I have worn Oticon aids for over 10 years and love them. I have had the connect clip for 16 months and they do the job I need. As with all high tech items there are going to be issues and problems, it is just a fact of life. I am now retired but I have troubleshot more electronics products and also software than I can remember. My career doing so started back in 1969, and I retired in 2014. Once you learn to troubleshoot anything you can once you take the time to learn the stuff you can troubleshoot anything, even human life itself.
Waddaya mean, “grain of salt” darylm? I’m telling the truth about my experineces with CC and that’s the way it is,darylm! I bought my ConnectClip last summer and it won’t take a charge. That’s $250 for 10 months use. No “grains of salt”, fact!
I have to say yes you have had issues with it and I am sure there are others. But you are you and the rest of us are us. We are not going to condemn something just on your say so. We all have our own experiences .
“A grain of salt” ???
Let’s understand something. I’m not condemning the Connect Clip, I can’t live without it.
Read my original post, my gripe was two, it did not last 2 years, which is fine, that all depends on the use of the electronics, I use mine extensively. Secondly, I wanted to send it back to get the battery replaced and they said they did not do battery replacements. This is a direct contradiction of their published information that you can send it in to have the battery replaced. I did not buy the Connect Clip with the understanding that it was a $250 disposable component. I bought it with the understanding that it was a serviceable piece of electronics. That is not up for debate, those are just the facts.
So I lodged a complaint, they recognized that they had published information that was inaccurate, and they resolved my issue.
Had I not been a fan of the Connect Clip I would not have been so adamant about getting it fixed.
I get my aids and my needed extras and supplies from the VA, and my VA Audi is also a friend that keeps me in the loop of new things to come. The connect clip doesn’t seem to be widely used by the Veterans at the clinic I go to but I do use the connect clip daily, and yes I have had an issue with it more than once, both times it was due to firmware issues. The first was when my aids were updated and would no longer pair with the connect clip. My connect clip had to be replaced, I was never really told why it had to be replaced. The second time was after I had my custom ITE aids redone so I could get the tinnitus relief, and program change control on my aids. That time my Audi was able to do something in the Genie software to reset my aids so they would connect to the connect clip.
I am more than likely going to run into another issues this summer when I get the OPNS aids as my main aids and my ITE aids will become my backups. The connect clip either has a firmware version that will work with one or the other but not both. So I guess I will end up with two connect clips. But I know that my TV connect will work with both sets of aids, and I also know that my home phone connect will work with either firmware version of the connect clip. So I guess I will have to mark my connect clips so I know which is which firmware version.
Sorry but for $250 I don’t buy your “fact of life” line regarding Oticon’s connect clip. In reality it’s a $250 screw up and everyone on the forum knows it.
Not everyone, I have seen worse, and they were millions of dollar screw ups. And if it was that bad the Veterans Administration would not be dealing with Oticon at all.
The only way to kill an otherwise healthy battery is to either frequently discharge it deeply or to leave it in a deeply discharged state for a long period of time. No batteries last forever, but properly cared for (i.e., not deeply discharged and kept charged), they will last a long time. I’ve used my CC for several hours a day, 5 days a week and it holds a charge just as well now as it did when it was new.
My point is that properly cared for, a CC will last a long time. Calling it a scam (not attributing that to you) is uncalled for.
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First I use my Connect Clip every day, and when I come home I plug it in to charge it right along with my phone. It was properly cared for. I know all about Lithium Ion batteries as I sold over 900 of them last year along with the chargers for a product I make. Guess what? Every once in a while, regardless of proper care, there is a funky battery and I have to replace it.
When you advertise a $250 product can have the battery changed by sending it in for service, when the truth is, they will not change the battery, That is a SCAM! It is called BAIT and SWITCH. I have been a Licensed Private Investigator for 43 years with a PhD in Criminal Psychology. Bait and Switch is the very definition of a scam. You induce someone to buy something with false advertising and then when the purchase is made you change the conditions of the inducement or fail to honor it.
Remember something, I had my audi call Oticon about sending my CC in for a battery replacement, as they advertise, I was willing to pay for a new battery. That is when they told me that they didn’t do that and I would have to buy a new one. I protested that their advertising said they could replace the battery and I was simply given the, “Well that isn’t accurate even if it is in writing.” So I bought a new one and then I took it up the corporate ladder. Had they not made things right I would have filed a complaint with the Attorney General’s Consumer Fraud Division of Nevada and I would have won.
Did they do that intentionally? I don’t know. Makes no difference. They have an obligation to honor their advertised claims and make things right. And that is what they did. They made things right and admitted there was an error.
So your CC failed prematurely. That doesn’t make it a “scam”, particularly considering that they replaced it.
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“Hearing aid manufacturers are not ethical nor are the glorified hearing salespeople (aka audiologists) that sell them”
As are most generalizations, this falls far short of being accurate. I have had several Oticon HAs and three different audiologists over time and have been totally and completely pleased.
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Please do not speak for “everyone”.
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OK everyone but PRR.
You do not speak for me either.
Certainly not for me.
Nor for me!
What’s an Oticon Connect Clip?
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Hi darylm. It may be misleading to generalize from personal experience regarding battery life.
I have used my connect clip almost continually for several years. I bought it when I was fitted with OPN 1 shortly after their introduction. At that time the connect clip needed recharging every four to eight hours depending on in which mode it was being used. Now it needs to be recharged every one to two hours. This connect clip has always been recharged and maintained according to Oticon guidelines. It has always been recharged as soon as the indicator light goes orange/red and has been fully charged each night.
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My connect clip is connected to the home phone connect 2, some days I do not have to take by one call some days I take calls on an off most of the day. My connect clip gets charged nightly. If I am only using my connect clip as a remote which happens most of the time I could go three or four days without charging it.
The real issue I have faced it the connect clip is that if I have it connected to my iphone then even with the iphone powered off it will not connect back to the phone clip without being paired to the phone connect again. So I have given up on using the connect clip with my iPhone. I have also found issues with using the connect clip with the iphone and also having the aids connected to the iPhone, that being the streaming will break up or I will only have the streaming to one aid, normally the right aid and that is my worse ear and I do not understand the caller at all.
How many years is “several”? I ask because it’s somewhat vague and to point out that even a well-cared for battery will not last forever. Batteries lose a bit of capacity every time they are discharged. This applies to car batteries, phone batteries and ConnectClip batteries - every type of battery. The only time I’ve seen the recharge indicator is when I’ve forgotten to charge it after using it for a day. I normally charge it every day after I use it. It’s very rare that it won’t last the entire day. The battery in your ConnectClip needs to be replaced.
I almost never use the ConnectClip with my iphone, because it’s not really necessary. I find that the built-in microphone in the iphone works well enough. Also, I normally have it connected to my laptop, where it is necessary. I occasionally use it with my android phone.