Bluetooth headset problem (H500)

[nagromme]

My Motorola H500 headset worked at first, but not anymore. I CAN pair it, and the assistant says it's connected but half the time it still shows as not connected in System Preferences. And then, sometimes when it IS connected and working (rare), System Prefs still says it's not connected.

And usually System Preferences simply beachballs when I try to go to Sound Prefs. A restart fixes that... until I pair the headset again. (It seems to help if I turn the headset OFF before going to Sound Prefs, and then choosing the heaset--which shouldn't even be listed then but is--and then turning it back on.)

Is there some file I should chuck to get a fresh start? I've tried deleting the device from the BT list and re-adding it, but that doesn't help. It's a bit of a mess all around. (But hey, half price at Amazon!)

Or should I suspect a defective headset? Even when it worked it was hit or miss--but I chalked that up to Bluetooth being Bluetooth.

TIA!

 

[automator]

Jabra BT250

Well I guess it could be anything. But maybe it is your headset. Could very well be the price your paying for the big discount that you got. This article here talks about a different bluetooth headset, the Jabra BT250, and how it works well with a Mac (you can use it with iChat, Skype and pretty much with whatever a regular headset can do):

http://pinoymaclovers.blogspot.com/2006/03/using-bluetooth-headset-with-ichat-av.html

I actually have the BT 250. It works pretty well in my experience. Sometimes when I leave it on too long and forget about it "unpairs" itself but I can easily just pair it back.

 

[nagromme]

Thanks. My research has made it seem likely NOT to be defective: it had a whining sound, but others report the same sound, and Bluetooth in general seems to be flaky when it comes to pairing. I got sick of having to do the BT wizard twice a day and got my money back

I may try another headset someday, but I have never found ANY model that doesn't get a good review from some and a terrible review from others. I think it's a techonlogy that just isn't there yet--unless you have a precise combination of the right machine, the right headset, the right software versions, and the right goat entrails scattered at midnight.

I might be one of the lucky ones, but $40 is all I was willing to risk to find out... and it didn't happen. Another year I'll try another wave of better products. (It's not worth $100+ to me.)

I'll keep the Jabra brand in mind.