids are paired to when you try to do this. I expect your phone is making the connection, leaving no room to pair the aids.

WH

I finally got Green on the dongle window {!} and a momentary syllabyl of sound shot into my hearing aids which then disappeared.
I’m now pretty convinced that the Rexton charger is the culprit. It’s no longer doing a reliably good job charging and/or switching them into charging mode. As soon as the weather allows, I’m calling and going to Costco to get the standard charger (which should have been included by Rexton instead of this “travel” dingy {in my opinion).

Hi @Nate, It’s great to hear you’ve made some progress. Let me respond to your specific questions.

1. But I can’t seem to get anyone to comment on the menubar screenshots I keep posting. Are they or are they not indicating what they should be indicating?
2. Is the input set right? Is the output set right?

The sound settings shown in your menu bar screenshots are correct for both input and output.

3. Did your installer put your software in the right place in the dropdown menu? If it is in the right place, why does it respond to selection/click
4. What does that mean to tech support?
5. If you are intending to get it off Bluetooth, why did your installer put it under a menubar named “Bluetooth?”

That’s certainly an unusual place for it to appear. I need to figure out why it can be seen in the bluetooth menu - it also appears in the PC/Windows system , like the others non-Bluetooth audio device shown in the menu. In our tests, the C82 LEA works correctly with other LE Audio headphones despite still appearing in the Bluetooth menu, which confirms this is only a display issue and doesn’t affect functionality. So you can safely remove it from the Bluetooth menu or simply ignore the listing. Just to clarify, the C82 LEA is a plug-and-play (driverless) device and no installer.

6. Lastly, is there any credence to ChatGPT’s assertion that not all 2020 MacBook Air M1s came with USB ports that can be used as audio ports but instead relied on the audio in/out port installed on the right side of the laptop?
7. And if so, why can’t this be solved by sending me an adapter/transmitter for the right round audio port if that would work with my Rextons?

I got the different answer from other AI model and I believe with that USB audio is a standard feature on modern computers. This confirms that the issue is not related to the computer’s USB capabilities, but rather points to a potential problem with the LE Audio connection itself, which we should focus on troubleshooting.

The discrepancy in battery levels between your hearing aids—showing 100% for the Right and 0% for the Left—is likely due to either incomplete charging (possibly due to poor contact like you said?) or a synchronization issue between L&R.

You mentioned the dongle briefly showed a green light—what a journey! Could you confirm if you were able to hear sound from both Left and Right hearing aids during that moment? Please let us know once the Left hearing aid is fully charged and you’ve had a chance to test the connection again.

If C82 LEA doesn’t light up solid green, a firm connection has not been established.

It’s a good way to verify if the L & R hearing aids are ready for pairing by checking whether they appear as available devices in your phone’s Bluetooth menu. The key step we recommend repeating is: after removing the hearing aids from the charging case, please confirm that the L & R are connected to each other before plugging the C82 LEA dongle into your Mac or phone. And then, as @WhiteHat mentioned, please turne off BT on your phone before attempting to connect the hearing aids to another device.

Looking forward your further observation. BTW, we will release new firmware in a few days, I will let you know if it’s ready.

@DannyLee said:

If C82 LEA doesn’t light up solid green, a firm connection has not been established.

My fitter ordered me the full size charger and in the meantime got the finicky travel charger working. The good news is that your suggestion to replace the 3 clicks by unplug/replug works to give me a solid green on your device; pressing volume on 100% shows Avantalk as the source; playing a video gives me a split second of sound now and then; otherwise dead silence on my Mac even with my phone turned off so how could it be a bad or weak connection?; also my Pixel 9 confirms it has LE audio FWIW.

@DannyLee said:

If so, let me know the best way to share the firmware with you. The dongle can be updated manually using the Avantree Firmware Updater via the Local Update option.

YES! Absolutely I will try it! Do you have one of my email addresses?. How should I send it to you?

I have struggled hours, even with the help of this forum, to connect Rexton Reach to MacBook Air 2020 (early). No success so far, but here are some things I learned.

First of all, the C82 IS NOT A BLUETOOTH device although the Mac may sometimes think it is. It is an AUDIO device that re-broadcasts in LE or old Bluetooth. it does not get paired with the Mac.

PAIRING is between the C82 LEA and the hearing aids. It is signified by the lamps on the C82 (AKA “the dongle”). So don’t go to the Bluetooth preferences to see the C82 or the hearing aids connected (although some may appear there). The C82 is part of the audio system (and BTW, both output and as a mic-input for video meetings).

