23 ms·

Jabra: we know our Bluetooth headsets don’t work with laptops

249 points by dandare 8y ago

andrewvc 8y ago
Even if the OP had gotten the headset working with bluetooth they'd be disappointed. On Macs at least, using a headset with mic via bluetooth you get 8khz sampling, even if the headset can do more. Sounds terrible. Tried a bunch of esoteric plist changes to fix it. I switched to a USB wireless setup which works much better. Supposedly there are fixes (http://ssrubin.com/posts/fixing-macos-bluetooth-headphone-audio-quality-issues-with-hammerspoon.html http://ssrubin.com/posts/fixing-macos-bluetooth-headphone-au...) for this, but none worked for me.
- hprotagonist 8y ago
  https://gumroad.com/l/airbuddy https://gumroad.com/l/airbuddy I stumbled across this the other day. Airpod only, but it promises to bump the sampling rate among other things.
- SmellyGeekBoy 8y ago
  How odd. In Ubuntu it's just a case of changing the Bluetooth audio codec from a dropdown in the sound control panel. I set it once for my earbuds and it's worked fine ever since.
  - Shoue 8y ago
    A2DP (the one that doesn't sound terrible) doesn't work with the headset microphone so you'd be using your computer's microphone instead. It's a shame that Linux generally only supports two profiles that aren't all that great. IIRC there is some traction behind another profile somewhere but it isn't ready yet I assume, otherwise we'd see it now.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
AdmiralAsshat 8y ago
I do wish we could collectively arrive at a better standard for customer support than "Support by Public Shaming". I'll admit to having used the "Send an email blast to the company executives" method in the past for dealing with airlines and telcos, but I feel like even that was a tad more discrete. At least it was an internal email and not a Twitter rant or a blog post. Regrettably, most companies seem to be removing their executive emails from public-facing pages, making the social media bomb the last and increasingly most common resort. I suppose if we had a federal consumer protection bureau that actually had teeth, this wouldn't be necessary.
- darkpuma 8y ago
  It's not up to the customers to improve this state of affairs. It's entirely in the hands of the companies.
  - BlackFly 8y ago
    The customers can rally their elected officials to legislate guaranteed 1+ year warranties... this is what European customers did a while back.
    - darkpuma 8y ago
      That won't stop companies from giving customers the run around, therefore it won't obliviate the need to publicly shame companies to get issues resolved. It's not even clear what "1+ year warranty" would mean for many industries in which there isn't a physical good being sold. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for business regulation. I support mandatory warranties and the like. But it's not going to resolve the perceived social issue of customers shaming corporations for bad behavior, because companies will always find new bad behavior that skirts the law. Even if you have a legislature that's on top of the situation, there will still be a delay between when a company invents new bad behavior and when the legislature can create a new law against it. If it's not clear, I disagree that this behavior is even an issue. People shaming companies isn't the problem; companies doing things worth shaming is the problem.
brootstrap 8y ago
I know people love the wireless thing. But if you want some nice over ear cans, and dont mind a wire. Sennheiser HD 280 i think , should be around 100 bucks. Not sure who Jabra is but if it's some kind of fancy startup making headphones. No thanks. I will stick to people who do actual audio work to make my headphones please.
- gilrain 8y ago
  Jabra has been a leading manufacturer of ear pieces since they became a thing in the dumbphone era. Not a startup.
  - rhombocombus 8y ago
    And to add to that many of their telephony products are best in class. I sometimes regret that my biz-2400 has a wire on it, but it has the best noise cancellation of any headset I have ever used and is a pleasure to use all day. Not a shill, but I use their headsets for hours a day and my experiences with their wired products are overwhelmingly positive. I think this is a shoddy BT implementation.
giarc 8y ago
I bought an Asus Chromebook recently and one of the intentions was to pair it to my iPhone to get internet connectivity while commuting to work. Turns out Chromebooks can't pair with phones, I have to use a wifi hotspot instead.
- Skylled 8y ago
  Until just this week, Chrome OS's Instant Tethering was exclusive to Google's Pixel and Nexus phones, and was clearly advertised as such. Even now, the feature is only available for a small selection of phones (relative to the vast number of Androids in the wild). Just use your phone's hotspot feature. The amount of time saving between using your native tethering vs Instant Tethering is negligible.
  - Filligree 8y ago
    The instant tethering function actually doesn't use Bluetooth, except to set things up. If you pay attention, you'll notice the phone disconnecting from any WiFi network it might be connected to.
- tomp 8y ago
  What's wrong with using a WiFi hotspot? I though that's the only way...
- tyingq 8y ago
  It can pair with phones: https://support.google.com/chromebook/answer/7457148 https://support.google.com/chromebook/answer/7457148 Just not iPhones, apparently. Though the WiFi hotspot feature on my Android is just easier anyway.
- Wildgoose 8y ago
  Chromebooks CAN pair with Android mobile phones, just not iPhones, where as you say, you need to create a WiFi hotspot.
giancarlostoro 8y ago
I've never known Bluetooth to not produce a miserable experience at some time or another. It's inconsistently bad in some cases too. I hate setting up bluetooth on my car the most, I need to "Talk" to my car, and I can't just do it while stopped at a red light, I have to shut off my car and do it before I go. I still havent redone it since I upgraded phones last year... I just plug into the aux port while driving.
- dawnerd 8y ago
  That’s exactly why I made sure my car had CarPlay. Not a single issue.
- untog 8y ago
  I was disappointed to find that Airpods, while better, aren't great either. I find the audio cuts out a lot when I pass through busy streets in NYC, and I often get into some kind of pairing weirdness where my phone simply won't play through the Airpods. Still better than most Bluetooth solutions, though.
  - jowiar 8y ago
    My AirPods work fine in NYC, with the exception of one specific place: The Oculus. I would love to know why.
    - untog 8y ago
      For me it's areas a few blocks around Times Square. The only thought I had (and maybe the Oculus is the same) is that the sheer number of people also using Airpods in the area means everything gets confused.
      - rogy 8y ago
        Same, in London, walking down Oxford Street at 6pm can mean almost constant ‘diruptions’ over my AirPods.
      - 8y ago
sametmax 8y ago
That's too bad, because they got very good products. I love my jabra elite 65 t, they are the first ones that allowed me to make peace with the dreaded wireless ear plugs. I basically live with them, I can't recall the last time I put my phone on my ear or put the music on speakers. But yes, I can't make them work with my Ubuntu laptop. This sucks, especially for a 180 euros product.
ikeboy 8y ago
Anyone have a Bluetooth earbuds that works flawlessly with Ubuntu? I recently got a pair of Funcl AI buds, works great with my phone but I connect on computer and there's constant skipping. I gather this is a common problem.
- PascLeRasc 8y ago
  MEE Audio MB6 work fine for me on Elementary 5.0 Juno. They're also great for the gym and I'm pretty happy with the sound.
- sexyrouter 8y ago
  There are good ones on sale for AliExpress for $13, very good ones! I just gifted these to my girlfriend for Valentines. https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/M8BY17K https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/M8BY17K There are airpod clones there too
- martin_a 8y ago
  I'm experiencing the same issues with an IKEA speaker set which has also Bluetooth connectivity. Works fine with my One+ 3, but Ubuntu will always skip pieces of sound, when I do something else on the system. Now that I think about it, I will give it a try with Windows 10 on the second SSD to check whether it's a problem with the BT module of my Lenovo W520.
