Can confirm that too. I contacted ZPower after one of my battery doors failed, and I already had a new replacement door. So, seems new doors manufactured by Oticon fails too…
I’m sure the door failed, as I followed the troubleshooting guide that ZPower user manual provides:
(see last page)
@Volusiano Hi there - this is Kristen DeMint from ZPower again, I am attempting to change the username but as I stated in a different thread, Michelle Abbott is no longer with ZPower.
The warranty of the ZPower Rechargeable System for Hearing Aids is handled by each Hearing Aid Manufacturer. I would recommend you talking to your Audiologist or HCP and ask them for details about the warranty for the system you bought.
Please let me know if you have any other questions.
Does anyone know if there is a firmware update for Zpower charger since second generation zpower came out? I have tried to get/find an answer but no luck… I would be willing to download and update my charger (I use OTICON OPN1s…zpower) to see if it helps with battery life … although I am demo-ing OPNS1s (lithium ion) now and will most likely switch but would be interested to know IF Zpower and/or Oticon will be supporting OPN1 that use zpower…TIA
As far as I can tell, ZPower doesn’t seem to have an option to check for a new update to the firmware like many apps do. You’d just have to go on the ZPower website and download whatever they have posted there, which is supposedly their latest, then try to install it to charger and see what it says.
Thanks…their site still shows the Oct 2018 update version… guess I was thinking that since they came out with a “second generation” there might be some firmware…
As far as I can tell, that’s supposed to be the latest. Many of the improvements they made were around mid 2018. So their second generation stuff has actually been almost a year old already. I’m not aware of more new stuff done since last year.
If you’ve already updated your charger, the only other thing to check is to ensure you have the latest version of the Oticon battery doors for your hearing aids. You can tell this by looking at the outside of the battery door, if there is an underline below the word “Oticon”, you have the latest version. No underline = old version. Your provider can change them out for you at no charge. Oticon made changes to the design of the doors to ensure better contact when in the charger as I understand it. This was done quite some time ago so it is likely you already have the latest versions.
THanks… yes, I’ve got the new doors and firmware from October 2018 … I was just wondering if zpower would be providing any updates based on their “second generation” charger to those of us with the older version… probably not - since Oticon has moved on…
If by the second generation, you mean their purported improvement to make the charger more user friendly and not showing fully charged batteries being charged again after they’ve just been taken out of the charger then put back into the charger right away again as mentioned by somebody on this forum, I’m not aware of any update for this so far, and I don’t expect them to come out with a firmware update JUST for this improvement alone.
I’m not very impressed with ZPower for not having any automated mechanism to inform their existing user base of updates to firmware. It looks like the users pretty much have to keep checking their website on a regular basis on their own to find out if they want, which not too many people would bother to do. It’s a lose/lose proposition in this set up either way, for those who have issues get tired of having to keep looking for new updates that seem to never come around, and those who don’t bother looking for new updates will never receive any improvements that may come out with a new update.
This poor update communication strategy reflects an immature company with a still immature product.
I read about second generation charger and “improved “ battery on Zpower site where they talked about it in terms of Widex which is I think the only hearing aid that is still with zpower. I agree with you about the company. It’s too bad.
As far as I can tell, they didn’t redesign the charger, they only updated the firmware to the charger, and the 2018 firmware update was it.
If they had done any improvement to the battery life, it’s not evident yet based on my own experience and other reports on this forum. But even if they did, it most likely would not require a firmware update to the charger unless it incorporated a change in the way the battery would be charged as well.
Hey All
I am about to purchase Widex Fusion 2 440 RECHARGEABLE Z-Power.
Given all the grievances and frustrations above, if you had to do it again would you purchase without the Rechargeability option?
I’m not sure what to do…
It depends on how much more the ZPower add-on costs compared to the regular disposable batteries. If less than $50, then maybe… And that’s because if it’s a dud, you’re only out of $50. I’ve heard a few forum members with lots of Zpower issues on the original OPN being given a free upgrade to the next gen OPN S rechargeable using Lithium Ion. That goes to show how badly Oticon doesn’t want to deal with their ZPower issues and would rather give a free upgrade to their users for the new Lithium-ion based OPN S instead of trying to deal with trying to warranty the ZPower version.
