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Reconsidering My Purchase of Philips 9050 From Costco - Pairing Issues

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I’ve been reading about all the hassles with , and I’m about to cancel my order with Costco. My phone is a Samsung Galaxy S20 FE which I think will allow me to make phone calls, although another website told me that this the 9050’s would only stream. That’s a deal breaker. Any insights into this /phone combo appreciated.

Second, my Lenovo Yoga 9i is two years old but apparently too old to support BT LE Audio natively; further, none of the BT 5.3 dongles won’t work because they don’t support . Do I have that right?

And then, the final straw… even if I buy the Philps adapter, it will only allow me to stream, meaning that I can’t use my HA’s for Zoom calls. Do I have this right?

It feels like I’m going backwards from my 5 year old Phonaks… not the greatest BT connections but usable with laptops and HA’s…

I’m really torn… my left HA needs repairs that Costco won’t do but all of a sudden, that doesn’t look like such a bad option.

TIA for any insights and advice.

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Just buy a new Sammy with the thousands you’ll save buying from Costco, easy problem solved, also I can’t find it right now, but the dongle is available for your older laptop as well.

@EagleHeart said:

And then, the final straw… even if I buy the Philps adapter, it will only allow me to stream, meaning that I can’t use my HA’s for Zoom calls. Do I have this right?

If you’re talking about the AudioClip, it allows full hands-free calls, and connection to any windows or mac computer.It also functions as a remote mic, and remote control for volume/program change/mute functions.
It converts Bluetooth classic to LE to stream directly to your 9050s.

Like @tenkan posted, if you buy a newer Galaxy S23-S25 or Pixel 7 to Pixel 9 you’ll get native android with the 9050 without needing the Clip.

Edited

If your workflow absolutely requires you to be able to easily switch between phone and computer (eg answering a call when you’re on the computer) you’ll probably want a Phonak aid or the Sennheiser which is available at some Costcos.

If you don’t mind having Bluetooth active on only one device at a time and you don’t need handsfree you should be ok with the Philips, your current phone and the Floogoo FMA120 dongle for the computer.

If you want handsfree, you’ll need a new phone (S23 or above if Samsung) as well.

And then, there’s the ‘Clip’.

Disclaimer: I’m not guaranteeing compatibility on any of the above. In particular, the dongle should work on any recent laptop according to Floogoo support (Ranson) but it’s up to you to confirm.

Back to the Clip. It might do want you want but you’d want to make sure it does multipoint (easily switch between two devices). Apart from that it’s just annoying to have to use it.

This new hearing aid purchase is really turning out to be a pain in the… uh… EAR!

Thanks for the insightful and useful responses. I’ve also learned a lot from this thread:

Philips Audio Clip
Philips Audio Clip Experience? Hello, I’m planning to buy Philips Audio Clip to pair my Hearing Aid 9050 with my computer. Has anyone used this device? Share your thoughts and feedback.

The bottom line is that manufacturers, in a rush to “new technology” have made phones, tablets, and computers obsolete for any kind of two way communications.

Yes, the AudioClip apparently works… and for ONLY $260… but what a pain in the ear… now I have to carry this clip device when I ride my bike, walk, whatever.

It appears that the Jabra Enhance 20 Pro has the same issues, with the exception that it will apparently stream to my phone (Samsung S20 FE 5G) but not actually function for communications unless I use Jabra’s version of the clip. Do I have it right?

Again, thank you. I’ve worn HA’s for more than 20 years… and the big focus used to be, “so how do they sound”. Now, that’s one of multiple considerations. Hoorary for technology.

In reply to @tenkan

Confirmed from three sources that the dongle (with 5.3+) won’t solve the problem. No for Android.

I’m not cheap but I’m not Musk rich, either. This phone works fine, I want a new subwoofer, my Surface Go tablet is crapping out, and I’ve got the WAF in the middle of all this. But I suppose you have a point… a new phone would solve the problem… and as they say, “If you have a problem you can solve with money, you don’t have a problem.” Thanks.

