Why can’t I take a call by pressing the button on my Phonak hearing aids?

Once the hearing aids are paired with a phone via Bluetooth- the multi-function button on the Phonak hearing aids can be used to accept and reject a phone call. A short push (less than one second) will accept an incoming call and a long push (press and hold more than two seconds) will reject an incoming call.

Please note: Accepting and ending phone calls is linked to volume and program functions of the hearing aid push button. By default- this feature is switched on. In case your hearing care professional switched the function off- you have to accept and end the call directly on the phone. This feature can only be enabled by your hearing care professional.

If you are unable to answer or reject a call with the hearing aid multi-function button, it could be due to one of the following reasons.

a. Your phone configuration could be causing the problem:

iPhone
It could be that your iPhone sets the call audio routing to ‘’Automatic’’ and this usually defaults to the phone. Therefore- when the phone rings- it does not recognize the hearing aids as a Bluetooth headset and so pressing the hearing aid multi-function button to activate the call will not work. In this case- follow these steps on your iPhone: Settings – General – Accessibility – Call Audio Routing – Change to Bluetooth Headset.

Other phones
Follow these general tips in order to accept calls by pressing the multi-function button on your hearing aids:

After the successful pairing of the phone with the hearing aids, make sure that the Bluetooth symbol (on the top of the phone screen) indicates that it is connected.
Some phones will transfer a call automatically to your hearing aids if the call is picked up by the hearing aid multi-function button- but stays on the phone if the phone’s button is used. If you accept the call on the phone, you can change the routing of the call from your phone to your hearing aids.
Check the Bluetooth symbol during the call. Make sure the Bluetooth symbol is on (active) by selecting it (see picture). This might differ depending on the phone model. If the Bluetooth symbol is not on and the routing of the call is still on the phone, tap on the symbol in order to change the routing to the hearing aids.

b. Connectivity issues can occur if the phone is far away, the phone is used in the car or if you mistakenly click the hearing aid multi-function button twice to accept a call, which would hang up the call immediately.

c. Receiving a call starts on the phone as it would be a normal incoming call without using hearing aids. Therefore- it is important to wait few seconds until the ring tone is heard in the hearing aid as well as on the phone. This ensures audio routing to the hearing aid.