- m348e912 8y ago
  My apple airpods work well with my dell latitude. (skype conversations, music, etc) Frankly I was surprised it worked at all.
  - halbritt 8y ago
    Likewise, mine work pretty well.
- yaantc 8y ago
  Unless I missed something, if it works it'll be with the SBC codec and it's not very good. For music the BT profile is the Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP). But this is just a transport, and on top of it there can be many codecs. The only mandatory codec is SBC [1], which is BT specific and not very good. YMMV, but I prefer using a wired headphone than BT SBC. There are other options, but then you need support on both ends. The best are AAC (Apple world), LDAC (Sony, all recent Android) and AptX HD (Android, Win10 I believe but TBC...). Those are supposed to be transparent, and for LDAC at least (the only one I have personal experience with) it is to my ears. Unfortunately last time I checked only SBC was supported on Linux... So I stick to wired on my Linux laptop, and use BT with LDAC on my smartphone only. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SBC_(codec) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SBC_(codec)
corint 8y ago
I'd think that if the reseller sold the device as being capable of working with bluetooth v4 and the A2DP profile, only for that not to be the case, then you absolutely have the right to take it up with them. Surely by their not advertising the dongle limitation, that's a problem of their own making & they should honour your return. If they've a problem with that, they take it up with Jabra but leave you out of it. After all, you've got a device that speaks Bluetooth so you've got something that the product declares it'll be compatible with, and the product just.. Isn't!
- Filligree 8y ago
  Does any computer properly speak Bluetooth, in all its possible configurations, with no bugs? I'd like to take a look at that stack if so, because I've never seen it. That's not an excuse for the devices also being buggy, but I'm well beyond expecting anything else.
hotsauceror 8y ago
Seems to be a clear-cut case of false advertising if not wire fraud. Have you contacted the FTC?
- oogali 8y ago
  Maybe it's not all headsets and all laptops? I have the Jabra Elite Active 65t that I've successfully paired and continue to successfully use with a Lenovo Thinkpad X1 running Windows 10 -- no complaints.
  - johnnycab 8y ago
    I agree. I have been using and testing the Jabra Elite Sport for the last few months, by pairing them with as many older devices as possible and Thinkpad X1 (1st Gen) being amongst them. Although, the reception can be patchy on the outer range - which is probably due to the antenna and it's positioning, rather than the BT 4.0 chipset on the laptop. However, the earphones pair easily as soon as they are removed from the charging case.
  - senectus1 8y ago
    I have the same model the OP posted about, exactly the same issues as him. This whole time I've been thinking it my systems fault. Despite the fact I had it on a Surface Book and a Toshiba Portege and a Surface Pro 4. I've resigned myself to using the dangle and not using it when away from desk (dongle is plugged into the Screen on my desk). I'm going to stop buying Jabra and will probably stop the company buying them as well. Bluetooth is meant to be a universal standard. This is bullshit and shouldn't happen.
- sandebert 8y ago
  "wire fraud" I see what you did there.
mywacaday 8y ago
Reminds me of the time my wife cancelled our internet with Vodafone and three months later we got a letter to say our arrears were being referred to a debt collection agency. I spent an hour on the phone, talked to 8 different people to only end up back at the 1st person. They claimed we only cancelled the direct debit and not the account, I agreed that they would pull the call and if that was the case I'd pay what was owed. As soon as I was off the call I got a mail to say that it would cost me €6 for them to listen to their recording. I got mad and looked up the CEO of Vodafone Ireland and found her direct email on a chamber of commerce website and email her a polite description of my experience. 10am next morning I get call from the head of customer service apologising and advising me that all fees had been waived, a win so I thought. A week later I get a call from HR asking if I had emailed the head of Vodafone from my work email, we had a corporate account and Vodafone complained that I had emailed their CEO using a work account on a personal matter. I could see the person in vodafone who checked who I was on linkedin the day before I got the call from HR. That was over five years ago and I still get annoyed, gits!
- wycy 8y ago
  Is the implication here that even after going all the way up to the CEO, Vodafone still only fixed it because of your association with your company?
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
  - jomar 8y ago
    I think the implication is that Vodafone later doxxed mywacaday's work persona and retaliated. Classy.
  - MereInterest 8y ago
    I think the implication is that despite contacting the CEO through a personal email address, Vodafone looked up his employer on LinkedIn and complained to them. From the sound of it, this would be petty revenge from the customer service department, who didn't like having been put in the spotlight for poor customer service.
jwr 8y ago
I once made the mistake of buying Jabra wireless sports headphones. You know there will be a problem if you open the box and the first thing you see is a piece of paper and a phone holster, obviously thrown in at the last moment. The piece of paper says you have to use the phone holster to attach the phone to your right arm. Yes, your right arm, the closer to your right ear the better. The instructions were very specific. As it turned out, the wireless connection was indeed so crappy that it required holding the phone right next to the headphones. Don't like to attach the phone to your upper right arm? Tough luck. I have stayed away from Jabra ever since.
- paulgb 8y ago
  I'm curious which headphones they were? I have the Active 85t and I've been pretty impressed with how they stand up to the interference on a busy NYC street. The (non-Jabra) headphones I had before that had to be in a chest pocket to avoid interference. Sometimes I can forget my phone until I'm a few steps out the door because the connection goes that far.
- stronglikedan 8y ago
  Plantronics does the exact same thing with their Backbeat Fit line.
  - joshschreuder 8y ago
    I can speak from experience here, I have had both Backbeat Fit 1 and 2 (I'm using the 2 right this moment) and they are very good. The range is decent, not huge, but you certainly _don't_ have to have the phone on a particular side of your body. I can walk out of the room and still have audio, but also to be fair that's not really their use case.
    - stronglikedan 8y ago
      I had the 2100, and the connection was spotty when I had my phone in my left pocket. Their proposed solution was to carry my phone on the right pocket. My accepted solution was to return the defective device.
Sholmesy 8y ago
I'm wondering about the technical issues they have with on-board bluetooth, specifically saying they only provide support for a USB dongle, and not on-board BT. I have routinely, with multiple computers seen that on-board BT has been flakey (MBP 2015, Zotac EN960, Zotac EN1060K, and a custom built PC w/ Intel on-board BT) with multiple devices (Bose QC35 headphones, multiple different BT keyboards). The experience has always required me to get a dongle, which works significantly better. Is there something to this, or is it just the standard issue of interference with the built-in bluetooth, or perhaps just bad luck on my part? On top of this, I have never had any issue with any non-bluetooth RF wireless device, from mice to headphones and others. They seem to be significantly better.
- xnyan 8y ago
  One of the problems with achieving a good bluetooth experience is that there is not really one thing called "bluetooth", but rather a big stack of specifications that are implemented by different parties. A USB 2.0 BT adapter is very generic and probably well supported by more bluetooth devices and software stacks than integrated BT adapters.
