Similar to last cycle, Google is rolling out Android 13 QPR2 Beta 2.1 for Pixel phones as a bug fixer today.
Google identifies the following issues and fixes in this “minor update” to the initial Beta 2 release:
Fixed an issue that sometimes prevented devices from automatically connecting to a 5G network even when it was available. (Issue #265093352)
Fixed an issue where devices did not drop or reset an existing, encrypted Bluetooth connection after receiving a command to disable link-layer encryption for that connection.
The Android Beta Feedback app is available on Pixel phones to detail issues. You can access it from the app drawer or via Quick Settings to file bugs in the Google issue tracker, while the Android Beta community is on Reddit.
Android 13 QPR2 Beta 2.1 system images are available for the Pixel 4a, Pixel 4a 5G, Pixel 5, Pixel 5a, Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro, Pixel 6a, Pixel 7, and Pixel 7 Pro, as well as the Android Emulator. Google notes how:
If you’re already enrolled in the Android 13 beta QPR2 and your device is running Beta 2, you will automatically receive an over-the-air (OTA) update to Beta 2.1. If your device is still on Beta 1, you will automatically receive the Beta 2.1 patch once you update to Beta 2.
Beta 2.1 (T2B2.221216.008) contains the same January 2023 security patch.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Google is turning off its Stadia cloud game streaming service on January 18th, 2023, but it’s giving the wireless Stadia controller a second chance as a Bluetooth controller that can be connected to PCs, Macs, phones, and presumably other devices, too. The change won’t happen automatically; it’s a manual process that can’t be reversed. What’s more, you only have until December 31st, 2023, to do the switch to enable Bluetooth wireless. After that date, any unconverted Stadia controller will still work as a wired USB gamepad, but it’ll be locked out of playing games wirelessly.
I’m going to walk you through the process for converting your Stadia controller by using Google’s browser-based tool.
Make sure your controller is charged above the 10 percent level. (It won’t let you proceed until it has enough charge.)
Open Google’s Stadia controller update tool in Chrome or Microsoft Edge. (Signing in to your Google account isn’t necessary or even possible to complete this process.)
Click the start button in the Switch to Bluetooth mode section. You’ll be prompted to agree to Google’s terms of service. (Agreeing is the only option that lets you proceed.)
a:hover]:shadow-highlight-franklin [&>a]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-highlight-franklin dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-white md:text-30″>Allow the browser to verify the controller
Next, you’ll need to allow your browser to verify the controller. Click the Allow Chrome to verify button.
This will cause a small drop-down window to appear in the top-left corner of your browser. Your Stadia controller should be visible. Choose the Connect option.
a:hover]:shadow-highlight-franklin [&>a]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-highlight-franklin dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-white md:text-30″>Follow the on-screen button prompts to unlock your controller’s firmware
At this point, the tool will show you a set of button commands that are necessary to press in order to allow the Wi-Fi to Bluetooth conversion to transpire. Here are the button prompts in order:
First, unplug your controller. In the instructions, Google notes that if it turns on again, you should hold the Stadia button for four seconds to force it to shut down.
Hold the options button (it looks like an ellipsis with three horizontal dots) while plugging in the controller. The instructions note that the status light underneath the main Stadia button should remain unlit and that you should try the process again if it turns on.
Finally, press the same options button, plus the Google Assistant button (featuring four differently sized circles) just beneath it along with A and Y. That’s four buttons in total. (The instructions say there won’t be a rumble or any kind of controller feedback.)
a:hover]:shadow-highlight-franklin [&>a]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-highlight-franklin dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-white md:text-30″>Allow the browser to download the Bluetooth mode update
In order to install the update, you’ll have to once again select your controller, following a similar process from earlier.
Hit Allow Chrome to download.
Select Connect within the drop-down window in your browser. This time, it may be listed as SP Blank RT Family, Stadia Controller, or USB COMPOSITE DEVICE.
a:hover]:shadow-highlight-franklin [&>a]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-highlight-franklin dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-white md:text-30″>Allow your browser to install the Bluetooth mode
Once again, the next step has you allowing the browser to install the update. Select the controller (it could go by any of the names listed in the previous step) for the final step that enables Bluetooth.
a:hover]:shadow-highlight-franklin [&>a]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-highlight-franklin dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-white md:text-30″>How to connect to devices via Bluetooth
To connect your Stadia controller wirelessly to devices over Bluetooth, hold the Y and Stadia buttons simultaneously for two seconds, and the status light will flash orange to indicate that it’s in pairing mode. Google notes that, once it’s paired to a device, it’ll auto-connect to the last paired device when turned on.
Correction January 17th, 4:42PM ET: A previous version of this article incorrectly mentioned that Stadia controllers that miss the December 31st, 2023 update window will be useless. However, they will still work as wired USB controllers.
