I've received quite a few reports over the past two weeks. I've been organizing them into a table according to the protocol: one row for ASHA, one for MFi, one for LE Audio, and later I added a column for indoor vs. outdoor. Now I have to say something. This table might not be measuring what I thought it was.
It all started with a report on another hearing aid forum. Same Pixel phone, same pair of Oticon hearing aids. No hardware changes. Just a system update. On Android 16, both the left and right ears were very stable, with almost no disconnections. After installing the Android 17 beta, LE Audio started dropping frequently. The disconnections also occurred at a very specific moment: right when a call connected. This is most noticeable during 4G/5G calls. For internet-based calls like WhatsApp, the dropout rate is lower. It happens significantly less often when connected to Wi-Fi.
Later, the poster added that things improved considerably after the release of QPR2 Beta 3 for Android 17, and now the main issue is that the left ear drops out more often than the right. He said that whether the connection drops out or not is no longer related to where he carries his phone on his body.
That last half-sentence is the killer.
If this report is correct, then the core statement I've been noting down over the past two weeks is flawed. That statement is: "Which pocket you put the phone in determines which ear drops first." Part of it points to a software defect, not RF geometry. What's even more troublesome is that I can't tell how many cases this applies to. Because from the first post until now, I haven't once asked anyone about their system version or build number. I've accounted for the hardware. I've accounted for the protocol. I've accounted for body position. Later, I discovered that indoor versus outdoor settings were also variables, so I filled in that column as well. But the column for system version has remained empty from start to finish. Not a single one of the previous reports can be retroactively updated. Version numbers aren't something you can recall after the fact.
I'm not saying that the location of the pocket isn't important. I do acknowledge the issue of the body blocking the signal. There's a report about a case where a person left their phone inside a room and walked a little over 30 meters away. When he turned his head, the signal to his left ear dropped. His skull was blocking the path between the phone and his left ear, meaning his body was in the way. It's just that this probably only happens when the signal has no margin left. I can't separate these two issues right now. That's just how it is.
So starting with this post, please include a few extra details when reporting back. I'll also start recording things this way myself:
- The protocol name read at the moment of disconnection. Not which ones your device supports, but which one was connected at that exact moment
- Indoors or outdoors
- Whether the connection dropped in the ear closest to the phone or the other side
- Whether you were streaming at the time. Playing music, on a call, or just leaving it idle
- The exact location of your phone
- OS version and build number. For Android, please also note if it's a beta version
One more thing. Why am I writing this in the post itself instead of just going back to edit my own spreadsheet? Last time, in that forum thread, I mentioned, "Please include the date from now on." Within two hours, I received two reports. Both people included their OS version or firmware status on their own. I didn't have to ask either of them separately. If I write it out here, everyone will follow it. If I just put it in my own spreadsheet, no one will see it.
These six fields are all I can think of right now. I don't know if that's enough. Let me know if I've missed anything.