harman/kardon soundsticks II wireless ios 6 problems

There is nothing wrong with the speakers - it is a simple compare and test.

I have HTC M8 and HK soundsticks iii perfectly working together which suggests there is nothing with the speakers otherwise it wouldn't play.

I have bluetooth 4.0 on my phone but BT chips are backward compatible so even if HK is on 2.1 it should still play and it does (meaning they communicate on bluetooth 2.1 standards)

On my iphone 6s, barely playing one song and then gives a pitch sound so bad I have to turn it off and on.

Apple is terrible at support as usual. I am a long term Iphone user and I have always had problems with bluetooth.

I don't know what chip they use...

The iPad 3 and iPhone 5 operating with iOS 6 implement Bluetooth 4.0. This is also true for the iPhone 4S and iPad 4. iOS 5 running on these devices only used BT 2.1 functionality.

Although the BT 4.0 standard is compatible with the older BT 2.1 standard some BT 2.1 drivers were not properly implemented and are incompatible. The dropouts are a symptom of this.

Check with Harmon Kardon to see if they have a firmware update for your device which corrects this problem.

I know that several companies have issued firmware updates already so whomever you talked to at Harmon/Kardon may not really know what is going on.

Since there has already been one iOS update since iOS 6.0, I doubt Apple will be making any changes. By the way, I have lots of BT 2.1 equipment which works fine with iOS 6 & BT 4.

I am from Bkk,Thailand.I am also have same kind of this problem. Mine was disconnect after played only 1 song

then I reconect bluetooth again and play for 5 songs and disconnect again, some time after reconect they so kind for 10 songs.I spend time to figure it out,so releaf know that someone also had some issue. I using the new ipad ios6.1.2 and when I try with the oldest iphone3g.the bluetooth signal work just fine. I leave it all night still play in the morning.

I love this sound stick so much.Hope apple can fix this in newer ios.

Same problem here, returned the first set i bought thinking it was a hardware failure. The second set comes with the same issues.

Hoping for a firmware update from HK might turn out to be a disappointment, the only fysical connection on the soundsticks is the headphone jack. Updating BT over a failing BT connection seems a no-go. Maybe that is why HK is reluctant to face the issue. I contacted HK about the first set, they suggested to swap it. I will contact them again with a link to this thread as proof there is a serious problem with this product. I will keep you posted.

Btw, these problems ONLY relate tot iOS 6, in every subversion so far. HK first suggested to upgrade from 6.0 to 6.1 but that does not help. OS X devices like macbooks work flawlessly.

HK replied on my e-mail saying this problem is dispatched to a "higher technical department" and that they tested but did not get any disconnections. I suggested that they run a longer test as these problems might only occur after 10-15 minutes.

In the meantime the number of complaints is growing and HK does not respond well to that. In my case they first suggested i'd upgrade to iOS 6.1.2 (from iOS 6.0) but that clearly didn't help. Also i was asked to test the set in another room. The most hilarious suggestion was given to someone on Amazon where HK suggested they'd keep the volume up as high as possible. Obviously that didn't help.

Testing with an older iOS5 device made it clear to me that this problem only occurs with iOS6, in every incarnation until version 6.1.2.

It might well be that firmware on the Soundsticks can't be upgraded by a consumer but HK themselves can. I would not wait for an iOS update. As JimHdK stated there is nothing wrong with the iOS side of things. HK eventually will have to issue a callback action for this but i'm not going to wait for that. My set is going back to the store. I didn't buy a BT set for cabled use, that stinks.

Problem remains that there are no comparable products to replace it. The sound, the looks, the stereo-effect, the price: they are still unbeatable in my view. Anyone thinking otherwise?

After I known that happen to others and cause ios 6. I still think maybe the newest ios will solve this. should I wait ? (said to my self) cause I agree that no compare with another product with sound and design. Feeling bad Maybe I had to change to JBL On beat instead. There is no such problem.

I have the same problem ,I realize the wifi is interfering the Bluetooth. Every time I on the wifi in my ipad I had this prob.im using iOS 6.1.3. iPhone using 6.1.4 keeps dropping . I manage to connect for more than 8 hours ...that is without touching my ipad. The moment I start playing with ipad , surfing , apps etc . Connection starts to go bad.

I'm from SINGAPORE. I went to harmon service center, he too ask me to put the volume loud to avoid disconnection . This is ridiculous . Any body heard of any success stories using the Bluetooth without problems?

I'm from Russia and I have the same problem with my Sound Sticks Wireless and iPad2 with iOS 6.1.3. I was looking for answers to the Russian forums, but found nothing. Most likely no one faced this problem, because in Russia this speaker is not popular. I hope Apple will be making any changes..

Hi.. Prakash from India...

Got HK soundstick III wireless yesterday n faced same problem. After few minutes bluetooth pairing gets disconnected, though the blue led is still glowing. Not sure who is gonna fix this. Am sure it cant be HK as there is no way to automatically update the firmware.

In addition to this, i found another weired problem. The peak volume connecting thru wireless is fantastic. The moment i switch over from wireless to 3.5mm jack, the peak volume just reduced by 50-60 percent. Checked all settings in ipad3, n there is no change in music setting in my ipad. Has anybody faced this problem? Or is this unique to me. Well, i am sure this is not the problem of sound stick bcoz when i connect my ipod shuffle over 3.5mm jack, i get same peak volume back.

Tried to rch HK but they are also clueless. Hope to get some solution thru this forum. Thanks

Same issue here. My daughter's iPad 3 running iOS 6.1.2 will play maybe one song, then stop playing, though it still appears as though it is connected and the BT light on the speakers remains lit. Turning the speakers off and back on will allow them to reconnect, only to go silent again a few minutes later. It's frustrating.

@Bishamondo.. Do u face the second problem which i have mentioned in above thread? I.e. difference in peak volume while connecting through bluetooth n 3.5 mm jack. If not, can u plz give it a try n let me know. Just wanted to figure out whether it is a generic problem or specific to my device?