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Best iPhone 5 Bluetooth headset?

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I've been using a jawbone for my iphone 4 and now 5. The design is really nice and it's pretty light, but I do have 2 issues with it. Random disconnects and the volume is not loud enough. Hate it when I'm in the middle of a conversation and it disconnects and I have to switch to phone mode. I also have to cup my hand over the earpiece and even cover both my ears so that I can hear clearly. I've never heard anyone say that they have a hard time hearing me, but I do have a hard time hearing them and as far as I know, they are talking directly into their phones.
 
JamesWilliams12 said:
Plantronics M50 - Bluetooth Headset it's a very good bluetooth headset. You can buy it from the link down, and it has a good reviews.
Click to expand...

I own the M50 and an iPhone 5. In my experience they do NOT work together. I originally bought the M50 for use with my iPhone 4 and had no problems, but once I upgraded to the iPhone 5 I experienced frequent dropouts while outside. The only way I could avoid those dropouts was to hold the phone at chest level. I did warranty exchanges on first the iPhone 5 and then the M50 and had the exact same problems throughout.

I am shopping for a new headset now but seemingly can't find a single model from any manufacturer that doesn't have some reports of issues with the iPhone 5. Very frustrating.
 
SheridanMac said:
I own the M50 and an iPhone 5. In my experience they do NOT work together. I originally bought the M50 for use with my iPhone 4 and had no problems, but once I upgraded to the iPhone 5 I experienced frequent dropouts while outside. The only way I could avoid those dropouts was to hold the phone at chest level. I did warranty exchanges on first the iPhone 5 and then the M50 and had the exact same problems throughout.

I am shopping for a new headset now but seemingly can't find a single model from any manufacturer that doesn't have some reports of issues with the iPhone 5. Very frustrating.
Click to expand...

Again, the Voyager Legend is the ticket!
 
Beware Motorola HX550!!!! I listened to this thread and now have a useless headset. Widespread issues documented on the motorola board.

BT stays connected but frequent cut outs grrrrrrrrr!!!

Iphone 5 extremely picky re headset. I would love to know which are really working well....but you need multiple confirmations to be sure if you don't want to waste money like I did.
 
uhoh7 said:
Beware Motorola HX550!!!! I listened to this thread and now have a useless headset. Widespread issues documented on the motorola board.

BT stays connected but frequent cut outs grrrrrrrrr!!!

Iphone 5 extremely picky re headset. I would love to know which are really working well....but you need multiple confirmations to be sure if you don't want to waste money like I did.
Click to expand...

HX550 is working just fine here on my iPhone 5, no cut outs, loss in quality, etc.
 
Senseotech said:
HX550 is working just fine here on my iPhone 5, no cut outs, loss in quality, etc.
Click to expand...

Hey so the hx550 works well with the 5? Anyway you could test the range? That's my biggest complaint on the plantronics I have now. Mostly going through walls and people
 
uhoh7 said:
Beware Motorola HX550!!!! I listened to this thread and now have a useless headset. Widespread issues documented on the motorola board.

BT stays connected but frequent cut outs grrrrrrrrr!!!

Iphone 5 extremely picky re headset. I would love to know which are really working well....but you need multiple confirmations to be sure if you don't want to waste money like I did.
Click to expand...

I recently upgraded to the iPhone 5 and my HX550 is still working perfectly.

See if you can get yours exchanged. Sounds like it's faulty.

----------
Jordan1020 said:
Hey so the hx550 works well with the 5? Anyway you could test the range? That's my biggest complaint on the plantronics I have now. Mostly going through walls and people
Click to expand...

The long range is one of the great things about the HX550, and one of the main reasons I like this headset. From my research, long range appears to be a rare thing with bluetooth headsets. Every other headset I tried previously, including multiple generations of Jawbones and Plantronics, had very limited range which was easily interfered with by walls and bodies (even having the headset in my right ear and the phone in my left pocket was a problem with these other brands, but not the HX550).
 
