Level 2

302 points

Bluetooth audio quality concerns

OK, I'm opening a new thread with this one, since I would really like to gather opinions of people who are also facing bluetooth audio quality issues.

Since I got my iPhone 3G, and paired it with my bluetooth headsets, people have been complaining that the couldn't hear me well. My voice would crack up, or even not make it at all to the other side. I got a couple of new bluetooth headsets, only to find out that it wasn't the headsets' fault. That said, I would like to add, that all the headsets that seem to misbehave when paired to the iPhone, work great when in use with my older SE mobile phone.

I did some testing and found out that, the issue of my side cracking up or not sounding at all would only arise when the OTHER party was in a noisy environment (usually trying to talk to somebody in a Mall would do the trick). That said, I would also like to add that when talking through the iPhone itself (even on speakerphone), would work fine!

I am suspecting that there is an echo cancelation feature build-into the iPhone that revs up when talking through a bluetooth headset and seems to cut-off my headset's input level when strong noise it detected from the other side, presumably to avoid echo. Seems like this feature is badly tuned, in a way that communication can no longer work in an syncronous way.

What seems strange to me is that, after updating to v2.2 of iPhone software, the issue seemed to have gone away; however, it looks like it's back!

This whole situation could also be connected to various bluetooth quality issues many people are facing when using bluetooth car kits. I would suggest you try and connect such issues with the NOISE on the OTHER END.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

P.S. I will try and put together a Skype call that would hopefully demostrate what I am trying to say.

iPhone 3G v2.2

Posted on Nov 26, 2008 4:23 AM

359 replies

Nov 5, 2009 1:26 AM in response to Thanar

Ρε συ Thanar ελπίζεις μετά από έναν ολόκληρο χρόνο και ; Είναι ξεκάθαρο πως μας έχουνε γραμμένους εκεί που δεν πιάνει μελάνι.
Well if they don't understand it in English maybe a little Greek will help :P

Nov 5, 2009 7:36 PM in response to Thanar

I had the same problem with my plantronics voyager 520. I talked to the technical support for both Apple and Plantronics in Egypt and they are not aware about this bug.
Yesterday, I tried my friend's Jabra BT8040. It was perfect. No fluctuating voice when talking over the speaker on the other side.
I'm going to test the BT530 with my device today. I hope it works good like Thanar's !

Nov 5, 2009 10:46 PM in response to Ahmed Hammad

Well, the last thing that we want Ahmed is to start buying(or taking from friends) and trying different headsets.
That is surely NOT a solution...
This thing must be fixed permanent, the bluetooth technology is something really simple, wonder what the ** has happened with our high-tech Iphones 😟

Thanar Author

Level 2

302 points

Nov 6, 2009 12:09 AM in response to Ahmed Hammad

Hello Ahmed, welcome to the Apple Discussions.

I would like to inform you that by BT530 works fine, but NOT ALWAYS. There are times when the issue persists, so I keep posting to this thread until a final solution shows up.

Reminder to myself: I would like to visit Egypt soon.

Take care.

Nov 6, 2009 8:38 AM in response to Thanar

The only thing we can do is keep on sending feedback to them.
They must sensitise somehow, they can't ignore us that much...I hope :P

Nov 10, 2009 11:57 PM in response to Thanar

Hi,

I've been using many bluetooth headsets (Jabra, Apple, Zivio Boom, ...) and all had the same problem, people on the other end complaint that I sounded far away from the mic, they could not hear me.
I read other thread not in the Apple forum which indicated that this problem was unrelated to the headset itself, this is related to the iPhone. The bluetooth stack on the iPhone is buggy, even Plantronics confirmed twice to me that at this time it isn't recommended to buy any bluetooth headset for the iPhone which has a bug on the bluetooth stack.

First response from Plantronics on Aug 25:

---start---
Unfortunately, like with many other headset brands, there is problems with our headset on the iPhone and it is related to the 3.0.1 update.

I don't recommend purchasing one at the moment to use with an iPhone, not until this problem has been fixed. Unfortunately you will have to wait for iPhone to release an update where it is resolved.
---end---

Second response on Oct 29:

---start---
Unfortunately the issues with Bluetooth on the iPhone's have not been resolved, the latest firmware 3.1.2 did not fix it hopefully the next firmware update will.
---end---

As a result of this, I'm now using the Apple wired headset, however I'm still looking for a better wired headset.