I have my large music collection on a 2010 MacBook. The C82 work like a charm since it allows the Rexton Reachs (which are only LE) to work with the old MacBook (which is only old Bluetooth).

You need to turn off your cellphone so as not to be an LE distraction for the C82 pairing process.

There may be errors in my post, so please correct me.

Ben in Toronto

(Now I’ll look for the Rexton Reach forum to deposit my harsh opinion on their audio quality and offer my opinion why that is.)

The C82 wants the Macbook Air 2020 to think it is an audio device and be manipulated with the audio controls not the USB controls.

But the nature of USB is an additional confounding factor.

USB is known principally as a digital output. But USB-C (and possibly earlier USB formats) has pins that transfer analog audio. But is seems some devices (or their software) can choose to output analog audio to their uSB-C port (rather than to their headphone port) and some do not.

The MacBook Air 2020 has only two USB-C ports and many of us rely on dongles to attach multiple other devices (such as printers, monitors, ethernet, memory chips, USB, etc.). It may also be the case that some dongles will carry the analog audio and some may not.

It may be that the C82 takes analog audio at the USB-C plug as the basis for broadcasting its LE signal. And that helps the Macbook Air 2020 view it as an analog audio device, not just a USB plug.

Maybe.

Thank you for pointing this out — it’s clear we need to improve our setup guide.

Repeatedly re-pairing hearing aids between the computer and the C82 LEA is definitely a test of patience. If your iPhone has a USB-C port (iPhone 15 or later), here’s a workaround: after pairing your hearing aids with the C82 LEA, you could plug it directly into your iPhone. It may not be a perfect solution, but it could save you some of the re-pairing hassle. Worth a try?

DannyLee, I most appreciate all of your efforts, but the bottom line is that this setup is just too frustrating and unpredictable; and even though my efforts with this device mostly fail, it often seems to confuse my Rexton Reaches to the point that it becomes more difficult to connect and reconnect them back to my phone’s bluetooth afterwards. It’s just too convoluted; I have gone back to just slipping my trusty $60 Shokz bone conductors on in front of my ears when I want to listen to /watch Youtube videos etc. and they connect everytime/anytime with no fiddling around pulling my hearing aids out of my ears, into my charger, and back into my ears and all the other steps.With the Shokz my Rextons stay in place at all times and I just charge the Shokz overnight with a standard charger cord which hangs from the side of my armchair. If I forget to take them off before I get into bed, I stick them in an extra charger cord which hangs from my nightstand. End of frustration.

Hi @Nate,

Thank you again for all the time and effort you’ve put into testing this with us — I really appreciate it.

Based on everything we’ve gone through, I think it’s fair to say that using the C82 LEA in your current setup may not be the best fit. As you’ve experienced, when a pair of hearing aids needs to switch between different connected devices, it can become quite challenging to manage reliably.

I think your approach of using Shokz headphones to relay the audio to your hearing aids is actually very smart and practical. It avoids disrupting the stable connection between your hearing aids and your wife’s microphone, which seems to be an important part of your daily use.

Looking ahead, if your hearing aids receive a future firmware update that enables Auracast listening, there may be a better opportunity to stream audio from your computer without interrupting the microphone connection. In that case, if you’re interested, you could try an Auracast-based solution with upgrading the USB dongle to Auracast support version.

Thanks again for your patience.

Using a USB hub with MacBook Air and C82

Again, thanks to DannyLee.

I continue to struggle with my connection to MacBook Air 2020 (early). First, I had an excellent chat with Avantree support.

But it seems there may be problems with my USB hub (or all hubs). A hut is not a passive switchboard; it is a slightly-smart active switchboard. Alas, the MacBook Air has only two USB ports and I have a half-dozen USB devices!

99% of the time, I use my MacBook while it is docked on my home office desk. One USB port is needed for power and the other port for a hub which drives a 21” monitor screen, ethernet network, printer, memory chip doing back-up, and Avantree C82. The keyboard and trackpad use Bluetooth. All work perfectly all the time, except the C82.

So in the midst of my struggle, Avantree support followed up some days later with: “We have tested the setup with the HUB and were able to confirm that there is an issue. Our team is actively working on this and investigating the root cause.

Please rest assured that resolving this is a priority for us. We will keep you informed with any progress and share an update as soon as we have more information or a solution in place.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.”

Ben