Linking Audiostream to iPad

[WenD]

I finally got my Audiostream to work on my iPhone. However, I cannot get any connection with my iPad. Do I have to go through the configuration process on the iPad now? I have tried turning off the bluetooth on my iPhone and seeing if my iPad recognized Audiostream, but nothing shows up anywhere. What is the process of pairing to other devices? I am bilaterally implanted.

[Mary Beth]

@WenD

I will tag @SKOM and @Jared Charney as they use both iPhones and iPads with their AudioStream

[SKOM]

1 hour ago, WenD said:

I finally got my Audiostream to work on my iPhone. However, I cannot get any connection with my iPad. Do I have to go through the configuration process on the iPad now? I have tried turning off the bluetooth on my iPhone and seeing if my iPad recognized Audiostream, but nothing shows up anywhere. What is the process of pairing to other devices? I am bilaterally implanted.

  Once your  iPhone recognizes your devices AudioStream and Sonnet in the hearing devices / accessibility options you are signed in and connected as long as you are signed in with the same Apple ID on the iPad and same Wi-Fi —it should seamlessly connect without having to go through the process separately again .

However as long as your hearing devices show up on iPad they may be recognized but not connected/paired(!) in which case you just have to open and close the AudioStream covers placing them close to the iPad and pairing  once more which takes under two minutes.

Lastly  if your  audio stream does not show up at all on the iPad you may have to just re-pair them to the iPad having first disconnected all other Bluetooth connections to the AudioStream ( Phone etc)

Just wondering which iPad do you have and what is the software running on the iPad ?

I hope I made some sense here!

Good Luck to you  Wen!

[WenD]

Thank you. I will try this and then see what is happening. I have iPad Pro iPadOS 15.4. I have iPhone 11. I should add that although I gave the Audiostream "working" on the phone, the Audiokey does not work on the phone so I lose the ability to adjust things like sensitivity, etc. Volume works with the iPhone buttons, but that is all. So I still have a way to go. But one thing at a time.

[Jared Charney]

good morning @WenD @Mary Beth @SKOM I actually only use the AudioStream with the Iphone 11 and no longer the Ipad as I found I didnt want to worry about more variables and plus I typically use the AudioStream when I'm out of the house, so, not much help here, sorry!

[WenD]

Thank you for responding. I am trying to get everything to work so I can make informed decisions about what works best for me. I can see your point, and I appreciate your input.

[WenD]

I just wanted everyone to know that I eventually called Med-El and was talked through all my issues. We had a lot to do on the iPhone and the links to AudioKey2 because I have one Sonnet (with the new adaptor) and one Sonnet2. That was part of my problem. Once we figured that out, a time-consuming process, we moved on to my iPad, and we worked that out too. I am positively thinking I have everything working now as it should, and I thank this forum for giving me leads.

[Mary Beth]

@WenD

I am glad Med-El US was able to talk you through it.

Do you have any tips to share here in case others are having the same problem?

 

I bet using AudioKey2 as a remote is tricky with one Sonnet and one Sonnet2 as Sonnet must connect to that app through AudioLink to use it as a remote whereas Sonnet2 connects directly to the app as a remote.

[WenD]

Here are some of things I learned as I tried to get my Audiostream to work with a Sonnet on my left ear and a Sonnet 2 on my right.

1. You must have the new battery adapters with the wifi symbol. The Sonnet 2 comes with that and special marked batteries. My battery holder on my Sonnet was replaced to have the new one.

2. The AudioKey, works with the Sonnet 2 only. Trying to get it to work with both was impossible. I might add here that when I go to the theater where it is looped, I have both the Fine Tuner for the Sonnet and the Fine Tuner Echo for the Sonnet 2. We're dealing with different technology. It might seem clumsy, but it works and it's worth it.

3. If you have trouble pairing to the AudioKey, go to the 3 dots on the upper right of your profile page. There is a command to pair your processor. We ended up using that to get the Sonnet 2 to pair with the AudioKey. 

