Bluetooth Earpiece for Driving?

cormie

About 2 years ago I invested in 4 of the best quality bluetooth earpieces I could find for using in the business. One in each van. I figured it best to leave one in each van so they will be there for whoever may be driving to use with their phone rather than them being swapped between vans, one van having 2, another none etc.

Anyway, because I got 4 of the same device, my android phone is only recognising it as one device, so when you try to pair with another, it sees it as the same device and basically overwrites the last one it paired with. It's not user friendly at all to pair and they aren't in use as much as they could be.

Does anyone know of a solution to get around this or if there's any more advanced earpieces out now that work with the android/apple apps?

Any feedback appreciated!

niallb

What kind of earpieces did you get? Strange they're overwriting each other, as they should all have a different Bluetooth address. Even if their names come up the same by default, android at least allows you change the name which might help you tell them apart.

I'd steer clear of earpieces if at all possible though. They're fiddly and won't be as likely to get used. They usually only pair with one phone at a time too which would be a nightmare for your drivers. I have a visor clip one from Sony which gives good sound and can pair with three different phones. It has a 3 colour led to tell which one it's linked to at the time. They're available on adverts often enough for €30.
Other option is to buy a car stereo with built in Bluetooth. Old ones that just do calls and not streaming music are cheap on adverts too.
Finally the best option if you can afford it is to get a professionally fitted car kit in the vans. Something like a Novero (brand mentioned only because one was prefitted in a car I bought before Christmas and it's brilliant - the Trusty One it's called) seems to cost less than €200 fitted and means you don't even have to take the phone out of your pocket. It just pairs when the engine starts and you"re ready to go.

cormie

Thanks for that Niall. I know the ear pieces are fiddly but a lot of the time there'd be customers in the van too and I'd prefer to not have whoever is calling on loud speaker for everyone to hear, plus the van itself can be very noisy while driving and another things is that the driver could then wear it while doing the actual delivery (carrying boxes up a few flights of stairs etc). These are the main reasons for going with an earpiece.

I have the Plantronics Discovery 975. I was looking to see if it was possible to change the name, but it seems it's only possible to change the name of the phone itself?

coylemj

niallb wrote: »

What kind of earpieces did you get? Strange they're overwriting each other, as they should all have a different Bluetooth address. Even if their names come up the same by default, android at least allows you change the name which might help you tell them apart.

I just checked on my Android (S3 Mini) and it won't allow me to change the names of paired devices so I can see the problem the OP is having though it's certainly true that in the background (invisible to the user) the mobile phone remembers the Bluetooth identity of the earpiece - similar to a Mac address - so there's no technical reason why you can't pair multiple earpieces to the same mobile phone.

niallb wrote: »

I'd steer clear of earpieces if at all possible though ...... They usually only pair with one phone at a time too which would be a nightmare for your drivers.

This is not correct, the pairing occurs in the mobile phone only, the earpiece doesn't remember who it's been paired with so a single earpiece can be paired with an unlimited number of phones though as a slave device it can typically only be connected to one at a time.

niallb wrote: »

I have a visor clip one from Sony which gives good sound and can pair with three different phones. It has a 3 colour led to tell which one it's linked to at the time. They're available on adverts often enough for €30.

That is a useful convenience for (e.g.) a husband and wife who both have their mobiles paired with the Bluetooth gadget, if they're both in the car at the same time, it allows them to see which phone the device is currently connected to, wouldn't really apply to the OP's situation.

niallb wrote: »

Finally the best option if you can afford it is to get a professionally fitted car kit in the vans.

Agree that a fitted car kit is usually the best option but a car kit will only remember a finite number of paired mobile phones so if the OP has 6 or more drivers, chances are that if he installs a car it, it will only remember four or so paired mobile phones.

cormie

Interesting input there coyle, any ideas on possible ways around the issue? If the phone could remember the 4 different units of the same device under a different alias (I could name them by the vehicle their in for example), then would it just be a matter of connecting to the device with a phone that has already been paired with it?

niallb

coylemj wrote: »

I just checked on my Android (S3 Mini) and it won't allow me to change the names of paired devices...

On my Android Galaxy S2, I just go to the device settings in the list of paired bluetooth devices, and "Rename" and "Unpair" are the top two options above choosing which profiles to use with it. I think it depends on your android version. Froyo (2.2) was unable to change the name alright, but I can't remember clearly whether gingerbread was. ICS and Jellybean can.

coylemj wrote: »

This is not correct, the pairing occurs in the mobile phone only, the earpiece doesn't remember who it's been paired with so a single earpiece can be paired with an unlimited number of phones though as a slave device it can typically only be connected to one at a time.

I disagree.
Perhaps you have a headset that seems to work like that, but I don't think I've seen evidence of that behaviour from any devices I've used.
The scenario would be as follows:

• Pair Phone 1 to headset
• Use to make calls
• Park and later return to same Vehicle

On return, a simple button press will reconnect with the headset.

The second scenario

• Pair Phone 2 to same headset the next day
• Use to make calls
• Park and then driver with Phone 1 returns to vehicle

Now on return, the headset and Phone 1 need to be paired again before use.

This, I suggest, is because in the second scenario the headset has broken the bond and the link key is no longer stored on it - in general they only remember the last phone paired. There are many which recall two, three and several that manage a higher number. The pairing is required even though the phone is still aware of having a bond with the headset ; they need to pair again to generate a mutually known link key.

