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What does Auracast qualification and the Auracast logo cover, and what does it leave out?

From https://assistivelisteningknowledgebase.org/questions/auracast-qualification/ · updated 13 October 2026

  • Affects specifiers, venues, installers, listeners
  • 12 sources
  • Updated
  • First published

Technologies: Auracast

In brief

Auracast product branding requires Bluetooth qualification for a Public Broadcast Profile role and additional trademark conditions. The process checks declared Bluetooth features, with testing requirements that depend on the design and any reused evidence. Venue branding has separate registration and Standard Quality stream requirements. Neither a product listing nor a venue logo supplies measurements of occupied coverage, microphone-to-ear delay, delivered audio level or listeners’ ability to join. Those need evidence from the installed system.

Why it matters

A venue can encounter a Bluetooth product listing, an Auracast mark on a transmitter, and an Auracast sign at a location. These refer to different requirements: product qualification, permission to use the product trademark, and location registration with its own conditions. Reading them together avoids assuming that a sign supplies the installation checks which the SIG’s transmitter guide asks installers to make1,2,3,4.

What the evidence shows

  • Qualification belongs to the product and its declared design. The Bluetooth SIG says products must complete qualification before sale or distribution, under the responsible company’s membership account. A supplier’s qualification does not complete the process for another company’s own product. Names and model numbers must match the marketed product, and the SIG directs readers to its Qualified Product database to check completion1.
  • The route determines the new testing. Version 5 of the Qualification Program Reference Document, dated 21 April 2026, allows an unchanged existing design to be reused without submitting a new test declaration or test reports under that route. New designs undergo a feature consistency check and receive a test plan when testing is required, covering new or modified layers and applicable interoperability tests. Previous evidence can also be reused for unaffected tests under the stated conditions. The member remains responsible for meeting the specifications, and the SIG reviews the submission5.
  • Some tests require a recognized laboratory; others allow the member to test. Category A tests in specified radio and controller layers require a Bluetooth Qualification Test Facility or the company’s own Bluetooth Recognized Test Facility. Other Category A tests and Category B tests may be performed by the member, a test facility or a third party under the applicable tool rules. Supplementary Category X interoperability tests are recommended but optional. The logo therefore does not mean that every test was performed by an outside laboratory5,6.
  • The tools test specified functions. The SIG’s Profile Tuning Suite automates functional tests of Bluetooth host and profile specifications above the Host Controller Interface. It is a product testing tool; its public description supplies no venue coverage or listener measurements7.
  • PBP supplies a common broadcast language. The Public Broadcast Profile defines source, sink and assistant roles, broadcast announcements and names, encryption indicators, and Standard Quality and High Quality stream configurations. Standard Quality uses configurations that every Basic Audio Profile broadcast sink must support. These shared configurations provide a basis for interoperability; High Quality support is not universal8,4.
  • The published PBP tests show the boundary clearly. Revision PBP.TS.p3, dated 8 October 2024, checks announcements, metadata, stream configuration, encryption indicators and receiver synchronization, according to the supported roles and features. Its test strategy permits simulated stream contents that need not contain encoded audio. Those pass criteria do not establish acoustic quality or performance across a venue. This is a dated PBP test suite, not the complete set of Bluetooth radio, codec and profile tests or proof of which revision a particular product used9.
  • The product mark adds conditions to qualification. The SIG’s March 2025 brand guide requires a product to complete qualification and indicate in its submission that it implements and meets the requirements for a PBP source, sink or assistant role. A source must let the end user configure it to broadcast a Standard Quality stream; a source marketed for public locations must default to Standard Quality when configured to broadcast. A generic Bluetooth listing by itself does not establish those additional Auracast conditions2.
  • The location mark has a separate licence. The Public Location Brand Guide requires registration and a Standard Quality stream for all content the location provides through Auracast. Its location graphic is for registered venues, rather than products; an optional assistive listening graphic is also available. The registration page asks for a fully deployed, accessible broadcast before registration; its licence terms impose general quality obligations and let the SIG test or monitor the service. These documents publish no individual venue’s commissioning results or numeric coverage acceptance threshold10,3.