4. Despite what I was told that my Sonnet should not show up in the bluetooth devices on my iPhone, it does. But it only says Sonnet. Not to worry. If I go to Accessibility and hearing, both the left and right are recognized and show up in blue. If I press that, I see that it will stream to both my left and right implants. We did lots of test of this--in my house and when I was out shopping. Works perfectly, and is clearer than anything I've used before.

5. My problem with my iPad was also solved. I paired the same way putting AudioKey on the iPad. HOWEVER, and this is big. You must turn off the bluetooth on the phone and turn it on when using it on the iPad. And vice versa. One device at a time. I'm not sure what will happen if I am using the iPad--say listening to music--and a phone call comes in. That remains to be seen although it has been suggested that the phone call will "wake up" the phone and it will take over. Must admit I am skeptical, but we will see.

6. It is a good thing to use other sources before going to Med-el. I used the FB page and HearPeers first and tried all the suggestions. Some of my issues were solved, but I wanted all to be solved. There is a lot invested in this technology. But by the time I went to the audiology technicians at Med-el, I had a handle on what worked, what didn't, and what I hoped to get to work. It took days to really get the results I have now, so don't be discouraged and  use all the support sources at your disposal.

[Mary Beth]

Thank you for sharing this @WenD

[AnnetteT]

On 3/31/2022 at 2:25 PM, SKOM said:

Lastly  if your  audio stream does not show up at all on the iPad you may have to just re-pair them to the iPad having first disconnected all other Bluetooth connections to the AudioStream ( Phone etc)

 

@WenD, I second this advice from @SKOM--disconnecting other connections makes a huge difference and can be guaranteed by disabling (temporarily) all Bluetooth from the device that is connected to the AudioStream before connecting to another.

When I first got AudioStream working on my iPhone, I found that setting up the iPad seemed to work best when I turned Bluetooth off on the iPhone (during the setup and when re-connecting). I first installed AudioKey2 on the iPad and then connected in the app before adding the AudioStream to the app (same as on iPhone). Then, every time that I need to switch AudioStream from one device to the other, I temporarily disable Bluetooth from whichever is connected to AudioStream and connect to the other (following the steps in this and other posts) by opening and closing the Audiostream cover and making sure it says Connected in Hearing Devices Settings. Doing all of that before re-enabling Bluetooth on the original device has reduced frustration for me a lot.

[WenD]

Thank you for the help. And I am sorry I did not respond sooner. We were away, and I did not have the new battery adapter with the wifi symbol. All's well now, but what you said is about what we had to do after we worked out some other problems. ☺️

[SKOM]

Marybeth I just wanted to give an update I did also send an email to the Med El moderator earlier since yesterday my iPad has not been pairing with the audio stream although it’s recognizing and apparently connected some of the same problems which we had before the January firmware update for the last six months it’s been absolute bliss working seamlessly and beautifully both for iPhone and  iPad —-but there was a  software update for both phone and iPad iOS update just about two days ago I think  this has something to do with that I’m hoping it will self -resolve! Also hoping for  some kind of input and feedback other people have seen the same problem 

 

Thanks,

 

Shyam

[WenD]

Hi

I have had no problems once I worked out my original frustrations getting my AudioStream to work with both my iPhone and iPad. If I had, I would have probably unpaired everything and go back to the procedure the techs from Med-el talked me through. I am careful to turn bluetooth off when my phone and iPad are in close proximity, leaving only the one I want to use on. I continue to use the AudioStream receivers as my all-the-time receivers, and I am happy with that too. I think I am hearing certain sounds for the first time with them. Perhaps they are more sensitive. 

[Mary Beth]

@SKOM

I agree with @WenD.  It is common for phone updates to cause glitches in hearing devices .  You can read about it a lot in the social media groups with various CI brands together.  The general rule of thumb is to forget this device and begin again.  I hope you get this fixed soon.  Let us know how you end of resolving it.