Hello,
I first picked up a Motorola HX550 from the Sprint Store and it offers decent SQ, but I was getting constant complaints about people on the other end hearing me.

About a week later I ordered a Jawbone ERA (Shadowbox) Retail Packaging from Amazon for amazingly around $5 less as it was on sale.

The ERA is simply in another league, People on the other end have no idea that I am on a BT and the industrial design is amazing. Even the packaging is unbelievable. The MyTalk interface is wonderful and gives you many options for the Voice announcing the incoming call and you can even assign 20 names that the ERA will announce as opposed to just saying the phone number.

This is a great feature as in this day and age I honestly know maybe 15% of my Contacts phone numbers. Jawbone's Noise Assassin really works. I live 2 miles from Siesta Key Beach and go there often. I never have problems with the wind obscuring the ability of the person I am talking to from hearing me.

The ERA also works fantastically with Siri and it has no problems hearing what I am saying. While certainly not cheap, sometimes Amazon has an excellent deal on the ERA. You can save a good amount of money by ordering it in Bulk or Universal Packaging, but I have read many reviews where they have said it has been refurbished at best and often used replete with the previous owners information.
Cheers,
JJ
 
Jordan1020 said:
Hey so the hx550 works well with the 5? Anyway you could test the range? That's my biggest complaint on the plantronics I have now. Mostly going through walls and people
Click to expand...

One time I had my HX550 on and was going into a gas station after pumping gas. I played a song on my iPhone 4S (this was in March), and I went into the gas station with no problems with the song. Even when I went in the bathroom! :eek: roughly 200 feet and a few walls. That was my experience. Hope this helps!

Personally, I have loved this headset. Its probably the best value headset for the iPhone 5.
 
I agree with jungle jack, jawbone is great. Only 2 issues-
Siri is press and hold for a bit, not instant.
When using apple maps the turn by turn directions are often cut off- on speaker it would say- turn left in 500 feet on Main Street. With the headset I hear- turn (garbled) ain street.
I have logged that with apple.
 
I just LOVE my wireless Beats by Dr. Dre. They are prefect if you look for the right combination between looks and performance.
 
It's a shame people think because a bt headset like hx550 can hear and transmit, that it "works".

Or that Siri works because it will call a number. Try making a note, then adding text.

Hx550 also has horrendous mic.

Hm 7000 has terrific mic and far better audio, but works even worse with Siri, though other threads also claimed it was fine.

Amazing a high quality headset with simple Siri interface and full functionality on the 5 is still a murky issue.

Many bt devices have issues with the 5 and iOS 6.

Please fully test Siri functions and also indicate exactly how the interface works eg a single button tap on headset or what
 
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I drive around all day, and am using a headset constantly. Here are the two models i've used extensively, and my thoughts:

BlueAnt Q2: Very nice in that it speaks the name of caller (if the phone number is in your contacts. contacts are transferred to headset at initial pairing with phone, or manually later. have heard that it has a limited capacity of contacts, but i had never reached that limit), or phone number otherwise. Nice in that you don't have to dig the phone out of your pocket to see who is calling. Sound quality seemed good, never had much complaint from people. Shows battery strength on iPhone (as many others do). Not best quality, some parts are glued on, and will start to come off after heavy use. Biggest complaint is that it is large, and does not want to stay in my ear. Very hard to get it to feel snug and stable. Also is very hard to flip on/off switch while in ear. Often have to remove to do so.

Plantronics M1100: Very comfortable for me, and is very easy to put in ear and have it feel snug. Easy to turn on/off while in ear, although the switch got looser over time and i started to accidentally turn it off or on inadvertently. Sound quality seems good at times, but no so at others. Sometimes have to use finger to push tighter into ear to hear someone. No spoken name or number, just that there is an incoming call.. you can use voice to say accept or ignore. Glitch exists that if you are on a call, and there is an incoming, and you push a button on the phone to accept incoming and place existing on hold... the headset keeps asking you to accept or ignore.. and you are now unable to do anything or talk to anyone, and both calls are lost (unless you quickly toggle phone to switch audio source back to phone).

