Updated A2DP profiles in iOS 4.3 causes problems?

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Updated A2DP profiles in iOS 4.3 causes problems?

Hi,

I've been using the Nokia BH-905i Bluetooth headset together with my iPhone 4 since the day I bought it. Excellent sound quality and all the controls - volume up/down, start/stop, next/previous and answering calls - all worked flawlessly until... I upgraded to iOS 4.3. Now the sound is to about 90% shifted to the left earcap when listening to music or answering calls. Tried them on a friends iPhone 4 that still runs iOS 4.2.1 and no problem.

I have reste the phone and the headset a number of times but to no avail, the problem is still there.

Anyone else experiencing something similar after upgrading to iOS 4.3?

Any ideas if there is a fix?

best regards,

/Max

iPhone 4, iOS 4, version 4.3

Posted on Mar 10, 2011 3:28 AM

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Answer 1

_Ted_

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Mar 10, 2011 7:01 AM in response to MaxMad

My Samsung WEP870 (Bluetooth stereo) headset also behave strange after 4.3 update.
Before the update i had no problems with this headset and my iPhone 4.

It feels like its must be much closer to the phone (max 30-40cm) to work properly. Some times the phone drops the connection to the headset when listening to music or watching movies.

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Answer 2

sibi4403

Level 1

20 points

Mar 11, 2011 12:04 AM in response to _Ted_

I have the same problem with my Bose bluetooth headset and iPhone 4 after updating to iOS 4.3.

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Answer 3

MaxMad Author

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Mar 11, 2011 1:34 AM in response to MaxMad

I have noticed even more problems with the Nokia BH-905i after the iOS 4.3 update. Not only does the sound come from the left side, but also the sound enhancing functions, like bass boost and surround stereo, are gone. It seems as though the iPhone outputs the music as though it was a phone conversation, thus disabling these functions and changing the balance of the sound, which the Nokia headset does to enhance voice.

Hopefully, there's an official fix soon.

-Max

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Answer 4

sepcm91

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Mar 11, 2011 4:26 AM in response to MaxMad

I'm having dodgey behavior with the iPhone 4 and my Sony Ericsson bluetooth HBH-PV740 after the upgrade. Sometimes it works as expected, sometimes it takes over long to connect to the phone or drops the call. It also appears that when the phone is ringing and the bluetooth is paired, I get no ring signal. I can't find any pattern yet, it's hit or miss. Bluetooth has been working fine for 2 years up until now both with iPhone 3Gs and 4. Any hints or tips welcome.

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Answer 5

Pemple

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Mar 11, 2011 6:46 AM in response to sepcm91

I had the same problem after upgrading. My headphones worked for the phone but not music. I removed the headphones' profile from the Bluetooth profiles and then re-paired them and not they are fine.

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Answer 6

Mar 11, 2011 11:29 AM in response to Pemple

Quick questions...so does the iphone now have A2DP bluetooth streaming? meaning it could play music wirelessly on a A2DP supported receiver (i.e. car radio)? I was under the impression that it did not have this capability. Could this have possibly been fixed by 4.3? Thanks 😀

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Answer 7

Mar 11, 2011 1:17 PM in response to PandaXpress

@PandaXpress: Yes, A2DP has been enabled for years now.

I've encountered the same problem as described here with my Nokia BH-905i too. After the iOS 4.3 update, the sound is widely, uncomfortably distributed between the two speakers (super stereo!) and the bass booster and stereo widening buttons now no longer work. The sound is quite different. My Bluetooth connection to my Mac Pro remains the same.

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Answer 8

KiltedTim

Level 10

195,141 points

Mar 11, 2011 1:23 PM in response to PandaXpress

I know for a fact that 4.2.1 has it. Don't know about any version of 4.x prior to that, though. I have an old 3G with 4.2.1 and use A2DP streaming to the car stereo all the time (2011 Kia Optima).

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Answer 9

Mar 11, 2011 1:23 PM in response to Noah Abrahamson

@Noah: I spoke to an apple rep yesterday and they said the Iphone 4 does not support A2DP. Ill just assume he didnt kno what he was talking about? Thanks btw! 😀

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Answer 10

Mar 11, 2011 2:15 PM in response to MaxMad

It seems iOS 4.3 is using either MP3 or AAC now as a codec to send music to some Bluetooth headphones (like my Nokia BH-905i) rather than SBC. From the Nokia documentation,

The effects (of Bass boost and stereo widening) are available if your music player uses SBC encoding. If the music player uses MP3 or AAC direct streaming instead of SBC, the effects are not available.

This is still part of A2DP, it just refers to how the sound is compressed and sent over the air, not how its encoded on your iPhone. Here's a bit that helps explain this, though it's four years old. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2164573,00.asp

For me, it sounds great, but disconcerting at first, especially the wide stereo sound.

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Answer 11

Mar 14, 2011 1:35 AM in response to MaxMad

@Max

Same here. I use BH-905 (first Version). Apple screwed pairing up when they went from 3.1.3 to 4.0 (worked only with a special trick) and now the sound is completely shifted to the left.

The BH-905 still works flawlessly with my MacBook Pro, so it's an IOS issue.

Will send Apple a message; notifying them is the only way to get this resolved.

BR

Joe

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Answer 12

mrk

Level 1

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Mar 14, 2011 11:30 AM in response to Graf Zeppelin

Same here as well. I also use the first version of BH-905. The sound is shifted to the left after I upgraded to 4.3 on my iPhone4 and iPad. Works ok on my Nokia N900.

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Answer 13

Mar 15, 2011 9:55 AM in response to MaxMad

This has caused my Kensington LiquidAUX Bluetooth to stop working (in regard to music streaming - the phone bit still works). Tried re-pairing a few times but to no avail.

Looks like it's back to 4.2.1 for me....

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Answer 14

Big_E

Level 1

9 points

Mar 16, 2011 6:17 AM in response to MaxMad

Works fine for me with Nokia BH-604 and iPhone 4. Only problem I have that while I'm on the phone, not via BT headset, that often the iPhone is changing the output to the headset. Then it's completely silent in the phone, like you lost the connection. Remedy is to change back to the handset. Has been like this since iOS 2.1.x

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Answer 15

duhu

Level 1

4 points

Mar 16, 2011 6:52 AM in response to mrk

Same issue here, using the Nokia BH-905 (first version) and am also experiencing sound shifted to the left after upgrading to iOS 4.3. No issues using the headset via laptop or directly connecting using a cable.

Very annoying, I hope Apple will include a fix in iOS 4.3.1.

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