  - Sholmesy 8y ago
    Hmm this is a good point, I imagine just by sheer volume it must be well supported. I would've assumed the Intel BT chipsets and the Macbook Pro ones would've been as well, though perhaps I had duds.
texan 8y ago
"Wait, are you saying the headset can’t connect to a computer via native Bluetooth? And you knew it the whole time? While you asked me to try a different device, to update drivers, to install Jabra software, to meet with your technician… You were just trying to wear me down?!?" This encapsulates what is most wrong and abhorrent about US customer service. This methodology is employed by thousands of companies, it is ingrained in the culture of their customer service reps. It is a "Never Back Down" attitude. They will consistently string a desperate customer along, through a maze of reps and procedures, knowing that the customer is more likely to burn out and give up before realizing that the road they are being led down does not result in resolution of the issue. There are companies that do not engage in such behavior, yet they are primarily B2B rather than consumer facing, and usually in regard to items that are being purchased in the dollar range of tens and hundreds of thousands.
- robk 8y ago
  It's far far worse in Europe ESPECIALLY if offshored to a low GDP country.
  - carlob 8y ago
    But in Europe we have stronger customer protection laws: if something doesn't work as advertised you have 1-3 years (depending on the country) to bring it back to whoever sold it to you. Then it's their problem to deal with the manufacturer.
    - vinay427 8y ago
      In practice, it's far less effective than what most Americans enjoy. Return policies are usually abysmal in most of Europe, to begin with, and long term support is only technically better because of more regulations on warranties. In practice, American firms are far more lenient with their policies and credit cards alone provide more protections than most all of the EU regulations seek to implement.
      - rb666 8y ago
jdlyga 8y ago
I have Jabra Move bluetooth headphones. They're really good, but have slight bluetooth issues. I have to constantly delete and re-pair them. But I have it working with iOS, Windows, Linux, etc.
tomphoolery 8y ago
My Jabra Move headset does technically work with my laptop, but I have to perform some kind of reset because just switching the headphones on doesn't connect fully to my computer. It will look like it's connected, but nothing plays through the headphones. Only way to get both iTunes and computer audio to play through them is to hold the on switch for a few seconds until I hear a ding and a voice speak "To connect Move, go to the Bluetooth menu on the phone, and select it from the list" I also tried installing that shitty Jabra app that basically was a huge waste of time. Didn't try contacting them, but I assume they'd just try to throw the problem over the fence and say my Bluetooth drivers in macOS were shitty or something. It's not the most amazing experience, but they do sound very good.
yingw787 8y ago
The no-questions-asked 90-day money back guarantee was one of the best decisions we ever made at Fog Creek. Try this: use Fog Creek Copilot for a full 24 hours, call up three months later and say, “hey guys, I need $5 for a cup of coffee. Give me back my money from that Copilot day pass,” and we’ll give it back to you. Try calling on the 91st or 92nd or 203rd day. You’ll still get it back. We really don’t want your money if you’re not satisfied. I’m pretty sure we’re running the only job listing service around that will refund your money just because your ad didn’t work. This is unheard of, but it means we get a lot more ad listings, because there’s nothing to lose. Over the last six years or so, letting people return software has cost us 2%. - Joel Spolsky (https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2007/02/19/seven-steps-to-remarkable-customer-service/ https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2007/02/19/seven-steps-to-rem...)
- Casseres 8y ago
  I think you posted in the wrong thread. Did you mean to post in Ask HN: Did offering a money-back guarantee help your business? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19085526 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19085526
  - gknoy 8y ago
    While that is a good fit for this comment, it _does_ fit in this thread as well. Others are talking about how common terrible support is, where getting money back for a terrible product requires invoking the court, etc. The GP posted an example of _excellent_ service, the kind that most vendors should aspire to -- and included notes that doing so doesn't seem to have a big impact on the bottom line. The counterpoint is, if your product genuinely is terrible, the cost of such a guarantee would be too high to bear.
  - yingw787 8y ago
    I did see that thread, but I wanted to post this here too. If you are worried about incumbents while starting a company, just remember your customers are used to being treated like how Jabra treats its customers, and if you treat your customers like Joel does, you shouldn't need to worry too much about customer retention and growth (other aspects nonwithstanding).
JustSomeNobody 8y ago
> I guess I am going to auction it off for the benefit of the local foster home institute. As a foster parent, thank you for that.
JadeNB 8y ago
We have a Fischer & Paykel vent hood, which we bought while renovating our kitchen specifically because of its advertised low noise level. It sounds like a jet engine revving up whenever it's running, even on the lowest setting. F&P sent out two technicians in succession, both of whom confirm (as registered, for example, by a decibel meter on our phone) that it's about 70% louder than advertised, even on its lowest setting; and then they straight up lied on their reports, saying (in so many words) that we were imagining the noise, or merely that we were 'dissatisfied'. Months in, and the only resolution we've got is that they've offered to give us a discount on another vent hood—which, presumably, also won't perform to specifications …. There's got to be some reliable form of—excuse my optimism; I'm sure there isn't, but there should be some reliable form of redress for a product that simply, in a documented fashion, doesn't perform up to specifications. Companies advertise what they feel like without fear, because they don't experience repercussions for this false advertising.
andersonmvd 8y ago
A bit different, but as a curiosity my AirPod also does not work my Macbook in a high speed train. The connection with an iPhone works perfectly on the other hand. I wonder what's the challenge for laptops to make bluetooth work properly.
moron4hire 8y ago
I really like my AfterShokz Trekz Air headphones. They work with all my devices. They reliably pair and don't oddly lose pairing status between any of them [0]. They are comfortable and sound pretty great once situated correctly. Not the greatest sound (a bit thin in the bass if they get out of alignment), but they are bone conducting and I generally use them to listen to music and still be able to hear the outside world. The behind-the-head band also makes it really easy to use them with all sorts of other head-mounted devices I have, like my brainwave sensor or my VR and AR headsets. For about 100USD, I've used them a lot more than my Sennheiser HD 4.50 BT headphones, which have a very annoying, periodic click when used in BT mode. [0] Having worked on Bluetooth devices, this basically happens in devices because they reset their own hardware ID on complete power loss. Which is stupid. The hardware ID need never be reset unless explicitly requested by the user.
kinard 8y ago
Do you not have a small claims court in your area? Here in the UK if a product is not as described then you are entitled to a full refund from the supplier (not the manufacturer). As they are the ones you have a contract with. The supplier can take it up with the manufacturer. No help from the supplier? Then sue them, I've done that several times, it's cheap, easy and quick. I've never had a failure suing a business for a consumer protection issue. https://www.smallclaimscourtgenie.co.uk/money-claim-online/ https://www.smallclaimscourtgenie.co.uk/money-claim-online/
nadavami 8y ago
