HP iPaq Bluetooth Headphones
By UsaydLooking for the Bluetooth software (A2DP Profile)? Get it at YSE
My latest purchase are the latest Bluetooth Headphones available for the HP iPaq model I have (rx3715). As a matter of fact they seemed to be the only Bluetooth Headphones available for my model, according to many people Bluetooth hands free kits do not work on this particular range thanks to HP’s lack of a decent audio gateway hardware/software.
The Product:
I received the product in the post yesterday (19th July 05) after purchasing it from eBay at £28.99 (+2.50p&p). That is officially the cheapest I have found it for a brand new pair. HP’s official store sells them for £49 (ex VAT) which is much more expensive when adding VAT and Delivery on (£69.32!). This is actually when the Headphones have been reduced in price from their primary price of £99 which obviously wasn’t selling them!
Product Description/spec:
- Enjoy a wireless audio connection on the go. The HP Bluetooth® stereo headphones allow you to turn your HP iPAQ Pocket PC into a wireless audio player. Listen to MP3s, video or any audio files up to 30 feet from your iPAQ Pocket PC.
- Bluetooth® Stereo Headphones
- Bluetooth® wireless technology and stereo sound give you an exceptional listening experience without wires.
- Carrying bag and charger included. AC adapter can charge both your iPAQ and headphones. Each headphone charge gives you up to 8 hours of listening.
- Volume controls, power on/off, play/pause, and track fwd/back controls are conveniently placed on the ear piece.
Overview:
The product took me about 5 minutes to set up - Without reading the manual provided. All that was required was the insertion of a CD which had the necessary software required on the iPaq. Once this was installed all I did was charged up my Headphones and pressed the ‘Multi-Function’ button. At first nothing happened by after you hold it for 10-15 seconds it flashes red and blue which means it’s ready for pairing. On the iPaq there is a ‘High Quality Audio Setup’ choice added to the Bluetooth menu. The only mistake I made was that I didn’t add a key to the Bluetooth Pairing which made it fail. I tried again and it worked perfectly. After that I started TCPMP and selected a play list from my SD card. The headphones worked fine but I couldn’t switch tracks. I thought that it was a program error but after fiddling about I realised that the Headphones simply needed to be turned off and on again. After that it worked a charm.
The Range is okay, nothing amazing being Bluetooth and all, but the wireless factor is still there. I’m so glad I no longer have to fiddle around with annoying headphone wires whenever I want to listen to music! The Headphones only take about half an hour or so to charge which was fine, unlike the iPaq itself, the headphones are lit orange whilst charging and then the light goes out when finished (The iPaq flashes whilst charging and then stays lit when finished).
Overall:
This product gets a very good 85% from me, I think it was worth the £30 I spent on it, especially because it came with a nice bag to transport it as well as a charger which came with an iPaq adapter too (mine was getting a little ruined so I needed that!). I think it’s a good value for money product with some great uses and features.
Bad Points:
- The range is BT range, which isn’t really that far but far enough.
- The sound is high quality but sometimes there is a small amount of interference.
- Wireless music streaming (WiFi use) is not recommended whilst using the product. That really annoyed me because that was one of my main ideas; however it does still work pretty much as well with a bit more interference.
- The Product cannot be used on other devices then the iPaqs specified*.
I still highly recommend this product as one of my best buys for the iPaq - especially if you use your iPaq to listen to music.
Update 26/12/05
I’m just updating this post because some people have asked about the headphone material ‘cracking’ or snapping on occasion. This is not a rumor, it has happened to me once. I was scared that it could happen because it is made out of plastic with no methods of adjustment. The only thing I can say about this is that you get a year warranty with the headphones. If they break, call up HP and they should send you a new pair like the next day - at least thats what they did for me. I suggest that you take extra care with them, and it is most certainly a design issue that may need to be considered upon purchasing the headphones. I still keep my rating the same and to be honest I’m still perfectly happy with my purchase 
Update 03/06/06
I have recieved my third pair and the warranty will run out in July! (Second pair are actually still working although they weren’t when I requested for the third). Also - duct tape is a good disguse for snapped band and unfortunately HP didn’t give me a pair of any new design so the new ones are liable to breakage too!
July 27th, 2005 at 8:36 am
Hi,
I just got me a BlueWalker headset (similar to the hp one, except that it also has a microphone, so you can also use it as a gsm or voip headset).
