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Auracast Bluetooth LE

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I attended a concert yesterday for which I had received the notice:

New in 2026, Hillside Theater is equipped with an BluetoothLE assistive listening system.

I have Nucleus 7 and an iPhone 11. I hoped I would be able to access the system but had no idea how. I figured someone at the theater would be able to give me some help but no one I spoke to had a clue. They offered me a "loop” but I don’t have a activated on my Nucleus 7 and it was the Bluetooth I wanted to try. I looked for settings on my iPhone but didn’t find anything I could use. Can anyone here enlighten me on what to expect and what to do? Do I need a special app? The Nucleus Smart app offers no help.

Thanks!

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Setting up directly with a Cochlear Nucleus 7 and an iPhone 11 is not natively supported. The Nucleus 7 uses standard Made for iPhone () streaming, but it lacks the required hardware and firmware for Bluetooth and Auracast broadcasts.

The N8 and K3 are ready but need a firmware update to actually work.

My understanding is LE Audio and are Android driven. Apple could get on board but I am not sure they are interested. I might be wrong about this???

My Google Pixel 9 Pro has LE Audio Bluetooth but my N7/K2 processors do not. I am in a position to upgrade but don’t see a reason to until the K3 and N8 processors are LE Audio functioning.

@nelhop good to see you back.

I’ve used with my Oticon Intent 1s a few times broadcasting from my phone, or receiving from a colleague’s phone (both Pixel phones). I’ve yet to use Auracast in a public venue, but excited to see it rolling out.

@Terost said:

Cochlear Nucleus 7

During this transition to , remote mics with headphone jacks become a bridge for compatibility. Do you have a mini mic 2+? You could use the venue’s Auracast handheld receiver (or bring your own) and plug that into your Mini Mic 2+. You need the 3.5 mm male to male cable as well. Adding devices into the chain adds latency but I’m not sure you’d notice. Another method is to use the in the Mini Mic 2+ and a neckloop plugged into an Auracast receiver. A third way that has the most latency is to plug a FlooGoo dongle into your iPhone and that can recevie the Auracast to stream into the phone and then the audio goes out of the phone with MiFi to your .

works with iPhone, you just need a “helper” app (typically the app for your Auracast-enabled device) to select the stream you want to listen to. I don’t have Auracast yet but my Sennheiser earbuds are Auracast enabled and it’s quite easy to use… not very different from pairing using standard Bluetooth.

Edited

It doesn’t have to.

“Hi. I would like to know if Hoyts management is aware of Bluetooth streaming technology and whether there are any plans to install it in any of your cinemas. I have stopped going to cinemas because of hearing loss. Existing assistive technologies in your cinemas are cumbersome to use. Screenings with closed captions are difficult to organise with family.

Auracast streams audio direct to hearing aids and compatible earbuds. I believe there are handsets available to cater for those with -enabled hearing aids. I use an Auracast streaming device to listen to TV and it’s brilliant. I have also used it at a venue in Perth (Don Russel Performing Arts Centre).

I believe that the publicity alone would make it worthwhile. More importantly it would start to attract people of my generation back into cinemas.”

In reply to @greg.smith

transmits directly to the listening device, but needs an assistant app to tell the listening device to tune in.

Hearing aid and headphone manufacturers are adding this functionality to their apps, bypassing the need for Apple to get behind Auracast. It’s frustrating they aren’t on board yet but the train is moving whether they’re on it or not.

In the OP’s case, they can’t access Auracast natively if their Cochlear doesn’t support it, so the workaround involves a receiver unit with wired headphones or a personal , or an Android phone with a flashed FlooGoo.

Auracast hearing aids.pdf (80.9 KB)

Here is a listing we’ve put together at the Space Foundation’s Discovery Center museum of the hearing aids that have capability turned on to encourage our guests and help our docents use the Auracast system we are piloting in Colorado Springs. (We also provide Auracast compatible headsets for guests who need hearing assistance but do not have Auracast compatible hearing aids.) So far, we have found that the in our area have not been teaching, or even pointing out, how to use Auracast when they fit hearing aids.

My Jabra JES500 supports it via my Samsung S24FE phone. Its great. I also bought an Avantree Voyager ($79.95) to transmit - e.g. from an airplane seat audio jack.

This is a great idea! Also good for audio tours on vacation. Wife’s Pixel Buds and my hearing aids could both listen. I gotta get me one of those.

Looking at the Avantree5 website, it looks like they have two similar products with a $20 price difference (on Amazon). So the question I have is: what do you get for the $20? What is this optimization for ?

Screenshot_20260628-074150

According to Avantree, the Voyager base model does NOT support ’s:

image

The Base model:

image

Big question is: why do they have conflicting specs? One screen says yes, but, and another says No way, Jose.

Is it all marketing mumbo jumbo to make you spring for the HA model? Hmmm…

The Audikast device also comes in base and flavours. I’ve asked about that and haven’t really gotten an answer. The HA allows you to rename the broadcast. That’s the only difference I can remember. The base version does work with hearing aids.

Edited

In reply to @bpeckham

I suspect they are basically the same device with the Voyager set to a low fidelity broadcast, and the other Voyager set to a high fidelity Auracast broadcast.

This prevents a bunch of support calls for those who are not familiar with Auracast.

Some hearing aids can only connect a low fidelity broadcast while others can connect to both high and low fidelity Auracast broadcasts.

Ear buds generally need to connect to a high fidelity Auracast broadcast like my EarFun buds.

I suspect they are charging twenty bucks more because they can.

In reply to @flashb1024

The models are for , 24 kHz, and uses the codec. The non-HA models work with Classic and BT LE at 48 kHz iirc and don’t do Auracast.

I have 2 Avantree Audikast 4 HA’s that I use to broadcast to my Jabra EP30. My android cellphone is a Samsung Galaxy S24 FE.

One AudiKast 4 HA is connected to a small audio mixer that is fed by my desktop PC, a 19” TV, and a tablet, all connected using 3.5mm TRS audio cables.

The 2nd Audikast 4 has been connected at times to the family room TV using an optical cable splitter shared with a sound bar. Have also connected it to the radio/receiver in my truck using the sub L/R using phono plugs to a 3.5mm audio cable.

Other connections I have tried:

USB-C to 3.5mm aux audio adapter to connect my phone or tablet USB-C audio output to the Audikast 4.

Any device that will output to 3.5mm headphones will also output the sound to the Audikast 4 using a 3.5mm aux audio cable.

The Voyager HA is of sturdier construction since it is made for portable use, but the Audikast 4 can be powered by a power bank for many hours since most have 10x or more battery.

What is missing from the Voyager HA is a microphone so that it could act as a portable remote mic with Auracast broadcast capability.

I’m not sure why you say it’s a bug. Ear buds should be high fidelity since you are generally listening to music.

Ideally, all hearing aids should be able to connect to either low or high fidelity broadcasts like my Philips 9050 hearing aids.

In addition, the transmitters should be able to broadcast low and high fidelity simultaneously like the FlooGoo transmitter. Unfortunately, the folks at Avantree have their heads up their fannies and their transmitters are unable to do this.

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