I also wanted to mention that for all the bluetooth headsets I tested above, I tested them with another Nokia mobile and all the tests were successful. Therefore, this showed me that the headsets themselves were not broken.

Regards

Thanar Author

Level 2

302 points

Nov 11, 2009 12:23 AM in response to Community User

nwi, since you seem to be having an open channel with Plantronics, could you ask them if they have officially contacted Apple on the matter?

Thank you.

Nov 11, 2009 1:51 AM in response to Community User

nwi - Thanks for the update and I think your update clarifies exactly what all of us on here believe and we are in no doubt that this is an Apple Iphone Issue - so much evidence here to prove it.

Just wish Apple were as keen and quick to solve this problem as they were to remove my last update because of certain comments I had made about how I felt users on this board could help get this resolved.

As mentioned before in my earlier update, all I want is for Apple to acknowledge they have an issue here and they are working on it, that will pacify me..... at least then I know that it will at some point be fixed and if it takes them another 3 months I won't like it but I know its coming. Without that acceptance of an issue from Apple we could all be sitting patiently (as nwi's update states) waiting for the next update, only for us all to be disappointed again - and Apple to continue to deny they know anything about it.

Very frustrating...

Nov 11, 2009 2:35 AM in response to jonny_v1lla

...and unprofessional I may add...

Nov 11, 2009 5:16 AM in response to Thanar

I've asked Plantronics and will update this thread if/when I receive a response.

Regards

durancd

Level 1

4 points

Nov 11, 2009 6:10 AM in response to Community User

I would suggest that someone bring this thread's link to the editors at CNET and MacWorld. Someone must be interested in bringing attention to Apple's lack of professional conduct in this matter. I've talked to the local Apple store people and they are oblivious. Acknowledging the problem would be enough for me, knowing they intend to fix the defect. Hopefully it is not a fault of the hardware.

durancd

Level 1

4 points

Nov 11, 2009 6:19 AM in response to durancd

I sent the thread link to Laura Cuculla at CNET. Don't have the email for the editors at MacWorld.

Thanar Author

Level 2

302 points

Nov 11, 2009 10:05 AM in response to durancd

Great move, durancd! Please keep us posted on any future relevant article on CNET!

Nov 13, 2009 5:21 AM in response to Thanar

This is the response I received from Plantronics:

---start---
I work in Tech Support and do not know what kind of conversations take place between Plantronics and Apple engineers, or what the topics may be. I can only guess that technical discussions are occurring at some level, but this would be far beyond this department. I am sorry that I cannot provide you with a more detailed answer.
---end---

I've asked them if they can ask their engineering.

Beside that, on Feb 28 I logged the bug 6634224 on bugreport.apple.com for this sound quality issue and they closed it as a duplicate of bug 6710893.
It seems that Apple likes to close the bug by referencing others which I cannot access. This isn't professional at all in my opinion, they just hide the problem.

The closed my bug on Mar 2009 with the following note:

---start---
26-Mar-2009 02:43 AM Patrick Collins :
This bug has been closed as Duplicate. We are aware of and tracking this issue under the Bug ID listed above in the bug State (Duplicate/XXXX). To check the status of the original bug report, please update your report directly <http://bugreport.apple.com> and we will provide you with any available information.
---end---

Unfortunately I do not have the possibility to see the status of this bug 6710893.

Regards

Nov 14, 2009 1:31 AM in response to jonny_v1lla

Been thru most of this thread and I have the same problems with intermittent cut-off, cracked up sound, and even that my iPhone 3GS with OS 3.1.2 sends the sound to it's own speaker in parallel with sending static noise to the headset! That is clearly due to an issue in the iPhone, not the headset.

Currently I'm using a SE HBH-DS980 which works fine with many other phones.

I'm extremely disappointed in Apple's unprofessional, head-in-the-sand approach, so I really hope you guys can bring this to the attention of the industry media!

I use my headset in 3-4 telephone conferences every day, and if one of them works fine I consider myself lucky. iPhone is not good enough for business use unless they fix this.

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Bluetooth audio quality concerns