All year long, I hear from readers and friends sharing their tech woes. Last year, I wrote about ways to avoid tech problems. This year, I’m sharing how to tackle the most common issues, including laggy internet, Bluetooth fails and public Wi-Fi connection conundrums.
If you have suffered from one of these headaches—or are similarly bombarded with queries as the official family IT person—there’s good news: With patience, you can solve the majority of problems yourself.
Most tech troubles have simple solutions. Not connecting? Turn wireless settings off and on again. Not syncing? Sign out, then sign back into your account. Sluggish performance? Restart the device or clear browser cookies. Here are the settings and tools you need to become your own tech troubleshooter.
Tap the Source
The best place to get guidance is an official support page. Go to Apple‘s website for iPhones and Macs,
Microsoft
‘s for Windows and Google’s for Android and Chrome OS. Popular apps such as Zoom and Slack have good help resources, too.
Don’t rely on hearsay. For instance, if you get your phone wet, people tell you to dunk it in uncooked rice. But
Apple
disagrees, since the grains could get lodged in the phone. Instead, face any open ports down, tap to remove excess liquid and leave the device in a dry area with airflow.
For persistent problems, check to see if the device is running the latest firmware. Software updates often include bug fixes. If your device is no longer supported with updates, it’s best to look into a newer model.
Search Your Settings
Your problem’s solution likely lies in a magical place called Settings. The fix is flipping a specific control on or off—or on and off. But where to find the related menu or button isn’t obvious, unless you use the Settings search field.
iPhone: Once you open Settings, swipe down to reveal the search bar.
Android: Every device manufacturer has a slightly different settings interface. On
Samsung,
tap the magnifying-glass icon on the top right. Other phones show the search field right at the top of settings.
Mac: Open System Settings (formerly System Preferences). Search is on the top left (or top right on older MacOS versions).
Windows: Open Settings and the search box is on top left. You can also type settings: followed by the search term from the taskbar.
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS
What are your favorite easy tech tips? Join the conversation below.
End Public Wi-Fi Madness
Coffee shops, airports, hotels and other public venues have “captive” Wi-Fi networks. When you choose a network from your phone or computer, a pop-up appears asking you to pay or give credentials such as your hotel room number. But sometimes you don’t see the pop-up. Fortunately, you can force it to show up.
iPhone or Mac: Type captive.apple.com into your browser.
Android or Chrome OS: Type google.com/generate_204 into your browser.
Windows: Type www.msftncsi.com/ncsi.txt into your browser.
If a webpage won’t load, tap the three dots, then select Clear browsing data.
Photo:
Nicole Nguyen/The Wall Street Journal
Still not working? You might need to clear your browser cache, which can resolve other wonky website issues, too. Just note, when you clear cookies, you often have to sign back into websites.
Chrome: On a computer, click the three buttons on the top right, then click More Tools, then Clear Browsing Data. In that menu, select “Cookies and other site data” and “Cached images and files.” On mobile, tap the three dots, then History to find Clear Browsing Data.
Safari: On a Mac, go to the Safari menu, then Settings, then Privacy. Click Manage Website Data, select the desired website, then Remove or Remove All. On mobile, go to the Settings app, then Safari and tap Advanced, then Website Data. Select Remove All Website Data.
Fix Bluetooth Fails
Connecting Bluetooth accessories to your phone, computer or car can be a pain. This repairing recipe tends to work: Turn your phone or computer’s Bluetooth setting off. Turn the accessory off. Re-enable Bluetooth on your phone or computer. Turn on the accessory and put it into pairing mode. Look for the accessory’s name in the list.
Still not working? Try removing the accessory from your phone or laptop’s Bluetooth menu, then readding it.
iPhone: In Settings > Bluetooth, tap the “i” info button next to the accessory name, then Forget This Device.
On a Mac, add Sound and Bluetooth controls to the menu bar for quicker troubleshooting.
Photo:
Nicole Nguyen/The Wall Street Journal
Mac: In System Settings, click Bluetooth. Hover over the device name and click the X button to remove.
Android: In Settings, go to Connected Devices, then Connection preferences, then Bluetooth. Tap the device name and then the X button to disconnect.
Windows: In Settings, click Bluetooth & devices, then Devices. Next to the device name, select More options, then Remove device.
Bluetooth headphones can also cause trouble for videoconferencing, so make sure you can access the settings from your computer’s menu bar:
Mac: On MacOS Ventura, go to the Control Center on the top right. In Macs running older system software, the option “Show in menu bar” is found in Bluetooth and Sound settings.
Windows: Pin Bluetooth and audio control to your taskbar.
