Sticky: Bluetooth Headsets?

by **japerry** on Mon Mar 02, 2009 10:12 am

So far I've tried a Jawbone II and a BlueAnt Z9 with PodGrabber without success. So I'd like to ask what Bluetooth headset do YOU use with PodGrabber? What headsets have you tried? Which ones worked and which ones didn't?

by **ahagenmaier** on Mon Mar 02, 2009 12:51 pm

I use a Moto H700C
Cheap, sounds ok, mini USB charger
I got it for like $25

by **marwatk** on Mon Mar 02, 2009 8:52 pm

I have a motorola H3 that works (mono), a cheap soyo (soho?) I got off of woot (mono), and a jabra BT620s (stereo) that all work. I also have some weird verizon branded one (mono) that doesn't work, though.

Hope that helps, it appears to be pretty hit or miss, but unfortunately it's a BB OS issue that's out of my hands

I'll sticky this and maybe we can get others to post with their results.

-Marcus

by **snowmangoh** on Tue Mar 03, 2009 11:39 am

I use a motorola S9 stereo headset and it works great. Does your headset work with the native media player on your device?

by **gahoo** on Tue Mar 03, 2009 4:07 pm

Plantronics Voyager 855 - works great.

by **japerry** on Wed Mar 04, 2009 6:50 am

I'm beginning to wonder if it's my phone. Last night I tried a Moto H390 and still no joy. All the BT devices I've tried so far work fine for telephony purposes but not with Podgrabber or BBMP. The search continues...

by **Diabolique** on Wed Mar 04, 2009 9:43 am

I am using a Jawbone (mono) and it works great

.

I have a blackberry 8120 running OS 4.5.0.102 on Rogers.

by **japerry** on Wed Mar 04, 2009 10:07 am

Diabolique wrote:I am using a Jawbone (mono) and it works great .

I have a blackberry 8120 running OS 4.5.0.102 on Rogers.

Interesting... I tried a Jawbone first and it didn't work. I'm running a BB 8830 4.3.0.127 on Sprint.

by **ahagenmaier** on Wed Mar 04, 2009 11:18 am

I'm running a 8820 but with 4.5

Maybe you should try a newer OS?

by **japerry** on Wed Mar 04, 2009 11:47 am

ahagenmaier wrote:I'm running a 8820 but with 4.5

Maybe you should try a newer OS?

How do I get a newer OS? Sorry if this is OT but I've never been able to get the OS update to work...

by **ahagenmaier** on Wed Mar 04, 2009 12:43 pm

I can't really do the topic justice

Here is a link to a good article
http://crackberry.com/blackberry-101-ho ... -system-os

and here is a link to the blackberry site that has 4.5 for Sprint 8830
https://www.blackberry.com/Downloads/br ... J5Ubhyug**

by **japerry** on Wed Mar 04, 2009 4:14 pm

ahagenmaier wrote:I can't really do the topic justice

Here is a link to a good article
http://crackberry.com/blackberry-101-ho ... -system-os

and here is a link to the blackberry site that has 4.5 for Sprint 8830
https://www.blackberry.com/Downloads/br ... J5Ubhyug**

I did the update. Thanks for the pointer to the update. Now running 4.5. Still no joy with the Jawbone or the BlueAnt. I don't have access to the Moto anymore so I can't test it. But at least I'm on the latest OS.

by **arkolbus** on Mon Mar 09, 2009 8:05 am

Blackberry 8330
Verizon
4.5.0.77

Motorola T505 (BT to FM) works
Jabra BT620s (Stereo BT) works
Plantronics 220 (Mono BT) doesn't work

The Moto and Jabra have great sound quality (for BT). Audio works, but playback controls do not. Wish the playback controls worked, but I think is a well-documented problem and is already a feature request.

