I just dropped off my Phonak Marvel HA to be tested because the Right HA rechargeable battery is running out of power by 6PM. Previously they both kept their power throughout the day with plenty of time to spare. The Phonak tech questioned whether I stream a lot, and if the BT is “Right-Ear” controlled. I do, and it is, but the drop in battery power is a very recent issue, without any real increase in my BT streaming. The only change is my having upgraded to 2.0 a few weeks ago.
Is anyone else experiencing this issue? Or other issues with the Marvels holding a charge all day?
I have the Marvel 90R aids as well. I stream bt and use the TV connector quite a bit. At the end of 16 and 1/2 hour use everyday my aides still have about 25 to 40% of their charge remaining. Both the right ear and the left ear batteries always seem to end the day at the same level of discharge. My Bluetooth ear is the right ear and there is no lesser charge in that hearing aid then there is in my left ear aid.
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I’ve had my Marvel M90-Rs for about 2 months. Average use is over 17 hours a day. When I put them in the charger at night, I usually have around 60 to 65% charge remaining. No steaming and
1 or 2 phone calls a day. The VA audi sent them back for testing last week after they went dead between 11.5 and 12 hours of operation 3 days in a row. Both the charger and the app showed
100% after charging. Audi suspects moisture may have affected internal components.Here in Orlando, FL, I can’t be outside for for very long without sweating profusely. I know they are water
resistant, not waterproof, and I hope this isn’t the cause of failure. I expect them back any day. I enjoy hearing the birds again and it works great with my older Sansung J7 phone.
Yep, mine are showing 100% after overnight charging, too. But the Right HA just empties out after about 11 hours. Just this morning, on the way to the HA provider, the Left showed 100%, but the Right had already dropped to 95%, after just two hours. Not a moisture issue here. It’ll be interesting to see what they determine it is.
Are you using the charger cord that came with the charger? I asked my husband to find me a longer one for my dresser, and ended up having an issue keeping power in one HA. I went back to the original cord that came with the charger and no problems since. FYI he is an Electrical Engineer gadget guy, somId think he made sure it was the right type.
Great that you found that out. But no, that’s not my situation. I’ve always used the cord that comes with the charger. I’ll post an update when Phonak returns them, hopefully by the end of the week.
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Phonak loves to “blame the victim”. A lot of us stream a lot and the HA’s still last 18-20 hours on a charge, even on the R. I would bet that LiIon batteries this small have more potential for defects that degrade cell life after a number of recharges.
I’d be interested to know how the repair goes.
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I’ve done a 4-5 mile jog every day since I got my M70’s in February and sweat like crazy.
After my jog, the hearing aids get wiped off & put in the charger while I shower.
Batteries last 17 hours for me. Every so often, the charging goes “wonky” and lights blink green but the aids didn’t get charged. A good wipe down of the aids contact as well as the contacts inside the charger solves the issue…
Dave
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That’s a good tip on wiping down contacts in the charger. Mine were both charging 100%, although there were a couple of times when the Right HA didn’t, so it might be related to the problem. Still, even at 100% the Right one was draining quicker. My guess is it’s just a weakening battery, which should be an easy fix. We’ll see.
The right hearing aid will always show bigger drop as that is the one doing most of the work sending to left aid.
Assuming the right HA is the “dominant” one (by definition, the one that makes the external BT Classic connection). It is possible to switch dominance to the left because they both have the BT capability AFAIK. But it defaults to the right and most people leave it that way.
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I don’t mind (or care) that the Right HA is doing the “heavy BT lifting,” if that’s the case. I just don’t want it running out of battery power before the end of the day. Especially when it previously was ending the day with plenty of hours of power remaining. I’m still waiting on the repair.
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Gee when we all had throw away batteries you never ever had to worry about running out of battery power before the end of the day. One step forward - two massive steps backwards.
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True, but I guess that’s the price we pay to see YouTube videos and hear audio books from our phones in the middle of our heads. Pretty dang cool.
I hear you, ybg. It comes down to how it fits in your life. I’m fortunate to have mild enough loss so that a battery running out isn’t a crisis for me as it can be for people with severe/profound loss. I can afford to take the chance of getting in a situation where that happens (though I have safeguards… see below).
Though I like and prefer the rechargeables for me, I can see how the replaceable batteries would be the preferable choice for many others.
To me, as an engineer, it’s all about design and risk management. You need a battery in your product that can handle the worst-case load for a reliable runtime. In my case, I’ve never run out of battery power (unless you count when I was binging on TV streaming of Stranger Things until the sun came up). Bu that’s because I have compensated for the limitations of rechargeable batteries.
When I’m going to be in a situation where it’s critical, I carry a Phonak mini-charger and backup charger batteries for my HA, phone, watch, and other critical accessories. I monitor battery usage and anticipate periods where I’ll need them and they have a risk of running out, and recharge them on the fly whenever I can before that time.
Now, I’m an engineer and I tend to think like this. All the time. It’s a curse. (As well as always carrying recharge-backup batteries.) So I have confidence that I can manage my rechargeable items. But I realize that not everyone (in fact few people) are like me in this respect.
We celebrate diversity of people, and thank Phonak for providing the options to suit.
All this being said, Phonak has designed their rechargeables well IMO, but not all batteries are created equal. From my experiences and others I’ve heard, the Phonak rechargeables should be able to last a normal usage day even with significant streaming. If it doesn’t, even on the right side, you may have a faulty battery and should seek to get it replaced.
I’m on the same page when it comes to keeping a close eye on things, recharging when I can, and having backups for my devices. I was a bit surprised that HearUSA (my provider) wasn’t set-up to just swap out the rechargeable battery on the weak side, and had to send it in for checking out. I’m fortunate to have mild loss and a back-up pair of old aids. What does someone do who only has one set and more severe loss? IS there a way for us common folk to swap out the batteries on our own? It doesn’t look like it, w/out a special tool. Also, will these aids accept replaceable batteries IF one is able to get them open? Just wondering.
MoHearing - Since you use HearUSA can you tell me what line of HA’s they offer? As in do they offer across the board (all types of HA brands) or are they only pushing selected HA brands. Also do you find they offer current HA’s that just hit the market (2019) or are they pushing slightly older technology like Costco. HearUSA website is useless as far as getting HA information, so if someone wants info your pretty much forced to call or more so forced to walk in. Still its another alternative to buying HA’s which is good but everything about HearUSA seems so hush-hush. And then they also seem to have very high Audi turnover.
I am very fortunate to have excellent insurance that covers new HA for (almost) free every 3 years. BUT, I must go to HearUSA. I find their prices are almost twice what others charge for similar products. This fact puts me in Phonak M30, with a little out of pocket. Their Customer Service is friendly, but I haven’t been particularly happy with them. As mentioned earlier, I find it puzzling that they wouldn’t have “back up HA” while repairs are taking place. They cover a range of products, but I would highly recommend Costco if you’re paying out of pocket. The two HA fitters there were excellent, in my experience, and they seem to cover a good range of products.
I have had KS10 from Costco made by Phonak for about 3 months. At first bith aids lasted 18-20 hrs evenly. The last few weeks I started having the same problem with the right ha discharging way faster then the left. I had Costco switch the dominant side to the left side aid and since the problem has switch to the left hearing aid. So it’s not the battery that is failing out getting wet, I believe it a programing issue.
Maybe like a computer, completely resetting programing, might fix problem. I will see if Costco or Phonak can try that. Will update later.
Hope this helps
JP
I have KS10’s and this exact problem started for me with the Android 12 January update on my Pixel 6. Reported issue to Google and have seen reports elsewhere of the issue. Before the January update all was well with KS10 battery life.
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