It also needs the A2DP BT profile that the iPAQ headset uses.
Now my problem is: I have a iPAQ 2210 with no A2DP Bluetooth profile on it.
I downloaded & installed all the Bluetooth driver updates from the hp iPAQ 2210 support site, but still don’t get the ‘High Quality Audio Setup’ choice.
So I have 2 questions:
- is the iPAQ headphone (and thus the A2DP profile) supported on the iPAQ 2210? I have seen some vendor site that sais it does, but have my doubts now…
- if so, where can I get the drivers or the content of that CD that comes with the iPAQ headset?
- can you make this content from your CD available for downloading somewhere?
ThanX!
Regards, Fred.
July 31st, 2005 at 8:52 pm
I can easily make the software availiable for you but I can almost guarantee that it won’t work. If the hardware you’ve purchased doesn’t say it’ll work with iPaq’s - They likelyness is, it wont
December 26th, 2005 at 5:13 pm
I just wanted to ask how the headphones are holding up.
I have heard alot of issues with the band cracking and killing the bluetooth.
I am considering getting me a pair but if the cracking is a widespread issue I may hold off.
Thanks,
chris
December 26th, 2005 at 7:49 pm
Hey chris. You are right, in fact I will update the article right now so you can read my experience since purchase.
January 31st, 2006 at 6:45 pm
Hello again.
I did go ahead and make get the headphones. I to got the small cracks along the out side curve. I see they have not broken into the flat part of the band yet. I hope they dont get any bigger because these things are great. The freedom of no wires is just what I was looking for. Plus the ear buds that come with the ipaq just fell out of my ears.
AN odd thing with my headphones is that I thought they came with a charger that could also charge the iPaq. Mine can not and did not come with an adapter. It was sealed in the blister pack…
January 31st, 2006 at 6:53 pm
Hi Chris
Its nice to see that you went for the purchase. I think I know why you didn’t get an apdater with your headphones. I think that you may have bought the older version of the package which did not include the adapters. I remember reading an article on davesipaq.com where it said:
Sounds feesable? Where did you buy the headphones from by the way?
February 8th, 2006 at 1:00 pm
I got them through Amazon from MobilePlanet, Inc.
I read that article also when I was researching the headphones. Hmmm..let me take another look at that one and see what his charger looks like… Nope. Mine does not come apart. The one I have is only for the headphones. Strange. I did not get all of those plug adapters either. I did however in the shipping box get a white wall plug adapter. I thought maybe it was for European outlets…
I wonder if there is a way to tell from the model number or something… I’ll have to get some numbers together and do some research.
February 8th, 2006 at 6:11 pm
Heh, good luck with that - keep me updated! I’m pretty sure you’ve just gotten one of the older packs pre-adapter time.
March 21st, 2006 at 10:04 pm
Just thought I’d add my experience as I purchased a pair of the Logitech bluetooth headphones for Ipod on a hunch that they would work with my Ipag 5555. At first I could only get them to work with the supplied BT dongle but after 3 weeks of searching the web I found out that I had to update my bluetooth stack and then the important part … hold the button down on the headphones until the light flashes blue/red putting int in discoverable mode.
These work the same as the HP version (from what I understand). The prev/next buttons work and the main button acts as a play/pause.
I got the dreaded crack in mine as well after three weeks of light use but I called Logitech support and they are sending me a new set with an improved design for FREE! I didn’t even have to tell them where I bought them, provide any type of receipt or even send them back.
Now that I’ve got them working with the Ipaq they’re awesome. And because I went with the Ipod version instead of the HP version I got the dongle and can use it with other audio devices as well. All in all a nice little unit!
March 21st, 2006 at 11:39 pm
Hey Dan.
Sounds like you’ve had quite a positive experience with your BT headphones. I have to admit, going for the iPod compatible ones was quite a smart move although I have no doubt you paid more then you would’ve for the dongle’less ones. I probably would have done the same but I don’t actually think the logitech ones existed when I purchased mine (from my understanding the HP ones came first). I think that it can be generally agreed that the major fault with the headphones was the plastic band - as they say, learn from your mistakes!
I was also quite surprised when HP sent me a new pair for free (though they did check the serial), but it occured to me that its cheaper for them to send a new pair then to go to any more trouble (unlike when I had my rx3715 replaced they came and picked up the broken one).