Wish the Plantronics worked, would be easier to listen to my podcasts discretely at work. Looking for a decent inexpensive mono headset that works. So far it looks like the Jawbone (original?), Moto H3, and Moto H700c are all compatible w/ Podtrapper. Any others?

by **jack** on Sat Mar 21, 2009 1:40 pm

jabra bt9040 works fine on my 8830 with OS 4.5

by **Lisa** on Tue Mar 24, 2009 12:57 am

I have a Blackberry 8830 on Verizon running beta 4.5.0.131 with a Plantronics 510 headset. I can hear it connect when I play the podcast but I just get hiss. This happens with the output set to Auto or Bluetooth. If I choose stereo bluetooth I get a java error. Turned off encryption but it did not help.

Love the app, going to buy it anyway and look forward to the headset working someday.

by **vicicasas** on Sat Apr 25, 2009 12:47 am

Anyone using a Jabra 3030?

Am considering getting one for my Bold and think it would be a great companion to Podtrapper. Judging from previous posts in this thread, Jabras seem to be generally compatible but a real-world confirmation for the 3030 would be even better.

by **6502programmer** on Fri May 15, 2009 10:52 am

I've used a Jawbone II and a cheapie Skywing stereo headset with my Bold (4.6.0.266/451), and both have performed without issue.

by **diffused** on Fri May 15, 2009 11:46 am

marwatk wrote:I have a motorola H3 that works (mono), a cheap soyo (soho?) I got off of woot (mono), and a jabra BT620s (stereo) that all work. I also have some weird verizon branded one (mono) that doesn't work, though.

Hope that helps, it appears to be pretty hit or miss, but unfortunately it's a BB OS issue that's out of my hands

I'll sticky this and maybe we can get others to post with their results.

-Marcus

Diffused here~
Finally broke down and bought a BlackBerry Bluetooth 655+HS by Plantronics, only $10 after rebate.

It doesn't seem to want to work with Podtrapper or MiuTunes. It sounds like it connects but then gets a hissing sound. 1saleaday.com is offering GE99003 foldable stereo headphones for only $30.00. Should I givem a try?

by **marwatk** on Fri May 15, 2009 7:36 pm

I haven't seen or heard about a stereo one not working, it's only ever the mono ones (which aren't really meant for media) that are hit or miss.

Of course, now that I say that you're going to be the first one

-Marcus

by **rkoffler** on Sat Jun 06, 2009 10:14 am

I am very pleased with listening to PT with a Plantronics Voyager Pro on my BB Storm.

by **Shayna** on Thu Jun 25, 2009 8:41 pm

I have a Motorola 700 that works (mono) with my BB 8120 running OS 4.5. I bought a Nokia for a $1 (with rebates) from woot or another online deal site and it works also (on Mono).

Has anyone ever figured out how to disable the beeping you get when the BB doesn't have service and they want to listen to podcasts? For example, where my Mom lives, there is no tmobile, so if I want to listen to Podtrapper while I'm there, the headset beeps because the phone doesn't have service. also does it in an airplane. I tried googling the issue and never came up with anything. Thanks for any input

Shayna

by **gadgetdude** on Thu Jul 09, 2009 12:42 pm

I couldn't actually consider this a bug or a specific feature request so I thought I'd just post it here in General Discussion.

I had an AT&T Curve 8300 and to my delight Podtrapper would play perfectly through all my BT headsets - an original Jawbone in mono mode, a Jabra BT-8040 in both mono and A2DP stereo mode, and a Motorola S9 in A2DP stereo. I had read through the posts and seen that BT mono functionality was hit or miss and thought it was largely a headset kind of thing.

I recently switch carriers to a Sprint Curve 8330 and unfortunately found that I lost all mono support - works in A2DP stereo mode on both the BT-8040 and S9, but not in mono on anything.

The observation then is that mono BT functionality seems to be more of a handset hit or miss as opposed to a headset thing. Both Curves were running 4.5 BB firmware so the BT stack should be the same - wonder if the BT chip is different between the units?

