Bluetooth dongle with Auracast support - FlooGoo FMA120

Just ordered the FMA 121. Hard to choose between this and Avantree you both are very close. You’re both are on this site and you both are working hard to help us. Since this was the first one I came across you get priority today.

Hi @Waterop, thank you for trusting us.

Just sharing some links about that our FMA120 has been embedded in Sittig’s PAXModular IP paging station and deployed at Gates A16/A17 at Frankfurt Airport.

I’d also really appreciate it if you could take a moment to participate in the poll—it would help us make better decisions on how Auracast can be made more convenient for announcement systems like this.

Poll: Audio Priority — Local Playback vs Auracast Announcements (Airports)

Triggered by a discussion in this thread, it may be helpful to run a poll before development. This refers to airport announcements such as boarding calls or gate changes, not general information like destination weather. poll Note: The poll is anonymous.

https://www.fraport.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2026/q1/frankfurt-airport-becomes-the-first-airport-worldwide-to-use-aur.html1

LE Audio and the Future of Hearing

As a follow-up to our discussion on the deployment of Auracast in public venues, I’d like to share an update from today: the FlooGoo FMA120 has been integrated into Sittig’s PAXModular IP paging station and is now deployed at Frankfurt Airport (Gates A16/A17). According to Sittig’s press release, this is considered the first airport deployment worldwide to use Auracast for public announcements. Other stakeholders, including the airport operator, GN, and Samsung, are expected to publish their o…

I started using Auracast with a cheap knock-off dongle that I purchased on AliExpress. I wanted to test this new technology with my Intents and didn’t know what to expect, so I didn’t want to spend much. It turned out that this cheap, entry-level dongle worked OK for the price I paid. Its biggest limitation was that unicast didn’t work (and sound quality is inferior to better options).

I then ended up purchasing the FlooGoo FMA121 about a month ago, and it has been a great improvement over the previous dongle, although there are a few limitations that I’ll mention in a moment. The FMA121 works very well with my TV, with the caveat that I need to use a digital-to-analog converter (which I already owned) to get a 3.5 mm input from the TV’s optical jack. I’ve been watching TV shows and movies with very good audio quality streamed directly to my hearing aids. It’s really nice.

I also use the FMA121 with my Windows PC. It works great with YouTube, music, TV shows, streaming services, and—most importantly—with MS Teams, Zoom, and similar apps. Being able to listen to all my meetings with such clear, high-quality sound is fantastic. Again, genuinely very nice. The same goes for my Macbook M2.

Limitations of the FMA121 so far:

1. You can’t save the encrypted password for the Auracast broadcast. I have to enter it every single time, which is quite annoying in my opinion. As mentioned above, this seems to be an Oticon limitation.

2. The range is OK and roughly matches what’s stated on the website. However, if you walk a bit farther away and lose the connection, I’ve noticed that this sometimes forces one of the Intents to reboot. When that happens, you need to stop the Auracast transmission, enter the password again, and then resume the broadcast. I’m not sure whether this issue is on Oticon’s side or FlooGoo’s.

3. I find the unicast transmission a bit finicky, so I’ve mostly been avoiding it, especially since Auracast suits me well. Additionally, setting up a unicast connection with the Intents is somewhat complicated, although I did manage to get it working.

Thank you for sharing your experience.

Regarding password handling and range behavior: in Auracast, the transmitter has no awareness of whether a receiver is in or out of range, so maintaining an effortless user experience needs to be handled on the receiver side.

For example, when using another FMA120/FMA121 in receiver mode with a phone, once a broadcast is selected, no further action is required. If you move out of range, audio automatically resumes when you return. This demonstrates what the technology is already capable of today and can be considered a practical baseline for a good user experience.

This may not be a serious issue for TV listening, but in public environments such as airports—where announcements may involve gate changes, boarding calls, or schedule updates—the impact of missing audio is much greater. In these cases, using an additional FlooGoo as a dedicated receiver can be a worthwhile investment to reduce the risk of going offline.

Regarding unicast: it doesn’t work as smoothly as many users expect at this stage because most hearing aids still do not support multiple simultaneous LE Audio connections. At the moment, only Starkey hearing aids support this properly, allowing the FlooGoo to stream PC audio while the hearing aids remain connected to a phone for calls—and then automatically resume PC audio afterward.

When using USB audio, the broadcast will pause or stop if there is no active audio input. This commonly happens on a PC when no application is playing audio for a period of time. Some hearing aids handle a paused broadcast correctly, so you may try enabling the option “Stop broadcasting immediately when USB audio playback ends” in FlooCast to see if it improves the behavior.

When using the analog input, the broadcast does not pause. Even when no audio is present, the input is still treated as a near-zero signal, which can result in more stable behavior, as the hearing aids do not experience a broadcast interruption.

Is there any alternative to Windows for firmware updates on the FlooGoo devices? I do not have a Windows PC and do not plan to own one! I have Linux and Mac gear; certainly firmware updates are feasible under Linux, even if no one has written the right code yet.

