Just came back from the audiologist after initial fitting of my new P90R and testing the bluetooth connectivity. I have high expectations for the devices shown as the best in class in this aspect according to surveys.
I am experiencing frequent disconnects from MacBookPro with 5.0, but worst of all I cannot use it with Zoom. After connecting the device to computer, if I am going to Zoom preferences it gets disconnected immediately. Seems like the Zoom issue, but wondering if someone succeeded to setup Phonak with latest Zoom. It seems does not depend on if my iPhone connected to P90 or not.
Also, if someone knows if an external BT dongle for Mac might be the solution and if so, appreciate the lead.
You’re ignoring this member’s posts.
GSBBG10 people in this conversation9 min readJump to latest↓
I have the same Phonak . And I have experienced all the issues you described connecting to my Mac computers and using Zoom. It seems like the HAs connect to various sources whenever they want and not what I want. I have even had them hijack my wife’s iPhone audio while she was talking even though they were never paired to her phone.
You have to remember that these HAs can only have two active connections at a time. So it is important to keep looking at the sound and status panels from the menu tab at the top of your screen. If you cannot get them to connect from those status panels, you should try to turn your HAs off and on, which puts them in BT connect mode. I have learned to turn them on/off quickly by pressing and holding the bottom of the rocker switch on the HAs. Alternatively, you can turn them off and on quickly by inserting and removing them from the charger.
At first, I had problems connecting with Zoom or GoToMeeting, but it seems to be working now.
I also have problems with sound quality on a phone call and even sometimes when I am just streaming some music from my phone (dropouts).
I have been frustrated with the BT on my P90Rs, but they work enough of the time to keep them. I think Paradise HAs are the only ones with a BT microphone, so I do not have to have the phone in hand to make a call. Other HAs apparently must use the phone microphone for phone calls. I understand the BT problems are common on most HAs. I wish there was an interface in the myphonak app that would allow control of BT connections.
I’m also looking forward to the next generation of BT 5.2 HAs that will eventually solve some of these issues.
Yes this is a well known problem and I had the exact same issue. I had ZERO useful help from Phonak Support and almost handed my hearing aids back. Luckily I was able to come up with a solution.
EDIT: my P90R do not connect to my MacBook either. The only way I could get them to connect in a stable fashion for Zoom calls is via the gadget mentioned in the link above. My aids connect OK with my iPhone but will not connect via to either my MacBook or iMac.
@sundance As a “gadget” do you mean Behringer UCA202 or something else? I understand that Phonak TV connector is using proprietary AirStream communication (probably over non-standard ). I am struggling to understand if/how Behringer UCA202 helps to connect to Mac for Zoom calls. But it is a nice idea instead of overpriced Phonak TV connector.
Yes by gadget I mean the Behringer device. This connection setup also requires a TV connector. The Behringer provides a digital (optical) output and this is connected to the TV connector.
You’re right that the TV connector uses AirStream. This means that it burns far less of the batteries. I often spend as long as 5 hours a day in meetings on Zoom and this works for me.
It does look like the best option, especially, due to energy efficiency, but quite pricy. It is ~$200 and if I really need a connector for the TV, I will need another device (unless to connect/disconnect as needed).
I am wondering if buying on Amazon is the best option.
I also would like to understand why is the problem with Mac only since I hear the Windows and Chromebook people are quite happy with relatively simple dongle or even with built in hardware. Is the problem on the Mac or Phonak side? Does the same problem exist with non-Phonak ? I still have 30 days to switch to another vendor (I am in the trial period).
No idea if the problem is on the Mac side. There’s an incompatibility somewhere.
It doesn’t bother me at all because in my use case I don’t want to be bluetoothed to my Mac while I am at my desk and have all computer sounds (dings from outlook, slack etc) piped into my ears.
For my use case all i require is something I can switch on and off at need very quickly and the TV connector/Behringer combination does that for me. If I have an zoom call coming I just plug it in, I do the call and then physically disconnect again.