The distinction between product testing and installation evidence matters in four areas9,4,11:

AreaWhat the reviewed sources provideWhat a listing or logo does not establish
CoverageThe SIG recommends walking the intended area with a receiver, adjusting power and repeating checks with people present or after moving the transmitter.Reception throughout this particular occupied venue4.
LatencyThe SIG guide gives an example Presentation Delay of 40 ms and describes an optional flag for earlier rendering. The Center for Hearing Access treats total delay as the sum of the microphone, sound system, transmission and receiving paths.The installed microphone-to-ear delay, or whether it is suitable alongside live sound; see delay4,12.
Audio levelThe SIG guide recommends a long-term reference level of -35 dBFS and a maximum of -3 dBFS.That the venue’s feed is set to those levels, or the level actually delivered at a listener’s ear; see audio level4,9.
Interoperability and joiningQualification includes applicable interoperability tests, and PBP defines shared broadcast behavior. RNID says the interface remains the developer’s choice and calls for usability tests under real conditions.That every listener can find, select and hear this broadcast using their particular receiver and assistant; see device compatibility and finding and joining5,8,11.

Where sources disagree

The reviewed sources mostly address different scopes. The SIG describes qualification as promoting interoperability and sets real product and trademark requirements. Its own installation guide also calls for coverage checks. RNID, a hearing-loss charity, supports Auracast’s potential while warning that user-interface choices can exclude people and asking for real-world usability testing. These positions support separating successful protocol operation from successful access at a venue; they do not show that qualification has no value1,2,4,11.

A potential source of confusion is the meaning of a delay figure. The SIG guide’s 40 ms example is a Presentation Delay setting. The Center for Hearing Access’s December 2024 advocacy handout discusses the complete signal path and gives a provisional rule of thumb below about 30–40 ms, explicitly under review. These are different quantities and neither figure is a measured result for a venue4,12.

What would settle it

For an individual installation, publish the tested product and firmware versions, broadcast settings, coverage checks under occupancy, microphone-to-ear delay, audio levels and user joining results. That evidence would address the installation variables identified by the SIG and the usability and complete-path concerns raised by advocates. The qualification document already requires hardware and software versions in product test reports; carrying those identifiers into venue results would make the two bodies of evidence easier to compare5,4,11,12.

Public qualification listings have limits: version 5 makes product identity public but restricts the feature statement and test-package version to members. A clear supplier account of the qualified PBP role, reused design evidence and applicable test versions would help a venue establish what the product’s qualification covers. The dated PBP suite examined here cannot answer that for every later product5,2,9.

Planning while it is open

  • Check the exact product name and model in the SIG’s Qualified Product database, and obtain evidence of the PBP role and Auracast brand conditions from the supplier1,5,2.
  • Ensure every Auracast programme offered under the location branding has a Standard Quality stream; complete location registration only after deployment and access are in place10,3.
  • Follow the SIG’s receiver walk-through checks, use the lowest power that serves the intended area, and repeat the checks with people present and after transmitter relocation4.
  • Check the installed audio feed against the SIG’s level guidance and assess delay across the complete path, recording the measurement endpoints; the guide’s Presentation Delay example alone does not describe the whole path4,12.
  • Include listeners in practical joining and listening checks, including people who do not use a smartphone, as RNID recommends for inclusive design and real-world usability testing11.

