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Audiostream problems in crowded place?


Tim

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I've been looking forward to using the Audiostream while at a college graduation today and I was stuck in my seat listening to the reading of a thousand names of people that I don't know.  It was a very loud environment but I still figured that I could stream some music at least.

Brought my Sonnet 2 Audiostream with fresh batteries. Streaming worked fine on the train to graduation and and after graduation but during graduation, I had nothing but problems.

It kept losing BT connection.  I'm wondering if being surround by hundreds or thousands of people with phones and BT caused special problems.  My fitbit watch seemed to maintain BT connection with my Pixel 6a phone without a problem.  The Audiokey 2 apps separate BT connection to the phone kept working fine and I could adjust programs.  The problem was just with the Audiostream to the phone. A few times it connected for a couple of minutes but then dropped. 

While sitting, I tried a lot of troubleshooting to no avail:

  • I restarted my phone.
  • I restarted my Sonnet 2/Audiostream multiple times
  • I kept phone positioned well with short/direct line of sight. 

It started working a little better as the facility cleared out and now tonight at home seems perfectly normal again without needing any special intervention.

Has anyone had a similar experience of Audiostream having problems near hundreds of other phones?  I suppose there might have been other nearby BT gear as I was near the event platform and they might have had a lot of other wired and wireless gear.  Cameras, microphones, teleprompter, etc.

By the way, this is another situation where being able to control mix ratio would be REALLY helpful.  This seems like it should be a software issue rather than hardware.  I hope Med-El can add this feature to existing processors through an Audiokey 2 update.  (I know it has been mentioned many times on Hearpeers but worth highlighting.)

 

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Can confirm this, crowded or open spaces spaces are a huge problem for AudioStream. I made the same experience in the subway for example. Sometimes it has one of its good days (which is why I‘m still trying it) but normally you can’t do anything against it but suffer from the bad connection. When I escalated the connection problem after a lot of mails with the support and multiple exchanges of the AudioStream cover, some spokesman listened to the issue at the phone and told me they can’t do anything about it, to put it simply, and he has no solution for me. At the same time, they don't want to add disclaimers to AudioStream's marketing materials describing its streaming capabilities as unusable and/or unreliable more than half the time if you are not at home. I think this would be an important info for people before they decide to buy AudioStream or a Sonnet audio processor, not after. Leaves me kind of hopeless and saddens me. 

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@Julius and @Tim

Thanks for sharing and I hope @MED-EL Moderator will pass along your feedback and the team involved in connectivity will work to improve options for us.

I am wishing for an internal BT receiver that connects with phones and tablets for direct streaming in the next processor.  I am hoping an internal receiver will allow for flexibility in the mixing ratios with the BTE processor.  I REALLY hope the next processor is AuraCast and BTLE Audio capable and that it provides a strong and reliable connection.

Until then, I remain using third party connectivity options- BOSE QC headphones and the Artone neckloop.  I am thankful to have options but really look forward to built in strong, reliable and forward thinking direct connectivity.  I hope the new processor delivers on it.

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Somebody else explained it better a while back (maybe in the CI discord?), but it’s something to do with the BT signal not having anything to bounce off of like walls and such vs outside with the signal getting lost between the devices.  Signal basically gets lost or something.  Regular BT doesn’t have this issue for some reasons, but BTLE does.

 

And yes, my AudioStreams always have issue when outdoor whereas inside I can walk much more than an inch away and be fine.  The distance between pocket and ear is just too much for a connection while walking pups vs the same setup inside, I guess!

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Hi @Tim and @Mary Beth, thanks for sharing your experience. You're feedback is very valuable to us and we've forwarded it to the right team here at MED-EL to assist  to improving our products. 

Kind regards, Barbara 

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I guess I just got overconfident about Audiostream after the firmware update improved connection reliability so much. Too bad there wasn't some form of log or diagnosis for the last hour or so available from Audiokey2 for Audiostream issues.  I knew enough to suspect possible BT congestion/interferance.  Other users might entirely blame the Audiostream. 

-------------------

This thread is emblematic of why I really like the Hearpeers community.  Thoughtful responses, sharing information, and a Med-El moderator popping in to acknowledge and forward the info to right people internally.  This community is one of Med-El's most important strengths or advantages vs. the the other companies. 

-------------------

In summary, thanks to all for the helpful response and the information.  My credit card is still ready as soon as the Audiostream for Rondo comes out even though it will likely suffer the same issues but I'll keep on the watch for people with early access from other countries have to say. 

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Guess Med-El was eager to take me up on the promise of the credit card being ready.  It is now on the Med-El US store.  I placed my order with $9 extra for 3-5 day shipping. 

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I tried audio stream a few years ago and connectivity was intermittent at best.  Has it improved? Have they worked out the kinks at all ?

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@Bill Ward The firmware update a month or two ago seems to have improved connectivity substantially, at least for several of us in Hearpeers.  They have worked out some kinks, certainly not all.  Perhaps the remaining ones are hardware limitations.

It still can't compare with good BT headphones like the Bose or Sony or even my cheap $50 ones but they are all much bigger with bigger batteries.

If you have not tried it in a year or more, I would say give it a try after doing the firmware update.  I'm happy enough with it to spring for the Rondo 3 Audiostream.

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Thanks Tim - that is encouraging.  I currently use Audio Link for all phone calls and it is quite reliable.  I would love to eliminate the extra hardware item but am hesitant.   Your reply helps me with that.

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I find AudioStream much more reliable than AudioLink.  Thus far, even the Rondos AudioStream seems more stable than the Sonnets but its shiny so that may be affecting pov right now.

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