Speed Up Sluggish Internet
Sometimes your home Wi-Fi problems are out of your control: Maybe your service provider can’t get you higher speed, or wants more money for it. And sometimes the solution is buying a new router. (We recommend a mesh network, if you do.) But before upgrading service or hardware, try to fix it yourself.
First, stand near your router and go to Speedtest.net on your phone or laptop to verify it’s an internet issue, and not a device-performance problem, such as too many open tabs. A bad score would be download speeds under 15 megabits a second, and upload speeds under 5 megabits a second.
If your router is tucked away somewhere, place it in a more central location out in the open if possible, far from metal furniture and large appliances. Also, lots of connected devices can slow down the Wi-Fi, so turn off devices that don’t need it (such as an unused Kindle).
If you’re in a pinch, plug your computer directly into your router using an Ethernet cable.
Fine-Tune Your Notifications
In Gmail, you can turn off notifications for work accounts but leave them on for high-priority personal email.
Photo:
Nicole Nguyen/The Wall Street Journal
Incessant pings from notifications can drive you crazy. Turning on Do Not Disturb will universally mute distractions—including important ones.
Notifications are much messier on iOS than Android, so we’ll just focus on iPhone users: All app notifications can be accessed through the main Notifications setting—you can turn anything on or off there.
But third-party apps such as Slack, WhatsApp and Gmail have their own notification settings, too. If you’re not getting the notifications you expect, check the phone’s settings and the app’s settings for the culprit.
—For more WSJ Technology analysis, reviews, advice and headlines, sign up for our weekly newsletter.
Enlarge / Plugable’s Bluetooth 5.0 USB adapter in a desktop PC.
Plugable
No, industry specs and updates aren’t going to stop arriving. But keeping your computer up to date with the latest wireless standards, like Bluetooth, is still a good step in future-proofing. While it’s not the only product of its kind, the Plugable USB-BT5 USB-A adapter announced today looks like a cheap and simple way to bring Bluetooth 5.0 to your PC.
Bernie Thompson, founder and CTO at the Redmond, Washington-based company told us that the adapter supports link rates of up to 3Mbps. You also get connectivity with up to seven devices and a max distance claim of 131 feet (40 m). Like with any Bluetooth product, max supported distance will vary depending on environmental factors, such as walls and appliances in the area.
Plugable’s adapter works like a Bluetooth radio for the computer’s OS, and the only OSes the dongle supports are Windows 11 and Windows 10. With Microsoft ending support for Windows 7 and 8 next month, the lack of older Windows OSes may not be too surprising.
Still, earlier released rivals have differing compatibility. TP-Link’s UB500 (on sale for $13 as of writing) supports Windows 8.1 and 7 in addition to Windows 11 and 10. Asus’ USB-BT500 ($20 MSRP) doesn’t claim to support Windows 11 but lists Windows 10 and 8.1, plus Linux.
While some of Plugable’s previous Bluetooth adapters have supported Linux, Thompson told us that the company has encountered issues with open source projects handling Bluetooth support in Linux that have created “less than ideal experiences.” The adapter might work with Linux, but the OS isn’t officially supported, they noted.
Enlarge / The USB 2.0 accessory is 1.13-ounces and 5.24×3.5× 0.59 inches.
Plugable
If you need official Linux support or opt for Asus or TP-Link’s adapters over Plugable’s for any other reason, you probably won’t miss much. Plugable’s Thompson admitted to Ars Technica that the USB-BT5 is “functionally identical” to Asus’ USB-BT500. The TP-Link adapter uses a similar driver package to Plugable’s and, likely, the same chip. Plus, each adapter has a two-year warranty. If you presume you’ll have drastic technical difficulties with your plug-in dongle, though, Thompson claimed that the USB-BT5 adds unique value via “US-based customer support from the engineers who test and bring the adapter to market.”
The other thing that could win you over is price. Plugable’s USB-BT5 Bluetooth 5.0 adapter is currently selling for $13.
Ars Technica may earn compensation for sales from links on this post through affiliate programs.
CD-quality music is still the benchmark for decent audio; it’s not quite hi-res, but it’s noticeably better than the lossy, compressed music found on Spotify and your old MP3 library. But actually listening to uncompressed CD-quality music on a phone can still be tricky if convenience is also important. The source material needs to be high enough quality in the first place, and once it reaches your phone you need a way to get it to your headphones without that extra audio quality being compressed away. Easy enough in an era of wired headphones, but a little more difficult with wireless earbuds.
Qualcomm’s new AptX Lossless standard is supposed to finally close the gap between the fidelity of CD-quality audio and the imperfect compression of Bluetooth. Accessing it is still harder than it should be, but after having spent an afternoon comparing it against its predecessor, the difference in quality is very much there.