Thanks for sharing that with us Dan
March 22nd, 2006 at 1:36 pm
I actually only paid $40 US for mine on ebay. I think word getting around about the cracking band has dropped their price significantly.
June 25th, 2006 at 6:43 am
Hey there,
I finally found my way to your website after searching the web for ever!
I was looking for an answer to updating my HP iPaq 3715 Bluetooth software and ROM. I have had trouble downloading the updates on the HP.com site. That’s when I found your post on another forum with the listed updates. Thank you for keeping them alive on your site!
I agree that Bluetooth is great. I just bought a pair of Bluetake Light headphones that work with my HP notebook, but the headphone service is not available/offered on my version of Bluetooth on the iPaq 3715. I have checked other iPaqs in the stores here in Georgia, USA, and they all have the headphone option. I am familiar with Bluetooth and use it all the time to transfer files back and forth between my pda and notebook computer. Still, I can’t find the necessary Bluetooth software update to pair my new headphones with my iPaq. From reading your posts and seeing your setup on MYPDA, it is clear you already have the software on your 3715. Which means it exists for those of us still using Windows Mobile 2003SE.
Do you know how or where I can find an update for my software so I can start enjoying my Bluetooth headphones with my iPaq?? Btw, my ROM is updated: v 1.01.11 and I even have the latest Bluetooth Headphone driver update from the HP site. But that doesn’t get me the necessary Headset option in Bluetooth Services. Heeeelp! :). I’m working on posting a profile of my pda on MYPDA. But for the record, I’ve got a 2gig SD card with Pocketbreeze, iLauncher, Contactbreeze, WisBar Advanced, skTools, NetFront, TCPMP, and MortPlayer: all the fun toys! ;-> Now if I can only get these headphones to work…
Thanks for whatever help you can provide.
Geo
June 25th, 2006 at 12:53 pm
Hi
So you have Bluetake Light headphones (which look pretty neat) and you’re trying to get them to work on your rx3715 with some kind of Bluetooth hack/update. Well according to that site they can work with a PDA with an A2DP profile and that means that they really should work with the rx3715 with the A2DP profile installed.
What I can’t really understand is that you are saying you have the BT software yet you do not have the headphone option on your iPaq? If that is the case it means that you have not successfully installed the software. What should happen when you install the software is that another option comes up in the Bluetooth manager (it comes up as the first option) which says ‘High Quality Audio Setup’ (and a picture of headphones). If you go through to that then you’ll need to put your headphones into pairing mode in order for it to discover them (on the HP ones you old down the select key until the light flashes differently, you probably have instructions of how to do that). Then once it is discovered it should make you enter a passkey of 0000 and once that’s done your headphones should be paired and should work.
Please confirm whether this is your issue or if the software works but your headphones are not detected.
June 25th, 2006 at 3:23 pm
Hi all, I just wanted to add my awful experience so maybe others with the same problem know what to expect from HP, and maybe find another way to solve this.
I purchased my HP BT headphones for my iPaq four months ago, on a trip to Taiwan. From my first use I was fascinated with the unit, but after only a bit more than two months of use, it started interrupting itself, and it didn’t took long for it to stop working. After a while trying with the software I realized the problem was in the hardware, specifically in the band where I found a small crack, so every time I tried to put the headphones on, it ended up disconnecting itself.
So after realizing this problem, I called HP Support with intention of claiming the warranty, after several hours of interrogations, giving away serial and product numbers, addresses and even sending a fax with a copy of my proof of purchase, they ended up telling me that because I purchased my unit in Taiwan, I had to contact the HP Support in Taiwan so I could claim the warranty. I live in Florida, so that of course made me mad, but anyway after realizing this was my only option, I asked for the number I had to call, and so they told me that they only had support in the Chinese language, and because I don’t know the language, now I’m stuck with my damaged unit.
Now I’m trying to find a way to fix the unit by myself, or make them understand they’re mistake, at a time where every other mayor manufacturer has global support for they’re products. So if anyone can help on these, please let me know.
June 25th, 2006 at 6:05 pm
Hi Ghost
Sounds like quite an experience, very unfortunate for you certainly as I’ve been lucky enough to have mine replaced twice without too much difficulty. I can see where your issue is, however it does kind of make sense in a weird sense but really HP should be providing you with a better service. I suggest writing a complaint letter documenting the issue - you should keep persisting and don’t just let them win, if you keep bugging them they might give you another pair just to shut you up. What you might find is that when you call again you’ll get someone else on the phone who will actually give you a different conclusion to the last person, perhaps in your favour.
