Lumity 90 and bluetooth

Hearing Aids
#1

Hey all … I’m currently trialling Nadia Lumity 90 going from Oticon OPN S1. So far impressed but it is first day, thus teething probs.

I have read through the very looooong thread ( a few days!!) I think from summer 23 to end of May and like the general positive consensus on the Lumity.

I connect to my iPhone 14 Bluetooth no problem, and I can connect to my Mac Bluetooth also. However, when I connect to my Mac it disconnects from my iPhone. I understand I should be able to have the connection to both. I did have a Paradise on trial a few years ago and I had the HA’s connected to the phone and computer at the same time. In fact, that threw up a different problem in that when a notification came through on the iphone, it would temporarily cut off the sound on the computer, and thus the person I was speaking to on Zoom etc.

I have been using Phonak Loop with Roger Pen for computer and can still do this with Lumity. However, the Bluetooth connection from HA’s to Computer is better and more convenient but I need to keep the connection to the iPhone and Phonak app etc.

Any suggestions as to what I’m missing.

Thanks in advance.

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#2

You can be connected to two at one time, but only one can stream at a time.

WH

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#3

Yes that is my understanding too. However, if I connect my Lumity’s to the Mac via bluetooth the app disconnects instantly. The app will keep trying to connect and will display the spinning dots but is unable to the aids until I disconnect the aids from the computer.

They are trial aids but I’m assuming they have the same functionality as the full blown version or are there some restrictions?

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#4

The connection to the Mac uses a different connection than the app. The app uses the le connections and the Mac uses the traditional BT connection. Not sure why the app disconnects, but your phone is likely still connected on the traditional BT connection as you mentioned that notifications come through. Don’t worry about the app. It isn’t very important and some folks don’t use it at all.

WH

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#5

My Naida Lumity 90’s connect automatically to iPad Pro (M4) Macbook Pro (M2) & iPhone Pro 12, no problems whatsoever… Normally, if there is an occasional problem, I just forget the Bluetooth connection, and switch off iPhone, MacBook or iPad, reboot and set up the bluetooth connection again, we are usually good to go then… Cheers Kev :wink:

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#6

Ok so made some progress. If I’m streaming music from the iphone via Spotify it will show as the Classic BT connection. I’m guessing the myPhonak App is connecting via LE?

This is what I would expect to happen also. I have determined though that if I stream music via iPhone and pause then the app reverts back to Automatic program also instantly. However, if I pause a Youtube vid streaming from the computer, it seems it takes 10-15 seconds before it reverts back to Automatic. If I try to play something on the iPhone in that 10 seconds then it either does not play, or hangs, presumably because it still thinks its connected to the computer.
I’m also getting this error message asking me to connect to BT though it is already connected, as you can see from the background.

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I’m guessing as I get everything sorted the way I want it then the App will be redundant to a great extent. I’m assuming even if the App is disconnected the HA’s will work as normal i.e. cycle through the automatic programs etc. The App then just serves as a visual for what is actually happening in the aids?

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#7

For info: I think I have found the reason. It seems if the Lumity’s are connected to the iphone and the computer playing YouTube vid then they both stay connected to both the computer and phone.

However, if I then run up Zoom, the phone disconnects. It is not what I would have expected. It looks like the HA’s see Zoom as an extra connection rather than the existing connection to the computer.

In other words, if I am connected to the computer and then start Zoom on the same computer, the HA’s see this as two connections and thus the max connections. Connections to phone or other device is then disabled.

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#8

I can just share my experience. I became so frustrated after several weeks with the way a pair of Phonak Audéo Lumity R90s worked with my iPhone and the rest of my Apple ecosystem that, during the trial period, I gave up and went with ReSound Nexia 9s. Not only have I had very few pairing problems, but they are for me more comfortable and hold a day’s charge much better. As a bonus, I’ve gained Auracast for the future.

I’m seeing that Phonak may announce the Lumity’s successor in a few weeks. If they start to support MFi, things may become better. We will see. Working with classic Bluetooth is just too challenging now for Apple devices the way Phonak implements it.

#9

Phonak uses Bluetooth and connects to two devices at the same time. It works with every Bluetooth device i have, phone, tablet, laptops. Make sure the phone and laptop are not trying to connect to each other while you are connected to the laptop from your Lumity.

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#10

I was able to get all of it working. That wasn’t the problem.

