Oticon streamer pro dropping connection

gpsgrandpa · July 25, 2016, 9:23am

For the two months I used the Alta2 Pro miniRITE aids the Streamer Pro linkage never worked correctly. Some folks wrote that it deteriorated after iOS 8.x became iOS 9.x. Eventually I stopped using the Streamer Pro. When I took it back to the Audiologist she offered to switch me to the OPNs. They have there own issues but generally are working much better for me. The BT connection has never dropped.
When my iPhone 6S is sitting out where I can see it (instead of my belt holster/case) I see the screen light up randomly. Whenever I look at the bluetooth settings it appears the phone is always scanning for a connection. I don’t know if it is doing a reconnection to the the HAs but I notice the volume control is lower than when I last used it.

KenP · July 25, 2016, 10:00am

I have KS6/Resound and the upgrades, if anything, made it better. Most of the MFi aids go through a cycle of HA software upgrades. I am guessing the they need to do the same and are at work on it.

besh007 · July 27, 2016, 4:11am

OK yesterday I updated my Streamer Pro firmware from 3.3.1 to the new 3.5.3 that comes with Oticon Genie 2016.1 update, and so far I’m not facing bluetooth connection drops.

besh007 · August 4, 2016, 2:51am

I take my words back! 2 days after using the latest firmware, bluetooth connection drops while in call and the phone keeps waking up randomly and changing volume

isis_isis · August 7, 2016, 1:48pm

I have had the same problem I was so disappointed . I just received my resound yesterday FEDEX. I gave up on the streamer.

Say_What · November 4, 2016, 11:42pm

I tested with iPhone 5s iOS 9.2 and iPhone 7 iOS 10.1. BT connection cycles on and off continually.

David_Nelson · November 9, 2016, 9:07am

xrogers:

I have an Oticon Streamer Pro 1.3 (I think, it’s an early pro model) with firmware updated this past January, and Agil Pro BTE hearing aids. I use the streamer as my primary connection to my phone (currently an iPhone 5s). I have come to use and rely on this setup over the past few years.

For the past 6-8 months (with either a late version of iOS 8, or maybe just iOS 9 versions, I can’t be certain) I’ve been having problems with my streamer/phone setup. The phone usually does not respond to my streamer button presses (this used to be totally reliable). Calls often don’t ring in my hearing aids (but the phone thinks it is paired so won’t ring audibly) so I’m missing calls, sometimes minutes after having up from another call. The streamer disappears from the iPhone connection list during calls every so often, so it seems like the call is dropped, but in reality it’s switched to the phone mic and speaker—power the streamer off/on, and it reconnects and I can continue the call. I have at least one of these things happen to me every day.

I got a streamer firmware update in January in the hopes of addressing this problem, but it didn’t help.

I just talked to a friend with a similar setup to mine who is being frustrated by losing their streamer mid call. I’ve only found one reference to a similar problem on the web, at https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7532553?start=0&tstart=0, currently with no solution. With both my friend and I having these issues, I’d expect others would be having trouble as well.

So is anyone out there having this problem, or has heard anything about it, or has any details to contribute?

Thanks!

I have a Streamer Pro 1.0, which is coupled thrugh bluetooth to an iPhone SE. and connects to a couple of Oticon hearing aids. Some time ago the problem started: while I’m talking, it uncouples without any warning and I have to use the phone in the normal way, that is place it next to my ear. Then, all of a sudden, it couples again. It’s most frustrating and disagreeable, as I have to keep flipping the phone to my ear when I lose the sound in my hearing aids and naturally having difficulty in hearing. I don’t know if the problem is with the iPhone or the Streamer Pro. I have checked the pone and when it uncouples, the setting on the phone shows “Streamer Pro disconnected”. I would appreciate any help in solving this problema.

SimonH · November 19, 2016, 3:46am

IoS 10.1.1; Oticon Streamer Pro 1.3 A; Oticon Spirit Synergy (NHS supplied)

I have just followed the advice of NHS Audiologist to obtain the Oticon Streamer and it was linked to my new hearing aids yesterday.

Being able to have a conversation on the phone was fantastic! Especially in busy places and in business calls in which I really need to hear the other party properly - until I couldn’t because of the dropping out problem so beautifully described above.

Desperately frustrating and gloomy depression for having wasted a lot of money.

I have experimented some more however.
At home, listening to iPlayer Radio using the Streamer (also a fantastic facility), I have experienced continuous and uninterrupted sound until I switch on Bluetooth for other devices in my environment. If I switch on Bluetooth on my lap-top, for example, the Streamer stops and iPlayer Radio goes into pause mode.

Could the problem be related to Bluetooth devices “distracting” the Streamer whenever they become “visible” to it? This would explain why the drop-out problem is so severe in busy places like a railway station. Many active Bluetooth devices will be passing into and out of range.

KenP · November 19, 2016, 8:18am

Streaming is either/or. It provides a single stream at a time. The phone always takes presidence. You can’t stream two sources simultaneously.

gpsgrandpa · November 19, 2016, 10:17am

SimonH:

Being able to have a conversation on the phone was fantastic! Especially in busy places and in business calls in which I really need to hear the other party properly - until I couldn’t because of the dropping out problem so beautifully described above.

Desperately frustrating and gloomy depression for having wasted a lot of money.

I have experimented some more however.
At home, listening to iPlayer Radio using the Streamer (also a fantastic facility), I have experienced continuous and uninterrupted sound until I switch on Bluetooth for other devices in my environment. If I switch on Bluetooth on my lap-top, for example, the Streamer stops and iPlayer Radio goes into pause mode.