It’s taken a bit of time for hardware to emerge that actually supports the new standard since it was first announced over a year ago. In June, audio company Nura announced the first pair of earbuds with support for AptX Lossless, but only a handful of smartphones on the market are actually compatible with the new codec. That’s finally starting to change, though, with phones such as the Asus Zenfone 9 shipping with built-in support AptX Lossless. Nura provided me with a sample of the phone to be able to properly put its new earbuds through their paces.
The NuraTrue Pro themselves are a fairly typical looking set of true wireless earbuds. They offer 8 hours of charge from the earbuds themselves, an extra 24 hours from the case, and come with four microphones on each earbud to handle calls and noise-canceling. These microphones are also responsible for Nura’s trademark personalized sound technology, which it claims measures your ears to optimize audio for them. Nura is currently funding the earbuds through a Kickstarter campaign, which says that the earbuds are expected to launch in the fourth quarter of this year.
Critically, Nura’s wireless buds support Qualcomm’s AptX Lossless standard. The chip manufacturer says the new Bluetooth technology is able to transmit CD-quality audio (16-bit / 44.1kHz), without any loss of detail (hence “Lossless”). That’s in contrast to its previous highest-resolution codec, AptX HD, which is still heavily compressed despite claims of it transmitting audio that sounds on a par with 24-bit / 48kHz or even 24-bit / 96kHz.
Despite its lossless branding, AptX Lossless isn’t entirely compression-free. There’s still some compression at work here to bring 1.4Mbps CD-quality audio down to the 1Mbps bit-rate that AptX Lossless is capable of transmitting. But the difference here is that the compression being used shouldn’t result in any loss of data, and is “bit-for-bit” exact. “After it’s uncompressed it’s exactly the same as the original,” Nura CEO Luke Campbell says, “Think of a ZIP file. It gets smaller, but it’s exactly what it was when it comes out.”
For my tests I made use of Apple Music’s Lossless audio streaming. I verified that I had all audio quality settings set to their highest available option, and checked the specific audio resolutions listed for each track. In some cases these tracks were actually higher-resolution than the CD-quality audio that AptX Lossless is capable of transmitting, but that shouldn’t matter for the purposes of my comparative test.
In theory the test should be relatively simple, but Qualcomm’s software doesn’t make it particularly easy to see when you’re streaming via AptX Lossless. The new codec is technically an extension of AptX Adaptive, the company’s preexisting codec that dynamically scales your audio’s bitrate depending on your environment. So when I connected the NuraTrue Pro earbuds to the Asus Zenfone 9, a Qualcomm tooltip popped up to note that I was connected via “Snapdragon Sound” and “AptX Adaptive” without specifically mentioning lossless. But between Nura’s confirmation, me listening in an uncrowded location, and Qualcomm’s AptX site specifically mentioning that the device supports AptX Lossless, I’m confident that I’m hearing lossless audio.
Neither Qualcomm’s software nor Android give you an easy way to toggle between different versions of AptX to do an AB test. Instead, on Campbell’s suggestion, I took advantage of the NuraTrue Pro’s multipoint connectivity to directly compare listening via an AptX Lossless-compatible handset (the Asus Zenfone 9) with a regular AptX HD-compatible phone (the Honor 70). With this setup, I could have Apple Music streaming losslessly to both phones, and then have the NuraTrue Pro connected to each one in turn to see what, if any, difference in audio quality I could discern.
To my ears, AptX Lossless appeared to provide a small-yet-noticeable impact on audio quality. It wasn’t a night and day difference (turns out Bluetooth audio compression really has gotten pretty damn good in recent years), but they were the kind of minor differences that are enjoyable to pick out in familiar tracks. A little extra clarity here, a little extra depth there.
Turning to “Hotel California” by Eagles (which Apple Music reports was streaming at a hi-res 24-bit / 192kHz), the benefits of Lossless seemed most obvious in the high frequencies. The plucked guitar notes in the song’s intro had more brightness and sparkle with the Bluetooth quality cranked up to lossless, and every instrument throughout the track felt more present and audible. It never sounded bad when listening on the Honor 70, but the Zenfone 9 just had that little extra bit of detail.
That’s not to say the differences were stark, and clearly the quality of the mastering of the track has a big part to play. I tried listening to “Lithium” by Nirvana (24-bit / 44.1kHz, a smaller step up from CD-quality) and it was much harder to tell the difference between the two audio codecs. Maybe Cobain’s opening guitar riff and vocals had slightly more space around them with AptX Lossless enabled, but I doubt I’d be able to tell the difference in a blind test. The differences were slightly more apparent in a busier trick like “Territorial Pissings,” which sounded muddier on the non-AptX Lossless device, but the difference was minor.
