Skip to content
HearingTracker
Log in

MyPhonak app update

This topic is closed.

68 replies6.1k viewsLast reply

Jump
Link to this topic
Edited

There’s a new update to the MyPhonak app. It’s now version 4.0.2 As far as I can tell, it just adds compatibility with the new Paradise aids. There’s still a new 5.0 version that will be released sometime in the future.

Note from @AbramBaileyAuD! Dr Cliff just published a video on this:

29 people in this conversation16 min readJump to latest

While we’re on the subject of that Phonak app … Crazy question: could this app program the aids to stream to a MacBook Pro laptop with NO TV Connector unit? Last night, my hubs was asking “Why, in 2021, do you need the TV Connector unit plugged in to the laptop to stream when you can stream with NO device at all when using a cell phone? Ask that on the board tomorrow.”

And so … I submit the question, cuz it bugs me, too! Is it a Bluetooth version issue? An Apple control issue? My cell phone is a Samsung S6 (and I see that the Phonak phone app would be compatible with it) but what is the benefit of that phone app in a nutshell?

Does it make it easier to switch programs or turn volume UP/DOWN as opposed to just using the button on the aids?

Can you use it to stream to any device other than the phone itself?

Much obliged for your insights, cuz the Phonak website is full of the usual vague blahdy blahdy that’s more marketing fluff than info I can make sense of.

The app is not going to improve streaming abilities. You may be able to stream directly to your MacBook laptop with a dongle. For some reason, many computers laptop’s chips don’t work with Phonak Marvel/Paradise. They often pair, but won’t connect. The standard advice from Phonak is a Sennheiser BT dongle, but many of us have had success with a cheaper one. So no, it’s not really Bluetooth version issue, but likely some kind of a driver issue.
The app gives more control than the buttons. Besides changing programs and volume, one also has access to a crude (Low, mids and highs) equalizer and can control noise reduction. If one always has one’s cellphone on and with you, it might be easier than buttons. I don’t, so I stick with buttons.

Think of the app and streaming separately. I have the app set up on my phone, but I do not have my phone paired to my hearing aids. Hope this helps and does not add to the confusion.

I have zero problems connecting to any Apple devices (Iphone, Ipad, Macbook, Imac) with Marvels. I do have some problems connecting to Microsoft Note - for that I use either the TV connect or a cheap ($3) 5.0 dongle I got from Ebay.

^^^ Why thankee! I’m always here but have not been as active during the past year due to being in a MAJOR funk over pandemic, politics and then … getting KICKED out of the place we’ve rented 17 years so the owner could make a bundle of dough.

Now that most of that is behind me, I’m starting to poke my head up like a daffodil. Spring is in the air! :slight_smile:

In reply to @Psych1

So are you using the Sennheiser BTD plugged into a Mac laptop f’instance? It’s that Mac-to-Marvel pairing and connectivity that would prompt me to plunk down $99 at Amazon to buy this device for my MacBook Pro.

If the setup works, it would replace the snergly TV Connector with 2 cables plugged into a port on the side.

My concern is that my Marvel aids are already paired 24x7 to my Samsung phone. So would I be able to pair them to a 2nd device, being the Sennheiser BTD? (I know that sounds like a dumb question, but as it is, I can only pair ONE set of aids to my phone. I am unable to pair both my Audeo B’s and the Marvels to the phone at the same time - DUMB).

I am paired via Bluetooth to at least 6 different devices - I believe Marvels can pair to 8, if you try to pair to more the oldest pairing drops out. But, you can only connect to 1 (maybe 2) at a time. You must disconnect from all others. With all my Apple devices I disconnect then automatically connect to the next one I use without doing anything else.

I’m sure the Sennheiser dongle works too but I think the one I bought for $3 is probably just as good. But no need for any dongle to connect to Macbook, works fine. Read the other current Bluetooth threads.

In reply to @1Bluejay

My understanding is that Marvels will to PAIR to two different devices and CONNECT to only one at a time (Paradise will PAIR to 8 and CONNECT to 2) connectivity with Mac laptops has been hit or miss from what I’ve read. The Sennheiser BT dongle should work, but it’s also likely a much cheaper one would work also (I got a $12 Insignia one from BestBuy that works fine on my Dell Desktop) So, you should be able to PAIR to your Mac laptop and your Samsung Phone, but you will only be able to be connected to one at a time. Alas, this stuff always seems to be glitchy, so it may take some tweaking.