I'm surprised. I have the exact same headset (Jabra Evolve 75) at work and have had no issues at all using it on my 2018 MacBook Pro. I use it daily for Slack and other VoIP calls as well as to listen to music. I usually have it paired to my phone as well, but it works just as well connected solely to the Mac. That said, I did have an issue once with it when trying to play a game on Steam. I couldn't hear the in-game audio, only other players speaking.
- JeremyNT 8y ago
  I have a different Jabra headset (Elite 65t) which works fine on my Linux laptop. And the title of the OP's article is actually misleading - Jabra says they don't support the configuration, not that it "won't work." This is actually totally understandable to me, the bluetooth hardware/software ecosystem in PCs is esoteric and frustrating, and it makes sense that Jabra would provide a solution that bypasses it.
- dandare 8y ago
  Interesting. I think Jabra itself does not understand why the Bluetooth connection does (not) work.
- cptskippy 8y ago
  Bluetooth uses different Profiles for the same functions but different purposes: A2DP is for HiFi (ahahah) stereo audio uni directional. HSP is for headsets, it supports "LAB" audio and headset controls (e.g. volume, answer/hangup). HFP is for hands-free in cars and support "LAB" audio and overlaps HFP with controls. AVRCP is for media controls which overlaps HSP (e.g. play/pause, skip/previous, volume) So a problem with Bluetooth is that a device can support all of these profiles but usually not all at once. They have no built in Mux so can't take audio over A2DP and HSP and combine them. So the host must negotiate all of the Profiles and then decide which is the most appropriate to use since it can't do all at once. I occasionally have a problem in my car where it establishes the A2DP connection and streams audio but not AVRCP so I can't control it. On Windows 10, when you have a Headset connected that supports A2DP, HFP, HSP, and AVRCP things get interesting. If you're listening to music it will be streamed via A2DP to the headset, but if you get a VOIP call Windows switches to HSP to access the Mic but your headset can't Mux audio so it kills the A2DP connection. Windows will then helpfully stream your music either over HSP which sounds like ass or it will pump it out the laptop speakers. The solution I came up with is to disable HSP/HFP on Windows and route all audio capture to the build in Microphone instead of the Headset's. Based on your description of playing Steam, I'm guessing MacOS is doing something similar. The headset can't Mux audio so it's dropping A2DP in favor of HSP audio, which would explain why you lose in-game audio but not VOIP. I'll have to play around with my Mac and see how it handles this.
Shoue 8y ago
I had the Jabra Evolve 75 at my old job and they worked fine with my Dell XPS 13 running Ubuntu. I never had to use the dongle but during video calls it used the terrible HSP profile that is the only call profile Linux supports. I ended up keeping it on A2DP and using my laptop mic instead.
who-knows95 8y ago
i am always glad to see this kinda thing. i'm currently talking to a game dev team that don't seem to understand that their TOS doesn't overshadow my countries law.
coding123 8y ago
Is there a perfect BT headset out there? I'm still using this: https://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Headset-H390-Noise-Cancelling/dp/B000UXZQ42/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1549472816&sr=8-4&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=logitech+headset+with+microphone&dpPl=1&dpID=31DUeeauN-L&ref=plSrch https://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Headset-H390-Noise-Cancellin... Because BT audio sounds horrible to me.
cowmix 8y ago
This is weird. I'm wearing this headset RIGHT now it is the ONLY BT headset that works, with HD quality on both my mac AND my Pixel 2 cell phone. It is amazing..
- cowmix 8y ago
  This is a sample of USB and BT connectivity tests.
  - cowmix 8y ago
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKDchhDUlNw&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKDchhDUlNw&feature=youtu.be
- Arkanosis 8y ago
  Same here: my girlfriend and I both use this headset every single day with PCs from ASUS and Lenovo, running Arch, Ubuntu and Windows 10, as well as phones from OnePlus and Xiaomi running different releases of Android, and it works very well. I can understand Jabra's support if some vendors ship poor BT chips… I've had so many issues with BT in other products…
halbritt 8y ago
I think this is just a simple case of Bluetooth being terrible on PCs and hard to develop for. FWIW, I've been using a BlueParrott B350-XT for years. It's worked on MacOS, Ubuntu, and IOS, although multi-pairing gets kind of weird sometimes so I keep it single-paired to my iphone. I chose it because I often do calls in noisy environments and it has both great volume and the best noise canceling of any other headset on the market that I could find. From what I can tell, the company got its start selling to OTR truck drivers and gained market share against Plantronics and Jabra because their products suck so much. Not shilling, no relationship to the company, have bought a couple of these with my own money and will immediately pay to replace the one I currently have if it ever gets lost or is broken. If anyone is considering their products, the ones listed as "blocking 96% of background noise" have their in-house developed noise canceling that everyone raves about.
- halbritt 8y ago
  ...and it looks like Jabra acquired them a while back. Nice.
josefresco 8y ago
I'm confused by the PPS: A few weeks later the reseller informed me that the authorized repair shop accepted my headset as defective and replaced it with a new one under warranty. I guess I am going to auction it off for the benefit of the local foster home institute. So was this another lie, or was his headset actually defective?
- dandare 8y ago
  Call it a lie or a corporate policy - they simply replace a handset that does not work as advertised with a new one that will not work as advertised.
Hengjie 8y ago
TLDR: I think this guy just received bad customer support, and likely an actual defective device. Author seems to be overdramatic about a mistake by their support team. Their Jabra Evolve 75's are actually solid. I have 2 of them in my office, and we recently just purchased another pair. They work with and without the USB dongle. The reason why the USB dongle is there is because the bluetooth spec for live calls are not in the HD profile. It's likely not in HD to reduce latency. Therefore, they originally created the Link 370 dongle to use their own proprietary connection to get HD microphone quality, and instant pairing; this is a MUST in a busy office environment. I'm 100% certain their support made a mistake and said the device only works with the dongle. I've also tested it's bluetooth with USBC Macbooks and it works perfectly fine. I suspect he had a defective unit. Other notes about this 75: - Connects with two devices at the same time, and switches between them over bluetooth ala Bose QC35 bluetooth. - Does not charge over USBC, but over Micro USB. - There are regular firmware updates for the Link 370, and their other Jabra devices.
zulrah 8y ago
I also have a Jabra headset. I bought it from Amazon I chatted to amazon support about the issues I have with it and they told me to keep a headset and issued a full refund
nwah1 8y ago
Was unable to get my Jabra Elite 65t to connect to my Surface Book at work. Glad to know it wasn't any fault of my own. Will avoid Jabra in the future.
ufmace 8y ago
Along those same lines, I've gotten extremely reluctant to buy any paid subscription to any internet service, because virtually all of them have a bad cancellation system. Almost all require either calling or emailing support to cancel your account, which hopefully won't keep you waiting long or spend a while trying to convince you not to cancel after all.
Tagbert 8y ago
I use a pair of Jabra Evolve 75 headphones and use them over bluetooth on my Apple Macbook Pro nearly every day. I love them because the microphones do an excellent job of transmitting my voice and suppressing of the chatter from people nearby. I don't say that no one else should have a problem but just to counter some of the comment here that imply that these headphones never work with Bluetooth. Now about that customer support...