[WenD]

I just want t add my experience with the AudioStream receivers. I am a bread baker. I use a scale to weigh ingredients. Until I used these receivers, I did not know the scale beeped when I changed measurements, when it is turned on, etc. I heard it!!!! And I asked my husband to listen and to tell me how loud the beep is. He said it is very soft. So, my takeaway, happily, is that we don't always recognize or appreciate the small changes that occur. I read people upgrading and not seeing a lot of difference, but I think we should all appreciate the "small stuff." I probably don't even know what other "small" sounds I've added to my repertoire because they may not be so obvious. Hooray for Med el!

 

[Mary Beth]

@WenD

When I borrowed a friend’s AudioStreams for a couple of weeks I also noticed that my programs sounded a little different with the AudioStream covers attached even when AudioStream was not active. This was with Sonnet 1 processors.

[SKOM]

Thank you all.

Yes I have gone through the usual troubleshooting steps of forgetting/ removing /deleting/ switching off Bluetooth connection/ etc/ and  restarting everything I also updated the AudioStream software on the audiokey app I did not reconfigure of course but the iPad is not connecting I did mention there was  some software update just a couple days ago I’m going to see how this pans out  and otherwise I will check with Med El and see if they have any feedback .

I think it’s just an individual variation in the way the  iPad connect after the software update something similar to the problems we used to have six months ago before the firmware  update on the AudioStream —-little disappointing!! 

[Mary Beth]

@SKOM

It is disappointing.  I hope it gets sorted out soon.  Keep us posted please.

[WenD]

Good luck with getting things working soon. So frustrating.

[WenD]

One thing that might help although at the time I just shook my head and I had forgotten it until now. The Med el tech told me to forget audiokey and just work with my phone and iPad. I do have audiokey on my phone and iPad, but I could never get it synced. It might have been because I have one Sonnet 1 and one Sonnet 2, but I don't remember. However, by ignoring it altogether, I was able to get everything working. Maybe try that. 

[SKOM]

Thanks all,

 

it goes to show these things are still erratic in their connectivity functions!—thats why we hear so many different versions of user experiences.

When I have more time and  patience on my hands today one thing I will try which I  have not done so far is to reset the audio stream on the app completely and

reconfigure the two devices on the audiokey app from the beginning like new.

I will give you an update.  

[Mary Beth]

@SKOM

It is frustrating for sure and an experience many hearing aid and various CI brands are experiencing when software updates on our phones and tablets shake things up.  In our world of direct streaming, there is a need for a new team to address all these issues.  A connectivity department that handles all of the connectivity issues and has a way to inform users of solutions.

[SKOM]

Good afternoon everyone 

So I have an update now I have been working for the last few hours with the iPad and  iPhone alternately / for getting /deleting/ restarting all the apps in both devices  in sequence.

Both my iPad and phone are  connected to the AudioStream now!!

I had to go through the configuration on the audiokey 2 app from the separately while the other device was switched off  

After the recent software update I realize that  some reason we have to forget and delete the Sonnet  processor in the connected devices both in  accessibility and Bluetooth settings  

And then start configuration from Fresh for each device separately ! Only then would the iPad connect

but now I notice on the iPad my AudioKey 2 app is  connected but I cannot access all the functions like I  used to before and this is perhaps because when I look in the Bluetooth settings of the iPad at this time I do not see the sonnet in the connected devices! 

The audio key app is working well with all the functions on the phone 

One option I have is to reconfigure again  from  the beginning for both devices hoping  the app on the iPad will come back to previous normal functioning but I have decided to hold off for now since  for me connection to the AudioStream is more important than the app on the iPad since I already have the app functioning on the phone 

Maybe I will give it another try tomorrow and see what happens 

Also I have not yet received any reply from the Med El coordinator for the email I sent a few days ago 

Thanks everyone

 

[SKOM]

Correction actually I just noticed that Guilia  did  reply yesterday asking me to do exact thing I have just finished doing