Whilst you’re doing this, you can try fixing your headphones. I used black duct tape which works fine so far - however I never encountered any connection problems with the band as such. I do advise that you do not try and remove the band because it’s really impossible.
Thanks for sharing your experience!
June 25th, 2006 at 6:27 pm
Usayd,
Thank you for all the help. I realized late into the night that you had the software I needed on your website, which you refer to in your response to me. The only software I had been able to find was the HP Bluetooth headset (BT) fix from HP.com Software Update/Drivers web page. The Bluetooth PPC AV Setup was what I needed to add the headset option to my iPaq 3715.
After downloading the software from your site, it was a simple matter of installing it to the iPaq via Activesync, pairing the headphones, which I already knew how to do because I had done it with my notebook computer. Afterwards, I also installed the BT fix and my ears were rewarded with glorious, wireless sounds from my pda using both win media player and mort player.
However, for those reading this there are 2 important notes!
1) Installing the BT headset fix from HP.com will add the remote “Next” and “Previous” play capability when using Win Media Player, as long as your headphone supports that feature. Mine does and it’s great!
2) Very Important! I own an HP notebook, so when I installed the HP iPaq Bluetooth Headset AV software found here, it added this feature to my HP Bluetooth audio options on my computer. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem, but in some HP notebooks this causes the audio to lock in the Bluetooth mode and not release the audio even after the headphones have disconnected. There are references to this issue on HP’s website, as well as a download fix for my particular notebook, the Pavilion dv1300. I should mention however, that even after installing the fix, my audio remained connected to the Bluetooth profile, so I could only listen to music from my computer if I used my headphones or turned off the Bluetooth/Wireless service, which meant no simultaneous listening through my notebook speakers and wireless surfing. My solution was simple and lucky! I ran the Windows XP RESTORE feature, which thankfully had created an automatic Restore point when I installed the Bluetooth PPC AV software. So, don’t count on that automatic Restore point, create a manual Restore point BEFORE installing the Bluetooth AV setup.
Now, all is smooth and mellow. I’m listening to Thievery Corporation while typing this and hoping it will save someone else the mixed blessing of installing this great software Usayd has posted here for all to enjoy. Btw, I highly recommend the Bluetake mini headphones. They are much lighter and more comfortable than some of the banded headphones I have seen. Also, with the simple wire connection between earpads there is no chance of the band ‘cracking’ or breaking like some have mentioned. It takes a little less than 2 hours to fully charge using the USB charger (less if you buy the AC charger) and operates for me 6+ hours.
Also, I don’t know why HP does not have the Bluetooth AV mobile software update on their site since there are obviously still lots of people out there using Win Mobile 2003(SE), who use Bluetooth, but don’t have the headset option preinstalled. (Win Mobile 5 comes with BT Headset option preinstalled) The same is true of their Bluetooth printer support. My HP iPaq Bluetooth printer option only had a driver for HP printers. I purchased the Canon ip90 portable printer with Bluetooth capability which is significantly sleeker, smaller, and sharper than HP’s. So, to get my printer to work with my iPaq, I also purchased Westtek Jetcet Print Pocket software. It has all of the major Bluetooth capable printer drivers. And yes, it works great. It is mobile heaven, but more importantly, it is mobile wireless heaven.
Hope this helps all the geeky gadgeteers like me out there. I know Usayd’s website has helped me and added more functionality to my toys. So I bow to your foresight and generosity Usayd for collecting and keeping these utilities alive on the web.
Cheers,
Geo
June 25th, 2006 at 7:15 pm
Hey Geo,
Thanks for the feedback; I’m sure that it will definitely be useful for someone using Bluetooth headphones with their laptops. I was going to try it out with my dad’s HP laptop but I never really got the chance, guess it’s probably not worth it anyway.
The Bluetake ones look nice but they are double the price of the HP ones (and that is a year later) at £67 they aren’t the cheapest available but with all the hassle that people have had with the HP ones, perhaps it is worth it (I don’t care, I’ve got two working pairs for £30!).
That printer thing sounds cool (I’ve got rid of the mobile printing software because I literally never used it apart from testing), you could have got it free but that wouldn’t have supported Bluetooth.
