The dongle can store up to 12 paired devices, but currently it’s limited to just one when using LE Audio devices (including hearing aids). This helps simplify the reconnection process. A future firmware update may lift this limitation, but for most hearing aid users, bonding the dongle with a single pair of hearing aids is usually sufficient. Automatically reconnecting to a different, non-worn pair could cause confusion or issues.
When used with classic Bluetooth headsets or certain Qualcomm-based LE Audio earbuds, the current firmware does not impose this limitation.
We’ve received test results and logs from a Widex Allure 440 user indicating that these hearing aids may use a vendor-specific pairing mechanism, which prevents the FMA120 from pairing successfully. Additionally, Widex Moment and SmartRic models do not appear to support LE Audio.
If you’re looking to connect your hearing aids directly to a Mac, please refer to Apple’s support page for guidance. It also outlines the specific system requirements your Mac needs to support this feature.
Thank you VERY much for the detailed answer, I’m impressed!
It seems like the SmartRic is in a limbo with Apple. it is not on the list but it supports bi-directional streaming. It connects to my Mac but then the connection disappears.
Bummer , I really wanted to buy the Floogoo.
They do! No matter how much I tried, I can connect them to my MacBook Pro M1 but the connection dissapears after few seconds and I can’t stream from my Mac . No biggie , I have AirPods Pro 2 and Phonaks I can use for that.
Did you temporarily turn off Bluetooth on your phone before trying to pair the hearing aids with your Mac? Some say you have to keep Bluetooth off on the phone while using the connection to the Mac.
Are you sure the mic on the SmartRIC can be used to makes calls? This thread suggests not: Widex Allure and iPhone calls as that functionality was added to the Allure.
I’ve been able to have phone conversations walking around the room without holding the iPhone close to my face. I just did a conference call with them with no issues (6 ft away from my iPhone)
The BT LE breaks if I am too far away from the phone.
I can connect my SmartRICs to my mac now with no issues. Thank you @Ranson (A simple reboot of the Mac fixed the issue)
The iPhone mic might be picking things up well even at a distance when in a quiet space. Can you test this with the phone in another room as I don’t seem to be able to use the hearing aid mics for calls and possibly I need to tweak something?
The streaming breaks if I go to another room. Maybe putting tape or putting the phone in a box , I’ll run some tests.
I got a firmware update last week, maybe that did something
I’ve the SmartRiCs for a week ($300 @ eBay plus $60 for two receivers + tax & tariffs) . I love these hearing aids, by far the best I’ve had
I tested them with a caller and walked to the next room. It worked. I asked the caller if my voice volume decreased while I was moving and he said: No.
So either the mic in my iPhone is extremely good or these devices have hands-free calling as claimed by Soundly.com
Can anyone else confirm how these should work so I know whether to investigate further - do any Widex prior to the Allure support using the hearing aid mics for phone calls?
I’m having trouble pairing the FMA120 to my iPhone, I finally managed to update the firmware on my laptop. It keeps saying busy pairing but doesn’t pair. I’ve clicked allow when it first showed the Bluetooth bit. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you
As I’m no longer an iPhone user I’m not sure what to advise. Can anyone help me help them?
Thanks
Unless the FMA120 is connected to the phone while in Auracast receiver mode, it’s not going to work because Apple don’t do LE Audio… unless they have Resound/Jabra hearing aids that they want to stream to in which case they use the Auracast assistant built into the Resound/Jabra app.
That would mean a FMA120 connected to the laptop in Auracast transmitter mode, and they would need a Windows computer running the Floogoo app to set the mode.
Unless I’m wrong in which case Ranson will be here shortly to slap me around.
As @d_Wooluf mentioned, the FMA120 acts as an “initiator” (just like the iPhone itself) when in transmitter mode — and two initiators can’t pair with each other because one side must act as an “acceptor.” It’s a bit like two people trying to call each other at the same time: both calls end up failing.
