Katana Bluetooth Problems Revisited

[hypoxia]

This has been discussed before, but after some testing it seems like a time to bring it up again.

I have two Katanas and 3 Motorola H700's. We always get complaints about our voice being muffled and hard to understand when we use the headsets on either phone. I thought it might be headset issues so I did an experiment. I connected the headsets to my computer and made calls on Skype to my home phones answering machine. The sound quality was crystal clear. When did the same using the headsets on the Katanas, the sound quality was not good. It was just like everyone had told me. Muffled and hard to understand. Obviously the Katana's are the problem.

I'll be working with Sprint but I just wondered how common this is?

[KatanaMan]

Very common for me at least. I've tried two bluetooth headsets so far and both of them sounded muffled and choppy. Not sure how common it is, but I have hardware version 0103. Activated on 7/16/2006. Not sure where to find the manufacture date, it's not in ##rtn#.

I'd be very interested to learn if this is a hardware issue because some people don't have any complaints at all with bluetooth headsets and the Katana. My headsets are unusable. I should test with skype, something tells me the headsets (Moto H3) function fine.

[moe300]

Very common for me at least. I've tried two bluetooth headsets so far and both of them sounded muffled and choppy. Not sure how common it is, but I have hardware version 0103. Activated on 7/16/2006. Not sure where to find the manufacture date, it's not in ##rtn#.

I'd be very interested to learn if this is a hardware issue because some people don't have any complaints at all with bluetooth headsets and the Katana. My headsets are unusable. I should test with skype, something tells me the headsets (Moto H3) function fine.

Something is wrong with all the katana's bt that I have had (3 total). No sound problems, but the phone sucks down the headsets battery by makin it constantly transmit and the headset will be dead in 4-5 hours in stanby. I do beleive there are bt issues with this phone.

[KatanaMan]

Something is wrong with all the katana's bt that I have had (3 total). No sound problems, but the phone sucks down the headsets battery by makin it constantly transmit and the headset will be dead in 4-5 hours in stanby. I do beleive there are bt issues with this phone.

I may have experienced something like this too, unfortuantely my sound quality is so bad though, I have not had the opportunity to leave the headset paired & connected for extended periods of time.

[hypoxia]

My sister uses a Plantronics BT headset and it sounds fine on her Katana.

I may try a different brand than Moto just to see. If I speak very softly into the H700 it seems better, according to reports. I talked with several Sprint reps at stores & none have heard of any issues........ :music:

KatanaMan, I like your avatar, where did it come from? :wavey:

[KatanaMan]

Heh, the avatar is "Special Ed" from a TV show called Crank Yankers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oagjSdar4Co


I've called *2 using the headset and said "see how bad I sound?" but they didn't have a solution. Perhaps I should just give in and buy a Plantronics, but I don't want to throw any more $ at it and still have the same issues.

[hypoxia]

It's kind of funny, when I talk to tech support they claim I sound good but they keep asking me to repeat myself. :headbang2

[hypoxia]

Heh, the avatar is "Special Ed" from a TV show called Crank Yankers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oagjSdar4Co

Thats pretty neat. How on earth do you get it from there to here?

I have a lot to learn :scare:

[YPG]

Sprint phones always have problems with Moto headsets IMO.
I've been pushing the heck out of Planatronics and have seen like zero returns on My sales of them last month.
Jabra is supposed to be top notch too.

[hypoxia]

I just talked with Motorola Support. They cannot guarantee that any Motorola Bluetooth device will work with any product other than Motorola Phones. They suggested I return the H700's and purchase a different brand :(

[av8or]

I just talked with Motorola Support. They cannot guarantee that any Motorola Bluetooth device will work with any product other than Motorola Phones. They suggested I return the H700's and purchase a different brand :(

lol so they wanna take their ball and go home? nice....

i tried my katana with the handsfree builtin into an acura rl, worked pretty good once i figured out you had to push that 'talk' button on the wheel for every single command while trying to setup the phone, and had to put the phone in 'search' mode not 'wait for connection' mode for it to pair up....
after that it seemed to be ok, showed the battery and signal strength on the car display

[docbrown88]

There's been posts about this,
see
http://www.sprintusers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=106836&page=3

I myself tested about 8 headsets, and my conclusion is the Katana's bluetooth implementation is poor. The H350 I settled on sounded amazing on my friends (verizon) Moto E815 phone; on my Katana, as with most of the other headsets, it's like AM radio compared to CD. plus it acts wonky, sometimes connecting automatically, sometimes not. And yes I think something does keep the headset going perpetually so it drains prematurely.

for this and other reasons, i'm eagerly awaiting the new motorolas coming to sprint.

[hypoxia]

Newegg is taking the H700's back and I have a Plantronics 510 on the way. I really don't want to try every model of every manufacturer.

I have used Plantronics headsets for 25 years in other applications so I know they have the ability to make a good product if they want to. I have their MX505 wired headset and it works great although it is a pain to put on.

[KatanaMan]

I am also going to order the Plantronics 510. The Moto headset will just have to wait until the SLVR comes out.
Review when it arrives.

[hypoxia]

I laugh every time I see your avatar, Katana Man :haha:

[hypoxia]

I have a Plantronics 510 now and so far everyone claims the audio quality is much improved when am using it. :clap: :clap:

[KatanaMan]

I just got the Plantronics 510 and the audio quality is much improved over the Motorola. The fit and comfort is much better as well. I have no more complaints from the people I'm calling that I sound muffled and unintelligible.

However--- there is still some sort of ongoing issue (with the Katana obviously) where the audio sounds choppy initially. Eventually it evens out, but sometimes returns during the call for a bit. It's like I've gone out of range, even though the phone is 3 feet from the headset.

So, bottom line is that in my not-so-humble and experienced opinion you should avoid Motorola at all costs. Motorola and Katana just do not mix and (according to what others have been saying) neither company cares that they do.