I returned my 9050’s even though the audio clip was thrown in for free. After using classic bluetooth for 4 years seemed to me like a retrograde step. So I am paying the £120 ($150) to get my KS10’s repaired, and hopefully keep me going for another 4 years. Old tech, I know.

In reply to @EagleHeart

Yeah the dongle will help solve your issue, as in with both and New phone supporting LE Audio no need for , forget about that, it’s dead in the water as LE Audio with is the new standard.

Edited

In reply to @EagleHeart

You have have the following solutions to your issue.

  1. Buy a new phone with LE audio. A cheaper selection of phones will start happening sometime around the end of the year. There are also used phones for sale on the web.
  2. Return the 9050 and ask if there is a Costco close by that sells the Sennheiser hearing aid. Note you would be buying old technology and missing out on .
  3. Repair your old hearing aids if possible. You will be stuck without the improvements that have been made with hearing in noise and old technology.

Yah… after ranting a bit, I do generally choose to go with reality. The 9050’s are, on paper, a vast improvement over my current KS9.0’s which have electronics problems in the left ear and have never been great performers.

The AudioClip will permit communications when using Zoom on my PC, and will permit me to use my older model phone until I upgrade. Just as with glasses and ’s, I shall adapt!

Thank you for all the comments and suggestions. I hope to give back when my 9050’s come in (Mar 4).

Edited

You might want to keep an eye on the FlooGoo thread. Buy it through Amazon for their great return policy if it doesn’t work for you.

Bluetooth dongle with Auracast support - FlooGoo FMA120
We’ve been waiting for such a beast for a while. Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CN71FL92/ Manufacturer’s product page: https://www.flairmesh.com/Dongle/FMA120.html I emailed them asking for information and they replied. I’ll copy it verbatim. I don’t think there’s anything there that they want to keep private. My take is that Auracast is working assuming you have a phone that supports it (which is probably Samsung) but point-to-point LE Audio is a work in progress for hear…

In addition, keep an eye out for any 9050 app update that may include an assistant for . I don’t know if it will work with an old phone, but Resound updated their app and you can follow the tread to see if it works with old phones.

ReSound iPhone App now with Auracast support
Resound has released version 1.39 of their “Smart 3D” phone app, which includes support for Auracast. Has anybody had any luck with this? I gave it a quick try and it finds the Auracast transmitter I have setup (AK3040ProMax), but I can’t click on it and eventually it just times out. (My Auracast transmitter shows up as TYL.Auracast_ffbb) [Smart 3D Auracast]

I’m not sure why the (it was free with the 9050 at Costco in 12/24) wouldn’t work with your PC Zoom calls.

It just expects an audio source. It supports toslink (optical cable), RCA and 1/8” plug.

Yes, that’s the streaming aspect of a connection. But if you want a microphone as well, then a connection is mandatory, and presumably the AudioClip can do that.

I’m an engineer by training, a project manager by profession so it’s almost a compulsion to run some numbers on everything I buy. Turns out that AT&T is having a trade in promotion, giving me a new phone compatible with the 9050 ’s at a great price… now to decide which phone to buy.

Seems to me that the S25+ is the best deal, gets me what I want for less money than buying the AudioClip.

image

I think the 9050 is a great choice if you don’t need to be able to take calls on the phone and use the computer at the same time. The multipoint that you’re used to with the Phonaks won’t work. Maybe- hopefully!- in the future it will, but I wouldn’t rely on that happening. You’ll also need to buy a dongle for your computer or buy a computer that’s compatible with .

I struggled for about a year and finally with Samsungs’ release of its newest operating system One UI 7 and a firmware upgrade on my Jabra enhance pro 20 the problems appear to have been solved. That’s the good news. The bad news it may still be some time (several months) before the new UI gest rolls out to older phones. So keep your ear to the rail for any news on how many generations back and the,timing on when they will roll out the software.

I have the Phillips 9050s and the Samsung S22 Ultra and I can hear phone call discussions thru my hearing aids just fine. But for some reaon yet TBD I can’t hear the voice mails. Love the 9050s! Larry

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