249 points by dandare 8y ago

Even if the OP had gotten the headset working with bluetooth they'd be disappointed. On Macs at least, using a headset with mic via bluetooth you get 8khz sampling, even if the headset can do more. Sounds terrible. Tried a bunch of esoteric plist changes to fix it. I switched to a USB wireless setup which works much better. Supposedly there are fixes (http://ssrubin.com/posts/fixing-macos-bluetooth-headphone-audio-quality-issues-with-hammerspoon.html http://ssrubin.com/posts/fixing-macos-bluetooth-headphone-au...) for this, but none worked for me.

hprotagonist 8y ago
https://gumroad.com/l/airbuddy https://gumroad.com/l/airbuddy I stumbled across this the other day. Airpod only, but it promises to bump the sampling rate among other things.
SmellyGeekBoy 8y ago
How odd. In Ubuntu it's just a case of changing the Bluetooth audio codec from a dropdown in the sound control panel. I set it once for my earbuds and it's worked fine ever since.
- Shoue 8y ago
  A2DP (the one that doesn't sound terrible) doesn't work with the headset microphone so you'd be using your computer's microphone instead. It's a shame that Linux generally only supports two profiles that aren't all that great. IIRC there is some traction behind another profile somewhere but it isn't ready yet I assume, otherwise we'd see it now.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

AdmiralAsshat 8y ago

I do wish we could collectively arrive at a better standard for customer support than "Support by Public Shaming". I'll admit to having used the "Send an email blast to the company executives" method in the past for dealing with airlines and telcos, but I feel like even that was a tad more discrete. At least it was an internal email and not a Twitter rant or a blog post. Regrettably, most companies seem to be removing their executive emails from public-facing pages, making the social media bomb the last and increasingly most common resort. I suppose if we had a federal consumer protection bureau that actually had teeth, this wouldn't be necessary.

darkpuma 8y ago
It's not up to the customers to improve this state of affairs. It's entirely in the hands of the companies.
- BlackFly 8y ago
  The customers can rally their elected officials to legislate guaranteed 1+ year warranties... this is what European customers did a while back.
  - darkpuma 8y ago
    That won't stop companies from giving customers the run around, therefore it won't obliviate the need to publicly shame companies to get issues resolved. It's not even clear what "1+ year warranty" would mean for many industries in which there isn't a physical good being sold. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for business regulation. I support mandatory warranties and the like. But it's not going to resolve the perceived social issue of customers shaming corporations for bad behavior, because companies will always find new bad behavior that skirts the law. Even if you have a legislature that's on top of the situation, there will still be a delay between when a company invents new bad behavior and when the legislature can create a new law against it. If it's not clear, I disagree that this behavior is even an issue. People shaming companies isn't the problem; companies doing things worth shaming is the problem.

brootstrap 8y ago

I know people love the wireless thing. But if you want some nice over ear cans, and dont mind a wire. Sennheiser HD 280 i think , should be around 100 bucks. Not sure who Jabra is but if it's some kind of fancy startup making headphones. No thanks. I will stick to people who do actual audio work to make my headphones please.

gilrain 8y ago
Jabra has been a leading manufacturer of ear pieces since they became a thing in the dumbphone era. Not a startup.
- rhombocombus 8y ago
  And to add to that many of their telephony products are best in class. I sometimes regret that my biz-2400 has a wire on it, but it has the best noise cancellation of any headset I have ever used and is a pleasure to use all day. Not a shill, but I use their headsets for hours a day and my experiences with their wired products are overwhelmingly positive. I think this is a shoddy BT implementation.

giarc 8y ago

I bought an Asus Chromebook recently and one of the intentions was to pair it to my iPhone to get internet connectivity while commuting to work. Turns out Chromebooks can't pair with phones, I have to use a wifi hotspot instead.

Skylled 8y ago
Until just this week, Chrome OS's Instant Tethering was exclusive to Google's Pixel and Nexus phones, and was clearly advertised as such. Even now, the feature is only available for a small selection of phones (relative to the vast number of Androids in the wild). Just use your phone's hotspot feature. The amount of time saving between using your native tethering vs Instant Tethering is negligible.
- Filligree 8y ago
  The instant tethering function actually doesn't use Bluetooth, except to set things up. If you pay attention, you'll notice the phone disconnecting from any WiFi network it might be connected to.
tomp 8y ago
What's wrong with using a WiFi hotspot? I though that's the only way...
tyingq 8y ago
It can pair with phones: https://support.google.com/chromebook/answer/7457148 https://support.google.com/chromebook/answer/7457148 Just not iPhones, apparently. Though the WiFi hotspot feature on my Android is just easier anyway.
Wildgoose 8y ago
Chromebooks CAN pair with Android mobile phones, just not iPhones, where as you say, you need to create a WiFi hotspot.

giancarlostoro 8y ago

I've never known Bluetooth to not produce a miserable experience at some time or another. It's inconsistently bad in some cases too. I hate setting up bluetooth on my car the most, I need to "Talk" to my car, and I can't just do it while stopped at a red light, I have to shut off my car and do it before I go. I still havent redone it since I upgraded phones last year... I just plug into the aux port while driving.

dawnerd 8y ago
That’s exactly why I made sure my car had CarPlay. Not a single issue.
untog 8y ago
I was disappointed to find that Airpods, while better, aren't great either. I find the audio cuts out a lot when I pass through busy streets in NYC, and I often get into some kind of pairing weirdness where my phone simply won't play through the Airpods. Still better than most Bluetooth solutions, though.
- jowiar 8y ago
  My AirPods work fine in NYC, with the exception of one specific place: The Oculus. I would love to know why.
  - untog 8y ago
    For me it's areas a few blocks around Times Square. The only thought I had (and maybe the Oculus is the same) is that the sheer number of people also using Airpods in the area means everything gets confused.
    - rogy 8y ago
      Same, in London, walking down Oxford Street at 6pm can mean almost constant ‘diruptions’ over my AirPods.
    - 8y ago

sametmax 8y ago

That's too bad, because they got very good products. I love my jabra elite 65 t, they are the first ones that allowed me to make peace with the dreaded wireless ear plugs. I basically live with them, I can't recall the last time I put my phone on my ear or put the music on speakers. But yes, I can't make them work with my Ubuntu laptop. This sucks, especially for a 180 euros product.

ikeboy 8y ago

Anyone have a Bluetooth earbuds that works flawlessly with Ubuntu? I recently got a pair of Funcl AI buds, works great with my phone but I connect on computer and there's constant skipping. I gather this is a common problem.

