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Any Tablets work with BT Hearing Aids? (Signia IX)

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Edited

Anyone aware of any tablets preferably in the 7-9" size range that allow Signia IX hearing aids to pair to them along with another person using regularly BT headphones?

Thanks in advance.
Mike

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I am aware iPads basic connectivity, but the key to my question was having dual pairing for another user with normal headphones. Preferably something on Android platform, as I have read that Apple has “share” mode but only with their proprietary Apple ecosystem devices.

To answer my own question and perhaps to the benefit of others…I have learned more details about within hearing aids. The Signia line uses a different BT standard called which is not univeral and thus requires you to buy something like a Streamline Mic to make it work with most devices outside of an Android/Apple phone. I read some others having success with Phonak hearing aids because that uses the standard BT implementation. Long term, the plans are to migrate everything to a BT standard which my Signias will support with a firmware upgrade. Auracast is envisioned to replace the dated Loop systems in large venues like worship/theater places. The benefit of Auracast is that it will enable accessiblity for all people hearing-impaired or not because anyone will be able to use BT headphones to participate. Hopefully this standard is adopted quickly worldwide for the benefit of all! :slight_smile:

Edited

Hmm…last I checked a few weeks ago I had the latest firmware for my IX7s…I’ll have to double check or inquire further about this. It works with my Android phone Samsung S21 which I assumed was using standard. But doesn’t with a Lenovo tablet I picked up or other devices directly w/o the streamine mic. :thinking:

I just started to do some stuff on my 7AX. When I loaded the Connexx software it had a firmware update for IX. I checked the news section of the software and here is what it says…
Firmware update enables bluetooth LE audio
Connexx 9.12 will prompt you to allow a firmware update for Bluetooth-enabled Integrated Xperience hearing aids with the latest firmware version. This firmware update will enable the option for wearers to use Bluetooth functionality when the hearing aids are paired with a compatible Android device.

I wish I would have copied the firmware version but once I loaded my 7AX aids, the update notification disappeared. FYI Connexx is the software your audiologist uses to fit and adjust your Signia hearing aids. So if your audiologist updated to the 9.12 version of Connexx, he/she should see the firmware update for your aids.

In reply to @stevek1959

I guess I should clarify further and I was confusing myself along the way as well. I also am a having the Connexx software version 9.12.3.281 myself as well and verified firmware was up to date at 25.5.972.3. The aid has always worked with my Samsung phone, but what I am trying to do is pair the aid with another pair of my wifes headphones so we can have dual BT output at the same time from a device. Was trying to do this on Android tablets but learned it depends on the device being capable of dual media output which I am told my Samsung S21 phone is. But while I can connect two other BT headphones (hers and a JBL Charge) to Samsung S21 fine, I was not able to do the IX7 along with her headphones at the same time, it was one or the other. I also bought a dual BT adapter from Amazon to overcome the dual output issue, but the hearing aid does not want to work directly with this device for some reason, perhaps cause it has no UI for pairing and most other BT headphones can do without a UI? With the streamline MIC I was about to connect it though and then to my aids, but that’s an extra piece of equipment. :frowning:

I don’t think this is quite right, I don’t think it’s dual bluetooth, you can pair many devices but can’t use at the same time with bluetooth right? Possibly this is where with capability comes in?

In reply to @c11488

I just off the phone Signia support and spent 45 mins with a very patient (my questions) and knowledgable support rep talking about a handful of issues/concerns I had mostly on the Bluetooth technology though. If I remember everything correctly it seems my main issues come from the Signia aids lacking “classic” , while having and LE capabilities. So any/most devices giving me issues are those that use the most popular/common “classic BT” technology. The Streamline Mic creates a bridge basically between the hearing aids and any BT technologies for most all devices. I think it now makes sense when I think about the issues I have and the BT standard being used by those devices. Ironically, he informed me that just TODAY, Signia has a new version of the IX7 aid out that supports “Classic BT” which required getting a better battery technology to support the drain such that we can still get a days worth of the aids before a re-charge. The aids w/o streaming can do 54 hrs now, but if you stream 5 hrs it degrades to 36 hours only. Almost 4x’s the drain of the ASHA/LE standard for streaming. Very interesting conversations regardless. Now I have to see if I want to swap these out for the new aids??? :thinking:

You could wait to see what Signia has coming in the next month, a major release with all new models, who knows could be MFA type, (Made For All) like sonova has done.

Edited

Yes this support person told me about it, I reached out to Audie and she is putting in an order to replace mine, not yet sure on shipping dates. She thought it was gonna be firmware, but its a physical new model, because the battery had to change to support more hours etc. while keeping the same size.

In reply to @c11488

I got one ordered and it came in, I get to pick it up next week and ready to try out the connection to all my devices without using Streamline Mic, but may just keep it anyways as it was handy for restaurants to pickup my wife’s voice way easier.

Just mostly reinforces that , is not quite ready for primetime. In reality classic bluetooth is more reliably usable at the moment. How quickly that changes remains to be seen.

In reply to @stevek1959

To all those following, I started a new thread on my experiences with the new Signia BCT IX aid which now has Classic . I moved it out of this one, since the original topic was trying to find a Android Tablet that worked with Signia aids.

Signia BCT IX7 - Bluetooth Information / Review
I picked up the new Signia BCT IX7 hearing aids which now includes Classic Bluetooth to allow me better access to more BT enabled devices. They also include Telecoil which I have been a long time fan having in my back pocket. Last month I had just wrapped up my trial with the Pure Charge and Go Signia IX7 which utilized Bluetooth LE and ASHA standards. Overall everything was pretty good for me except some devices including a couple of lower end Android tablets and the AvanTree BT Relay Transm…

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