Phonak Paradise P90 Bluetooth connection to my PC

I just googled. It won’t work with your new Aids.

Have used 3 TV Connectors with one set of Marvel aids, no problem. Could be more, not sure.

Based on my recent test, I’d say one is the limit. While connected to the UTV3 on the PC, I could not connect to the Paradise TV Connector on the TV.

Thank you - just what I needed to know. Comment: one problem with my PC set up, using 3.5mm headphone jack mutes PC’s internal speaker, just a matter of convenience… and more external cables which aren’t wanted. //// I get 80% of the value of my HAs with audiobooks. Digital sound a magnitude better than audio speakers

But it did. The problem was that its range was too great. It was still streaming when I went into the TV room, and the other one wouldn’t connect to the HAs.

Really, well that’s a bit of a surprise… but I guess not, they are bluetooth after all, as in the Marvel and Paradise models are MFA (made for all) so anything that broadcasts classic bluetooth (UTV 3) or LE should work.

What was the bluetooth pairing procedure between them?

No doubt the Unitron TV Connecter would also work as well with them, as
Sonova does own them both anyway

The older TVlink ll are also bluetooth, so you would think they would also connect? Did you you try?

I put the UTV3 and the HAs into paring mode and connection was complete in a second or two. Sound quality was bueno. If the streaming range hadn’t been so good, I may have been able to connect to the actual TV Connector for the Marvel/Paradise HAs.
I haven’t tried to connect the TVLink devices to the PC/HAs, but I’m guessing they’d work just fine.

P90s as well. I have the ASUS USB-BT500.

I have just joined the forum (UK) having been fitted with P90 UPs. Same problem with connecting to my PC, either it or the aids have to be rebooted to reconnect if they have lost contact. I had also seen the ASUS BT500 and wondered if the higher spec device would solve the problem. It would be useful to know if anyone else has tried the BT500

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I tried the BT500 and it seemed to quit working entirely after a while. I switched back to an older device, Techkey 5.0 and it works better. When I come back in the room, it may take 5 minutes to reconnect. What I typically do is go into the devices menu and flip the power to the dongle off and on and it generally reconnects. Shouldn’t have to do that crap.
Make sure you’re not connected to more than one device when you’re trying to hook up to the PC. It can be paired to 8 devices but connected to only two. (The PC and one other device)

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Thanks for that. Seems like a high spec 5.0 Bluetooth dongle might be the way to go. On the plus side my aids seem to work fine with my Moto (Motorola) G7 Power mobile so I have access to all the controls.

The new aids share the same problem with my earlier Nadias (non Bluetooth) in that when playing music in the car or at home without a wireless connection the Autosense uses the speech program for the singer and then switches to music for instrumental solos which is irritating. The solution is to use the music program independently but my aids apparently need to be reset by the audiologist to allow the rocker button to switch between programs.

I know the app is constantly being tweaked but it would be great to have a facility whereby you could use your phone to identify and explicitly switch between second device connections or is that too much to hope for in the future?

I believe there is an issue with the Phonak BT that’s causing the reacquisition issue. I read somewhere that scan-time could be an issue. One of the things I’ve asked Support for is a Phonak-generated list of devices paired to and connected to the HAs. I agree with your desire for better BT handling of the 2nd device.
I spent a few days swapping emails with Support regarding the reconnection problem. I think I got nowhere. They believe it’s the dongle. Nothing else that connects to the dongle has a problem. Only the HAs. They recommended I get an EPOS BTD 800 because they’d had good luck with it. I got it. No connection at all. Turned out to be a dedicated connection for EPOS Headphones and Speaker Phones. Why would they send me off to get that? Pretty sad that neither I or the Support person had an answer to the problem.

The EPOS 800BTD is also branded as Sennheiser, and is the dongle that Oticon recommends for use with the Connect Clip.

It also works with the similar Philips Hearlink Audio Clip.

It’s not just an EPOS headset dongle.