PascLeRasc 8y ago
MEE Audio MB6 work fine for me on Elementary 5.0 Juno. They're also great for the gym and I'm pretty happy with the sound.
sexyrouter 8y ago
There are good ones on sale for AliExpress for $13, very good ones! I just gifted these to my girlfriend for Valentines. https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/M8BY17K https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/M8BY17K There are airpod clones there too
martin_a 8y ago
I'm experiencing the same issues with an IKEA speaker set which has also Bluetooth connectivity. Works fine with my One+ 3, but Ubuntu will always skip pieces of sound, when I do something else on the system. Now that I think about it, I will give it a try with Windows 10 on the second SSD to check whether it's a problem with the BT module of my Lenovo W520.
m348e912 8y ago
My apple airpods work well with my dell latitude. (skype conversations, music, etc) Frankly I was surprised it worked at all.
- halbritt 8y ago
  Likewise, mine work pretty well.
yaantc 8y ago
Unless I missed something, if it works it'll be with the SBC codec and it's not very good. For music the BT profile is the Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP). But this is just a transport, and on top of it there can be many codecs. The only mandatory codec is SBC [1], which is BT specific and not very good. YMMV, but I prefer using a wired headphone than BT SBC. There are other options, but then you need support on both ends. The best are AAC (Apple world), LDAC (Sony, all recent Android) and AptX HD (Android, Win10 I believe but TBC...). Those are supposed to be transparent, and for LDAC at least (the only one I have personal experience with) it is to my ears. Unfortunately last time I checked only SBC was supported on Linux... So I stick to wired on my Linux laptop, and use BT with LDAC on my smartphone only. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SBC_(codec) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SBC_(codec)

corint 8y ago

I'd think that if the reseller sold the device as being capable of working with bluetooth v4 and the A2DP profile, only for that not to be the case, then you absolutely have the right to take it up with them. Surely by their not advertising the dongle limitation, that's a problem of their own making & they should honour your return. If they've a problem with that, they take it up with Jabra but leave you out of it. After all, you've got a device that speaks Bluetooth so you've got something that the product declares it'll be compatible with, and the product just.. Isn't!

Filligree 8y ago
Does any computer properly speak Bluetooth, in all its possible configurations, with no bugs? I'd like to take a look at that stack if so, because I've never seen it. That's not an excuse for the devices also being buggy, but I'm well beyond expecting anything else.

hotsauceror 8y ago

Seems to be a clear-cut case of false advertising if not wire fraud. Have you contacted the FTC?

oogali 8y ago
Maybe it's not all headsets and all laptops? I have the Jabra Elite Active 65t that I've successfully paired and continue to successfully use with a Lenovo Thinkpad X1 running Windows 10 -- no complaints.
- johnnycab 8y ago
  I agree. I have been using and testing the Jabra Elite Sport for the last few months, by pairing them with as many older devices as possible and Thinkpad X1 (1st Gen) being amongst them. Although, the reception can be patchy on the outer range - which is probably due to the antenna and it's positioning, rather than the BT 4.0 chipset on the laptop. However, the earphones pair easily as soon as they are removed from the charging case.
- senectus1 8y ago
  I have the same model the OP posted about, exactly the same issues as him. This whole time I've been thinking it my systems fault. Despite the fact I had it on a Surface Book and a Toshiba Portege and a Surface Pro 4. I've resigned myself to using the dangle and not using it when away from desk (dongle is plugged into the Screen on my desk). I'm going to stop buying Jabra and will probably stop the company buying them as well. Bluetooth is meant to be a universal standard. This is bullshit and shouldn't happen.
sandebert 8y ago
"wire fraud" I see what you did there.

mywacaday 8y ago

Reminds me of the time my wife cancelled our internet with Vodafone and three months later we got a letter to say our arrears were being referred to a debt collection agency. I spent an hour on the phone, talked to 8 different people to only end up back at the 1st person. They claimed we only cancelled the direct debit and not the account, I agreed that they would pull the call and if that was the case I'd pay what was owed. As soon as I was off the call I got a mail to say that it would cost me €6 for them to listen to their recording. I got mad and looked up the CEO of Vodafone Ireland and found her direct email on a chamber of commerce website and email her a polite description of my experience. 10am next morning I get call from the head of customer service apologising and advising me that all fees had been waived, a win so I thought. A week later I get a call from HR asking if I had emailed the head of Vodafone from my work email, we had a corporate account and Vodafone complained that I had emailed their CEO using a work account on a personal matter. I could see the person in vodafone who checked who I was on linkedin the day before I got the call from HR. That was over five years ago and I still get annoyed, gits!

wycy 8y ago
Is the implication here that even after going all the way up to the CEO, Vodafone still only fixed it because of your association with your company?
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- jomar 8y ago
  I think the implication is that Vodafone later doxxed mywacaday's work persona and retaliated. Classy.
- MereInterest 8y ago
  I think the implication is that despite contacting the CEO through a personal email address, Vodafone looked up his employer on LinkedIn and complained to them. From the sound of it, this would be petty revenge from the customer service department, who didn't like having been put in the spotlight for poor customer service.

jwr 8y ago

I once made the mistake of buying Jabra wireless sports headphones. You know there will be a problem if you open the box and the first thing you see is a piece of paper and a phone holster, obviously thrown in at the last moment. The piece of paper says you have to use the phone holster to attach the phone to your right arm. Yes, your right arm, the closer to your right ear the better. The instructions were very specific. As it turned out, the wireless connection was indeed so crappy that it required holding the phone right next to the headphones. Don't like to attach the phone to your upper right arm? Tough luck. I have stayed away from Jabra ever since.

paulgb 8y ago
I'm curious which headphones they were? I have the Active 85t and I've been pretty impressed with how they stand up to the interference on a busy NYC street. The (non-Jabra) headphones I had before that had to be in a chest pocket to avoid interference. Sometimes I can forget my phone until I'm a few steps out the door because the connection goes that far.
stronglikedan 8y ago
Plantronics does the exact same thing with their Backbeat Fit line.
- joshschreuder 8y ago
  I can speak from experience here, I have had both Backbeat Fit 1 and 2 (I'm using the 2 right this moment) and they are very good. The range is decent, not huge, but you certainly _don't_ have to have the phone on a particular side of your body. I can walk out of the room and still have audio, but also to be fair that's not really their use case.
  - stronglikedan 8y ago
    I had the 2100, and the connection was spotty when I had my phone in my left pocket. Their proposed solution was to carry my phone on the right pocket. My accepted solution was to return the defective device.

