Phonak Marvel Bluetooth

SJU1987,

My amateur radio call sign is W9VJ Extra Class first licensed in 1957!

If your Marvels aren’t working like BT Classic should, you don’t have the 2.0 update. If you like experimenting, why not download the Target software and get the NoahLink hardware to program your Marvels yourself? That’s what I did and updated to 2.0 myself.

I knew I liked you TraderGary.
Larry K7LE

I love to experiment, but I can’t seem to find a good link to the Target 6 software. I don’t want to buy a NoahLink until I know for sure I can have the software. Can anyone point be in the right direction?

Bill
KB9URB

Well, we’re off topic here a bit, but what the heck? I was K3GMT starting about 8th grade, and, for the year we lived in Denver (10th grade), W0AOY.

I’ve had several different bluetooth headsets that supported simultaneous connections.

Multiple pairings have been around for a long time. Multiple simultaneous connections have only been around for a few years, IMO. The fact that the original Marvel firmware only allowed a single pairing was bizarre. Again, IMO.

I agree, Haggis. I bought my Marvels mainly because they connected to my devices without the need to wear an intermediate device around my neck. I connected them at the Audiologist’s office to my phone and was totally delighted. I got home and tried to connect them to my computer and failed over and over until I found I had to actually “Forget” my phone connection. As you know, that’s NOT the way Bluetooth Classic is supposed to work. In a nutshell I was not happy but did the work-around dance to Un-pair, Re-pair.

I was delighted with Marvel 2.0 when BT Classic finally worked the way it was supposed to. I can have multiple pairings and I can connect and disconnect with devices whenever I want. I’m happy.

I’m totally unfamiliar with being connected to multiple devices at a time. I can’t see the point of needing to listen to two or more things simultaneously. Is this somehow an advantage of Bluetooth LE?

I understand what you’re saying, Daryl. I’d wager there aren’t that many that have the problem of using both an Android and an iPhone at the same time!

When you say that you’ve owned Bluetooth headsets that support it, would they be using Bluetooth LE to make that possible by having their own USB plug-in Bluetooth LE transmitter/receiver when the computer itself was actually using Bluetooth Classic?

I know lots of people with two phones, one of each, but that’s not the point. Many people have tablets and phones. Many people have laptops and tablets and phones. Why would anyone want to have to manually switch from one to the other when it’s not necessary? By having BT Classic and MFi, I avoid most of the switches, because my iphone is my primary phone. If I was stuck on BT Classic with a single connection, it would significantly change how I use my HAs with my phone. I rarely use my android phone with the HAs, because of the required switching.

The bluetooth headset was not using BLE. It was using BT Classic HSP and A2DP. Using BLE for anything requires special drivers or application support.

@darylm said:

The bluetooth headset was not using BLE. It was using BT Classic HSP and A2DP. Using BLE for anything requires special drivers or application support.

I’m not understanding this. Can you explain to me how the headset, using BT Classic is able to not follow BT Classic rules of only connecting to a single device at a time? Is my understanding of how BT Classic works no longer correct?

Can you please give me the make and model of the headsets you use? I’d like very much to see how this works.

Very 73! I went into my audiologist and they said they should have 2.0. I disconnected all BT devices from both phones and reinstalled by connecting the BT first to the right HA only and then turning off and on both HAs and connecting to both through the app (directions I found online). I repeated this for the second phone. I can now keep both phones set up and don’t have to forget the HAs on one to connect on the other any more. I found that by swiping up and hard-pressing the communications box (airplane, wifi, BT, cellular), I can then hard-press Bluetooth, and select “R-Phonak hearing aid” on the connected phone to disconnect. I then repeat the process on the other phone to connect to the HAs. It take less than 10 seconds. Still a little jank and not something I would want to do while driving and I will probably miss a few calls but workable otherwise.

On a very positive note. the audio quality is noticeably better. I am understanding lyrics I never did before. I downloaded Primephonic and was blown away. Thanks for the recommendation! In crowded settings I am much better able to hear the person I am speaking with than with the Audeos.

BT Classic HFP and A2DP supports multiple simultaneous connections at a time (i.e, 2, AFAIK). However, this does not mean you can actually hear multiple sources at a time. The way it usually works is that if one device is quiet and the other has audio, it switches to the one that has audio. What it does when both have audio I don’t know for sure; it probably gives precedence to the one it was on or picks one randomly if it’s just starting up, and then does it’s switching in the normal way.

For instance, my Bose headphones support at least a half-dozen different pairings, but they will only connect to two devices at a time. They connect to my TV BT transmitter (that I used to use before the Marvels) and to my phone, for instance. And the Bose headphones tell you which two (out of your bigger pairing list) that they’re currently connected to. I’ll be listening to TV, and then if a phone call comes over, it immediately switches to the phone.

On the other end, a BT transmitter can connect to 2 receiver devices at a time. Even with HFP. But again, it’s an either-or connection. Case in point, when I get into the car, my Marvels stay connected to the phone but the phone also connects to the car BT. When a call comes in, the phone rings itself, but simultaneously rings through the car audio system and rings in my Marvels. When I answer the, it gives precedence to the car BT system, but can be switched instantly in the phone’s call progress screen.

Likewise, my phone’s A2DP stays connected with my Marvels but also connects to the car BT audio, and gives precedence to playing through the car’s sound system.

Hope this helps.

Oh, one other thing:

BT 5.0 (and maybe even the latest 4.x) supports 2 simultaneously operating A2DP headphones on the remote end. So a TV transmitter supporting this will transmit to 2 headphone listeners simultaneously in a room.

One example of how I use two connections is having one phone handling navigation and the other on a conference call. The iPhones recognize that I am on a call and instead of giving full voice directions from the navigating phone for a turn, just sound a chime. Meanwhile I am able to hear the conference call from the other phone and easily go on or off mute. I use this 3-4 hours nearly every work day. I am going to try connecting the navigating phone to the Subaru using CarPlay and have the navigation instructions on the dash and turn the volume way down.