Anyway - great application Marcus, aside from my basic email/cal/phone app, Podtrapper is hands down the most used application on my BB. Just thought the information might be useful if you have a chance to look back into the mono BT support features in future versions.

Editor's note: I moved this under the Bluetooth sticky to keep the discussions together - Marcus

by **diffused** on Thu Jul 09, 2009 1:13 pm

That kinda runs contrary to what I was told by Best Buy, unless I'm misunderstanding what your saying. When shopping for Bluetooth devices for my 8330, I was told that MOST monos did not work for media ie. music, (podcasts) etc. While I would have to buy a stereo hs to do this. I'm confused now.

I think the head set issue is really important as most people, including myself, need to listen either completely isolated or use a head set. Others don't care to hear my stuff.
It seems to be a hit or miss with the BT thing.

by **gadgetdude** on Thu Jul 09, 2009 2:06 pm

Actually, what you were told is accurate, with the exception of Podtrapper.

Basically, to listen to music etc via the built in BB Media player you need a headset with A2DT stereo support. One of the reasons I picked up the Jabra BT-8040 is that even though it is a tiny one ear headset, it is one of the very few that supports A2DP and will accept a stereo stream (not very useful for music but great for voice content like podcast and audio books). Unfortunately the noise reduction on the BT-8040 does not compare to my Jawbone so I kept both.

I specifically bought the BT-8040 to use for voice content via A2DP but the lack of "bookmarks" in the built in BB Media player led me to discover Podtrapper. I immediately noticed that with my Curve 8300 the BT-8040 would work on both the "Bluetooth" and "Stereo Bluetooth" Output settings on Podtrapper. I then tried my Jawbone (which never worked with the built in BB Media Player) and found that Podtrapper would stream to it fine on the "Bluetooth" Output setting.

There are two BT profiles involved here: "Headset" (typical mono) and "Stereo Headset" (A2DP Stereo)

Not sure how, but Marcus seemed to have found a way to get Podtrapper to stream to headsets that are paired in the "Headset" profile, but as I indicated in my original post it seems to vary depending on the handset involved - works on my 8300, not on the 8330 with the same hedsets.

So, at least at the moment on our 8330s you need a BT device that supports the A2DP "Stereo Headset" profile.

by **diffused** on Thu Jul 09, 2009 5:25 pm

Wow, you really have done research on these things. I always wished there would be 'one unit does it all'.
Thanks for all this good information.

by **marwatk** on Thu Jul 09, 2009 7:27 pm

Thanks for posting this, it's hugely informative. I wonder, though, if there are any mono headsets that would work with your new device. The jawbone is probably a good test here. Does anyone have a jawbone that doesn't work, and another mono one that does? (For the record [most] mono headsets work with my 8320, I will cry if that stops on my next phone).

-Marcus

by **gadgetdude** on Fri Jul 10, 2009 5:52 am

One other interesting observation - on the new 8330 it seems to be "trying" to play on the mono channel. What I mean is that if I have something playing and switch to an Output that is not present (like Stereo Bluetooth without an A2DP device connected) Podtrapper will appropriately pop up an error that is can't switch to the new Output selected. On the other hand, with both the Jawnbone and the BT-8040 when I select "Bluetooth" in mono mode I can hear them actually turn on and they are streaming silence - like the sound you would hear between tracks - and no error pop-up. As soon as I select another Output I can hear them "shut off".

Still think it is a handset/chipset thing. With the BT-8040 which pairs in both mono and stereo modes at the same time, on the 8330 when I switch Output to "Bluetoooth" and I get the silent "hiss" switch Output to "Bluetooth Stereo" and I can hear the Podcast fine. On the 8300 I could switch between Mono and Stereo and both worked fine (preferred Mono - sounded better - a bit louder)

Please let me know if there is any logs of other testing I could do that might narrow things down.

by **marwatk** on Sat Jul 11, 2009 12:21 pm

There's not much more testing I can think from my end. Unfortunately the extent of what PodTrapper can do to 'fix' it on devices is effectively nil. The only mechanism for routing the output is to say "Play to bluetooth", from there it's all up to the OS.

