Poor performance of Oticon Connect Clip

Hearing Aids
#1

Continuing the discussion from Oticon ConnectClip - audio cuts out:

Hi Melissa, I just thought I would tell you that you are not alone in your bad experience with the Oticon Connect Clip. I had the same trouble with my connect clip since day one, and for some reason i just put up with it. I was very very disappointed with the device, as i bought it primarily for the audio streaming capability. I was so annoyed about it that i entered into some correspondence with tech support at Oticon in Australia and i was given a whole lot of baloney excuses about what could be causing this problem. The tech suggested that it could be i had the connect clip too far from my phone, or it might be the orientation of the phone in my pocket causing the bluetooth signal to be absorbed by my body and therefore cause the dropouts. Mine eventually ended up in the back of a drawer unused for over a year and ran out of warranty.
Eventually I decided to investigate it again. I dug up my email correspondence with Oticon and took the device back to my local supplier. They sent it off to Oticon Australia and pronounced it “Damaged, unrepairable”. I can assure you it was never damaged, as it was hardly used. Since I was able to prove the problem started within the original warranty period the supplier did me a deal to supply a new one at half price which i was fairly happy about.
I have had my new connect clip for approximately 2 months now, and guess what? Its doing the exact same thing as the first one. It started out with just one or two blips of audio cut out on one channel, but after a few days it has gone straight into the unusable category of multiple cut outs in one or both channels.
So I am taking this piece of expensive JUNK back to the supplier tomorrow to see what they say.
When I use my connect clip, I typically have my phone streaming in my upper right hand shirt pocket, and the connect clip in my left shirt pocket. So they are well within range of each other and the bluetooth linking should work well for such a short range, which what bluetooth is designed for. But I have never been a fan of Bluetooth anything. To me it is a flaky technological platform that is prone to conflicts between devices and often lets you down. That aside, I don’t think this is a bluetooth problem, because for the first month or so it seemed to work faultlessly. I don’t think it is an internal contact fault, because you cant make it cut out by tapping it lightly with your fingers, and when it does start acting up you cant make it stop get worse by tapping it either. So I dont know.
Anyway, that’s my experience with Oticon connect clip for what its worth.
Cheers, Graeme

#2

I have been using connect clip now for about 6 years, at first for streaming phone calls and audiobooks and sometimes zoom. Now days mostly for audiobooks from my Fire Tablet as well as text to speech. It all depends on what your expectations are. If it is a high quality sound then I cannot say as my hearing loss is so bad to me high quality sound means being able to mostly understand speech. If it is music well I have no idea what music sounds like anymore.

#3

@GraemeD → can you tell us what hearing aid model you’re using with the ConnectClip, and whether you are using the latest firmware for that model? It’s a well known problem that there is connectivity issues between the Connect Clip and the More and Real for a while before Oticon managed to fix it in both the Real and the More. I think many of those who had issues with it before have been able to confirm that the new firmwares fit the Real and the More have fixed the issue for good

1 Like
#4

Me and a few of my friends have the new Connectclip. We all note the poor quality of their sound in microphone mode - much worse than if you just stand next to the person. Does anyone here have same problem?

#5

Hi Volusiano,
Thanks for the reply. No look I took the “Jolly old thing” thing back to the distributor this morning and they have promised to examine it and return it within 7 days. Which is good because I am going travelling in May and I want to be able to take a functioning connect clip with me. The hearing aids I am using, are Oticon Opn S3 minirite. As far as the connect clip goes, I don’t even know where to look for the firmware info anyway. I only have the “Oticon On” app on my phone, that is the only virtual device which enables the connect clip. Is the firmware info normally accessible through that app somehow? I cant do it now anyway because the clip has gone back.
I absolutely fail to understand how it could be a firmware issue.
The new unit functioned flawlessly for over a month.
If it was firmware i would have expected problems immediately after i started using it.
If it was a firmware issue, how and why would it work ok then go faulty and get progressively worse the more i used it ?
Sorry, but I have no idea what you are referring to by “Real” and “More”. Are they brand names of hearing aids?
regards Graeme

#6

Hi there CV,
Wow, if your hearing is that bad, then you might not even notice he problems I am having.
As for my expectations. Well the minimum I expect is, for the device to work consistently, without any audible cut outs. That is what the device is meant to do. I am very disappointed that the performance has been so poor, and having been supplied two that do the same thing thing is just not acceptable to me.
When it was working properly, I was happy with the sound quality, its not HIFI, but pretty good.
regards Graeme

#7

Hi Lostdeaf,

I have only used the microphone function maybe about 10 times, and i only use it during work meetings. I have not noticed any problems with sound quality for that function. If I am in a meeting, i will usually sit the device on something soft like a folded piece of cloth rather than straight on the hard surface of the table. I do this to avoid picking up vibration like people placing things on the table, and chair scraping. That seems to work well.
regards Graeme