I’m glad that you found my site useful, if you have any other (rare) downloads that people might find useful/are hard to find then please let me know!
Thanks
June 25th, 2006 at 8:01 pm
No problem Usayd. What’s the exchange rate pounds to dollars? I can’t believe you got 2 pair of anything that cool for 30p? You’re right, the Bluetake headphones are cool and expensive, but I got mine at a great website, http://www.supermediastore.com, for only $71. That price was 1 week ago. Somebody must have checked the web because they are selling for $85 today. This is about the low-end price for most larger/ banded headphones. The banded/larger Bluetake version with additional Bluetooth dongle that attaches to any standard audio output jack sells for $140 on this site, which is still cheaper than most places. With that unit you can plug the dongle into any stereo, pda, mp3 player and use the headset. Pretty cool.
Oh yeah, too bad about the HP printer software… free would have been nice
I actually saw it when I downloaded the Bluetooth software so I downloaded it for the sake of having it, but I watch my memory so having Jetcet Print installed is plenty for me.
If any friends on my various forums need esoteric or hard-to-find pda software, you’re my new go-to guy. Thanks again Usayd. I’m taking another cue from you and surfing the Pocketnow website: more helpful stuff. You’re the man! *smile*
Geo
June 25th, 2006 at 11:10 pm
Haha £30.00 not 30p!!! 30p is the equivalent of £0.30! In USD that’s $54 so I guess you got a pretty good deal which is common because we often have to pay more over here due to the pound being worth almost double the dollar. Also, I got mine cheaper then anywhere else - in my article I mentioned that they were selling elsewhere (HP) for £70 ($130) so I’m satisfied.
It’s funny, HP called me up after my last replacement in order to do a ‘customer satisfaction survey’. I was more then happy to say how dissatisfied I was with the service, to be fair I got what I was after but it took a few phone calls and scanning my receipt and emailing it to them. The worst thing is when you’re on the phone to someone who can barely even speak your language. I don’t blame the person who’s on the phone of course; I blame HP for trying to save money by having their call centres in places like India.
Forums can be really helpful; I mean what we would do without the internet eh…
January 14th, 2007 at 7:37 pm
[...] So I’d be listening to music mainly on my HP Bluetooth headphones with my iPaq, or with earphones on my iPod, or even with my headset on my phone (2×512MB). [...]
January 24th, 2007 at 3:12 am
I’m from Argentina, and I managed to get the HP bluetooth headset and it suffered the exact same fate as yours, cracked in the back. I’ve had some problems with my first rx3715 and HP happily gave me a new one (it was refurbished, actually), which had problems itself, and then they gave me another one. I really thought that it would be the same with the headset, but NO, they started complaining that I cracked them and it’s not a “factory issue” (which I really think it is, because it wasn’t like I performed a twist-stress test) and sent me back home with my cracked headphones (which are useless). I’ve had the cracked headphones for over a year and a half, sitting in my shelf. My dad tried to fix them, but no good, and, since my rx3715 is having problems in its headphone jack (sound fades in and out), I’ll be calling HP to see what they can do for me, and I’ll bring this website as a proof that I’m not the only one with cracked headphones.
Aside from that, the headset worked like a breeze before cracking.
Nice reviews, by the way, keep’em up!
ps: does anyone know if there’s a way of updating the bluetooth driver to get a bluetooth hands-free from nokia to work with an rx3715 in, say, Skype?
January 24th, 2007 at 1:45 pm
Hey Nicholas,
Thanks for your response. Its always good to see you’re not the only one suffering!
To be honest I’ve not been too unhappy with the service from HP, because although some of their products may be fragile or badly designed (like the Headphones), they usually sort you out with a new or refurb if you persist - so long as you’re still under warranty.
Obviously it differs for people in different circumstances, but I’ve always said its worth staying on hold for a while to get a new pair of Headphones!
When my earphone jack went on my rx3715, HP actually replaced the whole motherboard fixing the problem, and when my iPaq screen went I convinced them to replace my iPaq with a refurb (which also had a 3 month extra warranty). You just have to be very confident over the phone and you will be able to convince them.
As for BT headset, unfortunately there is no Audio Gateway on the rx3715 so you will not be able to get your handsfree kits to work. On top of that, Skype is such a heavy application that it isn’t able to handle bluetooth connections on top of the high quality audio transmission so it doesn’t work very well with headsets on PDA’s anyway.