Next up I tried some techno with “Elliptic” by Vessels (16-bit / 44.1kHz, aka CD-quality). While the non-AptX Lossless handset felt like it was getting a little overwhelmed by the track’s thumping bass, the Zenfone 9 gave it a much more balanced sound, with higher pitched audio sounding much more prominent in the mix, and given more space to breathe. It almost felt like AptX Lossless was helping to un-bury the song from a sea of bass.
Finally I gave “Maps” by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs a listen (24-bit / 44.1 kHz). Here, each of the instruments felt more three-dimensional when streamed via AptX Lossless. They sounded less like parts of a music track, and more like physical instruments that had been recorded in a studio.
In each case I’d struggle to call the improvements offered by AptX Lossless transformative. But it felt like it added that little extra bit of detail that I often didn’t realize I was missing. It’s almost like that moment when you start streaming a video, and it looks ok right up until that moment when it buffers properly and pops into focus. It didn’t look “bad” before, but the second you see it in its highest quality you become aware of the deficiencies.
There are always lots of variables when testing audio gear, and I wouldn’t want to draw any final conclusions about AptX Lossless from the time I spent with the NuraTrue Pro. The codec could have a more pronounced impact on higher-end and/or over-ear headphones or with different songs, for example. But, based on my listening, the impact AptX Lossless had was subtle enough that I personally wouldn’t rush out to buy a new pair of headphones based on the audio codec alone (sorry Nura), and I definitely wouldn’t buy a new phone to get support. Even given the choice between two pairs of headphones, I’d probably pick based on subjective audio quality rather than which model has the more advanced audio codec on its spec sheet.
Ideally, AptX Lossless would just become one of those audio features supported by enough smartphones and headphones that you benefit from it without realizing. But while AptX is broadly supported across numerous wireless headphones and Android phones, it’s remained absent from iPhones and AirPods. Lossless Bluetooth streaming might be a great upgrade for any audiophiles who hate the idea of listening to lossy audio, but its subtle benefits might be a harder sell for more mainstream listeners.
Crowdfunding is a chaotic field by nature: companies looking for funding tend to make big promises. According to a study run by Kickstarter in 2015, roughly 1 in 10 “successful” products that reach their funding goals fail to actually deliver rewards. Of the ones that do deliver, delays, missed deadlines, or overpromised ideas mean that there’s often disappointment in store for those products that do get done.
The best defense is to use your best judgment. Ask yourself: does the product look legitimate? Is the company making outlandish claims? Is there a working prototype? Does the company mention existing plans to manufacture and ship finished products? Has it completed a Kickstarter before? And remember: you’re not necessarily buying a product when you back it on a crowdfunding site.
Flights are boring, longer ones even more so. Since I have picky ears that despise nearly every earbud shape or size, I’ve often struggled with the default in-plane entertainment options. For the past few years, I’ve resorted to downloading some podcasts and playlists and listening to them with my own tried-and-tested comfortable Bluetooth buds. It’s a minimalistic setup, but it works for me and allows me to skip cramming a tablet or laptop in the small space in front of me.
Glancing at my husband next to me, though, I still envied how he could simply grab any plane-provided earbud or headset and use it with the in-flight entertainment system. On our four-hour trips back home to Lebanon, he can catch two movies, while I struggle to pass the time after the second or third hour.
Audio can only go so far to distract me on a multi-hour flight. Movies are better time-wasters.
Then, as I was preparing for my transatlantic flight to Toronto last month, I realized I needed a solution to help those seven-plus hours pass. In my search for solutions, I came across the AirFly Pro, and now that I’ve used it on a few flights, I have to say it’s easily the neatest and most versatile little travel gadget.
Rita El Khoury / Android Authority
Most airplanes nowadays have a 3.5mm headset output and airlines provide you with a pair of cheap, single-use earbuds to plug in. Some older planes might have the two-prong output (though it’s been a few years since I personally came across those), while newer ones might offer pre-plugged headphones.
The AirFly Pro only works when there’s a 3.5mm jack. It plugs directly into the in-flight entertainment system and lets you transmit audio to your own Bluetooth headphones or buds. One button turns it on and puts it in pairing mode, and all you have to do is make sure your headset is in pairing mode too for them to find each other and connect.
I plugged it into the audio output of the plane and enjoyed a movie on my own Bluetooth buds.
I tested it with both my Google Pixel Buds Pro and Nothing Ear 1, and it worked like a charm. In a few seconds, I was watching a movie on the headrest display in front of me without sacrificing my ears’ comfort. And without wearing Air France’s terrible-sounding on-ear headphones, which have been on countless heads before mine. (I later took another flight where they provided those single-use buds and avoided those too — less e-waste, more comfortable ears, a win-win for all.)