Could the problem be related to Bluetooth devices “distracting” the Streamer whenever they become “visible” to it? This would explain why the drop-out problem is so severe in busy places like a railway station. Many active Bluetooth devices will be passing into and out of range.

SimonH what you have experienced seems similar to what mine was. It was a great experience until it wasn’t. It became so frustrating that I quit using it and just held the phone up to my ear. I really liked hearing a phone call in my HAs. I went back to the audiologist to look for a solution. She offered to give me my money back for the Streamer. At that time the OPNs were just being introduced here so she offered to swap mine for a pair. There have been some connection issues between them and the iPhone but in general it works well. I like not having another device to wear/carry. Oticon has a firmware update coming soon that I hope will fix those problems also.

I have no doubt that the way Bluetooth on the iPhone is always looking for connections is a major cause of this problem. I do not think it is the only cause. During the time I had the Alta2’s and the Streamer there were multiple times I was hundreds of feet away from any other electronic device. The connection between streamer and phone would still quit. The call did not drop and I could put the phone up to my ear. Frequently it would randomly reconnect to the streamer again. It made no sense to me and eventually seemed easier just holding it up to my ear.

SimonH · November 20, 2016, 3:15am

Noted and understood. That is how it should behave. The Oticon/iPhone link however does not appear to behave itself, as amply described in this thread.

SimonH · November 20, 2016, 3:21am

gpsgrandpa Thank you for a very helpful account of your experience. If I had only been warned of the Oticon Streamer deficiency I could have saved myself so much time and some expense too. Back to holding the phone against my ear then:-(

gpsgrandpa:

SimonH what you have experienced seems similar to what mine was. It was a great experience until it wasn’t. It became so frustrating that I quit using it and just held the phone up to my ear. I really liked hearing a phone call in my HAs. I went back to the audiologist to look for a solution. She offered to give me my money back for the Streamer. At that time the OPNs were just being introduced here so she offered to swap mine for a pair. There have been some connection issues between them and the iPhone but in general it works well. I like not having another device to wear/carry. Oticon has a firmware update coming soon that I hope will fix those problems also.

I have no doubt that the way Bluetooth on the iPhone is always looking for connections is a major cause of this problem. I do not think it is the only cause. During the time I had the Alta2’s and the Streamer there were multiple times I was hundreds of feet away from any other electronic device. The connection between streamer and phone would still quit. The call did not drop and I could put the phone up to my ear. Frequently it would randomly reconnect to the streamer again. It made no sense to me and eventually seemed easier just holding it up to my ear.

altnapaste · July 19, 2017, 4:11am

Its a massive problem

seb · July 19, 2017, 11:22am

gpsgrandpa:

So I went for a visit to the audiologist office today and spent some time with the tech there. She finally called Orticon and basically was told the same thing as the person from the Apple support forum. They are aware of the issue and have been working with Apple for a solution. She also said that clients using the Android platform where a recent update of the OS had been performed were also experiencing similar issues. One of the superintendents at work said his Android phone is having connection issues with his bluetooth hands free ear device as well as his bluetooth car hands free connection. I’m guessing there has been some anti-hacking/bluetooth security development changes. Hopefully a software/firmware update for the Streamer Pro is just around the corner. I still find it hard to believe that after two months (for me) and probably longer for others a solution hasn’t been developed. I suggested the reason more clients haven’t been complaining is many folks don’t update there cellular devices. I’m wondering if it’s just the 6s group of phones?

She did give me a Zephyr dryer device.

The earlier Streamers from Oticon 1.2 and 1.4 models also have issues connecting to pretty much anything made by Apple and Oticon has never been able to solve the problem at least that I am aware of.

gutsygator · July 30, 2018, 7:09pm

I have a Streamer 1.3 with my HA’s…IPhone 7s with the latest IOS and the calls still get dropped! It is so frustrating! However, I also listen to Audio Books and those stream, along with music just fine! Those NEVER get interrupted during play…but calls drop from the streamer on EVERY SINGLE CALL!!

I would love to hear of a fix when it comes! I am so dependent on my hearing aids and the blue tooth functionality…I cannot go back to the “OLD” way!

Thanks,
Tracy

anon66854306 · July 30, 2018, 7:28pm

I can see that this thread has been going for a couple of years. Has anyone had similar bluetooth connection or delay issues with the newer Oticon ConnectClip? Thanks.

VinceJ · July 30, 2018, 10:03pm

Are the books stored locally as opposed to a cellular connection for calls?

gutsygator · July 31, 2018, 12:30am

They’re stored on the device. But it still Blue tooth so you would think that there would be issues no matter if it was cellular or not. But, I think I see your point.

deborah.a.sanger · January 22, 2019, 10:33am

I have just borrowed an opticon streamer pro 1.1 from my audiologist and are still having the same problems with my iPhone eight using the latest version of the operating system, continual Bluetooth drop out. A workaround for this is to keep pressing the connect button in Bluetooth preferences once every 5 to 10 seconds then it doesn’t drop out at all. Obviously this isn’t a solution but it does indicate what the problem is. If I could find some third-party software that would reconnect that particular Bluetooth device every 10 seconds the problem would be gone.

deborah.a.sanger · January 22, 2019, 10:49am

Another iOS iPhone solution might be to delete (forget this device) all other Bluetooth devices from the Bluetooth device list so you only have the opticon device present. Bluetooth likes to connect to the first device it finds and so you get more reliable connectivity this way. It’s a pain though if you have several BT devices in range that you like to use from time to time as you have to re-pair them to use them.