I actually have two Tv connectors. One is attached to the back of my Tv in the living room using the sticky pad it comes with. The other one lives a more nomadic life in my laptop backpack and is wheeled out for zoom/teams sessions etc. With my current schedule at work (I manage a global team of engineers) this has proved a lifesaver for me and audio is crisp especially as most people have been connecting using good quality headsets and not from meeting rooms with poor audio/mic pickup.
The hearing aids revert back to autosense os after a period of silence when using a TV connector and the analogue input.
When using the TV connector with a laptop I open YouTube in the background with a white noise video playing, and I turn it down very low (almost inaudible). This continuous noise keeps the TV connector program active and after a few minutes I don’t even notice the noise.
Hi, I so t have phonaks but do have resound and I know there are settings in zoom to select with devices is required to be used. Example by default it’s set to pc audio, I I have to change it to hearing aids. Hope that helps
Hi. Coming in late, I guess, so please bear with me. I have had few if any problems connecting my KS-10s or my Phonak MRT 90’s to my iMac to stream any sound source, including Zoom and Skype. First of all, I open the app. Then I open Bluetooth Preferences and put the into pairing mode (as has been mentioned already, press the lower button until they turn off – ~4 seconds --and then press again for two seconds, and the little tune tells me that they are in pairing mode. Then, I right-click on them in the Preference pain and choose “connect.” I have had a few dropouts, but very few. This morning I was connected to a video (included in an article that I was reading) without even trying, and my Apple Watch came on to tell me that the sound level was above 80dB, so turn it down, which I did. I am thrilled with the BT performance of the KS-10s and listen to music and NPR quite often. To assist my fitter, I tried the Resound One (MFI), and found the streaming to be shrill (I have already posted about this). So, though some think that the MFI connection is preferable to the regular BT, I did not. But, everybody hears differently, I guess.
Wondering if iMac is that much different from the last year MacBookPro. It frequently drops the connection, sometimes reconnects, sometimes not.
The option with TV connector works pretty smoothly, but BT connection to the computer is my biggest disappointment with Phonak for now. I am not sure though if it is alone worth to switch to another vendor (given I have a workaround as above).
Have to admit, I was warned by several people on this forum about BT issues (potentially valid for other vendors too), but did not expect they are that severe and impacting my daily work. The bright side is that with iPhone/iPad I don’t have significant issues.
@sundance Received my TV Connector and UCA202 and found that Toslink cable does not stay firm on UCA202. The cable came with TV Connector. Does it say that either UCA or cable defective? I can hear the sound, it is just a matter that the cable is not connected with click and easily going out. Given your experience with these devices, do you have any ideas?
@sundance Sorry for the hassle. Seems I was afraid to apply too much pressure. It clicked in the end (no previous experience with optical cables).
Thanks for the solution, seems works stable.
@sundance Sorry to bother you again, but question due to my ignorance. Is the connection between and TV connector bidirectional i.e. UCA202 should pickup the voice from the HA send it to computer? I do see that UCA202 creates both input and output devices but cannot make my Zoom to use input from “USB Audio CODEC”. I know you are using external mic and, probably, will come to the same solution, but I don’t need particularly high quality of my voice and those mics are quite pricy (can you suggest something good enough but cheaper?).
The connection between the and TV connector is NOT bi-directional. The TV connector just provides an audio feed back to your aids.
You do not need to purchase an external mic like i did. The Macbook Pro already has some pretty decent mics in-built into the machine. It is perfectly fine to use the Macbook mics for voice and use the UCA202/TV connector for the audio.
To set Zoom up to do that you will need to go to the Preferences page in Zoom and set the Speaker and Microphone settings as follows:
Thanks for clarifications. I suspected my devices might be defective :).
Unfortunately, using internal Mac mic does not work well for me since most of the time I using computer with closed lid and sound quality is poor. I also don’t have much real estate on my table and standing mic might be a problem.
Never mind, will look for clip-on mic type. Thanks again for the solution.
Re the picture shown above: My Audio Settings are the same except that I selected R-Phonak hearing aid in the box next to Test Speaker. Works perfectly.