We’re planning to add firmware update support for Linux and macOS — please keep an eye on this thread or our support page for updates.

If you recently purchased an FMA120/121 from Amazon, you likely don’t need to update — most recent units are already on firmware v1.1.5. If you’re unsure or have special requirements, feel free to email us at support@flairmesh.com.

@e1405 said:

You can’t save the encrypted password for the Auracast broadcast. I have to enter it every single time, which is quite annoying in my opinion. As mentioned above, this seems to be an Oticon limitation.

This issue was addressed in version 1.7.0 of the Oticon Companion app. The app now saves the password, so I no longer have to enter it every time I connect to the FMA121 broadcast.

It also now includes separate toggles for muting the broadcast and adjusting its EQ (3 band).

Received my FMA121 today. Downloaded floocast 1.1.8 deb from website. Says new firmware is available (1.1.5.9 → 1.6.0). Downloaded 1.6.0, but get “Upgrade error” on either G or non-G .bin files.

The non-G firmware was for the first 80 units we sold through Amazon in late 2023, so essentially all FMA120/121 units shipped afterwards use the G version. The FlooCast app will automatically choose the correct firmware depending on the device you plug in and apply it accordingly. Even if you select the non-G firmware, it will still use the G version provided both files are located in the same directory.

Regarding the update error, did the update process start and show progress such as “0%”, or did it go directly to the error? Were you prompted with a dialog asking for your root/administrator password to grant permission for accessing the hardware?

Please also share more details about your Linux distribution and version. Since this function also depends on the underlying USB driver, we will need this information to properly debug the issue.

As you mentioned that you also have a Mac, may I ask whether the firmware update function works properly on your Mac?

Brilliant!

Before:

$ cat /proc/asound/cards
0 [sofsoundwire ]: sof-soundwire - sof-soundwire
LENOVO-21NSCTO1WW-ThinkPadX1CarbonGen13

After:

$ cat /proc/asound/cards
0 [sofsoundwire ]: sof-soundwire - sof-soundwire
LENOVO-21NSCTO1WW-ThinkPadX1CarbonGen13
1 [FMA120 ]: USB-Audio - FlooGoo FMA120
Flairmesh Technologies FlooGoo FMA120 at usb-0000:00:14.0-2.1, full speed

The only thing I read in the user guide about USB Audio Input was this

Switching Audio Input Source
When connecting the FMA121 to a device that supports USB audio (such as
most smartphones), you can switch the input to USB-C, enabling both power
and audio transmission through a single cable.
To activate this feature, open the FlooCast app, go to Settings, and turn on
“USB Audio Input.”

I didn’t catch that this was a toggle or useful for using USB audio output on a laptop. I think this is key–the section is called “Audio Input Source” from the Floogoo perspective. I’m still thinking from the laptop perspective–how do I get the laptop to output audio to the Floogoo/hearing aids.

I have audio from my computer in my ears now! I’ll try the mic with Zoom tomorrow. Thanks @Ranson !

For the “ridiculously long pairing time”, the Oticon Intent (and Philips 9050) require the target device to be within about 20 cm during pairing; otherwise, the pairing may fail. You might want to try this next time, or share it with others who encounter the same issue.

How to pair your hearing aids with an Android device1

I got my FMA120 from Amazon.com2 delivered to my home in Canada yesterday. I had to use a cross border shipping service because I couldn’t get it shipped direct. There were some delays due to broker issues that appear to have affected more than one service recently.

Packaging was different than the blister pack shown. Interesting is that it said Made in Australia.

I tinkered with it some today. Downloading Floocast and applying the firmware update were pretty straight forward. I was able to connect to my Jabra EP30s & stream from my desktop, my laptop and my tablet.

Switching devices including the Homespot BA210 connected to my TV was challenging. Some of that may be due to my Pixel 8 Pro appearing to run 2 Auracast Assistants at the same time. 1 built into Android 16, the other in the Enhance Pro App.

Initial game plan is to take up the dual assistants with Jabra Tech support and tinker with the FMA120 some more while rereading the PDF user guide. Operator error may be partly to blame.

General impression is that the rollout of Auracast will have some bumps in the road. The technology seems promising. The ability to use lower cost devices that work cross platform is a bonus.

I want to try the Avantree AudiKast 4HA next. Partly because it has an on/off switch, I’ve only had the BA210 a few months but I am already noticing the USB port is starting to wear from me unplugging it to power it down. In my mind, a switch should make it a little more durable.

I’ve been powering down because I’ve found that even though I’ve stopped the Auracast streaming it will reconnect on it’s own. That is one thing I want to bring up with Jabra tech support.

Have you tried powering the BA210 from the USB port of the TV? Most TVs will cut the USB power a while after the TV being turned off. In that case, the Auracast transmitter will also be turned off automatically as well.

We have a USB power cable with hardware power on-off switch. Contact me if you need it.