Starkey Edge on a Mac help please

It’s the same way you connect via phone 16 pro max. BT5.4 thereafter. Go into accessibility: HA to add your HA

that article is very misleading. It does not connect to a mac M1 or M2. That is backed up by Starkey’s own compatibility page listed below. Also I took the mini and the H/A to the apple store and they spent over 2 hours trying to get it to connect and failed. I also took the mini to the H/A store and they couldn’t do it and they called their tech support while i was there and they said no it does not work on a mac. thats why i was hoping for a different solution.

Device Compatibility | Starkey51

Discover whether your Apple or Android device is suitable for Hear Share, the Thrive app, and the My Starkey app

Hi there, you could invest in a new Starlink Remote Microphone + and connect your Edge HA’s with almost any bluetooth enabled device, legacy or new

The problem is that hearing aid manufacturers use proprietary Bluetooth CODECs that encrypt the Bluetooth signal. This is how they sell you their own external microphones and TV streamers at outrageously high prices.

You’ll need the FlooCast app on your Mac for the dongle. In the app, enable ‘Prefer using LE audio for dual-mode devices’ and temporarily turn off your phone’s Bluetooth if your HAs are paired with it. Then, when FlooCast indicates the FMA120 is in pairing mode, power your HAs off and back on to put them into pairing mode as well.

Release Mac_1.1.3 · Flairmesh/FlooCast9

Resolve the issue where the UI fails to update on Mac.

Once paired, the dongle will automatically reconnect to your HAs when they’re nearby and not already connected to your phone. You won’t need to run FlooCast again unless you want to switch between ‘High Quality’ and ‘Broadcast’ modes. In ‘High Quality’ mode, the microphone works for chat apps. In ‘Broadcast’ mode, the mic is disabled, but the benefit is that additional HAs or Auracast-enabled earbuds, headphones, or speakers can receive the same audio simultaneously. To set up the broadcast for these additional devices, a phone will be required. For your HAs, everything is handled automatically by the dongle.

I’m assuming this is only for the latest Edge AI devices that include BLE Audio Streaming (and therefore Auracast). For Genesis AI and older, I would need to buy a Starkey accessory device, right? Do any of these support audio over USB input?

@gkcy said:

Hi there, you could invest in a new Starlink Remote Microphone + and connect your Edge HA’s with almost any bluetooth enabled device, legacy or new

Does this support Audio input over USB? Or do you use analog audio input?

Oh, I see, you connect the device by Bluetooth to the computer. So, the device connects to the computer by Bluetooth and then also connects to your Hearing Aids by bluetooth?

I’m not sure about other Starkey models, but the Edge AI has been confirmed to work with the dongle via LE Audio.

i can confirm the FMA120 will connect to the starkey edge. make very sure to disconnect your H/As from all other bluetooth first , connect to FMA then reconnect to your other devices

@sundown57 said:

when i was at the apple store with my m1 they brought out an m3 and it too would not connect

That is disappointing. Perhaps we can test the new M4 (2024) Mini in the store. Perhaps Apple is doing something different regarding the Mini components.

Precisely! You connect the mic+ to a computer and then any audio that comes from that computer that is played comes to your hearing aids. Note that the new mic+ has to be paired to your hearing aids once at your audiologist through his / her fitting software. Incompatible android phones, laptops etc can send audio to your hearing aids. Also can use that mic+ as a microphone source, put next to a tv or radio or have a 1 to 1 conversation given to the other person. Your audiologist can guide you through all these and how to connect successfully.

I went to the Apple store today. Apple website claims MFI hearing aids will work with the 2023 M2 Mac Mini; I assume that is the one you tried since they never made an M3 version of the Mini. However, depending on the hearing aid, you either need Sonoma of Sequoia OS.

List of Made for iPhone hearing devices - Apple Support5

These Made for iPhone (MFi) hearing aids are compatible with iPhone and iPad. Those marked with an asterisk (*) are also compatible with Mac.

Seems to say for a bidirectional streaming, you only need Sonoma and an M2. But, I do see others complain that it fails for them as well if I Google.

So, I tried a 2024 M4 Mac Mini and it works! I was able to pair and stream with my Genesis Hearing Aids. I also tried an M4 iMac and that worked too. I could not try a watch as that requires the MyStarkey app and they won’t install that for a demo.

When I walked up to the M4 Mini, I saw that someone else had paired their hearing aids previously; I guess people are testing.

So, I guess good news if you want to get an M4 or try to press Apple/Starkey why the M2 version fails; they should have the same Bluetooth 5.3 according to specs.