Using Oticon with Android

26 June 2024

Oticon and Android

Can the Oticon More (and Oticon Real) be used with an Android phone? Well, yes, they can.

A good Bluetooth connection to a phone is important to many people for streaming audio generally and for clarity of hearing during phone conversations. All this works fine on an Android phone with Oticon More.

As an Android user I went ahead and chose Oticon More knowing they are “made for iPhone” hearing aids, but I did so because after trying others these were by far the best at improving my hearing. The quality of hearing comes first for me.

The Oticon App – Oticon Companion

The Companion app is the same on both Android and iPhone. The first Bluetooth pairing of the aids with your phone must be done through the Companion app.

At first glance, it may seem a rather limited app. I moved over to Oticon from Phonak, so my first impression was that the Oticon Companion seemed to offer far less functionality and control over the hearing aids than the Phonak app does.

But because the Oticon hearing aids themselves are so very clever, I found that I no longer needed to switch programs and settings in the way the Phonak app allows, such as settings for a restaurant, a car or a crowded environment.

I came to realise the Oticon app simply doesn’t need all that level of control. Those settings and that functionality are just not needed in the app. Oticon More does so much automatically.

Android and iPhone – The Difference

There is a big difference between how the aids integrate with Android and iPhone.

Firstly, the Companion app works on an Android phone in pretty much the same way it does on an iPhone. Once the aids are paired, you must load or launch the app each time you want to use it. It will connect with the aids at each launch (there might be a bit of a wait) and it will run in the background.

On Android, as it’s running in the background, you will be offered a very small letterbox menu that you can get to by swiping down from the top of the screen. There you may choose from volume levels and the programs in your aids. It is a very minimal menu.

When the Companion app is closed and stops running, this small letterbox shortcut disappears too.

iPhone

Although the Companion app works pretty much the same way on iPhone as it does on Android, there is a huge difference with iPhone because, even without launching the Companion app, the hearing aids are integrated once paired and controls are always available whenever the aids are switched on.

When users swipe down from the top right of an iPhone screen, a menu of shortcuts is available. Here, a shortcut for hearing aid controls is added. It is a box with the symbol of an ear in it (see the screenshot). This shortcut is always running without the Companion app needing to be launched.

Tapping the ear box opens up a full display of options for the hearing aids. There is information, background sounds and, of course, the fantastic Live Listen function, which is only available on iPhone. None of that is available with the Android phone.

Live Listen turns the phone into a remote microphone that can be placed at the centre of a table or held by somebody when travelling in a car or another noisy environment. So many uses!

To answer phone calls on an iPhone without taking the phone out of your pocket or bag (so it is less likely to get snatched), a short press on any of the buttons on the aids answers the call and a longer press ends the call.

To enable this function, go into the settings. See the screenshot. Navigate to:

Settings > Accessibility > Touch > Call Audio Routing

Then select Bluetooth Headset, as that is what your hearing aids are acting as.

GH (Product Tester), Jan. 2024

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