ComPilot II vs ComPilot Air II - What are your experiences?

You can add the mute to your programs and it does not use a program slot. 1,2,3,mute

@rozel said:

I bought the Compilot Air II at the same time as my HA’s - Phonak Audeo V90-312’s. I bought the unit for HA programmability. But what can it do that I cannot do directly with my HA’s, other than increase/lower the volume and mute them completely? Not impressed with this but that is not the point of this thread - I do not experience cut-offs, only when I place the CP Air II too far away from the HA’s, ie; on the arm of my armchair for example.

I share the experiences that the unit is too big and the clip is useless. I wear a shirt and tie and sometimes the shirt doesn’t have a pocket - the unit is NOT Office credible I’m afraid. Coupled with that is the constant blue flashing light, telling everyone around you that you are wearing HA’s.

I’m the same. I tried both ComPilots and decided I’m better off without it. I can push the button on my hearing aids. Personally I don’t care if anyone knows I’m wearing hearing aids but the ComPilot II is just too much to wear around my neck and the Air has to be so close to the hearing aids that it’s ridiculous.

@Ed_C said:

You can add the mute to your programs and it does not use a program slot. 1,2,3,mute

At the moment, I have Automatic, 1,2,3. Does this mean that to have the mute I would need to sacrifice a slot? Or are you saying that each program slot can have it’s own individual mute?

If the latter, how would this work - a long press of the button within each program to mute and a further long press to un-mute?

Last question - how many slots are available?

Thanks for your responses - much appreciated.

roz

@rozel said:

My Audiologist has programmed my HA’s with 3 programmes and I can toggle between them by single presses of the button on either of my HA’s. She’s trying to see if she can program the mute function by a long-single-press of the button as her Target software (4.3.1) doesn’t seem to have this capability now as it once did. Assuming she can sort that, the ComPilot Air II will be going back as it serves no purpose for me. But certainly not because of the Cut-Offs others experience.

Are you trying to mute the input? My audi setup a program that eliminates all input and I just toggle through the programs until I get to that one.

rozel

I just checked and the mute does not take up a slot. Mine is 1,2,3,4,5,mute Automatic, Speech in loud noise, Speech in 360 1, Speech in 360, Music, Mute. I use the second Speech in 360 with a left direction to act like a cros. Of course a v90 will have one more slot then my v70.

I bought the Compilot Air II at the same time as my HA’s - Phonak Audeo V90-312’s. I bought the unit for HA programmability. But what can it do that I cannot do directly with my HA’s, other than increase/lower the volume and mute them completely? Not impressed with this but that is not the point of this thread. My Audiologist has programmed my HA’s with 3 programmes and I can toggle between them by single presses of the button on either of my HA’s.

Rozel, you might be better served by looking into Phonak’s PilotOne. It’s a remote control device that you can carry in your pocket or purse and take out just when you need to change programs.

Hearing Aid Accessories | Phonak

Get the most out of your hearing aids. Phonak offers additional products to supplement and extend the lifespan and functionality of your hearing aids.

I’ve had that for a year since I got my current generation CROS II and V-90. I have 4 programs and I can switch from one to the other quickly until one is comfortable for a particular set of circumstances. It uses an AAA battery so you won’t be spending a lot on batteries. One nice thing I discovered is that once you switch to a program you can turn off the remote and the HAs stay on that program until you turn the PilotOne on again to make another change.

The ComPilots are only necessary if you use a TV Link, Remote Mic, or Roger Pen. They need a receiver/transmitter between them and the HAs.

The PilotOne is just a remote control for the HAs.

I wouldn’t have the ComPilot if it wasn’t for the TV Link.

@pell1203 said:

My current experiences with the ComPilot Air II is one of multiple and repeated disconnects when clipped to my shirt pocket. Unit simply will not maintain a stable connection at that distance (approx. 10" to one ear and 14" to other). For example, on a three button polo shirt I need to clip it no lower than the middle button to maintain a semi-stable connection. Even then, slight shifts in ComPilot Air II orientation caused by arm or head movements tugging on the shirt may cause quick and repeated disconnects/reconnects to occur.

This is my experience exactly. I really wanted this device to work and so I bought the ComPilot Air II and hoped the more positive reviews here were right but in my case they are not.

