Giving up on Phonak app

@PeterH just to confirm, you don’t need the App to stream calls and other media, as in the App is just for volume and program changes.

I have had zero problems with the app using a Pixle 4a5g and now the Pixel 8, but in my opinion the app itself while working correctly has limited function and value.

@tenkan
Agreed, except for one permanent change, that otherwise can only be done in Target. That is changing calls to Adaptive Bandwidth

Since your message, I have done the following:

1. Updated my phone’s Android OS
2. Restarted the phone
3. Deleted the myPhonak app
4. Downloaded and reinstalled the myPhonak app
5. Registered my hearing aids with the myPhonak app
6. Checked that the app allows volume changes etc (ie is talking to the hearing aids)
7. Selected Remain Connected
8. Closed the app
9. Re-opened the app

The phone’s bluetooth listing shows both Left and Right hearing aids as paired devices
On reselecting the app, there is, after a couple of minutes a warning message in a red box “Connection to your hearing aids failed”.
I regularly use the phone with other bluetooth devices, including a Sony loudspeaker, AfterShokz earphones and even our elderly Skoda’s audio system. These work perfectly.
It is notable that the Phonak FAQ about connection issues lists four initial steps and, “if none of the above helps” eleven more steps! None of which work in my case!
So what other conclusion is there other than that the myPhonak app is disfunctional?

Peter you’re right.

I used to be very critical of the App. Now I find it more helpful.

Some of my frustration came from the audiologist that I no longer see. He used to phone Phonak, make changes, and pair my hearing aids again. Later I would find that the App didn’t work; I had to forget my connection, and reestablish it every time. That wasn’t the Apps fault.

@Banjoman I get connection failed in the app if I’m actively using Bluetooth classic in some scenarios - pairing with my computer and iPad in particular. However music and podcasts streamed from my phone are fine. It’s definitely a bit wonky but since I mostly use the app for non-streaming scenarios it’s more of a mild annoyance for me. It would be nice to get it figured out and fixed even so.

Also, just to confirm, you do have all three connections showing in Bluetooth? Two LE connections (for the app and LE Bluetooth) and one classic Bluetooth connection? If you don’t have the third one you need to open and close the right battery door to put it into connection mode which lasts 3 minutes.

I rarely use the app, but I agree Peter, it’s far better than it was… I hear on the “Boots Grapevine” they have asked Phonak, if the can make their own app, I think they feel, if you are fitting state of the art hearing aids, then you should have a state of the art app… We shall see what transpires? Cheers Kev

That’s a good suggestion, Michael. I deleted the previous bluetooth registrations and the app, then restarted the hearing aids. The right hearing aid then registered OK with bluetooth. Streaming now works very well.
I then downloaded the app again and went through the registration process and that worked OK, too. So I now have three buetooth registrations: the streaming one and the two associated with the app.
But . . .
Although I clicked the “Keep Connected” (or whatever it is called) button, the app no longer connects after I bring it up. I have tried restarting the hearing aids at the same time as the app starts up, but it still won’t connect.
So that aspect of the app definitely fails. But it is also extraordinary that the Phonak User Guide makes no mention of registering the hearing aids initially without the app in order for the streaming feature to work.

The phone is a Samsung S10e.
Android version 9, One UI version 1.1

Following the advice from Michael, I deleted all previous bluetooth registrations and registered the hearing aids with bluetooth, without the app. This worked easily and I now do have reliable streaming (which is great - I can listen to political podcasts without annoying my wife!)
I reinstalled the app and the hearing aids registered with that too. Even though I clicked on Stay Connected, when I run the app subsequently, the hearing aids don’t connect.

Yeah @Banjoman, it was at one time atrocious, flakey wasn’t the word the word for it, I think this put a lot of users off, so subsequently they stopped using the app… Nowadays in conjunction with iPhone 12, it’s fairly rock solid, but first impressions last, so I usually avoid using the app, unless I have too… Cheers Kev

@Banjoman
I wonder if having v9 of Android is contributing to the issue? Just a thought.

I was in a Town Hall planning meeting yesterday, with very echoey sound, so I used both a RogerOn and the aids. Both the App and the MyRogerMic app worked well, experimenting with RogerOn and Comfort in Echo (P90). Ironically, my default “music” setting worked best of all.

Peter

Hi Kev,
The App is better for me than it was before.

However, I just want to be able to hear when I have my hearing aids in and turned on.

My dispensing audiologist encouraged me to use the app and save programs; he then incorporated what worked by changing programs using Target. Last day he erased all that work, and did a quick fit with target and politely suggested I should find someone that could help me more than he did. Almost 2 years…Conclusion…How come my hearing aids cost so much and perform so poorly?

I found a new dispensing hearing aid practioner who did a quick fit and I can hear much better. I’m almost there.

I doubt it will work with Android 9.