Can someone help with krzr/bluetooth problem?

Malpaso

Enlightened
Joined
Feb 4, 2005
Messages
506
Location
MA
I'm at a complete loss on this problem because I know so little about cell phones (mine is an old Nokia with no camera, no music, etc.)

The g/f just bought a new krzr with a bluetooth. The transmission quality of the bluetooth is terrible, and degrades rapidly the longer the call. For instance, If she calls me, she sounds a little mumbly, but after fifteen minutes or so, I can't understand a word. If she switches over to the krzr, the quality is crystal clear. She brought it in to Verizon to test, and they couldn't find anything wrong with it. It's not just with my phone either, a couple of members of her family have said the same thing. Any thoughts?
 

gadget_lover

Flashaholic
Joined
Oct 7, 2003
Messages
7,148
Location
Near Silicon Valley (too near)
Ask the verizon store to try a different headset. If the other headset has the same problem the phone is defective. If the other headset is OK then then headset is defective. Have them use your g/f's headset on a different phone, just to be sure.

Bluetooth uses the same frequencies as a lot of other things, so interference can be a problem at a distance.

BTW, did you fully charge the headset battery before using it? A weak battery may be part of the problem.

Daniel
 

Manzerick

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 3, 2004
Messages
2,793
Location
Boston, Massachusetts
+1

This is sound advice. From experience (and sitting a few feet from a BDA) evenif everything is working external freq can cause a problem. Jus tkepp itin mind when the"canyouhear me now?" guy is singing his swan song lol

gadget_lover said:
Ask the verizon store to try a different headset. If the other headset has the same problem the phone is defective. If the other headset is OK then then headset is defective. Have them use your g/f's headset on a different phone, just to be sure.

Bluetooth uses the same frequencies as a lot of other things, so interference can be a problem at a distance.

BTW, did you fully charge the headset battery before using it? A weak battery may be part of the problem.

Daniel
 

Malpaso

Enlightened
Joined
Feb 4, 2005
Messages
506
Location
MA
Being a HAM, the first thing I thought of was RF interference, so your suggestions reinforce that. I told her to try calling me from outside of her car (where she uses the bluetooth most often) to see if there is some interference there.

Unfortunately, the Verizon techs didn't seem too interested in troubleshooting the problem, so asking them to try swapping the two components in and out will probably not be well received.
 

gadget_lover

Flashaholic
Joined
Oct 7, 2003
Messages
7,148
Location
Near Silicon Valley (too near)
Sometimes a little subtrifuge is needed with cell phone support people.

You might have her take the krzr to the store and pretend she wants a new headset. Insist on a demo by pairing it to her phone. Up the antey by hinting that you want matching his and hers models of the most expensive they have.

Alternatively (assuming that you bought the phone and headset at verizon) you can threaten to return one or both under warranty repair. They might not mind that, since they dob't lose any money but the parent company does.

And last (but not least) there is no reason that you have to do it at the verizon store. You can go to ANY cellphone place that sells bt headsets and try one of their models. On a slow day the sales people are bored anyway. Be prepared to do the pairing yourself. It's usually very, very simple.

Daniel
 

gorn

Enlightened
Joined
Aug 31, 2004
Messages
859
Location
The Big Valley, Calif. USA
My first suggestion is NEVER buy accessories at the cell phone shop unless you want to throw away lots of money. It sounds like there may be a problem with the headset. Some brands of bluetooth headsets have issues with Motorola phones. I have 3 different models of the RAZR phone. I had a couple of Jabra headsets and had a little bit of a problem with them and the RAZR's. I then picked up some motorola brand headsets at Fry's electronics for $19 each and they work perfectly.
 

Malpaso

Enlightened
Joined
Feb 4, 2005
Messages
506
Location
MA
Thanks for all the help. As it turns out, the bluetooth must be bad. She borrowed someone else's bluetooth at work, and the audio is far better.
 
Top