I have been playing around this last few days trying to make sense of the Bluetooth connection quirks which are not always consistent.
If I have not connected to the MyPhonak app on the phone:
The aids will sometimes connect automatically to my PC(BT Ver 4.0) when I turn the latter on but otherwise I need to go into the PC settings and check ‘Connect’. If I lose the connection by walking away the aids will not reconnect automatically but will do so from the PC settings screen.

I have purchased a Bluetooth adapter (BT Ver 5.0):


This has a 3.5mm and phono plugs so can connect to a TV earphone or phono sockets plus of course any device with a 3.5mm earphone socket. The device pairs easily with my TV and other devices and if I lose connection it will usually automatically reconnect hen I return or, if not, a single push on the adapter button will re establish the connection.
In the above situations it has not been necessary to turn the aids on and off.

When My Phonak App has been connected
If I connect to the My Phoak App then the aids will not connect to my PC unless the battery door has been opened and closed (i.e. they have been turned off and on). However the adapter seems to be more tolerant of the My Phonak App and will quickly reconnect with a press on its button after being switched off without the need to reset the aids.
Still more experimentation neeeded but it seems possible that the PC 4.0 BT is less functional and compatible than the BT5.0 adapter so I guess the next step is to fit the PC with a BT5.0 adapter or try the adapter I have got in the PC earphone socket which doesn’t appear to be working at the moment!

Update: Now got headphone socket working with the adapter.

Just another pont. The adapter mentioned in my earlier post would seem to be a pretty good alternative to the Phonak TV connector.

The adapter cost me £26 GBP. The Phonak TV Connector typically retails at aound £135 GBP.

Go figure…

Most of the hearing aid manufacturers offer adapters that control latency to low levels similar to or lower than the adapter you mentioned. They typically use a signal similar to Bluetooth operating in the same 2.5 GHz frequency region but it is different than the typical Bluetooth codec signal. The mentioned adapter only controls latency when using the aptX Low Latency codec and most hearing aids do not support aptX or aptX Low Latency.

Some users are not bothered by latency but if you are getting sound from both the TV speakers (or soundbar or other audio system) and streamed sound (an open fit for example), the latency from normal bluetooth streaming can sound like an echo or otherwise color the combined sound.

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Yes, I was aware there could be a possible problem with latency but in my case my hearing loss is so profound that I need the UP vresion of the P90 aids and that is normally supplied with full earmoulds. I get virtually no sound without the aids so leakage in is not an issue for me. However it does seem to be a big price leap comparing the two adapters just to cut down on the latency.

I have the old Phonak TV connector which I used with my previous Nadia aids and that uses WiFi. The sound was OK but getting a decent connection could sometimes be difficult.

So the cheaper Bluetooth adapter would seem to be OK for people with closed fit. Horses for courses I suppose but it is helpful to share experiences.

@cvabishop

What old TV Connector uses WiFi?

My TV Link and ComPilot set up, still uses Bluetooth. I’ve never come across one that uses WiFi.

Sorry, yes, I should have made myself clearer. The Commpilot communicates with the TV connector using Bluetooth possibly, but it connects to my older Nadia aids using a different method. The Nadias also connect dircetly to my DECT landline phone which is fitted with a Phonak reciever. The new Paradise ones don’t.

The limitation of the Commpilot is that it only seems to connect to Phokak items of kit. Plus of course you have to have it slung round your neck or docked in the old version of the TV connector.

The old TV connector won’t connect to my new aids so I presume it uses some proprietory protocol.

Phonak make it clear that the old Commpilot kit is not compatible with the new Bluetooth aids.

It does use Bluetooth, but the compilot is a receiver,and the TV Link is a transmitter.

It’s Bluetooth classic, it’s been confirmed that you can use it with your HAs.

Just the compilot, the base station TV Link works.

I have the TV Link 2. The following ref does not list either the Paradise or Marvel aids as compatible with it and I cannot get it to connect directly to my P90s.The light stays green and doesn’t turn blue to indicate a connection. I have tried rebooting the aids.

Am I missing something here?