I don’t know if Widex is that inclined to do the same or not, however. Maybe they’re more committed to the ZPower system than Oticon is based on their second-gen marketing attempt.
I’ve never heard from anyone in this forum who’s has the ZPower batteries lasting for a full year as advertised. The longest I’ve heard has been 8 months when the battery failures started occurring. As for my personal experience, the first set of batteries failed within a month and the second set of batteries failed after a couple of months.
Thanks Volusiano,
According to the the Z-Power web page: (below)
they have full confidence that their new 2nd Generation has much improved the problems.
Given that for me it’s not a question of money and given that Widex only has 2 options: with or without Z-power (they never did Lithium-Ion) and given that I can expect to change out the batteries every 6 months, would you still recommend the Z-power option. or is Z-Power an exercise in frustration?
It depends on why you want the rechargeable option for the Widex in the first place. If it’s not about the money and you’re willing to change out the batteries every 6 months instead of a year then maybe it’s OK.
Right now it’s mainly the poor battery life that remains the issue. Because my 2 sets of batteries so far don’t last for 6 months (not even close), I wouldn’t recommend it to anybody based on my personal experience. But others have reported 8-9 months life out of them.
For my use, yes. Long version here ZPower problems? Short version: besides battery life issues and quirks, even the size 13 Zpower is limited in hours per day. Zpower’s advantage is that it’s swappable with disposables. But it’s also their achilles heel. Package is too small.
Zpower keeps bragging that it’s better than Power One. But those guys tell you that unless disposables last x number of hours, then don’t expect Power One to make it through a day. So it’s deceptive advertising on Zpower’s part.
They’re still working for my wife’s short day but they had two quirks in a row lately. Both times they were charged though despite a blinking red light. Could Zpower eventually find a way after all these years to make them into something useful? As a crummy door stop or paperweight maybe. 
I would say it depends how long you wear the hearing aids every day and how much streaming you do. I got so frustrated with opn zpower because I couldn’t get more than 12 hrs/day if I was lucky with only 2-3 hrs TV streaming. In addition because the battery % reading can’t be relied upon I couldn’t really plan on when they would die. I am really enjoying the opn s (lithium ion) that I am demo’ing now and plan to swap my zpower for the lithium. Oticon is offering to swap them at no cost. I’ve had the zpower since July 2017 and gone through numerous batteries, chargers and doors.
The one thing you might want to consider in going for the lithium ion is whether you will need your HA’s outside in a very torrid environment such as we have in Texas (quite a few summer days in July and August over 100 deg F now with global warming, some over 110 deg F). Li-ion battery lifespan is likely to be shortened by serious exposure to such heat. Since I’m worried about sweating onto the HA’s, I take my Li-ion powered Quattro’s out anyway when I’m going to be working out in the yard and it’s > 85 deg F. If it’s just out to the car and off to a store or restaurant, etc., I don’t worry about brief outdoor exposures. I can hear reasonably well without my HA’s, talk to the neighbors, etc. But if I had thought more about using my HA’s to work outside in Texas summer heat, I might have decided to go for disposable battery powered ones to avoid worrying about degrading the Li-ion battery-powered ones. I’ll see how long my present Li-ion ones last and whether ReSound gladly refurbishes the batteries if the HA’s are getting weak towards the end of the 3-year warranty. Right now they’re still going strong after 3/4 of a year-but we’re still a long way here from the end of the first summer heat for the HA’s. The ZPower or PowerOne rechargeables are probably a lot more impervious to heat, right?!
Thanks Everyone,
the feedback is an eye-opener.
I will add to my Widex Z-Power purchase contract a note reflecting Z-Power expectations and exchanges….
If my additional guarantee is unacceptable then I will change brands to one that uses Lithium-Ion.
Too bad, I prefer Rechargeability and Widex Evoke Fusion 2 is the best sound.
