New charger for Oticon More

I am wondering if it has something to do with the fact the smart charger is completely tied to the More aids with the firmware of 1.1.1 and hopefully above. They don’t want people trying to use it on the OPNS aids or the More aids that aren’t updated

@SpudGunner said:

I’m simply soliciting an informed opinion as to whether my recent purchase of More1s would qualify me for the smart charger. I suppose the logical source of this information is my local audiologist.

Ask when you call tomorrow.

@cvkemp said:

I am wondering if it has something to do with the fact the smart charger is completely tied to the More aids with the firmware of 1.1.1 and hopefully above. They don’t want people trying to use it on the OPNS aids or the More aids that aren’t updated

That is exactly right.

Release 1.1.1 includes support for SmartCharger & that other thing (you know, MM).
It would not be backwards compatible with other devices.

@flashb1024 said:

Release 1.1.1 includes support for SmartCharger & that other thing (you know, MM).
It would not be backwards compatible with other devices.

I wonder how Oticon would enforce compatibility? They can’t stop someone from sticking an older firmware-based version of the More, or even the OPN S, into the SmartCharger once it’s out in the public and may change hands to different owners.

Either the SmartCharge has to be actually smart enough to detect which hearing aid is inserted and also which firmware version the hearing aid has before enabling charging or not. Or the hearing aid has to recognize whether the charger is compatible with it before accepting a charge.

It just seems silly to make it so restrictive like that instead of just ensuring full forward and backward compatibility with even the OPN S, or even the sister HA brands like Philips and Sonic and Bernafon.

Did I hear correctly that simply putting the wrong HA into the wrong side of the charger can brick the rechargeable battery inside instead of just simply rendering it not rechargeable while in the wrong slot? That is so rudimentarily negligent in such a high end technology device and for a charger that costs $250-$350. And Oticon’s only solution is to stick a warning label on it and let users be damned if they don’t heed it? That’s just … barbarian…

@flashb1024 said:

Release 1.1.1 includes support for SmartCharger & that other thing (you know, MM).
It would not be backwards compatible with other devices.

Now, this seems totally logical to me. I don’t know enough to figure out why a charger would be tied to a firmware update, however.

[Although, if the batteries aren’t interchangeable, everything else sorta makes sense.

@Volusiano said:

I wonder how Oticon would enforce compatibility? They can’t stop someone from sticking an older firmware-based version of the More, or even the OPN S, into the SmartCharger once it’s out in the public and may change hands to different owners.

Either the SmartCharge has to be actually smart enough to detect which hearing aid is inserted and also which firmware version the hearing aid has before enabling charging or not. Or the hearing aid has to recognize whether the charger is compatible with it before accepting a charge.

I can’t remember (convenient excuse for an 80 year old) where Oticon showed the Smart Charger, and broke down how it can only function with 1.1.1

@Volusiano said:

It just seems silly to make it so restrictive like that instead of just ensuring full forward and backward compatibility with even the OPN S, or even the sister HA brands like Philips and Sonic and Bernafon.

I agree wholeheartedly on that.

@Volusiano said:

Did I hear correctly that simply putting the wrong HA into the wrong side of the charger can brick the rechargeable battery inside instead of just simply rendering it not rechargeable while in the wrong slot?

I saw that post somewhere on this thread, I believe. Crazy.

FYI, I have done it numerous times, with zero consequences.They still charge, so that may have been old news?

@cvkemp: I’ll be staying with my CheapCharger …

[(Oticon Hockey Puck) + (battery pack)]

–> SpudJuice CheapCharger™️

@SpudGunner said:

–> SpudJuice CheapCharger™️

Is it available @ Canadian Tire?

I think that occurred with the Evil ZPower charger.

You can put either HA in either slot in the ZPower charger and it would charge just fine because I’ve done that before. The ZPower is a contact-based charger, though, so you’d have to put it in the correct direction, and it has to sit properly inside the slot before the green light starts flashing. There’s no communication between the charger and the HA, though, and there’s no collection of battery history.

@Volusiano said:

I still don’t get why it has to be the correct side if it’s just a simple dumb charger

I can only offer this explaination:
They face inward when properly placed as opposed to outward when not.LOL!

@Volusiano said:

I wonder if this new SmartCharger is smarter than the base charger or no

Again, I read somewhere that the inductive coupling for the SmartCharger must match that of the HA.

@Volusiano said:

The question is whether you need to close the lid in order for the charging to take place or not? If not, then you can leave the lid open at night during charging.

It is unlikely that the the unit will generate enough heat to be an issue and it is likely that they have incorporated heat dissipation into the design. Computers and phones with rechargeable batteries do just that.

@Volusiano said:

The question is whether the heat generated as a byproduct of the inductive charging is enough to dry out the HAs sufficiently or not.

I realize this is a rather old post… but wanted to reply on this issue: Until we actually try out the unit and see how it is designed, we will have no knowledge of what it is capable of. Humidity will need to be dissipated in some fashion and if it was designed to do this function, I am sure they will have taken this into account.

The issue of how long the batteries in the unit will last and whether they will be replaceable is an interesting one. I have found that three years is usually the point at which rechargeable batteries start to go south. Could be quicker if the unit is not used much or if it is allowed to discharge completely on a regular basis. I use rechargeable batteries a lot in my work (video production) and you have to get in a routine with them to keep them in top condition and even then, they need replacement periodically. Replacement could be a new profit center for audiologists!

@JeremyDC said:

The issue of how long the batteries in the unit will last and whether they will be replaceable is an interesting one. I have found that three years is usually the point at which rechargeable batteries start to go south. Could be quicker if the unit is not used much or if it is allowed to discharge completely on a regular basis.

I think Oticon quotes a 5 year service life on their Lithium-ion batteries but of course that remains to be seen. You’re right that a complete discharge can be more harmful to the longevity of the battery. That’s why on EVs they build buffers around real full charge and real complete discharge to prolong battery longevity. We don’t really know if Oticon builds buffers around their battery like that or not. The only data point is that I think Jim (@spudgunner) mentioned that he accidentally let his battery completely discharge only once and had to get them replaced under warranty.

@Volusiano: I’m still not sure of the etiology of that failure:

1. The batteries I originally had didn’t hold a charge nearly as well as my current replacements;
2. Only one battery showed zero charge: the other had 2% left. Even that battery failed in the same way as the first within a day or two;
3. The HA that said it was completely discharged fired up into a normal charge cycle as soon as I connected the charger to a power source (just like the 2% unit, and - even though that one never hit zero - it failed, too).

So, I wouldn’t want to frighten people by leading them to believe that one mistake will fry Oticon batteries.