Rita El Khoury / Android Authority
The best part is that the Pixel Buds Pro can connect to two devices at the same time, so I could easily switch from watching a movie on the plane’s display (with the AirFly Pro) to listening to some music or catching a video on my phone, without taking my buds out, pressing any button, or plugging/unplugging anything. This isn’t a Buds Pro-only feature, though — look for headphones or buds that offer “Multipoint” functionality and you can have a similarly seamless experience.
Beyond planes, this can add Bluetooth output to older TVs and game consoles, iPods, and gym equipment.
Back to the dongle, now. It can do so much more. I’m focusing on the travel experience, but you can basically use this to turn anything with a 3.5mm headset output into a wireless device. Gym equipment, an iPod Nano or Classic, an older TV or game console; the list goes on.
There’s also a splitter functionality that lets you route the audio to two Bluetooth headsets at the same time, so you could watch the same thing with a friend, sibling, or partner in a public place and still enjoy the isolation of your own individual headphones/buds.
Rita El Khoury / Android Authority
But there’s another side to the equation too. See that small TX-RX toggle on the side of the AirFly Pro? Move it to the RX position to completely change how the dongle works.
Now it’s a Bluetooth receiver. Plug it into the auxiliary input jack of any car or speaker and it will catch and play any audio from an emitting device like your phone, tablet, or computer. So versatile.
One flick and it transforms into a Bluetooth receiver for any car or speaker. Perfect for road trips.
During my Canadian trip, I used the dongle in receiver mode in our rental cars to play my favorite tunes. Again, one button press let me pair it to my Pixel 6 Pro. I didn’t have to figure out the Bluetooth pairing process of each car, I just paired once with the dongle and plugged it into the cars. I kind of regret not having tried a solution like this with my old Subaru XV. That car had the most fickle Bluetooth connection and failed to see my phone four times out of five; a Bluetooth receiver like this would have let me bypass that entirely.
Despite its tiny size, the AirFly Pro’s battery lasts about 16 hours. It handled a seven-hour flight, a few hours of driving, then almost lasted through the same seven-hour flight back. And when it was empty, I just charged it over USB-C and it was ready to go.
If you don’t care about the receiver feature, you can save a few bucks by picking a more basic AirFly version. These are the options offered now:
The AirFly ($34.99) is just a Bluetooth transmitter and can only pair with one set of headphones at a time.
The AirFly Duo ($44.99) adds the option to pair and listen on two Bluetooth headsets simultaneously.
The AirFly Pro ($54.99) does all of the above and acts as a receiver too.
A discontinued AirFly USB-C (still sold by third-party vendors for $60 or above) was basically the same as the Duo but with a USB-C plug instead of the 3.5mm jack.
The Pro makes the most sense for my usage, but I wish it came with a USB-C converter in the box to let me use it on my Android phones and iPad too.
Rita El Khoury / Android Authority
It’s incredibly convenient to have my setup ready to go on any flight and in any car.
Was the AirFly Pro essential in any of the situations where I tried it? No, of course not. But it was incredibly convenient to get on a flight or in a car and know I had my own setup ready to go. And it’s so tiny and portable too. That’s why it has rightfully earned a permanent spot in my travel bag.
AirFly Pro
Great on airplanes • Works in cars • USB-C charging
A versatile dongle that lets you use your own Bluetooth headset on planes and more
The AirFly Pro is a dual-mode Bluetooth dongle. In Transmit mode, it can share audio from any device (including planes) to a pair of Bluetooth buds or headphones. In Receive mode, it can be plugged into a car or speakers to receive audio from a phone or tablet. It charges over USB-C and lasts 16 hours on a charge.
Ultimate Ears just announced the Wonderboom 3, the latest iteration of its beloved entry-level portable speaker that promises high-quality 360-degree audio and up to 14 hours of battery life in an adorably compact package that still floats on water.
Strangely, the Microboom 3 still uses a Micro USB connection in our good year of 2022. It feels a little…well, lazy to carry over the same unfriendly port from the Wonderboom 2 when USB-C is available and mandated on portable speakers in Europe starting in 2024.
The third-generation Wonderboom does offer a few improvements over the Wonderboom 2 while keeping the price unchanged at $99.99. Bluetooth range is now 131 feet (up from the 100-foot range on the Wonderboom 2), and listed battery life has been improved by an hour. Like before, two of the speakers can be paired together for true stereo separation, only now, the extended range and battery life can help your audio to cover more ground at parties. Ultimate Ears has also breathed more sustainability into the speaker, claiming they’re made from a minimum of 31 percent post-consumer recycled plastic.