#8

If you don’t know what the Oticon Real or More aids are, then which Oticon aids are you using the connect clip with. The More and Real are 3rd and second news aids that Oticon has in its MiniRite lineup, the INTENT aids is the news. The More ans Real aids did have issues with the connect clips that was fixed with firmware updates to the aids,and the updates also fixed some issues with connectivity with phones too, mostly android phones as I understand. There can always be connectivity issues with our aids if with have multiple devices paired to the aids. Bluetooth isn’t perfect. You can get conflicts when the phone is connected as well as the connect clip, you are listening to say an audiobook with the connect clip and a notification comes in on the phone the phone will over ride the connect clip. I fight that at times. I have the watch so i channel all notifications to the watch. It does take time to figure out how to optimize my devices…

#9

Sorry if I was not clear enough. I asked about the firmware version of the hearing aids. I wasn’t asking about the firmware of the ConnectClip. You can go to the Oticon ON app and you will find the firmware version of the OPN S3 there. The More and the Real are the 2 subsequent Oticon models that followed the OPN S lineup, in that respective order. I don’t recall that the OPN and OPN S having much connectivity issues with the ConnectClip. Nevertheless, it’s a good idea to check the OPN S3’s firmware version and ask your HCP to update your OPN S3s to the latest if they’re not already.

It really depends on the issue. Wireless connectivity are very finicky, and just because that firmware works flawlessly for a month then started getting spotty doesn’t imply that the firmware is not the root cause. In fact, many people reported the same as you → their ConnectClip works well for a while, then the spottiness started appearing.

The reason wireless connection reliability is such a haphazard thing is because there are so many wireless things being transmitted over the air that makes the pollution of the airwaves (w.r.t. the wireless transmissions) very dynamic. You might have introduced some new wireless devices into your environment, or maybe it’s your neighbor, or maybe it’s a cell phone company that might have installed new cell towers or equipment in your neighborhood, who knows? It’s never a static environment unless you live out in the boonies. HA companies make certain (and simpler) assumptions about a typical wireless environment, but as the dynamic of the wireless environments changes, they can only debug and fix to adapt to the new wireless interferences that got introduced.

#10

Thank you for answer. So perhaps the problem is related to my hearing or to pronunciation in our language.

#11

@GraemeD I’m late to the party, but should you experience problems with your CClip going forward, try this:

Unpair your HAs from your phone, and forget them in Bluetooth settings.
Pair your CClip with the phone.

You won’t be able to use the ON App, but you should get seamless connectivity from your phone to your CClip, and finally, through the HAs to your ears!

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#12

Hi Flash, thank you for your suggestion. I might try that when i get my connect clip back. Its gone back to Oticon via the retailer to be checked.

#13

Hi Volousiano,

Thanks for the suggestions. I looked in the On App, and my hearing aids are firmware version 8. I am not sure that is the latest version but I will ask my retailer about that soon when I go to collect my connect clip. On the App there does not appear to be any controls to update the firmware. Anyway the main thing is that my hearing aids work properly, and I am thankful for that. I am about to go on holiday in a week and I should have my connect clip back before then. So if it still misbehaves, I will have lots of time to ponder what could be wrong with the damn thing.
As for the interference angle. Yes you are correct in that radio is a very dynamic environment, and yes the level of background signals in built up areas can sometimes create problems.
I know this because I have worked in radio communications most of my life, until retirement two weeks ago.
This problem that I have been experiencing with the connect clip will manifest itself wherever I happen to be. It is intermittent. It always misbehaves the same way. It is not specific to any location.
As a matter of fact, Yes I do live “out in the boonies”, way outside of suburbia on a small farm. So no my neighbours are not even remotely within bluetooth range. No, neither my wife, nor I have recently introduced any new bluetooth or wifi wireless devices into our home or environs. No, neither of the 3 telcos which operate cellular services in our area have not introduced any new infrastructure. I would be one the first to notice this if they had.

#14

Let’s hope that there is a new firmware for the OPN S that might address your issues with the ConnectClip, because based on what you said, it’s unlikely that it’s an interference issue in your case.

#15

Sadly, I believe Oticon dropped support for the Velox S processor before the release of the Polaris More.
You may recall my issue with TTTF with the OPN S, and Oticon support suggested my audi upgrade me to the More which had the updated feedback mgt. system, because there were no longer f/w updates for the OPN S.

@GraemeD have a great vacation! Don’t sweat the CClip, it’ll be fine. Enjoy your retirement.

Remember: “Every Day is Saturday”!