Assistive Listening Knowledge Base

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How do listeners find and join the right broadcast?

From https://assistivelisteningknowledgebase.org/questions/finding-and-joining/ · updated 13 October 2026

  • Affects listeners, venues, installers
  • 22 sources
  • Updated
  • First published

Technologies: Auracast

In brief

Joining routes include phone settings, hearing-aid apps, QR codes and controls on the receiver; support differs by phone and hearing-aid brand. Lists can show broadcasts a hearing aid cannot receive, and advocates warn that some joining routes risk excluding listeners.

Why it matters

Listeners can join through a phone's settings, a hearing-aid app, a QR code or the receiver itself; which route works depends on the phone, hearing device and broadcast1,2,3.

What the evidence shows

  • Some guidance assumes a second device. HLAA states that a phone or smartwatch is needed to select a stream4, and EFHOH notes that needing an assistant device adds complexity for hearing device users5. Independent product tests by Pro Audito alongside a 2024 Swiss user trial found loops simpler to use, because Auracast then needed a smartphone to operate hearing devices6.
  • A receiver can join on its own in simple cases. Every Auracast receiver must be able to scan for broadcasts itself, so where only one transmitter is in range, joining directly from the receiver may be enough2.
  • Phone support is partial. Phone maker Google's September 2025 list of Android phones that can join broadcasts covers only select models7. Hearing-aid maker Oticon says that on select LE Audio phones running Android 15 or later, the phone's own settings can be used; its troubleshooting advice says location access must be on for the phone to find broadcasts1; Samsung has renamed its feature Audio broadcast8.
  • Hearing-aid apps fill the gap. Hearing-aid makers Starkey, ReSound and Oticon describe Auracast assistants in their own apps that work on phones running the app, which for Oticon means Android 10 or iOS 15.2 and later9,10,1. Phonak adds a QR code scanner to its app for phones without a built-in assistant11. The SIG documents this route for phones that cannot scan for broadcasts themselves2.
  • QR codes follow a standard format. The Broadcast Audio URI carries the broadcast name and, for encrypted streams, the Broadcast Code; it can select one stream, such as one language, or leave the choice to the listener's app. A printed code does not show whether the transmitter is on or in range, and should rely on fixed identifiers because random device addresses usually change about every 15 minutes3.
  • Lists can mislead. Hearing aids and earbuds may receive less well than the phone, so an app can list broadcasts that are out of reach of the listener's own devices12. At a Swiss arena, phones and hearing aids listed four identically named streams from four transmitters with no way to tell which was strongest13.
  • Names have rules. A broadcast name must be 4 to 32 bytes of readable text, and several transmitters carrying the same audio may share it14.
  • Sign guidance varies. Australia requires signs to state the type of system, the area covered and where to get receivers15; Pro Audito says room signs should give the stream name and any PIN16; a 1999 report to the US Access Board recommended posting transmission details for people who bring their own receivers17.
  • What listeners asked for. After an RNID station test with ten hearing-device users, participants asked for easier finding and joining of broadcasts, signage and website information, and an audio alert before each announcement. The report was funded by the Motability Foundation18.
  • Advocates' concerns. The Center for Hearing Access says any system needing a QR code, an app or extra devices will leave some people out19, and asks for a dedicated assistive-listening stream that hearing instruments can join with minimal interaction20. RNID warns that phone-based selection risks excluding some people and describes QR-code, NFC and on-device alternatives21.

Where sources disagree

The SIG's QR code paper says the codes will make it easier for listeners to choose what they want to hear22; the Center for Hearing Access says any route that needs a QR code, an app or a second device leaves some people out19, and RNID warns that phone-based selection risks excluding some people21. Hearing-aid makers each describe their own app route10,1,9, so the steps a venue can explain differ by listener.

What would settle it

Usability tests with hearing-aid and implant users, including people without smartphones, comparing joining routes (phone settings, app list, QR code, button and receiver) across phone and hearing-aid brands, would address the barriers RNID describes21,18. Tests of assistants handling several transmitters sharing one name would address the selection problem reported at the arena13.

