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Taking the I-90 Sphere out of the charger

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Edited

Placing the I-90 Sphere in the charger is no problem, but I find it almost impossible to wiggle the I-90 Sphere and pull it up and out of the charger.

Instead, I turn the charger upside down and wiggle the charger while easing the I-90 Sphere down and out of the charger. It works, but it is still a 10 to 20 second effort.

Anyone has the same problem?

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I am 78 and I don’t have any problem getting my Spheres out of the charger. They are very easy to lift out.

Yes. There magnetized and the charger is tight so they[re always a problem for me since I try to grab the body so as not to pullon the receiver wire and stress it. Poor afterthought design, probably trying to make dual usage out of the one-size fits all charger case. I could see this kind of slip shod carelessness for a few hudred dollars, but not for several thousand which these cost.

Sorry as a retired IT professional the charger is designed the way it is to insure that the aids can fully charge. I am 78 years old and I haven’t any issues with the Phonak Spheres charger.

Do you have the Charger Go (with the internal battery)?

Is it equally hard to remove both left and right?

Did any wax or debris get into the slots?

Have you tried another charger at the audiologist? If it so the charger or the aid shells you could replace under warranty.

I don’t have as much trouble as you, but the aids do require a firm grip to get them out. Much harder than previously designed chargers.

Yes, I have the charger with the rechargeable internal battery so that the charger can charge the I-90 Sphere off grid.

I tried to get another charger (I don’t need the rechargeable internal battery) but my audiologist said that the I-90 Sphere comes with only that charger.

I also contacted the online Phonak Support and heard nothing from them for several weeks (!) Then they responded with a suggestion (wiggle the I-90 Sphere towards the back of the charger) that does not work.

So, the ‘wiggle the charger upside down’ is still the easiest trick, but I think that the bigger body of the I-90 Sphere decreased the wiggle room (pun not intended) for the manufacturing tolerances.

Try to be sure you’re not tilting the aids forward which will wedge them in. Pull straight up (even a little tilted back). You can grab the aid and put another finger on the charger and then push off with that finger instead of trying to pull. It takes minimal force to overcome the magnetic pull and they will come out.

Is your audiologist able to remove them without issue?

In reply to @cvkemp

Fair enough — I’m glad it works easily for you.

My issue isn’t that I don’t understand why the charger holds the aids securely. My issue is the execution: the aids sit tightly, they’re magnetized, and there isn’t much practical grip area if you’re trying not to pull on the receiver wire.

That may be fine if your fingers happen to fit the case better than mine, but for me it turns removal into a little daily “don’t stress the receiver” exercise. On hearing aids that cost several thousand dollars, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect a charger design that secures the aids and makes them easy to remove without grabbing the wire.

I’ve used/handled other aids with a similar charger layout where the aids lifted out much more easily, so this doesn’t feel inevitable to me — it feels like Phonak made the charger compact and secure, but didn’t fully think through day-to-day handling. Disclaimer: I used chatGPT for organization and editing after I wrote this reply

Not sure this is how it works but if you open the aid shell there is a small metal piece which I assume is for the magnets. You could remove that. Not sure whether the magnets are needed for the battery contacts to make good contact. This not a great solution but could be a option to explore if all else fails.

Can you pick up a pencil/pen with thumb and index finger? If so, I don’t see how removing the aids is different. Your fingers can touch the receiver wire as long as the pressure is primarily on the aid body.

@user490 Wow, I would not try to manipulate such an expensive and delicate piece, the itself!

I did think of manipulating the less expensive and sturdier charger. The charger has a HA well for receiving the HA body. One could sand the sidewalls of the HA well with a fine grit sandpaper glued on a stick, to carefully and patiently loosen the seat of the HA body in the HA well of the charger.

It should work, but I am not frustrated enough (yet?) to act on this loosening idea.

I suspect there’s either something wrong with them or your technique is off. Mine lift out quite easily. I’d take them into your audi and have them demonstrate.

Do you have the most recent version of the i90 sphere or infinity ultra? For me, I have the i90 as well and I have the (most likely) same charger, but I am doing ok with it so far. I have a disability and I struggle to unplug the i90 out of my charger sometimes, but my audiologist worked with me to find the best way to take them out of the case.

In reply to @Sandovan

What is the part number for your charger? Perhaps you have the non-sphere version by mistake and it is snugger.

Other than opening the shell there is no manipulation to remove the metal part. It just sits in there loosly between the shell and the aid guts. I have not test fit back together without the metal part. I agree it’s not a great solution but neither is modification of the charger. Let Phonak figure this out even if they have to replace everything.

In reply to @hearingMac

I may be retired now, but my whole career I fixed hardware, software, cars, and anything else that needed fixing. So much that I fix I do so by feel and never seeing the part I am changing while replacing it. And even now, I am an early riser and my wife is a night owl and getting up much later. I get dressed in the dark. I find my glasses and aids in the dark. I still do it by feel only. So I guess I have a gift.

In reply to @Sandovan

If your audiologist can not help you find a suitable solution, I would ask them to return the case to Phonak for repair. It should still be under warranty.

In reply to @Sandovan

Well, the question I ask myself @Sandovan whether you got the correct charger or not (box on the outside can be the same, but using different inserts). Cause what you write is if they would be kind of stuck inside, which should never be the case. The magnets are not strong enough to really hold them down. So if you think they are squeezed in, then this should be checked, as the non-Sphere devices are slighly thinner and hence come with a more narrow charger slot.

I believe you could be right. My Spheres easily come out of the charger. I take them out most mornings in the dark so I don’t wake my wife. I have the charger with the built-in battery back up too.

I bought an extra charger when I was on the road once and forgot mine, and I also bought a charger “go” that includes a battery good for at least a couple of charges for camping etc.

I suffer the same problem with all struggling to get them out of any charger. It seems most of you have no trouble, so I assume I am the problem. My fingertips are dry and slippery on the smooth surface. They are also large and clumsy in the small space provided to grip the HA. I think some of us are just prone to the issue for physical reasons.

When some people handle paper or cash they lick their fingertip to make separating and gripping the paper easier. This can help. A fragment of a balloon as a wrap would work too. Anything that helps prevent your finger from slipping from the small HA area we can barely grip.

I feel it is an engineering design problem, but like many have said here, it works fine for them. We’re not all the same, though. Good luck!

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