Bluetooth Headset

[Ellen]

Hello, I've been experiencing lots of problems on my iMac running Leopard, and was hoping someone here might help me. I have tried (with two different units) to use a bluetooth headset, and while I am able to pair the device with the iMac, in addition to random disconnects (and what seems to be some interaction with my Apple bluetooth mouse - it slows down), the input comes out as a weird crackling sound. I've tested this with Skype, but research on the web suggests there is a bigger problem between the Mac's bluetooth and headsets generally.

My current headset is the Motorola H12.

I was wondering if anyone has discovered a workaround.

Alternatively, I've read that some people use a USB bluetooth dongle. Not that I want to spend more money, but if this is true can anyone recommend a small and inexpensive one? Would I need to install software? I am curious how this would work, given that that computer has built in bluetooth.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Ellen]

I also had a followup question - if I buy a bluetooth adapter, would I need to disable my iMac's internal bluetooth or could both co-oexist? I currently use the wireless mouse and keyboard and would keep them where they are; the adapter would be just for the headset.

I see loads of adapters on eBay that say they are compatible with Macs and are less than $10 - but perhaps they are too good to be true.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Counterfit]

I had a similar issue whenever I used a headset with my PowerBook, along with my BT mouse. I think the problem is that the headset is trying to use all the throughput available, leaving little for the mouse. I haven't been able to test it with my MBP, which has BT 2.0, which my headset also supported, because I lost the headset over a year ago, and haven't replaced it yet.

 

[johny5]

I too experience horrendous crackle with no speech using my genuine apple bluetooth headset with my mac pro.
I dont use any other bluetooth devices and only switched on the mac bluetooth to try the headset with ichat.
The weird thing is that when i connect the headset to the mac it seems fine, I can go into sys prefs and see the headset working fine with auto volume but as soon as i run ichat and try to use that, you can see the mic volume bar shoot right up and the other user hears nothing but crackle/static.
I am guessing this might be the same with skype.

Maybe try what I did, just connect the headset then go into sys prefs and see if it is working before you open an app?

 

[Ellen]

Yes, my situation is the same as yours. But if an inexpensive adaptor would solve the problem, I'd be willing to use that as a workaround.

 

[Ellen]

Unfortunately the work around did not work...

I bought an Iogear micro adapter on Amazon for about $20 - it's really tiny and as soon as I plugged it in it starting flashing, which seemed good.

But: It seemed to disable my iMac's bluetooth, which meant the mouse and keyboard stopped working. My research had suggested that the external adapter and the iMac's bluetooth could coexist.

Finally got keyboard and mouse running again and tried the headset on Skype - still the horrible static.

It occurs to me that since the adapter does not require its own software, I'm using whatever is built in to OS X - and if that's causing the headset problem to begin with, the adapter is not adding anything. But any help would be appreciated.