The new Wonderboom 3 is visually indistinguishable from the beloved Wonderboom 2.Image: Ultimate Ears / Logitech
If you were a fan of the fact that both of these older models can float in water, then you’ll be pleased to hear that the Wonderboom 3 will continue that tradition, featuring an IP67 rating for water, dirt, and dust resistance. That rating also means it’ll resist jets of water if you want to listen to tunes in the shower — it’s also “drop proof” if things get slippy.
While a few design changes were made between the original Wonderboom and the Wonderboom 2, this latest model looks visually identical to its predecessor, featuring two-tone fabric and a flat bungee cord loop.
The Wonderboom 3 speaker will be available in four different colors at launch: gray, pink, blue, and black, each with a contrasting strap and iconic control buttons to help them stand out against the body. Ultimate Ears says the speaker will come in these colors “initially,” which suggests we could see more colorways hitting the market in the future if you need more choices.
These promotional images suggest we could also see green and lilac colorways made available.Image: Ultimate Ears / Logitech
The Wonderboom 3 looks to be a modest upgrade to the previous generation, but hey, if it ain’t broke, then don’t fix it — especially if you’re releasing a successor to one of the best portable Bluetooth speakers on the market. It’s set to arrive in both the US and UK on August 31st for $99.99 / £89.
Update August 17th, 6:39AM ET: Added mention of Micro USB charging.
Upgrading the stock stereo system to a multi-disc system with DVD capabilities and a pop-up screen was one of the few ways the benefits of chips and electronics in cars were immediately obvious to the average consumer in 2002, when most in-vehicle electronics, like that those controlled anti-lock braking systems, were hidden away.
Two decades later, as is evident with companies like Sony, Apple, and even Dyson trying to break into the automotive industry, cars are becoming more and more like rolling electronic gadgets. The electrification of the motor car brought with it incredibly elaborate infotainment systems relying on giant touchscreens and even voice recognition. Meanwhile other electronic upgrades, such as cameras and sensors keeping tabs on everything else on the road, have facilitated features that will autonomously keep a vehicle in its lane, automatically break for obstacles, and even identify and obey speed limit signage (YMMV).
Cars that drive themselves without any human intervention are allegedly just around the corner, and in a few years the vehicle in your driveway will have more in common with your smartphone than the Model T. As with a smartphone, consumers eventually won’t really care what’s under the hood, as long as a car gets them from point A to point B and thoroughly distracts them during the ride.
ABI Research estimates that 5 billion Bluetooth-enabled devices will ship to consumers this year, with that figure expected to rise to 7 billion by 2026. Bluetooth is now in everything from smartphones to refrigerators to lightbulbs, allowing a growing number of products to connect to each other seamlessly — sometimes.
Despite its pervasiveness, the technology is still prone to headache-inducing issues, whether it’s the struggle to set up a new device to connect with, switching headphones between devices or simply being too far out of range to connect.
“I have a very love-hate relationship with Bluetooth,” said Chris Harrison, a professor of Human-Computer Interaction at Carnegie Melon University. “Because when it works, it’s amazing, and when it doesn’t, you want to rip your hair out.”
“The promise was to make it as seamless and easy as possible,” he said. “Bluetooth never quite got there, unfortunately.”
The reasons for this go back to the very foundation of the relatively low-cost technology.
The rise of Bluetooth
Bluetooth is said to borrow its name from aninth centuryScandinavian king, Harald “Blue tooth” Gormsson, who was known for his blueish-gray dead tooth and also for uniting Denmark and Norway in 958 AD. Early programmers adopted “Bluetooth” as a code name for their wireless tech that connects local devices, and it eventually stuck.
The technology was differentiated from Wi-Fi by being “inherently short range,” Harrison said. It’s still the case today that the Bluetooth options many consumers are accustomed to in their phones and portable speakers function at lower power and can only connect at limited distances.
Bluetooth signals travel over unlicensed airwaves, which are effectively open to the public for anyone to use, as opposed to privatized airwaves that are controlled by companies like AT&T or Verizon. This may have eased its development and broader adoption, but it came at a cost.
Bluetooth must share and compete with a slew of other products using unlicensed spectrum bands, such as baby monitors, TV remotes, and more. This may generate interference that can disrupt your Bluetooth’s effectiveness.
Harrison cites other reasons why Bluetooth can be “unusually painful,” including cybersecurity issues that can arise when transmitting data wirelessly.
If you set up a Bluetooth speaker in your New York apartment building, for example, you wouldn’t want just anyone within a 50-feet radius to be able to connect to it. But manufacturers never settled on a seamless “discovery mode” process, Harrison said.
“Sometimes the device will start up automatically and be in this, ‘I’m ready to pair mode,'” he added. “Sometimes you have to click some kind of alien sequence to get the device into this particular mode.”
