I have used iPhones and iPads for many years. I am a disable veteran and rely on Oticon MFi hearing aids to function. Since the early releases of iOS 11 beta, which I tested, these hearing aids have not worked correctly. It is probably related to Bluetooth and how it is implemented.
iPhone 8, iOS 11.1
Hi SpunkyinAZ. The problems that I'm having with my Resound Line 9 MFi hearing aids are similar to yours. With iOS 11 on an iPhone 8, they are very slow to make a connection either on a call or when streaming a talking book. The connection is then extremely erratic, switching from aid to aid and sometimes failing totally and reverting to the phone's speaker. I have worked round the problem by buying a device that Resound call a clip; I think they are generically called streamers. This small device has to be worn and its job is to sit in the communication between the iPhone and the hearing aids. The iPhone is paired with the clip by standard b bluetooth and the clip is paired with the hearing aids using the low energy bluetooth the MFi hearing aids use. This means that the low energy bluetooth connection is between two devices made by Resound and removes Apple support from the picture. The iPhone communicates with the clip as if it were a standard bluetooth headset. The clip cost me around £200. I'm now pretty confident that the problem is with Apple withdrawing support for older versions of the MFi hearing aid standard, so it may be the those of use who have older models (mine are just three years old) may never have Apple fix this. I'm trying to confirm this but I did learn it from an authoritative source. Sadly, it's common practice for the IT industry to stop providing support for older standards. Think of all those different floppy disks that our older computers used. I think we'll discover that hearing aids are no different. They may all look the same, but internally they will be using different standards to communicate with phones as the technology evolves and it's very unlikely that Apple or other manufacturers will support older devices forever. We may just be unfortunate in having purchased or acquired devices that were among the last to use an older standard. The good news is that streamers aren't terribly expensive and they seem to work.
It has been seven months and I am still struggling with the same bluetooth issues as everyone else on this thread. I use Resound Enzo Hearing aids. I opened multiple tickets with Apple. In order for the developers to look at this, you need to submit your story to apple.com/feedback and explain your issue. Please reference the link to this thread. If we can get everyone on this thread to submit a case, then there is hopefully power in numbers and the developers at Apple will take this seriously.
You're welcome. The fix is going to require Apple and ReSound to work together. Hopefully they are doing that. It is a shame that updates cannot be done to the devices, but my audiologist explained that could be done to my device if necessary. So, hopefully ReSound will do what they need to do before new iOS is released, and that is to test their devices for compliance and to support their users. Good day.
KimmieTLA, totally agree. Like you, I've submitted several reports and had a statement that Apple are working on it but can give no time for a fix. I think I may admit defeat and buy new Resound Linx 3d hearing aids and just hope that they last longer than the Linx did. I've found this whole saga very frustrating. People like us have had to piece together the picture and I'm confident that the manufacturers must have known that their older products didn't work properly with iOS 11. It would have saved a lot of my time if either GN or Apple had made a statement earlier. Of course, if you lean towards conspiracy theories, it's rather convenient for the hearing aids manufacturers and audiology companies that we may all have to buy the latest products. Let's hope that Apple do eventually fix this, but I'm not holding my breath. As I've said elsewhere, purchasing a streamer is a cheaper alternative to upgrading to the latest hearing aids, but it's nearly as good as having the MFi functionality. I decided against a streamer, because the streamer connects more slowly than the hearing aids directly connected to the phone; I'm using the blind accessibility interface VoiceOver and I was missing some of its speech with the streamer. Anyway, I feel badly let down by both GN and by Apple.
Brian
Yes, you'd like to think that the hearing aids manufacturers would test their older products against betas of major iOS releases. If they did that for iOS 11, either they or Apple haven't exactly rushed to put it right.
I fear that it may not be possible for the hearing aids manufacturers to fix this issue with firmware updates because it may not be possible to achieve the new MFi specification on older hardware. For example, if the processor doesn't run fast enough to support the new standard, no amount of firmware update is going to fix that. I think our best hope is for Apple to include support for the older standard in a future iOS update. Let's hope!
Brian
Just to add another data point to the discussion: I am using the following:
Enzo 9 3D MFI hearing aids
iPhone X
iOS 11.3
Resound Smart 3D app ver 1.2
Apple Watch 3 with Resound Smart 3D app.
...and it is all working really well, best ever in my three years of MFI hearing aids.
I started using MFI HAs ReSound Enzo 9 (original version) and iPhone 6+, and have updated steadily. I have experienced all the flakiness mentioned in this forum, but now the connection between iPhone, Apple watch and hearing aids is the best it has ever been. Connection seems to be always ready, and if it isn't, reconnection is very quick, even from my watch which always used to be the slowest.
As mentioned earlier, unpairing the HAs with the phone and repairing sometimes helps problems, but so does simply uninstalling and reinstalling the ReSound app on the phone. This does not involve or require unpairing the HAs from the phone. After reinstalling the Smart app it will reconnect with the HAs.
I have usually found the built in HA controls (in Accessibility) to be more reliable, but slower to access, than the ReSound app. You can add a shortcut to your Accessibility HA control to the Control Centre for speedier access. I used to use this method a lot, but with my current set up the ReSound app is reliable enough not to need to do this.
I know these "I don't have a problem" posts can be annoying to those who do have problems, but maybe it can encourage that it is not completely broken and can work.
I think my experience supports the general idea that newer hardware works better, which is true for most electronic and computing equipment, but maybe more so for Apple.
I have the same problem. I contacted ReSound and got this response:
Thank you for contacting ReSound. I apologize for the confusion and conflicting information from Apple. The app is not involved in the streaming functionality between the hearing aids and the phone. You could delete the app and the hearing aids would still be paired.
