By Stephen Pate – If you use Made for iPhone Hearing Aids you may wish to skip the iOS 13 download for now. It may break theBluetooth connection to your iPhone and Hearing Aids.
Update iOS 13.2.2 + OPN Firmware 8.0 – November 9, 2019 – We finally have a fix for MFI hearing aids and iPhone iOS 13 with the combination of iOS 13.2 .2 and a firmware 8.0 from Oticon. You need both to make the hearing aids connect with your iPhone. Different hearing aid manufacturers will have varying firmware updates. Check with your audiologist.
Is it perfect? Almost, the hearing aids are more sensitive to low battery than before iOS 13. The iPhone needs to be close to you: moving my head from side to side can disconnect one ear or the other. Moving back restores the connection. I tested this for 2 days, listening to music for more than 4 hours, taking phone calls and using audio files inside Facebook, Twitter and YouTube with success. It’s been quite a journey.
Update iOS 13.2 – October 29, 2019 – after initially bricking the MFI hearing aids, this update appears to be working. After the update, I had to reset the Network Settings and re-pair the hearing aids. (detailed in the comments below.) 24 hours later the MFI hearing aids were back to not connecting to the iPhone. It’s still a mystery.
Update – October 15th, 2019 – iOS 13.1.3 was supposed to be the fix for Bluetooth hearing aids (MFI) but it’s not. The HA’s disconnect during phone calls, connect only one ear inexplicably, or refuse to connect unless the HA’s are reset and re-paired.
Update – Even the iOS 13.1 has hearing aid problems.
Users report their hearing aids connected to the iPhone and then disconnected for no reason. It happens so often during a single day, I just give up trying to connect my hearing aid. For example, this morning the hearing aids were connected when I woke up and by 9:30 AM, they just disconnected.
The only solution I can offer is to change batteries every 2 days, long before the battery indicator shows them depleted. Before iOS 13, my batteries lasted 3 to 4 days.
Apple Insider, a respected Apple expert site, recommends that most people should wait Don’t update to iOS 13 just yet — wait for iOS 13.1
MFI Hearing Aid users are reporting multiple problems keeping their hearing aids connected to their iPhones after the iOS 13 upgrade. Problems include dropped connections during calls or streaming, loss of the hearing aids from the AirPlay screens that route audio, and no audio after hearing aids are picked.
Update – September 26, 2019 – iOS 13.1 update solved some but not all of the problems
Update – September 29, 2019 – iOS 13.1.1 same problems persist.
I had numerous problems after downloading iOS 13 last week. Three Apple Support persons including a MFI Hearing Aid Specialist said the problems were caused by the manufacturer who needs to update their firmware. However, that appears to be not true.
Hearing Tracker Forum sheds light on iOS 13 bugs
On the Hearing Tracker Forum, a user with experience on the beta iOS 13 code wrote,
For iPhone Beta and Mfi users, iOS 13.7 seems to have fixed most of the iOS audio routing issues, ones that would cause the iPhone to lose communication with the aids or stop responding to the iPhone’s aids control. In previous iOS versions, Phone calls would result in one or the other aid not communicating, and sometimes the incoming call would not route to the aids, but go into a hunt mode where it couldn’t decide where to send the audio – speaker or aids. Also, in 13.6 and earlier 13, there were problems with the phone changing volume levels when switching apps. azure blue
The Forum user is referring to iOS 13 beta code that has not been released to the public. In other words, the fix is not available yet.
The best advice is to wait until Apple fixes the problem. If you are like me and have a recent back up, you may try reverting to iOS 12.4.1. I haven’t tried the procedure so I don’t know if it works smoothly. Right now I’m resetting the hearing aids every few hours.
You can’t believe what the Apple iOS 13 screens say
This iOS 13 screen shows the hearing aids are connected.
When my hearing aids stopped working, I went to the Settings Screen at Accessibility…Hearing Devices.
It showed the hearing aids were connected to the phone at 4:22 pm. However, there was no sound in my ears.
AirPay shows no MFI hearing aids despite connection in Settings.
So I flipped over to the audio routing in AirPlay.
The MFI Hearing Aids were nowhere to be found.
That’s just one of the variety of problems with iOS 13.
I’ve also had times when the MFI Hearing Aids appear in the AirPlay audio routing screen and there still is no sound.
I waited once for about 4 minutes and the MFI hearing aids started working.
If you are streaming music this is confusing and annoying. If you are taking a phone call, it’s likely a reason for the other party to hang up.
List of known MFI bugs in IOS 13
Here are the bugs that have been reported on Hearing Tracker and my own experience:
- iPhone lose communication with the aids
- Hearing Devices screen does not report dropped communication
- iPhone stop responding to the iPhone’s aids control
- One or the other aid not communicating
- Incoming call would not route to the aids
- Incoming call go into a hunt mode where it couldn’t decide where to send the audio – speaker or aids
- Phone changing volume levels when switching apps
- Switching from Air Pods for music and back to HAs is still unreliable
When will the bugs be fixed?
In the Hearing Tracker Forum thread, the beta tester referred to beta 13.7 as being stable for MFI hearing aids. There is no correlation of the beta number 13.7 to the actual corrected release of iOS 13. The actual public release could be any 13.x number.