Sholmesy 8y ago

I'm wondering about the technical issues they have with on-board bluetooth, specifically saying they only provide support for a USB dongle, and not on-board BT. I have routinely, with multiple computers seen that on-board BT has been flakey (MBP 2015, Zotac EN960, Zotac EN1060K, and a custom built PC w/ Intel on-board BT) with multiple devices (Bose QC35 headphones, multiple different BT keyboards). The experience has always required me to get a dongle, which works significantly better. Is there something to this, or is it just the standard issue of interference with the built-in bluetooth, or perhaps just bad luck on my part? On top of this, I have never had any issue with any non-bluetooth RF wireless device, from mice to headphones and others. They seem to be significantly better.

xnyan 8y ago
One of the problems with achieving a good bluetooth experience is that there is not really one thing called "bluetooth", but rather a big stack of specifications that are implemented by different parties. A USB 2.0 BT adapter is very generic and probably well supported by more bluetooth devices and software stacks than integrated BT adapters.
- Sholmesy 8y ago
  Hmm this is a good point, I imagine just by sheer volume it must be well supported. I would've assumed the Intel BT chipsets and the Macbook Pro ones would've been as well, though perhaps I had duds.

texan 8y ago

"Wait, are you saying the headset can’t connect to a computer via native Bluetooth? And you knew it the whole time? While you asked me to try a different device, to update drivers, to install Jabra software, to meet with your technician… You were just trying to wear me down?!?" This encapsulates what is most wrong and abhorrent about US customer service. This methodology is employed by thousands of companies, it is ingrained in the culture of their customer service reps. It is a "Never Back Down" attitude. They will consistently string a desperate customer along, through a maze of reps and procedures, knowing that the customer is more likely to burn out and give up before realizing that the road they are being led down does not result in resolution of the issue. There are companies that do not engage in such behavior, yet they are primarily B2B rather than consumer facing, and usually in regard to items that are being purchased in the dollar range of tens and hundreds of thousands.

robk 8y ago
It's far far worse in Europe ESPECIALLY if offshored to a low GDP country.
- carlob 8y ago
  But in Europe we have stronger customer protection laws: if something doesn't work as advertised you have 1-3 years (depending on the country) to bring it back to whoever sold it to you. Then it's their problem to deal with the manufacturer.
  - vinay427 8y ago
    In practice, it's far less effective than what most Americans enjoy. Return policies are usually abysmal in most of Europe, to begin with, and long term support is only technically better because of more regulations on warranties. In practice, American firms are far more lenient with their policies and credit cards alone provide more protections than most all of the EU regulations seek to implement.
    - rb666 8y ago

jdlyga 8y ago

I have Jabra Move bluetooth headphones. They're really good, but have slight bluetooth issues. I have to constantly delete and re-pair them. But I have it working with iOS, Windows, Linux, etc.

tomphoolery 8y ago

My Jabra Move headset does technically work with my laptop, but I have to perform some kind of reset because just switching the headphones on doesn't connect fully to my computer. It will look like it's connected, but nothing plays through the headphones. Only way to get both iTunes and computer audio to play through them is to hold the on switch for a few seconds until I hear a ding and a voice speak "To connect Move, go to the Bluetooth menu on the phone, and select it from the list" I also tried installing that shitty Jabra app that basically was a huge waste of time. Didn't try contacting them, but I assume they'd just try to throw the problem over the fence and say my Bluetooth drivers in macOS were shitty or something. It's not the most amazing experience, but they do sound very good.

yingw787 8y ago

The no-questions-asked 90-day money back guarantee was one of the best decisions we ever made at Fog Creek. Try this: use Fog Creek Copilot for a full 24 hours, call up three months later and say, “hey guys, I need $5 for a cup of coffee. Give me back my money from that Copilot day pass,” and we’ll give it back to you. Try calling on the 91st or 92nd or 203rd day. You’ll still get it back. We really don’t want your money if you’re not satisfied. I’m pretty sure we’re running the only job listing service around that will refund your money just because your ad didn’t work. This is unheard of, but it means we get a lot more ad listings, because there’s nothing to lose. Over the last six years or so, letting people return software has cost us 2%. - Joel Spolsky (https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2007/02/19/seven-steps-to-remarkable-customer-service/ https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2007/02/19/seven-steps-to-rem...)

Casseres 8y ago
I think you posted in the wrong thread. Did you mean to post in Ask HN: Did offering a money-back guarantee help your business? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19085526 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19085526
- gknoy 8y ago
  While that is a good fit for this comment, it _does_ fit in this thread as well. Others are talking about how common terrible support is, where getting money back for a terrible product requires invoking the court, etc. The GP posted an example of _excellent_ service, the kind that most vendors should aspire to -- and included notes that doing so doesn't seem to have a big impact on the bottom line. The counterpoint is, if your product genuinely is terrible, the cost of such a guarantee would be too high to bear.
- yingw787 8y ago
  I did see that thread, but I wanted to post this here too. If you are worried about incumbents while starting a company, just remember your customers are used to being treated like how Jabra treats its customers, and if you treat your customers like Joel does, you shouldn't need to worry too much about customer retention and growth (other aspects nonwithstanding).

JustSomeNobody 8y ago

> I guess I am going to auction it off for the benefit of the local foster home institute. As a foster parent, thank you for that.

JadeNB 8y ago

We have a Fischer & Paykel vent hood, which we bought while renovating our kitchen specifically because of its advertised low noise level. It sounds like a jet engine revving up whenever it's running, even on the lowest setting. F&P sent out two technicians in succession, both of whom confirm (as registered, for example, by a decibel meter on our phone) that it's about 70% louder than advertised, even on its lowest setting; and then they straight up lied on their reports, saying (in so many words) that we were imagining the noise, or merely that we were 'dissatisfied'. Months in, and the only resolution we've got is that they've offered to give us a discount on another vent hood—which, presumably, also won't perform to specifications …. There's got to be some reliable form of—excuse my optimism; I'm sure there isn't, but there should be some reliable form of redress for a product that simply, in a documented fashion, doesn't perform up to specifications. Companies advertise what they feel like without fear, because they don't experience repercussions for this false advertising.

andersonmvd 8y ago

A bit different, but as a curiosity my AirPod also does not work my Macbook in a high speed train. The connection with an iPhone works perfectly on the other hand. I wonder what's the challenge for laptops to make bluetooth work properly.

moron4hire 8y ago

I really like my AfterShokz Trekz Air headphones. They work with all my devices. They reliably pair and don't oddly lose pairing status between any of them [0]. They are comfortable and sound pretty great once situated correctly. Not the greatest sound (a bit thin in the bass if they get out of alignment), but they are bone conducting and I generally use them to listen to music and still be able to hear the outside world. The behind-the-head band also makes it really easy to use them with all sorts of other head-mounted devices I have, like my brainwave sensor or my VR and AR headsets. For about 100USD, I've used them a lot more than my Sennheiser HD 4.50 BT headphones, which have a very annoying, periodic click when used in BT mode. [0] Having worked on Bluetooth devices, this basically happens in devices because they reset their own hardware ID on complete power loss. Which is stupid. The hardware ID need never be reset unless explicitly requested by the user.

kinard 8y ago

Do you not have a small claims court in your area? Here in the UK if a product is not as described then you are entitled to a full refund from the supplier (not the manufacturer). As they are the ones you have a contract with. The supplier can take it up with the manufacturer. No help from the supplier? Then sue them, I've done that several times, it's cheap, easy and quick. I've never had a failure suing a business for a consumer protection issue. https://www.smallclaimscourtgenie.co.uk/money-claim-online/ https://www.smallclaimscourtgenie.co.uk/money-claim-online/

nadavami 8y ago

I'm surprised. I have the exact same headset (Jabra Evolve 75) at work and have had no issues at all using it on my 2018 MacBook Pro. I use it daily for Slack and other VoIP calls as well as to listen to music. I usually have it paired to my phone as well, but it works just as well connected solely to the Mac. That said, I did have an issue once with it when trying to play a game on Steam. I couldn't hear the in-game audio, only other players speaking.