Our engineers have gotten information directly from contacts at Apple that they are aware of the issue with the iPhone SE and hearing aids and that they are addressing this in a future iOS update. From our research and from the calls we have been getting it seems to be affecting everyone with an iPhone SE specifically and hearing aids regardless of manufacturer after iOS11.4. Also from our own efforts it does seem like the only thing that will resolve this issue is the update that Apple has confirmed it is working on.
Again, it is unfortunate that the person you spoke with (at Apple) did not have this information but we understand that information doesn’t always travel to everyone in a company as big as Apple. Right now they are running a beta version of the next update and it may be the update that resolves the issue so hopefully we’ll know for sure soon.
my mfi Resound hearing aids faild with bluetooh on my iPhone SE soon after upgraded to iOS 11.4
I'm very angry., really. sine hearing aids is very expensinsive especially apple mfi hearing aids.
This problem should not happen on an OS who invent mfi specification.
this bug has been a long time!
please fix this shame in the next iOS update.
thank you
No, the Phonaks are not made for iphone so cannot use Live Listen. I use the Compilot for streaming calls through the use of receivers attached to the HAs.
Do you experience any problems with the Multi Mic falling off when wearing it clipped on during cycling? The Roger Pen has a lanyard so we were concerned that a clip-on Mic might fall off?
Roger Pen works quite well to understand nine people sitting around a large conference table when I place it in the middle of the table. Will Multi Mic work well for that purpose?
Thanks for your info and input.
Just a brief recap.
My GN Resound Linx 9 hearing aids don’t stream reliably to my iPhone 8 and also had problems streaming to my previous iPhone 6 when I upgraded it to iOS 11.
It looked as if the root of the issue was iOS 11 since the hearing aids still streamed perfectly to an old iPhone 5 running iOS 10.
My High Street audiologist was sympathetic and checked with GN, the hearing aid manufacturer, but got no useful advice from them.
I reported several suspected bugs to Apple, along with bluetooth logs giving Apple detailed diagnostics.
I also made contact with a GN ambassador who suggested that Apple had withdrawn support for earlier model hearing aids and that current GN models stream fine.
Well, I’ve tested this by getting a pair of GN’s latest Resound Linx 3d hearing aids on 30 day trial and yes, they stream nearly perfectly to my iPhone 8. Phone calls are reliably streamed to both ears and I can stream talking books and the signal from VoiceOver, the speaking interface for blind iPhone users.
Very occasionally, sound is streamed to one ear only, but this is fixed by turning bluetooth off and then back on. This is hugely better than the streaming performance I had with the earlier model Resound Linx 9 hearing aids.
So this certainly seemed to support the conjecture that Apple had indeed dropped support for older hearing aid models. I decided to email Apple Support and seek clarification. Apple’s reply and my email are copied below.
In summary, Apple state that
the impact of iOS 11 on streaming performance was not intentional, that they are aware of the issue and that they can give no date for a fix being available. I’m guessing that it could be a very long wait - it already has been. Some of you seem to be having streaming problems with current model hearing aids and I’d certainly suggest that you follow these up with your audiologist. But those of us with older hearing aids that stopped streaming properly with iOS 11 may have to consider replacing the hearing aids or purchasing a streamer. There’s more about streamers in my other posts on this subject.
The main snag with streamers is that they are slower to establish a connection between the phone and hearing aids than a direct connection and, of course, you have to wear the streamer clipped to your clothing. However, a streamer is likely to be cheaper than a hearing aid replacement. I’d say that it’s very unlikely indeed that the solution for older hearing aids will come from the hearing aid manufacturer; the fix must come from Apple.
However, if you have problems with a current model hearing aid then the problem may well be with the hearing aid since at least one model, the Resound Linx 3d, seems to work fine. My correspondence with Apple support follows.
Brian
Hello Brian,
Thank you for your email. We’re glad to know that the trial pair of ReSound Linx 3d hearing aids is going well, and that you are not experiencing any problems with streaming.
To our knowledge, support has not been removed for any Made for iPhone Hearing Aids devices. The issues that you were encountering with your previous hearing aids are not expected, and are currently under investigation. We cannot comment on when they may be resolved.
Sincerely,
Apple Accessibility
On March 19, 2018 at 21:50:38 PM GMT, brian.negus@googlemail.com wrote:
>Hi, I've previously submitted some suspected bug reports relating to unacceptably unreliable streaming from my Apple iPhone 8 to my GN Resound Linx 9 hearing aids. Streaming, is slow to establish, often to one ear only and frequently fails completely and reverts to the iPhone speaker. Apple's forum on MFi hearing aids suggests that users of hearing aids from other manufacturers are experiencing similar problems with iOS 11. (I was previously using an iPhone 6 with iOS 10 and all worked fine.)
>I now have on trial a pair of GN's Resound Linx 3d hearing aids. These are the current model and they work perfectly with my iPhone 8. Streaming seems to be totally reliable.
>
>I've spoken with people who know rather more than I do about the MFi hearing aid specification and it has been suggested that the MFi hearing aid specification has moved on since the Linx 9 product was produced and that Apple have effectively withdrawn support for earlier model hearing aids. This may have been unintentional, but it certainly does seem that iOS 11 is very poor at supporting streaming to older MFi hearing aids.
>
>I understand, of course, that technology must move on but, if Apple has removed this support, then it would be extremely helpful to those of us who have been affected by this for us to know that there is no point in waiting for an eventual software fix in future versions of iOS 11.
>
>It would be really helpful to have some clarity from Apple on this, please.
>
>Thanks, Brian
iOS 11 does not work correctly with MFi hearing aids and Apple MUST fix this ASAP, right?