More than that, multiple US government agencies have advised consumers that using Bluetooth risks leaving their devices more vulnerable to cybersecurity risks. The Federal Communications Commission has warned that, as with Wi-Fi connections, “Bluetooth can put your personal data at risk if you are not careful.”
At least one high-profile government official is said to be a Bluetooth skeptic: Vice President Kamala Harris. In the much-watched video of Harris congratulating President-elect Joe Biden after the election (“We did it, Joe!”), she can be seen holding a clump of wired headphones in her hands. According to Politico, Harris “has long felt that Bluetooth headphones are a security risk.”
But businesses and consumers continue to embrace Bluetooth. Apple, perhaps most prominently, ditched traditional headphone ports and introduced its popular Bluetooth-enabled wireless earbuds, AirPods. Other tech companies have since rolled out similar products.
Some diehard audiophiles, the sort of people “who complain about Spotify not being high-quality enough,” as Harrison puts it, also refuse to embrace the world of Bluetooth headphones for sound quality reasons.
Despite its flaws, Harrison doesn’t see demand for Bluetooth dying down and admits he himself uses it seamlessly — some “70% of the time.”
“Bluetooth hasn’t seen it’s pinnacle yet,” Harrison said, predicting the widespread adoption of the Internet of Things, or smart devices, working together in close range will only add to its growth. “Bluetooth will be the glue that connects that all together.”
If you suspect there is a hidden Bluetooth device in your house, apartment, or office—or you just lost a Bluetooth-capable device—there’s an easy way to track down its physical location thanks to an app on iPhone and Android. Here’s how to do it.
The Bluetooth Beacon
All devices with Bluetooth running in an activated state emit a constant signal that can be picked up by other Bluetooth-capable devices. This is how they send data wirelessly—and also how the devices connect to one another.
Using this property of Bluetooth, an app called Wunderfind for iPhone or Android can help you physically locate a lost, hidden, or unknown Bluetooth device using your smartphone. This includes PCs, laptops, tablets, smartphones, Bluetooth headphones, Airpods, smartwatches, smart home devices, and more. To locate any of these devices through Bluetooth signals, however, they have to be powered on with Bluetooth enabled.
Wunderfind is free to use without any annoying ads, and the Pro version that offers extra features is currently a reasonable $5 in-app purchase (as of May 2022). There are other Bluetooth tracker apps out there, but we’ve found some of them to have predatory app subscriptions or intrusive ads. Wunderfind currently has none of those problems. Here’s how to use it.
RELATED:What Is ELK-BLEDOM on my Bluetooth List?
How to Locate a Hidden or Lost Bluetooth Device With WunderFind
To find an active Bluetooth device, first make sure you have Bluetooth enabled on your smartphone. Next, download Wunderfind for your iPhone or Android device and launch the app. Immediately, you’ll see a list of Bluetooth devices that your smartphone has detected using its built-in Bluetooth radio.
Beside each device, you’ll notice an estimated distance between your smartphone’s current location and the hidden or missing Bluetooth device. This number changes dynamically as you move around. To get more detail about signal strength, tap one of the items on the list.
After tapping an item, you’ll see a screen that instructs you to move around while holding your smartphone and watching the signal strength of the targeted Bluetooth device change.
As you get closer to the target device, the signal strength will rise closer to 100%. As you move away from the target device, the signal strength will drop closer to 0%. Using this readout, you can move around your space until the signal strength can’t get any higher. If the device is lost and is located is in your home or office, it will be nearby.
If the device is unknown and you can’t find it, it might be in someone else’s home, office, or apartment. Or it might be purposely hidden somewhere nearby. It’s worth nothing that most hidden surveillance cameras use Wi-Fi and not Bluetooth to communicate, since Bluetooth typically has a short wireless range, and someone would have to be nearby to receive the data. (You cannot detect Wi-Fi-only cameras with Wunderfind, but there are other methods that will help.)
In the past, we’ve seen a mystery Bluetooth device called “ELK-BLEDOM” in our Bluetooth lists and discovered it was a neighbor’s LED Strip Light, so don’t assume you’re being spied on if you can’t find the unknown device in your home or office—you are very likely picking up a neighbor’s Bluetooth device that is sending stray signals in your direction. Good luck, and stay safe out there!
:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24366854/chrome_nL8mrV5sY0.png)
:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24366860/opH6YpxNXK.png)
:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24366863/chrome_tDBRma61GX.png)
:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24366867/46k6Exz4fj.png)
:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24366872/chrome_WrlA0wTYhz.png)
%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24048767%2F226315_AptX_Lossless_JPorter_0004.jpg&w=2400&q=75)
%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24048764%2F226315_AptX_Lossless_JPorter_0001.jpg&w=2400&q=75)
%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24048765%2F226315_AptX_Lossless_JPorter_0002.jpg&w=2400&q=75)