-Marcus

by **corronchos** on Wed Jul 22, 2009 8:42 am

My 2 cents...

We have PT installed on both a Verizon Curve 8330 and the new Tour. We paired a BlueAnt Z9i to both with very different results. The Tour works fine when selecting an output of either Auto or Bluetooth. With the Curve, as others have mentioned, you hear a hiss turn on but no audio comes through. The Curve is running OS 4.5.0.160.

by **Vmax8** on Tue Aug 04, 2009 2:43 am

I use following headsets and Bluetooth speakers and they all work well with Podtrapper:

- Sennheiser MM200 (A2DP)
- Sennheiser VMX100 ("normal" Bluetooth mono)
- Plantronics Voyager Pro ("normal" Bluetooth mono)
- FoxLmb (A2DP)
- Sony HBH-IS800 (A2DP), by the way for it's size an incredible stereo Bluetooth headset

by **Jason** on Wed Aug 12, 2009 10:59 am

How do you change the output?

by **diffused** on Wed Aug 12, 2009 11:09 am

Click on a podcast and go clear into the play screen; the one with the start, stop, play bar etc. Pull up the menu and there will be an option for Select Output.

by **mtech** on Tue Aug 25, 2009 12:33 pm

I don't know if this will help anyone but I was waiting to buy PT until I was sure BT worked. BT was not working for me.

What I discovered is that to get BT to work, I had to:

EXIT PT completely, then initiate a pairing to my BT headphones, and then open PT.

Now it works fine. I do have to specify "Bluetooth Stereo" on PT. (Auto and Bluetooth settings do not work for my headset.) I'm off to purchase a registered version. PT is everything I ever wanted.

FYI, my equipment details.

Phone: BB 8830 (World)

Carrier: VZW (USA)

OS: 4.5.0.138

PT version: 2.1.0

Headphones: Motorola S9 (the first generation)

Hope that helps!!!

by **diffused** on Tue Aug 25, 2009 2:06 pm

Wow, that's an amazing discovery. Thanks for that info. Is the bluetooth headset the single earpeice kind, or a stero headset?

by **mtech** on Tue Aug 25, 2009 2:45 pm

diffused wrote:Wow, that's an amazing discovery. Thanks for that info. Is the bluetooth headset the single earpeice kind, or a stero headset?

Single, wrap-around type. I love it but it gets mixed reviews. (what doesn't!) Won't say more in an attempt to stay on topic. But here is a link to the motorola page on the S9: http://direct.motorola.com/ens/s9/Headset_Home.asp

by **marwatk** on Tue Aug 25, 2009 5:45 pm

Thanks for letting me know on that.

I'm always looking for ways to make that work better. It's literally a single function call that podtrapper has to control this behavior, so I don't have much flexibility and these workarounds really help.

-Marcus

by **andrewnyc** on Tue Sep 01, 2009 9:22 pm

So far my Jabra BT-530 has worked great with PT!

by **bellemead** on Fri Sep 18, 2009 7:47 pm

FWIW you can get a "mono" version of the stereo BT8010 made by Jabra with just the control ear piece in a bag with the A/C charger and USB cable on Amazon for between $15-$25. The unit is A2DP but of course, you'll only hear out of one ear. But for listening to talk Podcasts it's perfect. Works fine with my BB Tour and PT.

by **dgennetten** on Sun Sep 20, 2009 5:30 pm

I use the excellent Motorola S805.

If you use the BB Media Player, you can even control Play/Pause and Next/Prev from the headset!