Sources

  1. Bluetooth Qualification Process overview. Bluetooth SIG, undated (read 13 October 2026). Trade body (Bluetooth SIG, an industry association funded by its member companies, which owns the Auracast trademark; qualification programme overview) ↩︎ https://www.bluetooth.com/develop-with-bluetooth/qualify/
  2. Brand Guide for Bluetooth Trademarks, 11 March 2025. Bluetooth SIG, 11 March 2025. Trade body (Bluetooth SIG, an industry association funded by its member companies, which owns the Auracast trademark; trademark licensing guidance) ↩︎ https://www.bluetooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Brand-Guide-and-Logos-English.zip
  3. Auracast location registration. Bluetooth SIG, undated (read 13 October 2026). Trade body (Bluetooth SIG programme terms; the SIG is an industry association funded by its member companies, which owns the Auracast trademark) ↩︎ https://www.bluetooth.com/auracast/location-registration/
  4. Auracast simple transmitter best practices guide, version 3. Bluetooth SIG, 17 October 2025. Standards body (Bluetooth SIG, an industry association funded by its member companies, which owns the Auracast trademark) ↩︎ https://www.bluetooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Auracast-Transmitter_Recommendations.pdf
  5. Qualification Program Reference Document, version 5. Bluetooth SIG, 21 April 2026. Standards body (Bluetooth SIG, an industry association funded by its member companies, which owns the Auracast trademark; technical qualification rules) ↩︎ https://www.bluetooth.com/wp-content/uploads/Files/Specification/HTML/QPRD/out/en/index-en.html
  6. Qualification test facilities. Bluetooth SIG, undated (read 13 October 2026). Trade body (Bluetooth SIG, an industry association funded by its member companies, which owns the Auracast trademark; test-facility programme guidance) ↩︎ https://www.bluetooth.com/develop-with-bluetooth/qualify/qualification-test-facilities/
  7. Profile Tuning Suite (PTS). Bluetooth SIG, undated (read 13 October 2026). Standards body (Bluetooth SIG, an industry association funded by its member companies, which owns the Auracast trademark; technical testing documentation) ↩︎ https://www.bluetooth.com/develop-with-bluetooth/qualify/qualification-test-tools/profile-tuning-suite/
  8. Public Broadcast Profile, version 1.0.2. Bluetooth SIG Audio, Telephony, and Automotive Working Group. Bluetooth SIG, 3 November 2025. Standards body (Bluetooth SIG, an industry association funded by its member companies, which owns the Auracast trademark) ↩︎ https://www.bluetooth.com/wp-content/uploads/Files/Specification/HTML/pbp_v1-0-2_1761252922/PBP_v1.0.2/out/en/index-en.html
  9. Public Broadcast Profile (PBP) Test Suite, revision PBP.TS.p3. Bluetooth SIG Audio, Telephony, and Automotive Working Group. Bluetooth SIG, 8 October 2024. Standards body (Bluetooth SIG, an industry association funded by its member companies, which owns the Auracast trademark) ↩︎ https://files.bluetooth.com/wp-content/uploads/dlm_uploads/2024/10/PBP.TS_.p3-1.pdf
  10. Public Location Brand Guide for Auracast Trademarks. Bluetooth SIG, 15 September 2026. Trade body (Bluetooth SIG, an industry association funded by its member companies, which owns the Auracast trademark; location trademark programme terms) ↩︎ https://www.bluetooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/2025_Public-Location-Brand-Guide-for-Auracast-Trademarks.zip
  11. Auracast: a revolution in audio accessibility (RNID Auracast report). RNID (Royal National Institute for Deaf People). RNID, 11 February 2025. Nonprofit advocacy (RNID, UK charity) ↩︎ https://rnid.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Final-Auracast-Report-110225.pdf
  12. What is needed for Auracast streamed assistive listening systems to be available and usable. Center for Hearing Access (reviewed by Juliette Sterkens, AuD). Center for Hearing Access, The John G. Shedd Institute, 15 December 2024. Nonprofit advocacy (Center for Hearing Access, an initiative of The John G. Shedd Institute for the Arts; it states that it accepts no donations from hearing-related vendors) ↩︎ https://centerforhearingaccess.org/wp-content/uploads/What-is-needed-for-Auracast-streamed-ALS-to-be-available-and-usable.pdf

Change log

  • Published with 12 sources.
  • Audited citations against archived originals; clarified source configuration and location registration requirements.
  • Second citation check retained the product-testing and venue-evidence distinction.

Cite this question

Equal Access Audio. “What does Auracast qualification and the Auracast logo cover, and what does it leave out?” Assistive Listening Knowledge Base. Updated 13 October 2026. https://assistivelisteningknowledgebase.org/questions/auracast-qualification/ (accessed the date you read it).

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