Latest iOS update breaks Bluetooth hand off for hearing aids (iOS 16.4.1)

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Level 1

46 points

Latest iOS update breaks Bluetooth hand off for hearing aids (iOS 16.4.1)

Hello, I would like to report a bug in the latest iOS version. iOS 16.4.1 (a)

I own an iPhone 12 Pro Max and an iPad 9th Generation. I wear ReSound LiNX Quattro hearing aids. The normal way for me to hand off switching Bluetooth connection between my iPhone and my iPad is to turn off Bluetooth on one Apple device and turn on Bluetooth for the other Apple device. The handoffs normally work as expected. With the latest iOS 16.4.1 update for both the iPhone and iPad, this is no longer the case. I now have to power cycle the Apple device that I want to hand off the hearing aid Bluetooth connection to. This makes the experience much more frustrating and unreliable. I like to use my iPhone for calls and my iPad for meetings. Now I can no longer reliably switch devices and will miss important phone calls. Please provide a fix or a way to downgrade to a previous version of iOS on my Apple devices.

Posted on May 19, 2023 12:44 PM

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Answer 1

LegoDad

Level 1

8 points

Jul 3, 2023 9:31 AM in response to UmpireSam

(posting from my other username but I am the Original Poster)

Hello, thank you for validating my experience. The only resolution I found that seemed to work was upgrading to newer hearing aids so maybe it could be a firmware related issue. That's a $6,200 USD fix! I upgraded from the ReSound Quattro to ReSound OMNIA.

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Answer 2

Jul 3, 2023 7:51 AM in response to Legodude522

Like others, I recently upgraded to ios 16.5.1 on my iPad (5th gen) and have now lost the convenience of automatic handoff between it and my iPhone 12 (16.3.1) with my Oticon More 1 hearing aids. In fact, it's become quite a nightmare. Suddenly, I find myself having to jump through hoops just to get through a business day!

As others have detailed, I now must shut off both devices in order to "release" my hearing aids from whichever one of the devices they are connected to. Sometimes that doesn't work either and I end up having to turn off my hearing aids too, then turn on the device I want to use them with, and then turn on the hearing aids. Most of the time this works.

Two requests Apple: First, fix this pronto. It's bad enough needing hearing aids in the first place and this BUG only makes it more frustrating! Try it yourself. Stop using something that's VERY important to your day-to-day life and see how you like it.

Second, how about testing accessibility features before every update is released to ensure you haven't broken something that we accessibility customers depend on.

I couldn't be more disgruntled!

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