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JayBird X2 Wireless Bluetooth Headset Problem Solved.

JayBird X2 Wireless Bluetooth Headset Problem Solved.

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I purchased a JayBird X2 headset for about $180 in 2016.  After using them for no more than 20 times, the device failed.  It would ONLY power on just after taking the headset off the charger.  I had been turning the headset ON and OFF each time I needed it.  My son came up with the solution.  He told me to keep the headset ON all the time!  In short, this was the near perfect solution.  He said the battery drain was minimal, so why not keep them ON all the time?  I just carried the headset around until I needed it and linked it to my cell phone. This worked very well for me as I only use the headsets when I go to the gym or take a walk outside with my wife and friends on the weekend.  Soon as I get home with, I put the headsets back on the charger.

This was not a perfect solution because the JayBird would disconnect from my Samsung Galaxy S5 some times.  I never had a disconnect problem between the phone and our RAV4 car so I suspect the headsets were at fault.  If you have this problem, just go to your phone Settings and select Bluetooth.  Make sure that Bluetooth is turned ON.  Look at the Paired Devices list and you should see Jaybird X2.   Finger select that device but not the gear symbol to the right.  By finger tapping that headset you are telling the phone to pair up to the headset.

CAUTION: I found that I had to turn Bluetooth OFF on my cell phone to get the phone speaker and microphone to work without the Jaybird.  The reason is that the phone expects all communications to take place through that Jaybird if the phone and headset are paired. The phone speaker and microphone will be turned off.  If you are NOT using the Jaybird, the phone will act dead if Bluetooth is ON.  Just turn Bluetooth off and the normal phone audio should work.  To make this all simple, just go to the phone and turn Bluetooth ON when using the headsets and OFF when not.

Update:  2018 I switched to an LG V30 cell phone.  The Jaybird X2 also shows problems connecting to my new cell phone.  It times, I need to turn off my cell phone Bluetooth and/or turn off and on my cell phone to get the headsets to connect.  This process is a pain.

Update:  I typically leave my Jaybird X2 headsets sitting behind my neck.  One day I completely forgot to take care of them and they ended up in my wash.  The headsets were washed and dried.  When I removed them from the dryer they worked!  The only down side was that the foam ear attachments that slip on each ear piece dissolved.

Revised April 7, 2018

Samsung Galaxy S5 Often Reboots

Samsung Galaxy S5 Often Reboots

I was really getting annoyed that my Samsung Galaxy S5 would reboot as many as three times a day.  The reboots would occur, oftentimes, at the most inconvenient times.  One day I sat down and using my Mac laptop, I perused the Internet looking for a solution.  Nothing came to light except one weird report that some individuals thought the problem was a local cell tower problem.  I used that tip to find a few cell phone settings that might relate.  Following is my last two day notes which reveals the single culprit.

March 26, 2016,

  • BATTERY:  I checked my battery for not being flat and it was perfectly non curved.
  • SYSTEM UPDATES:  I checked for system updates and it is up to date.
  • SMART NETWORK:  I turned off  Wi-Fi > Smart network switch to see if this is the cause.  This automatically switches between Wi-Fi and mobile networks to maintain a stable Internet connection.
  • PASSPOINT:  Under Advance options (upper left corner screen options) I also turned OFF Passpoint.
  • VoLTE:  Select Phone main menu item at the bottom of your main screen.  Once Phone is selected you will see 4 menu items at the top of the new screen.  Highlight the Keypad and you should see all the numbers for making a call.  To the right are three vertical dots. Press on those 3 dots and then choose the following:  Settings > Call > Call Settings.  Then choose Voice over LTE settings and then “Do not use VoLTE”.

April 8, 2016,

  • In over one week, only one cell phone restart.  I was on to a solution but which of the 3 was at fault?
  • PASSPOINT:  To narrow the problem down, today I turned ON Passpoint.
    Settings > Wi-Fi  >  Advanced.
  • VoLTE:  I also turned ON VoLTE.
  • SMART NETWORK:  This left Smart Network still turned off.  For me, this was the problem.

Solution:   From what I read, Smart network switch has had problems.  Once I turned off Wi-Fi Smart network, my cell phone only rebooted once since April 8, 2016.

This is how you can turn OFF the Wi-Fi Smart network switch:

  • Press your screen Settings application which looks like a spiked wheel.
  • Choose Wi-Fi once you are into the settings.
  • Once you see the Wi-Fi screen look at the top of that screen and you should see “Smart network switch”.  Turn that off.  This automatically switches between Wi-Fi and mobile networks and also between 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands, to maintain stable connection.

Give this a try and if it does not work for you, come back and follow the above directions to turn this back on.  Good luck to you.

Samsung Galaxy S5 Update

Samsung Galaxy S5 Update

In my previous post where I found the Samsung Galaxy S5 unsatisfactory because, for me, battery life is my prime concern.  I chose the Samsung Galaxy S5 because reviews stated that it had a very good battery life.  My experience found the phone to be quite awful.  I had to charge the phone one or two times to achieve usable service in an 8 hour period.  After poking around at the cell phone settings, I think I found a usable configuration.  My cell phone lasted the whole day.  Here are my setting changes:

Go to Settings.

Choose Power saving.

Turn Power saving mode “ON”.  You are then given 3 options:

  • Restrict background data (Turn ON)
  • Restrict performance (Turn ON).  This in turn has four sub menu items:
    • CPU performance (Turn ON)
    • Screen output (Turn ON)
    • Turn off touch key light (Turn ON)
    • Turn off GPS (for some reason this was greyed out and I could not change this.  So I guess it was on).
  • Grayscale mode (Keep OFF)

I did have to go into the Settings again and turn “Display” > “Brightness” > Automatic brightness off and revert to manual screen illumination because the screen went way too dark.

I did NOT turn Ultra power saving mode on.

Now if you think that the Samsung Galaxy S5 is now the best cell phone for extended battery life, think again.  I compared my cell phone with my son’s HTC One M8 just before dinner time and my phone had about a 38% charge while my son’s HTC had a 57% charge.  He uses his phone all day long and plays video games on his phone.  And, he did not have to cripple his phone at all to get such good battery performance.

Samsung Galaxy S5 Product Review

Samsung Galaxy S5 Product Review

Samsung Galaxy S5 Review

I have been greatly annoyed with my Samsung Galaxy S3 for not lasting a day’s worth of charge.  I finally realized I qualified for a phone upgrade recently and spent about two days doing research to find the best phone that would last, hopefully a whole day on a single battery charge.  My son tried to talk me into buying the HTC One M8 which he said was a better phone for the reason it lasts more than one day on a single charge.  My Internet research and looking at Consumer Reports seemed to point to the Samsung Galaxy S5 so I went into T Mobile and did the upgrade to that phone.  The results were very disappointing.  My opinion is that the Galaxy S5 has the same battery life as the Samsung Galaxy S3!  The S5 does have some nice new features but one of them is NOT better battery life.  If you are looking for a phone that can retain a decent charge for one full day, I do not recommend the Samsung Galaxy S5.  You might look closely at the HTC One M8.