Era NoiseAssassin not working?

[PDADoc]

Well, I'm having the same problems with Noise Assassin myself.  I have the ERA Shadowbox headset and othrwise love it, but I did notice that with it being windy here in NYC today that call recipients couldn't hear my voice over the wind noise.  I made sure Noise Assassin was on and still had the problem. I tried a couple of field tests myself, calling my home and office numbers and speaking to the voicemail so I could hear what it sounded like.  I was barely intellible for all the wind noise; my voice was simply overpowered.  I should point out that while it was a bit windy, it wasn't terribly windy, which is a big difference. 

On an unrelated note, I'm only getting about three hours of battery life, even though I charged it overnight right out of the box for the first time, and even though the voice in the headset says I have over five hours of talk time remaining.  I was using it with an iPhone 4 and now with an iPhone 4S.

So I ran over to Best Buy just now and bought the Plantronics Voyager Pro HD, which just came out and while the wind noise is slightly noticable in the background, my voice was as strong and clear as if I were in the same room as the person I was calling.  I sent a message to support with my problems and am waiting to hear back from them.  

I hate the look of the Voyager, but I'll use it until the Jawbone people get back to me. 

[plflint]

Having same problem, Bought two units. Both hooked up to IPhone4 with latest software. Noise Assassin doesn't do a thing on either unit. Have tried reset and made sure software is up to date. No help. AUdio is ok on music but so bad on phone calls it is unusable. Tried swapping ERAs between phones, tried ERAs with other phones (iPhone3G, Blackberry) same issues. Can't get the unit to stay in my ear with any combination of adaptors.  Purchased because Jawbone has a good reputation and for noise assassin. Wasn't cheap equipment but it was money wasted. Have messed with units for a couple months trying to get adequate sound but neither works. Sure can't recommend these to anyone.

[PDADoc]

Well, I did hear back from support, and the dance begins.  Everything they've suggested I try so far I've already done.  The final step is to contact them for warranty exchange/repair.

I'm still within my one-year warranty period, so if they try and blow me off, I'm going to be very annoyed.

While the Voyager Pro HD is outperforming my Jawbone Era, I don't like its looks nearly as much, not as unobtrusive.

[sideman7]

I am on my 3rd ERA at this point... The noise cancellation is still hit and miss with this unit. Sometimes it works great, other times, it doesn't seem to do anything. I have owned one of every iteration of the jawbone, and this one has been by far, the most problematic, and probably my last. I have waited patiently for them to work out the software bugs on this and it simply hasn't happened. The plantronics voyager pro + just works for me...

[JawboneEmma]

Hello plflint,

Thank you for taking the time to post in the Jawbone User Forum. I'm sorry to hear that you are having so much trouble with your ERA. It sounds as though your issues are being caused by fit problems. As you may have read, it is important to the function of the NoiseAssassin that the Voice Activity Sensor (the white colored peg on the underside of the Jawbone) rests on your cheek.  If the Voice Activity Sensor does not rest against your cheek, the party you are calling will not hear you properly. The symptoms of this can include difficulty being heard and inclusion of background noise. Users here on on our forum have suggested a variety of solutions for fit problems. I would recommend exploring other avenues for fit if you are unable to find a solid one with any of the options provided with your ERA.

You may also want to consider resetting your phone. In the case of the iPhone you can accomplish this by holding both the "home" button and the "sleep/wake" button on your iPhone.

And finally you may want to try un pairing and repairing your iPhone 4 with your ERA removing the ERA. Be sure to remove both devices from each other's pairing memory. You can remove paired phone's from your ERA's memory in the advanced settings "connections" menu in MyTALK. Then, pair one phone at a time testing the call quality after each.

If these steps don't resolve the call quality problems that you are having you may want to give us a call at 1-800-Jawbone so that we can get this problem taken care of for you.

Your friend in Bluetooth,
JawboneEmma

[billf702]

Perhaps the design is a bit to elaborate for most of us users. I am not sure what the engineers were thinking with the voice activation sensor, but the location of the sensor and the way it has to hit your cheek may work in theory, but in practicality, when we talk, we are using our facial muscles a great deal and given the changes in symmetry, even if you have the device located well, it can shift with normal talking. Maybe the assassin software should depend on some other method of activation.

This on again and off again performance led me to taking my ERA back to Best Buy. Nice unit, and I wanted it to work, but it was more aggravation than it was worth. I do hope that you get this device redesigned and get the kinks worked out. It has great potential. For what it is worth, listening to music with the device was pretty good. 

[PDADoc]

Well, for my part, I've been using the device as it was intended to, with the sensor in constant contact with my cheek, and NoiseAssassin is STILL not working properly, not working at all, in fact.

And while I understand that they're obligated to ensure that I'm using it the way it's intended, I'm somewhat annoyed that it's "assumed" that my misuse of the item is possibly the reason for the malfunction, given the growing number of people who are experiencing the very same problems. 

For the time being, I'm sticking wth my Plantronics Voyager Pro HD, which is working perfectly.  And while it's not as esthetically pleasing to me, it has better battery life and works just the way it's supposed to.  I know people are fond of the YMMV tag, but when something doesn't work right, it doesn't work right.  I hope they get it sorted, as I would prefer not to have a $100+ headset just sitting in my desk drawer collecting dust. I don't believe in superlatives when it comes to consumer electronics, as much as people are desperate to attach such to them, there's really no better or worse, just what's right for you.  That said, when there's a flaw, it can only seek to lend creedence to those who are prone to the superlative labels.

And all this coming from a Jawbone fan, no less!

[jimbaze]

Got mine this week ...NO noise suppression . Is this working for anyone??

[cr006f]

Came on here hoping I was the only one....

Have had my ERA for almost a year now, got it last January.  Worked great for a couple months, then one day wouldn't turn on even though it was fully charged.  Flipped the switch, no light, no pairing, no voice, nothing.  A few days later it started working normally again, but the NoiseAssassin was clearly GONE...

I bought mine to participate in early morning conference calls on the way to work in my Jeep with a soft top.  When NoiseAssasssin worked, I could talk with the top down (at 25 mph) and nobody complained, even with some wind buffeting.  Now with the top up (no wind/buffeting), I get above 10 mph and it's completely unusable.

I sent it back under warranty after trying some goofy reboot they advised, the new one is exactly the same as the first one after it started screwing up.  I really think this is a software issue because of how the first one worked great and then stopped.  I updated both to the new firmware, no difference.

The only advantage to the new firmware is you can turn NoiseAssassin on and off with the "should be a Mute" button, instead of just volume adjustment.  Turn NoiseAssassin off during a call and you will be SHOCKED at how much white noise there is....my guess is the NoiseAssassin may be working, but has some internal feedback or something to overcome and therefore can't filter out background noise as it's supposed to.

Would be really interested to hear if anyone else can hear all the static with NoiseAssassin off.  The test I did was make a call from a quiet room, make a call to someone and then ask for a moment of silence, and turn NA off...you'll be surprised what you hear.

[RJRon]

Similar problems for me.  I had a previous version and NoiseAssassin worked perfectly, putting my other BT headsets to shame.  I damaged my old model and decided to upgrade to ERA.  First headset got regular complaints from my wife about background noise.  I ended up losing that one and bought another.  Even worse complaints now.  I've made sure fit is secure, NA is on, little nub firmly against my cheek, but still get constant complaints from people I call about this headset.  With my old model, I could ride with my car windows open, radio on, and I was told the call quality was great.  Now, forget it.

I've been a loyal JB customer for a while now.  I would expect this is something they would want to address in what is supposed to be their premier product.