Well, I just SPRANG for the $99 Sennheiser BTD 500 at Amazon. If it doesn’t work I can always return it.

I opened Bluetooth under System Pref’s on my 2019 MacBook Pro and it doesn’t even find my Audeo Bs. My Marvel aids are STILL in the shop (2 weeks now!), so no way to see if they’d pair with this laptop.

Will let everyone know the results when the dongle gets here on Wed. Fingers crossed … It would sure streamline the streaming from aids-to-laptop over the current setup using the TV Connector.

Edited

In reply to @Psych1

Hm. I’ve tried pairing both my Marvels and Audeo Bs to my Samsung phone, and during the pairing process, it won’t even “find” the other model aids if I’m already paired with one of them. F’instance, most times, my Marvels are paired/connected to the phone, but with them in the SHOP for repair, I had to pair up my Audeo B backup aids. Would not even GO THERE until I literally removed the Marvels from the Bluetooth lineup.

This seems to square with what’s at the Phonak Support site online13.

Irks me to no end cuz then it takes that extra 5 min every time to unpair one set of aids, then pair up the 2nd set of aids and connect them for phone calls.

(On top of which the Audeo Bs only send sound to ONE ear, while the Marvels stream sound to both - so I get to slip down the learning curve slope over and over and over to re-orient my brain from mono to stereo, too).

Part of the updates in the myPhonak is a bookmarked section for health-related features in the app, but currently it still just a bookmark, and there’s nothing on it yet, but I am looking forward to finding out what it will be about, something similar to what Starkey is offering?

image

In reply to @1Bluejay

@1Bluejay said:

Would not even GO THERE until I literally removed the Marvels from the Bluetooth lineup

When you say pair with phone, do you mean streaming (bt classic) or for the myphonak app - remote control (bt le)?

First one you do from your phone bt settings and you can pair a bunch of bt devices to the phone. Don’t know if phones have limit, I didn’t hit mine yet.

However in the myphonak app, indeed, you need to repair with new aids. And is best to first go to phone bt settings and click on forget on that le connections since app does not do that part reliably.

Anyone know of any tips or tricks to keep the app connected with the Marvel hearing aids?

I’m coming from an Oticon OPN system, where the app would remain constantly connected to the aids/connectclip for streaming.

The Marvels on the other hand, maybe because they use bluetooth LE, seem to need to reconnect every single time I switch to the app. It doesn’t stay persistent. Any time streaming changes (like starts or stops), it drops the connection and i have to open the app again, wait for it to connect, and jab the mute button again to turn off the mic. I find it annoying in day to day use compared to the Oticon system.

^^^ Similar to your situation, I’m having a deuce of a time with my Audeo B-Direct aids. My cell phone shows they are PAIRED and CONNECTED, but the sound simply does not stream with my aids! I’ve tried unpairing the aids/phone and rebooting the aids to no avail! A couple days ago, these aids streamed volume to the LEFT ear only … but now I can’t get them to stream at all.

Anyone out there having similar issues? Granted, these aids are now 4 yrs old, so maybe no one wears them anymore? They’re my backup aids, and with my Marvels in the shop, I’m unable to stream ANY calls. :face_with_raised_eyebrow:

In reply to @1Bluejay

I use BTD 500 on my windows 10 Surface pro 4 laptop. Pairs with Paradise aids. On Zoom the aids sound great, the laptop mike is used for microphone.
I had to go device manager and disable the computer’s bluetooth driver before installing the BTD 500 to get it working. If the computer updates I might have to repeat that setting.
The Insignia dongle didn’t work for me.

Looks like you found your solution! We got the Sennheiser 500 dongle paired up PDQ to my MacBook Pro … and the sound was great! However, it kept going IN and OUT of sound for some reason - probably cuz I had too many other things connected via BT to my laptop.

I guess all things (and hassles) considered, my optimum world for now is to keep the Phonak Marvels paired + connected to my Samsung phone and continue to use the snergly TV Connector plugged in to my laptop for its occasional use.

Related discussions