The only situation this might work for me is in the top of a tight, round-necked t-shirt (which I don’t wear) and sitting pretty still. It certainly doesn’t work on normal shirt or the lapel of a jacket (as per the advert picture).

I’m very disappointed because this is exactly the device I need to stream my music.

Just wondering whether to go for the necklace version (ComPilot II) or give up.

Can anyone here recommend the necklace version or does that have ‘issues’ too?

I have the Compilot Air II, Phonak V-30 13s, and an iPhone 6plus.
I read this thread and I seem to be lucky, in that my Compilot Air II has not given me any problems other than when streaming music from my iPhone, the right ear cuts out occasionally. It doesn’t SEEM to have much to do with whether I am moving or not, but I haven’t tried to figure it out to be honest. It just cuts out on the right, once in awhile, just enough to be distracting when trying to listen to music. I don’t use it for anything else except the telephone.
The battery life on mine is also extremely high, according to what I’m reading here. I clip it on in the mornings, wear it to work.
I work ten hour shifts, talk on the phone all day long, I’ve never had the unit croak on me. It’s lasted as long as eleven hours for SURE, probably longer. I charge it every evening, sometimes it takes longer than other times to recharge, but I’ve never had the thing just stop working, ever. There are people on here who have had theirs croak after just a few hours, I’m led to ask what they might be using theirs for that it takes so much power?
I do wear it on my shirt collar, on my right shoulder’s side, so it’s always close to my hearing aids. I move around as much as anyone else does who talks on the phone, and I have not had it cut out on me at all when talking on the telephone.

I have Phonak’s new Audeo BR90 aids and love them, but the CommPilot Air II is highly unsatisfactory. Just what you cited above: it has to be impossibly close (6-7 inches) to BOTH aids AND your mouth to allow quality hearing or speaking. These things need a serious review by Phonak engineers.

I’ve had my ComPilot Air II for all of 76 hours. I have it paired with an iPhone SE and have been wearing it on a 26 inch gold chain where it rests at the middle of my chest (I’m 5’2") a good 12 inches or more from the aids. So far I’ve had no trouble receiving calls and callers report I’m coming in clearly. I haven’t charged the unit yet and the app shows I still have a 50% charge. Tomorrow I plan to stream a book on tape so I’ll have a better idea of the discharge rate. Having read all the negatives, I’m thrilled the unit is working well because I absolutely love the sound I’m getting from the Brios which have a softer sound than the Callas. The Callas would have been the reasonable choice since I’m coming from the Kirkland 5s and all my accessories would work with the Callas. Ah, but the sound is what counts the most.

I do have a question for ComPilot users. Does the unit play the ringtones assigned to various callers? So far I haven’t gotten anything resembling my ringtones although if the phone is nearby I can hear the correct ringtone on the phone; my aids though, just have an alert tone which took me a while to realize was my phone ringing. Any suggestions from other users? Thanks in advance. This is such a great place to learn about hearing!

You will get much better battery life out of the compilot II. The compilot air II is a lot smaller and no need to wear it around your neck. I really depends on what is the most important feature to you. Performance wise, besides the battery, they will be about the same .

Having played with the Air for a day, it does cut out when it gets too far away. I have yet to determine the distance.

I think each has their place. I think the ComPilot Air II is good for when you are out and about with your cell phone - like a Bluetooth headset. With the ComPilot II, the larger battery for 24 hrs of streaming and less finicky connection is great for around the house, as it is a little clunky.

If Sonova / Phonak / Unitron engineers or management read this forum - a larger battery to accommodate 6 hrs of streaming and a little more powerful transmission would make the ComPilot Air II ideal. You’d have a winner. Next suggestion is to make the TV connector fit both for charging without having to change the insert.

I currently use the ComPilot II which I purchased about two years ago. When It works it works very well. Unfortunately I have had to replace mine 4 times in the last two years. The first three stopped charging for me but this time the Bluetooth has stopped. My main request when I purchased the hearing aids was that I could use them with my cellphone. I Just spoke with my hearing specialist and they are saying maybe I need to go Wireless. Not sure what that means but based on what I am reading I hope they are not suggesting the ComPilot Air II

I’m guessing they’re suggesting new hearing aids.