[murnende]

I recently bought a Sennehiser HD218i headset, in hopes of using it with my Bold 9780. Unfortunately, it seems that this headset may not be completely compatible with my phone.

The first several times I plugged it in, my BlackBerry failed to recognize it, continuing to play music through the speaker on the handset. I tried plugging in my BlackBerry headset to ensure it wasn't a problem with the jack, and it worked. I then plugged the Sennheiser headset in again, this time successfully. I was able to listen to music, and to make and take calls (the volume buttons on the 'in-line' remote control didn't work, of course, but the pause/answer button worked fine). The sound quality, and the quality of the mic were fantastic, I was greatly impressed, the performance was flawless. Unfortunately, after unplugging the Sennheiser headset, I've never successfully managed to get the phone to recognize it again.

The phone consistently will recognize any other speaker, patch cord or headphone plugged into it, and it consistently recognizes the BlackBerry branded headset. The Sennheiser headset works with my playbook, and will play music from the phone if I run it through a female/male extension cable I use with my speakers, but because this cable is audio only, the mic wouldn't work. My only problem seems to come from plugging the Sennheiser headset directly into the phone.

I know my problem isn't unique, I've seen other posts complaining of this elsewhere, unfortunately, the web has proven short on answers, so I'm here hoping someone may have a workaround. Any thoughts?

[Rootbrian]

Apple's newest in-line headphone/set doesn't work at all with any blackberry device, probably and most likely the same with other smart/phones as well that use the standard 3.5mm jack.

If you can obtain the prior version, then it'll work fine, as I also use the original one AND my blackberry's headset is in a plastic bag for safe keeping until the white one fails on me. it's a pain in the ****, but that's just how it rolls.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[murnende]

Sad that the industry can't just settle on a standard, thanks for the info.

*edit*

Well . . . despite the above answer, I was still nonplussed by the fact that I had managed to get the headset working one time last night, so I set down to figure out how, and I stumbled upon a workaround. A disclaimer before I continue, I know how ridiculous this sounds, if it hadn't worked 100% of the time, I wouldn't believe it myself.

In order to get my Sennheiser "made for iPhone" headset working with my BlackBerry Bold 9780, I plugged in my BlackBerry branded headset, then pressed play (it doesn't work if the music is off or paused, though once completed, pausing or stopping the music will not undo the workaround), then pressed the BlackBerry button, selected "activate handset" on the menu, then unplugged my BlackBerry branded headset, and plugged in my Sennehiser. I don't know if this will work for other people, other BlackBerries or other headsets, though I want to track down my iPod Touch headset now in hopes of finding out.

This process seems to trick the phone into permitting the Sennheiser headset to function, as it doesn't default back to the external speaker when the other headset is unplugged. I have sound, mic and play/pause/call answer functionality; of course, the volume buttons on the headset remote still don't work. I am able to pause or stop the music and make calls without losing function on the headset, but once unplugged, I'm forced to go through the whole process again.

It's lame that I'm going to have to carry the crappy BlackBerry branded headset in order to 'prime' the phone to accept the Sennheiser, but I'm pleased that I have a great set of headphones with a fantastic mic that works with my BlackBerry.

*end edit*

[Crisdean]

Yeah and if it works it seems to be intermittant. My iphone headphones didn't work this afternoon but worked tonight when I listened to cb podcast. Removed them and popped them back in to listen to music and it was either through handset (wtf!) or loudspeaker. Pretty lame that and no idea why it would work sometimes.......

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com