JeremyNT 8y ago
I have a different Jabra headset (Elite 65t) which works fine on my Linux laptop. And the title of the OP's article is actually misleading - Jabra says they don't support the configuration, not that it "won't work." This is actually totally understandable to me, the bluetooth hardware/software ecosystem in PCs is esoteric and frustrating, and it makes sense that Jabra would provide a solution that bypasses it.
dandare 8y ago
Interesting. I think Jabra itself does not understand why the Bluetooth connection does (not) work.
cptskippy 8y ago
Bluetooth uses different Profiles for the same functions but different purposes: A2DP is for HiFi (ahahah) stereo audio uni directional. HSP is for headsets, it supports "LAB" audio and headset controls (e.g. volume, answer/hangup). HFP is for hands-free in cars and support "LAB" audio and overlaps HFP with controls. AVRCP is for media controls which overlaps HSP (e.g. play/pause, skip/previous, volume) So a problem with Bluetooth is that a device can support all of these profiles but usually not all at once. They have no built in Mux so can't take audio over A2DP and HSP and combine them. So the host must negotiate all of the Profiles and then decide which is the most appropriate to use since it can't do all at once. I occasionally have a problem in my car where it establishes the A2DP connection and streams audio but not AVRCP so I can't control it. On Windows 10, when you have a Headset connected that supports A2DP, HFP, HSP, and AVRCP things get interesting. If you're listening to music it will be streamed via A2DP to the headset, but if you get a VOIP call Windows switches to HSP to access the Mic but your headset can't Mux audio so it kills the A2DP connection. Windows will then helpfully stream your music either over HSP which sounds like ass or it will pump it out the laptop speakers. The solution I came up with is to disable HSP/HFP on Windows and route all audio capture to the build in Microphone instead of the Headset's. Based on your description of playing Steam, I'm guessing MacOS is doing something similar. The headset can't Mux audio so it's dropping A2DP in favor of HSP audio, which would explain why you lose in-game audio but not VOIP. I'll have to play around with my Mac and see how it handles this.

Shoue 8y ago

I had the Jabra Evolve 75 at my old job and they worked fine with my Dell XPS 13 running Ubuntu. I never had to use the dongle but during video calls it used the terrible HSP profile that is the only call profile Linux supports. I ended up keeping it on A2DP and using my laptop mic instead.

who-knows95 8y ago

i am always glad to see this kinda thing. i'm currently talking to a game dev team that don't seem to understand that their TOS doesn't overshadow my countries law.

coding123 8y ago

Is there a perfect BT headset out there? I'm still using this: https://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Headset-H390-Noise-Cancelling/dp/B000UXZQ42/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1549472816&sr=8-4&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=logitech+headset+with+microphone&dpPl=1&dpID=31DUeeauN-L&ref=plSrch https://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Headset-H390-Noise-Cancellin... Because BT audio sounds horrible to me.

cowmix 8y ago

This is weird. I'm wearing this headset RIGHT now it is the ONLY BT headset that works, with HD quality on both my mac AND my Pixel 2 cell phone. It is amazing..

cowmix 8y ago
This is a sample of USB and BT connectivity tests.
- cowmix 8y ago
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKDchhDUlNw&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKDchhDUlNw&feature=youtu.be
Arkanosis 8y ago
Same here: my girlfriend and I both use this headset every single day with PCs from ASUS and Lenovo, running Arch, Ubuntu and Windows 10, as well as phones from OnePlus and Xiaomi running different releases of Android, and it works very well. I can understand Jabra's support if some vendors ship poor BT chips… I've had so many issues with BT in other products…

halbritt 8y ago

I think this is just a simple case of Bluetooth being terrible on PCs and hard to develop for. FWIW, I've been using a BlueParrott B350-XT for years. It's worked on MacOS, Ubuntu, and IOS, although multi-pairing gets kind of weird sometimes so I keep it single-paired to my iphone. I chose it because I often do calls in noisy environments and it has both great volume and the best noise canceling of any other headset on the market that I could find. From what I can tell, the company got its start selling to OTR truck drivers and gained market share against Plantronics and Jabra because their products suck so much. Not shilling, no relationship to the company, have bought a couple of these with my own money and will immediately pay to replace the one I currently have if it ever gets lost or is broken. If anyone is considering their products, the ones listed as "blocking 96% of background noise" have their in-house developed noise canceling that everyone raves about.

halbritt 8y ago
...and it looks like Jabra acquired them a while back. Nice.

josefresco 8y ago

I'm confused by the PPS: A few weeks later the reseller informed me that the authorized repair shop accepted my headset as defective and replaced it with a new one under warranty. I guess I am going to auction it off for the benefit of the local foster home institute. So was this another lie, or was his headset actually defective?

dandare 8y ago
Call it a lie or a corporate policy - they simply replace a handset that does not work as advertised with a new one that will not work as advertised.

Hengjie 8y ago

TLDR: I think this guy just received bad customer support, and likely an actual defective device. Author seems to be overdramatic about a mistake by their support team. Their Jabra Evolve 75's are actually solid. I have 2 of them in my office, and we recently just purchased another pair. They work with and without the USB dongle. The reason why the USB dongle is there is because the bluetooth spec for live calls are not in the HD profile. It's likely not in HD to reduce latency. Therefore, they originally created the Link 370 dongle to use their own proprietary connection to get HD microphone quality, and instant pairing; this is a MUST in a busy office environment. I'm 100% certain their support made a mistake and said the device only works with the dongle. I've also tested it's bluetooth with USBC Macbooks and it works perfectly fine. I suspect he had a defective unit. Other notes about this 75: - Connects with two devices at the same time, and switches between them over bluetooth ala Bose QC35 bluetooth. - Does not charge over USBC, but over Micro USB. - There are regular firmware updates for the Link 370, and their other Jabra devices.

zulrah 8y ago

I also have a Jabra headset. I bought it from Amazon I chatted to amazon support about the issues I have with it and they told me to keep a headset and issued a full refund

nwah1 8y ago

Was unable to get my Jabra Elite 65t to connect to my Surface Book at work. Glad to know it wasn't any fault of my own. Will avoid Jabra in the future.

ufmace 8y ago

Along those same lines, I've gotten extremely reluctant to buy any paid subscription to any internet service, because virtually all of them have a bad cancellation system. Almost all require either calling or emailing support to cancel your account, which hopefully won't keep you waiting long or spend a while trying to convince you not to cancel after all.

Tagbert 8y ago

I use a pair of Jabra Evolve 75 headphones and use them over bluetooth on my Apple Macbook Pro nearly every day. I love them because the microphones do an excellent job of transmitting my voice and suppressing of the chatter from people nearby. I don't say that no one else should have a problem but just to counter some of the comment here that imply that these headphones never work with Bluetooth. Now about that customer support...