I see the advantage of the headset for privacy concerns alright.
Also needing to answer a call while carrying is a good reason to keep wearing it!

coylemj

I have owned multiple Bluetooth headsets and none of them behaved like that. The pairing occurs in the phone only, a Bluetooth earpiece/headset doesn't remember who it's paired with. I'd be interested to know the make and model of the headset that behaves the way you're describing.

What you're describing is how a car kit behaves, not an earpiece - as in a Bluetooth headset.

cormie

Coyle, do you reckon if all phones using the earpieces I have would be Android ICS or Jellybean, and could rename the devices to say Van 1, Van 2, then there'd be no need to keep pairing after they were in use with a different phone/earpiece combo?

How does it work on apple? Can the devices be renamed too?

coylemj

cormie wrote: »

Coyle, do you reckon if all phones using the earpieces I have would be Android ICS or Jellybean, and could rename the devices to say Van 1, Van 2, then there'd be no need to keep pairing after they were in use with a different phone/earpiece combo?

How does it work on apple? Can the devices be renamed too?

Why not just give each of your four drivers their own headset to hang on to, instead of assigning a headset to each van?

Dammer

cormie wrote: »

About 2 years ago I invested in 4 of the best quality bluetooth earpieces I could find for using in the business. One in each van. I figured it best to leave one in each van so they will be there for whoever may be driving to use with their phone rather than them being swapped between vans, one van having 2, another none etc.

Anyway, because I got 4 of the same device, my android phone is only recognising it as one device, so when you try to pair with another, it sees it as the same device and basically overwrites the last one it paired with. It's not user friendly at all to pair and they aren't in use as much as they could be.

Does anyone know of a solution to get around this or if there's any more advanced earpieces out now that work with the android/apple apps?

Any feedback appreciated!

I suspect that your bluetooth headsets may be older then 2 years and if that's the case they may be Bluetooth Version 1.2. There are a few versions of bluetooth and there may be compatability issues with your devices.

Try newer "multi-point" Bluetooth headsets. Example here. You can pair two bluetooth phones to each device. That may solve part of the problem.

They were in sale in Meteor stores for about €30 each, but you can get them cheaper on ebay. The key term is multi-point. I have yet to find one that can connect to 3 devices at the same time

As a matter of interest, what are the headsets/earpieces you are using? What phones are they connecting to?

cormie

Thanks again for the replies. These wouldn't be for full time drivers, but more for drivers working the odd time for me so giving each their own wouldn't really suit.

It's not important to have any more than one device connected at a time, as in I don't care if two people can talk and listen to the same conversation if they each had a headset on. I just don't want it that they will have to pair the headset to the phone each time. Would be great if it could just be remembered on all phones, for all separate devices.

I've 4 of these: http://www.wirelessground.com/plantdisco975.html

It says Bluetooth 2.1..

niallb

cormie wrote: »

It's not important to have any more than one device connected at a time, as in I don't care if two people can talk and listen to the same conversation if they each had a headset on. I just don't want it that they will have to pair the headset to the phone each time. Would be great if it could just be remembered on all phones, for all separate devices.

That's the main thing about multi-point - it saves the pairings.
It's not meant to allow two people access the same conversation - the protocol doesn't support that, but it does allow two headsets to be simultaneously joined to the one phone in such a way that either one or the other can answer a call.

Alternatively... Tell the drivers they must use a handsfree kit while they're driving for you and have them sign something to that effect. It's the law.

Sell the first four off the mark the four you bought last year at a good price, and then buy another batch. If they drive for a few people, they'll probably find having one well useful.

The set I use most is actually a Sony HBH-220. It's a stereo plug you put your own set of headphones into. Great for music or podcasts even when cutting the grass with a petrol mower, so should be fine for a noisy van :-)

cormie

Hmm, I was hoping there'd be a solution to be able to just switch on and away they go providing they have once upon a time paired their phone to the headset. I wonder would it be possible in the newer android after renaming the devices?

In the mean time, maybe the best solution is to just get a few sets of regular (non bluetooth) earphones with the mic attached to them a pair came with my phone and I guess they are cheap enough, just checked ebay, yup: http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Earphone-Earpods-Headset-Volume-Remote-and-Mic-For-Apple-iPhone-5-4S-4-3G-3G-/271139836511?pt=PDA_Accessories&hash=item3f2131925f

niallb

Renaming the devices in Android (or windows mobile, or anything) is just a convenience for the human and is actually just putting a friendly name on the link. The phone distinguishes the devices based on their bluetooth address, which should be unique for every device. It won't change the behaviour of previously paired headsets, though might make it easier for you to attempt to connect to the right one.

If the headset has not been paired to a different phone since you last used it, it should reconnect easily no matter what your phone says it's called. With a multipair headset that remembers 3 phones, it'll connect if you were one of the last three, or if a multipair with 6, one of the last 6.
The manual for the headsets you currently have says it will remember two pairings. Beyond that, you'll have to repair even if your phone still remembers it.

cormie

Agh, that's a pity. Thanks for the explanation though. I think I might be stuck with just getting a few pairs of headphone/mic sets. Means a wire coming from the phone but would be a much simpler case of simply plugging it in and forgetting about it.

cormie

just a quick bump here, does anyone know if earphones/mic like this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00AQYQ4ZK/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1WQBWU0UUUM9Y will be compatible with any android device? Also what about the ones with the basic remote/vol control, a lof of them say specific brands in the title of the sale, but would they work universally on any android I wonder?