Since sites like 9to5 Mac and Apple Insider have no experience with MFI Hearing Aids, we can’t expect them to announce when iOS 13 works for MFI hearing aids. I suggest you subscribe to this site or Hearing Forum Tracker where people who use the MFI hearing aids are commenting.
If you want to report problems with iOS 13, join the Public Beta program and report your issues. This is important since MFI HA users are a very tiny subset of the 800 million iPhone users and Apple needs feedback.
Heather
My mom just alerted me that her phone updated to IOS 13.1.2 couple of nights ago. She now hears a loud click in hearing aids when key anything. Turning off blue tooth gets rid of click but then cannot talk on phone. Any insight?
Heather
Others, too.
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250714271
Ralph Larsson
Under iOS 13.1.2 *(the latest update as of 10/10/2019) I’ve had issues with my Resound devices, where using the Text Messages App seems to turn on/off my hearing aid speakers, as when they connect for a phone call. Apple really screwed up on this release!!!
Renee
I’m having the same problem. I have Resound Enzo’s and since the update they are cutting in and out whenever someone texts. The connection also drops. It’s a huge pain!!! I’m now trying to connect my iPhone X via the Resound app and it doesn’t even want to find them. I’m so irritated… grrrrr….
Mike
Don’t turn off Bluetooth. You can turn off keyboard clicks, and you have to manually turnoff all your app notifications so they won’t go to the hearing aids. Hope that helps.
Shannon
I updated to iOS 13 before realizing that there would be hearing aid problems. I’m having most of the above problems and ALL of my notification sounds are going through my hearing aids. Text message – Ding! in my hearing aids, WhatsApp message – Ding! in my hearing aids. I don’t need this!! It’s all or nothing with notifications — ringtone, text, whatsapp…all go through my hearing aids. Before the update, only the ringtone from calls would sound in my ears and that’s what I wanted. For now, I’ve turned off the bluetooth to my aids and am hoping that a resolution is found soon.
Fred Hemer
Yup I too suffer from all of the above Plus the evoke app if muted will become unmmuted when the screen lights up even locked This is a total mess! Also All the custom sets go away after the screen closes and you have to reboot to get them back and it only lasts till the screen goes black then lights again These guy need to get the crap together before subjecting users to an experiment like this Worst part is they won’t let you UN Update!
Stephen Pâté
I here you. It’s just crazy how we went from great hearing aids and mild complaints about Apple Watch to this is diving me nuts!
mindyheater
Shannon you can go to Settings, Accessibility, Hearing Devices, Audio Routing and Change Media Routing to “Never Hearing Devices”. This would allow you to stream your calls and not get any notifications into the hearing aids and then when you are streaming music or video you can go to your audio source options and manually change it to hearing aids when you want media streamed.
Stephen Pate
That’s an awesome workaround that actually works…until I updated to iOS 13.2. It now refuses to stream to the hearing aids.
Until Apple Support told me to Reset the Network Network Settings (Settings…General…Reset…Reset Network Sertings).
Then Forget this device under Accessibility…Hearing Devices…MFI Hearing Devices. Re-pair the hearing aids and it worked.
24 hours later the MFI hearing aids were back to not connecting to the iPhone. It’s still a mystery.
Frank Sheldon
I was having most of the problems above. In addition, the Resound Smart 3D app for my Apple Watch 4 would fail to load most of the time ever since I had the Watch (about a year old.) After 13.2, it now seems to work all of the time: only got this working yesterday, so too soon to be sure, but I am cautiously optimistic.
Many apps (Google Maps, for instance) were not working right on my phone (XS Max) after I installed 13.2 until I did a forced restart. This was also true of the Resound app for iPhone. Since that restart, the Resound app for iPhone is much faster than it has ever been on this phone or the one I had before. I’m wondering if some of the poor performance of the Resound apps is at least partly because of bugs or issues in iOS?
To get the new Apple Watch “Hearing Device” complication to appear finally on my watch face (and work), I also had the phone “forget” my hearing aids (Resound LiNX 3D from Costco,) then pair them again. I also tried some other things which may have helped, but it was a forced restart seemed to be the last necessary step. Because the Resound was so unreliable on the Watch, I wanted to try Apple’s built-in one. Now that the Rqesound app for Watch is more reliable, I can try them both.
This app issue is not the same as someone’s frustration because they can’t watch a video or something. My hearing loss is severe to profound. Having hearing aids beeping erratically and repeatedly, the sound cutting in and out, taking a long time to adjust, and so on affects the quality of lives on an existential level. That said, yesterday was a great day, and I am genuinely grateful to Apple for getting their stuff and hearing aids on to the same team. And this post was a big help to me, so thank you, Stephen for keeping on it.
John Bartram
I think I am just going to buy a Samsung Galaxy product. I have been fighting this connect-disconnect thing for almost 11 months on I phone 7 and I am about done. don’t know why apple has to hide everything to make it difficult to fix. even the providers of the hearing devices have trouble!!
Diana
I just updated to 13.2 and cannot connect to my ipad at all. I wish I had seen this information before the update!
Peter A Farrell
Update 13.3 has eliminated keyboard clicks and lock sounds that came to my Bluetooth hearing aids. Also no more sound indicating device is in charging mode. WTF Apple I need this feature can you please restore this option?