Unfortunately, support for the BB player in PodTrapper isnt all that great, in my experience so far.

by **mtech** on Sun Sep 20, 2009 6:58 pm

From reading other posts, my understanding is that the BB OS restricts access to BT remote control features. I hear vers 5.0 for BB device may allow developers such as Marcus to interact with the remote control via BT features.

by **hsm** on Wed Oct 07, 2009 11:17 am

I have a BB Tour (Verizon). Works very well with a Plantronics PULSAR 590A (Stereo).

by **sjordan93436** on Mon Oct 12, 2009 6:53 pm

I have a Storm (verizon) 4.7 with podtrapper 2.5.1 and Jabra BT 3030.

I can hear the podtrapper ok, but the buttons do not work? Is that the OS or the podtrapper?

On 2.5.0 the buttons did work (sort of). Pressing Play would stop the podtrapper and start the media.

by **arkolbus** on Tue Oct 13, 2009 3:45 am

sjordan93436 wrote:I have a Storm (verizon) 4.7 with podtrapper 2.5.1 and Jabra BT 3030.

I can hear the podtrapper ok, but the buttons do not work? Is that the OS or the podtrapper?

On 2.5.0 the buttons did work (sort of). Pressing Play would stop the podtrapper and start the media.

RIM doesn't pass the control messages from BT buttons on to third party programs. So, BBMP, the phone application, voice dialer, etc. respond to the controls, but PT can't. Maybe this is changing in OS 5.0?

by **leebryan** on Thu Oct 29, 2009 6:57 am

I use a Motorola s9-hd head set, works great with Podtrapper.
From time to time my Bold will crash, turn off, reboot itself, always seems to be when I'm listening to the headset, but I don't think it's a Podtrapper problem, since it happens even when not in Podtrapper.

by **jsciii** on Wed Mar 10, 2010 1:05 pm

rkoffler posted that e could use PT with his Plantronics Pro on his Storm, but I don't have it working yet on My Curve 8330m. (On the other hand, my Plantronics 855 Voyager works well. [I'd like to switch to a backup headset when I need to recharge the 855.])

So, is his system enough different from mine that the hardware/OS is causing my problem or am I doing something wrong?

My 8330m is running 4.5.0.186 from Sprint.

After successfully listening with the 855, I Close PodTrapper. In Set Up Bluetooth, I disconnect the 855 and connect the Plantronics Pro. The only capability it displays is "Handsfree." Then, I click on the PT icon and Select Output and choose Handsfree.

Jamie

by **marwatk** on Wed Mar 10, 2010 7:15 pm

Hi Jamie,

You'll want to always choose either "Stereo Bluetooth" or "Bluetooth". Those are the only two options that will output via a wireless headset (to my knowledge, definitely correct me if I'm wrong). Unfortunately if those don't work, that's about it, everything else is up to the OS...

-Marcus

by **parrot738** on Thu Apr 29, 2010 2:46 pm

Great advice, all. My Plantronics Explorer 222 would not work with Podtrapper on my Blackberry Curve 8330. The Plantronics Voyager 855 from the listed sets that work not only works but does what I want it to: convert from a mono to a stereo set. Only $81 on Amazon. It even controls the volume and tracks forward and backward in mono or stereo mode. The only downside is that the stereo mode isn't that great but I use it for podcasts mostly. :mrgreen:

by **g1gy** on Fri Aug 26, 2011 7:37 am

My Nokia BH-102 mono worked fine with my Bold 9000, but has stopped working now that I've upgraded to a 9900. They're cheap too ($20).

I'm hoping the OS 7 issue is a software thing so I don't have to buy another set of headphones.

by **arkolbus** on Thu Nov 03, 2011 3:16 pm

Just thought I'd share something I've recently discovered:

In a pinch, if you want to listen to audio on a mono bluetooth headset that doesn't support music streaming (lack of a2dp?), there's an android app that will do it. Search the market for super bt mono. Works great with pt and my plantronics 220. Audio quality isn't great, but it works fine for voice podcasts when I don't have my headphones.

by **Khue** on Wed Jan 08, 2014 12:44 pm

Sennheiser MM100s work perfectly.