But then it would disconnect out of the blue. And I’d go to the iPhone app mid-day and it would say the aids had 90%, but then force quitting and restarting the app would show 50—it would be connected but wouldn’t update the state of charge. It would give many other difficulties too. It wasn’t the initial pairing to all my devices. It was the reliability of the connections and the battery drain.

Bluetooth low energy, Bluetooth LE audio, Auracast, and MFi control (including control from Apple Watch) win the day for me with ReSound and take less power doing it. I know others (especially those with Android, but Apple too) may have different experiences. Just sharing mine.

#11

I found that the Lumity will connect to iPhone and Mac at the same time. However, if I run up Zoom, it disconnects the phone and apparently sees Zoom and the Mac as separate devices, even though I’m running Zoom on the Mac!

I’m not sure how you tell if the iPhone is connecting to the computer other than on the Bluetooth connection list. In my case, it does not seem if the iPhone and Mac are connected or trying to connect.

#12

Yes, that was my question. So Zoom is definitely not trying to use the phone.

#13

Zoom definitely not trying to use the phone. To double check, I deleted Zoom from the iphone and the phone still disconnects from the HA’s when I run up Zoom on the Mac. Thus, it seems the HA’s see Zoom and the computer as two connections, I’m not sure why.

There is some peculiarity with Zoom and the Lumity aids, as when Zoom uses the HA mic, there is some sound distortion akin to cracking on a bad phone line. But the distortion is present even when listening to a youtube video.

My solution is to use a different mic in Zoom and use the Lumity HA’s as the speaker. This solves the disconnection problem and the distortion problem.

It is a little bit curious as to what is happening though, and it depletes confidence in the HA’s with reliable connectivity.

#14

Lumity can be paired with 8 devices but can only be actively connected to 2 devices at a time. If you want to avoid issues, turn Bluetooth off on devices when you are finished using them. Almost all Bluetooth issues are caused by accidentally leaving Bluetooth active on more than 2 devices and some other device has grabbed the 2nd Bluetooth connection somewhere else in your house and you now can’t connect to the device you want to listen to. This includes the Phonak TV connector.

Jordan

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#15

Tv connector doesn’t use a Bluetooth connection up. You can be connected to two bt devices and be using tv connector or roger mic at the same time.

WH

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#16

Yeah a lot of us keep forgetting this important information ; )

#17

This is true to an extent.

However, in my case, HA’s connect to Mac computer as one connection. If I run Zoom on the same computer the HA’s seems to take that as another connection and disconnects from my iphone. However, it works ok if I do not use the HA’s as the microphone in Zoom and use a different mic in Zoom!

Interestingly, if I disconnect the HA’s from the computer, Zoom no longer sees them either!

There is definitely an issue between Zoom using HA’s mic and the connectivity to the HA’s. My presumption would be, if this is happening with Zoom and computer, then it is happening with other devices also. Zoom is not a hardware device though.

So I think you might find that almost all the bluetooth problems are not down to other devices being on. Firstly, they would have to be paired initially. It should not be the case that people would have to go around switching on and off their bluetooth devices in order for the HA’s to work. Bluetooth is everywhere now … even in my toothbrush … no pun intended.

#18

The reason Zoom causes the HA to disconnect from the phone is that it forces the HA to switch to a different BT profile.
When streaming, be it from your phone, computer or toothbrush, the BT profile used by all devices is Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP). However, when using Zoom, same as when having a phone conversation, in order to be able to have bidirectional streaming, the profile used is Headset Profile (HSP).
The solution is to setup Zoom to use the computer internal mic and the HA as streaming device, this way the BT profile used will be A2DP which, btw, has better audio quality.

A2DP is the primary protocol for wireless audio streaming. It enables devices to transmit stereo audio signals with a sample rate of up to 48 kHz and bit depth of 16 bits.

HSP is designed for hands-free phone calls and audio streaming in vehicles. It supports mono audio with a sample rate of up to 8 kHz and bit depth of 8 bits.

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#19

But isn’t the TV Connector likely to add some complication? I’m thinking it’s pretty good at grabbing a connection.

#20

It doesn’t grab a connection, but it can interfere with things playing. It will routinely grab my ears away from something streaming on the phone, even with only one connection. Usually I only pair with my iphone. I have paired in the past with both computers and ipad, but mostly for experience, not for ordinary use. I use a roger on or a tv connector for my computers and ipad. A call coming in will grab it back.

WH

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