Users can plug the FMA120 (in transmitter mode) into their iPhone to connect to LE Audio hearing aids. However, since these hearing aids already support MFi, the benefit is limited — unless the user specifically wants to receive Auracast broadcast.
If the user has loaded the Auracast receiver mode firmware onto their FMA120, they don’t need to pair it manually in the iPhone’s Bluetooth settings. Instead, the FlooCast app on iOS handles the pairing process between the dongle and the iPhone.
We’ve just released a new stable firmware version 1.1.3, which adds support for hearing aids that can maintain multiple connections with both a phone and the PC/FMA120. We tested it with a pair of Starkey Edge AI, and it works well in the following scenarios:
For iPhone:
When media playback starts on the iPhone while streaming from the PC/FMA120, the iPhone audio takes priority. After playback ends, streaming from the PC/FMA120 resumes automatically.
Streaming from the FMA120 will pause and resume around phone calls on the iPhone.
If an online call is ongoing via the FMA120, an incoming call on the iPhone won’t interrupt it.
For Android with LE Audio (tested on Samsung S23 Ultra):
Works similarly to iPhone, but media playback from both sources has equal priority, so starting playback on the phone won’t interrupt streaming from the PC.
This new firmware shows what’s possible when using hearing aids capable of multiple links. It also includes some improvements for better compatibility with Microsoft Teams.
Note: We tested the ReSound Nexia 9 (9.68.1) and, as of this post, it does not support this function with the FMA120.
I tried the new firmware with Jabra EP20s (ReSound Nexia) and an iPhone. They don’t seem to support multiple connections.
The Jabra EP20s will stick to whatever Bluetooth connection is currently active. They will only start searching for alternatives when the current BT connection goes down.
Here is what I did:
Pairing: I turned Bluetooth off on the iPhone, then power-cycled the HAs. They paired with the FMA120.
I streamed some YouTube songs from my PC to the HAs via the FMA120.
I turned Bluetooth on on my iPhone. They HAs continued to stream via the FMA120 and did not connect to the phone. Which means I also couldn’t use the Smart3D app.
I left the house while streaming was ongoing. Eventually I got out of range of the FMA120, and after a short while the HAs connected to the iPhone again
I went back to the FMA120. The HAs remained connected to the iPhone
I turned off Bluetooth on the iPhone again. The HAs switched over the FMA120.
i turned on Bluetooth on the iPhone and stopped YouTube streaming. The HAs remained connected to the FMA120. That’s probably to be expected because stopping YouTube does not end the LE Audio connection between FMA120 and HAs.
After unplugging the FMA120, the HAs connected to the iPhone again.
Thank you for the detailed reply. We do have a pair of ReSound Nexia 9 (which might be the same device as the EP20) in our lab, and these hearing aids don’t allow a new connection once they’re already connected to a source device.
I should have mentioned earlier that the Nexia 9 doesn’t support this feature—sorry for missing that in my original post about the new function tested with the Starkey Edge AI.
I understand that ReSound offers multiple connection options through their app (for managing devices like their TV streamer), but this approach seems different from how we’ve implemented it with Starkey hearing aids. As noted in the Amazon review below from an Oticon Intent user (which might share hardware with the Philips 9050), the FMA120 might be recognized by these hearing aids as a “phone.”
We don’t have a Starkey TV streamer to test with, so we’re unsure how an Edge AI would handle connections with three devices simultaneously. We’ll reach out to Starkey to gather more information.
Ideally, hearing aids wouldn’t need to assign or assume specific roles for connected devices since the LE Audio standard itself is designed to flexibly manage and share connections across multiple sources—for example, a TV could also start an online video call if it supports such an app.
Quoted from an Amazon review of the Oticon Intent:
“Once paired, you don’t need to turn off the ConnectClip or TV Adapter to use this transmitter. It’s treated as a ‘phone’ by the hearing aids, and the Oticon Intent supports multiple Bluetooth connections. Only one device can actively stream audio at a time, but several devices can stay connected in parallel.
