Phonak P90 streaming

Hearing Aids
#1

I’ve been streaming radio from my iPhone XR for close to 2 years without too much trouble. I have recently received a handed down iPhone 11 from my daughter. For all intents and purposes it’s the same phone with a wide angle lens and slightly better photo handling, which to me are significant.

However I have noticed that streaming radio and saved music files have a problem. After about a minute the stereo imaging gradually drifts to the left. If I stop the music or radio and allow the Automatic program to kick in, and then go back to the music or radio, the central imaging is restored, but only for a minute before it drifts out to the left again. I thought the HAs were malfunctioning so I hooked up my old XR phone and found the streaming to be as before with rock solid centred imaging.

I have tried unpairing the HAs and reconnecting without any improvement.

The iPhone 11’s software was directly copied across from the XR and the operating systems on both phones are the same and the most up to date.

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#2

Very recently I was reading about a new and by Apple until now unsolved issue where people where complaining, as I remember well, about issues you describe here.
Unclear if it had to do with their latest AirPods2 hardware or with the IOS. Could it be related as I assume the IOS you use on those two cellphones differs to.

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#3

Thanks for the response. I have just updated my iPhone 11 to IOS 16.0.3 and tested it. It behaves exactly as before.

I tested the phone’s streaming with my Sony bluetooth headphones and they give a rock solid central image.

Tech is so fickle, fantastic when it works and frustrating when it doesn’t.

4 Likes
#4

Sorry to hear. Yeah frustrating it is. Hope someone comes up with a helping hand/ you can solve your problem soon.
Sometimes all this new stuff is not compatible. Anyhow you still have an option left to stream with good sound.
Have a nice day, Emile

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#5

The problem goes back a ways; and is related to how Phonak implemented A2DP streaming on the Android platform to get around patent limitations. If you’ll notice, you only pair with one hearing aid; and then that hearing aid streams the alternate channel to the other hearing aid (&/or CI processor) via 10.6 mHz, to save power, as 10.6 mHz transmission uses a lot less power than 2.4 gHz to convey the same amount of audio information.

It’s a clever solution …when it works.

Dan Schwartz
Atlanta.

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#6

Interesting information, and as you say “when it works”

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#7

Yeah; but when Apple glommed onto the Bluetooth 4.1/Low Energy (BLE) protocol to enable AirPods, it blew up Phonak’s attempt to make their hearing aids “universally compatible” with any Bluetooth-enabled device… and any time Apple makes an iOS “update” it blows up Phonak/Unitron/Kirkland/Advanced Bionics connectivity.

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#8

Wow, again great information for everyone.

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#9

So the only solution is to go back to my iPhone XR, which seems to work flawlessly with my Phonak P90.

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#10

@tenkan & @KeithL Although not the best from an audiological standpoint, GN’s hearing aids – ReSound, Beltone, Jabra (Costco), and Danalogic (Britain’s NHS) – have about the best, most foolproof Bluetooth connectivity, as their Engineers helped develop the original Bluetooth 4.0/Low Energy (BLE) protocol in 2010-12 for their Unite line of wireless accessories.

[That is also why Cochlear Pty. licensed their technology in September 2012.]

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#11

Thanks for that, and Kudos to GN. The same engineer-team, with their expertize in Bluetooth Low Energy/BLE also produced the Airlink2 Hearing Aid Programming Device, which (after a simple firmware upgrade) became the industry standard Noahlink Wireless.

But that, plus $5/€5 will only buy you a cup of coffee. It must be difficult for GN to keep up with (seemingly constant) new razzle/dazzle money-making marketing campaigns that frequently advertise new platforms that are (in reality) only slightly changed from the previous technology.

#12

That why i went with CochlearAmericas/GN Hearing :slight_smile: They had the most futuristic 2.4 ghz tech which eventually became bluetooth LE Audio and one of the first to launch the nucleus 8 sound processor and Resound Omnia with bluetooth 5.3 .

#13

Good information over here. Thanks to @pvc and @Discpad This helpful in depth info I did not find on my internet tours about the BT HA connectivity.
On my Android cellphone the Phonak BT works great. And with my former Resounds I had some more issues when using the Android and less with the iPhone.

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#14

I have iPhone 11 running 16.03 and Phonak P90R but don’t have this problem. I stream podcasts and music from the iPhone in addition to the Phonak TV connector.

#15

It seems like the problem has gone away. Streaming seems more stable now, not that I have made any changes. Long may it continue to behave.

3 Likes
#16

It is possible you might get interference from other sources. An multi-field radiation detector might find the source of your
interference.

#17

Posted too soon.

The problem is still there; centre soundstage drifts to the left when streaming. Stop streaming briefly and let Autosense take over, then start streaming again and centred soundstage is re-established briefly (sometimes lasts longer then drifts to the left). The only other BT item connected to the iPhone at the time is my Apple Watch.

I’ll try streaming with watch disconnected and report back.

I don’t have access to a multi-field radiation detector.

#18

@KeithL

Would this help?

2 Likes
#19

Thanks for that Zebras. I might give it a try.
However it doesn’t explain why I don’t get sound drifting to the left when streaming from my old iPhone XR.

#20

Is this not how ALL (true wireless)ear buds work using Bluetooth classic not made and managed by Apple? The concept should be the same since the limitation is with Bluetooth classic which was never designed to connect to two devices individually for a single stream.