I just lost the Plantronics, and grabbed the BlueAnt today, and was very disappointed. I cannot go back. Am considering the Bose Series 2, but have read that the features are lacking. May just order a replacement Plantronics.
 
uhoh7 said:
It's a shame people think because a bt headset like hx550 can hear and transmit, that it "works".

Or that Siri works because it will call a number. Try making a note, then adding text.

Hx550 also has horrendous mic.

Hm 7000 has terrific mic and far better audio, but works even worse with Siri, though other threads also claimed it was fine.

Amazing a high quality headset with simple Siri interface and full functionality on the 5 is still a murky issue.

Many bt devices have issues with the 5 and iOS 6.

Please fully test Siri functions and also indicate exactly how the interface works eg a single button tap on headset or what
Click to expand...

It's a shame that you are assuming we are all idiots or something. My comments in favor of the HX550 were based on detailed testing.

I dropped more than $150 on so-called "top of the line" headsets before I settled on the HX550. It has performed far better than Plantronics and Jawbone in every respect. As I've already stated before. I have tested the mic thoroughly. I have used Siri in every possible way and it works extremely well, including dictation. Everyone I call with this headset thinks I'm talking directly into the phone. That wasn't true with the other headsets.

Seems that most others agree with my assessment. One or two didn't, and I can't explain why they had problems other than a faulty unit or a specific configuration issue on the phone perhaps. Bluetooth is a flaky protocol - lots of things can go wrong. But my HX550 has been rock-solid for me, and I'm both picky and highly knowledgeable about tech and know exactly what I'm looking for.

Anyway, I'm not making commission for Motorola. I just know how hard it is to find a truly good bluetooth headset and thought I'd save people hassle and time. Pick whatever floats your boat.
 
I am looking to buy a bluetooth headset, because I got the job at which 80% of the time I spend in the car. Currently using one that I bought on eBay for a few dollars, and now is thinking to buy a better quality. So I searched and found this list of top 5
1. Jawbone Era
2. Plantronics Voyager Legend
3. Blueant Q2
4. Motorola CommandOne
5. Jabra Supreme UC
http://www.best-bluetoothheadset.com/
and currently torn between these two first.

I'm interested in right someone has experience with these headset?
 
frankcop said:
I am looking to buy a bluetooth headset, because I got the job at which 80% of the time I spend in the car. Currently using one that I bought on eBay for a few dollars, and now is thinking to buy a better quality. So I searched and found this list of top 5
1. Jawbone Era
2. Plantronics Voyager Legend
3. Blueant Q2
4. Motorola CommandOne
5. Jabra Supreme UC
http://www.best-bluetoothheadset.com/
and currently torn between these two first.

I'm interested in right someone has experience with these headset?
Click to expand...
As I mentioned earlier in this thread, my vote is for the Plantronics Voyager Legend. I've had my share of BT headsets and I'm very fussy and particular about them. This one by far has been my fav.
 
Has anyone found a headset using Bluetooth 4.0? And are there any rumors of a new Jawbone headset given that th Era was released in 2011?
 
HX550 and frequent drops. My two cents.

Let me add my two cents - I got an HX550 for my iPhone 5 and I view audiostreaming (music) as a key feature, which it has.

A LOT of problems with dropped calls which one also reads about both here and on other websites. It seemed to get better for a while, but got awful with iOS 6.1.1 or 6.1.2. Are we all talking about iPhone 5, which is in the threat title? No other problems besides the frequent dropped calls. One user said it may be more stable if you turn off WiFi, but that is a lot of fussing and shouldn't be necessary. I was doing fine with a Plantronics 975 but wanted the music streaming which a Plan. 975 can't do.
 
Just use wired. Better audio quality. No recharging.
 
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