Planning while it is open

  • Give each broadcast a clear name and post it, with any code, on signs at the room and on the venue's website16,18,15.
  • If printing QR codes, use the standard format with fixed identifiers, and check that the broadcast is on when people arrive3.
  • Keep loan receivers available for people who cannot join with their own devices19,4.
  • Test joining with several phones and hearing-aid apps, since routes and results differ1,13.

Sources

  1. How to listen to an Auracast broadcast. Oticon (Demant). Oticon support website, undated (read 13 October 2026). Manufacturer (Demant / Oticon) ↩︎ https://www.oticon.com/support/life-with-a-hearing-aid/connecting-to-other-devices/how-to-listen-to-auracast-broadcasts-with-hearing-aids
  2. Developing Auracast receivers with an assistant application for legacy smartphones. Bluetooth SIG Market Development. Bluetooth SIG (technical overview, version 1), 6 February 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/2023/03/Developing_Auracast_Receivers-Legacy_Smartphones.pdf
  3. Broadcast Audio URI, version 1.0. Bluetooth SIG Hearing Aid Working Group. Bluetooth SIG, 10 September 2024. 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/BAU_v1.0/out/en/index-en.html
  4. Auracast Systems (technology and accessibility page). Hearing Loss Association of America. Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA), 28 September 2026. Nonprofit advocacy (Hearing Loss Association of America, a US consumer organisation for people with hearing loss; its site asks for memberships and donations and lists corporate partners and advertising) ↩︎ https://www.hearingloss.org/technology-and-accessibility/auracast/
  5. Telecoil and Auracast functionalities should be standard requirements for hearing aids and other hearing devices eligible for public health procurement. European Federation of Hard of Hearing People (EFHOH). EFHOH (position adopted by its members at the 2026 Annual General Meeting), 18 April 2026. Nonprofit advocacy (European federation; EFHOH states that its 2024-2026 publications are co-funded by the EU CERV programme) ↩︎ https://efhoh.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/EFHOH-Motion-Telecoil-and-Auracast-functionalities.pdf
  6. Auracast: the webinar and the results of the Pro Audito and ETH Zurich test. Pro Audito Schweiz; questionnaire evaluation by ETH Zurich students Kaufmann R and Brasser A; product tests by Graf B. Pro Audito Schweiz (in German), 20 June 2024. Independent (Pro Audito Schweiz, Swiss hearing-loss association, with ETH Zurich students) ↩︎ https://pro-audito.ch/news/auracast-so-war-das-webinar-und-das-sind-die-ergebnisse/
  7. Share your world of sound with LE Audio on Android. Ray P (Product Manager, Android). Google, The Keyword blog, 3 September 2025. Manufacturer (Google) ↩︎ https://blog.google/products/android/le-audio-auracast-support/
  8. Broadcast audio from your Galaxy phone. Samsung Electronics America. Samsung US support, undated (read 13 October 2026). Manufacturer (Samsung) ↩︎ https://www.samsung.com/us/support/answer/ANS10001042/
  9. Starkey Expands Omega AI Connectivity With Auracast Assistant, Google Fast Pair and Industry-First Push to Talk. Starkey. Starkey press release, 28 January 2026. Manufacturer (Starkey) ↩︎ https://www.starkey.com/press/press-releases/2026/01/starkey-expands-omega-ai-connectivity
  10. Auracast hearing aids. ReSound (GN Hearing). ReSound US website, undated (read 9 October 2026). Manufacturer (GN Hearing) ↩︎ https://www.resound.com/en-us/hearing-aids/auracast-hearing-aids
  11. Phonak EON: Connectivity excellence. Roh M (Sonova). Phonak Audiology Blog (Phonak Pro), 17 September 2026. Manufacturer (Sonova / Phonak) ↩︎ https://audiologyblog.phonakpro.com/phonak-eon-connectivity-excellence/
  12. How to build an Auracast assistant: technical overview, version 1.0. Bluetooth SIG Market Development. Bluetooth SIG, 29 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/2024/05/2403_How_To_Auracast_Assistant.pdf
  13. Technical analysis of the Bluetooth Auracast system in the Pilatus Arena. Pro Audito Schweiz. Pro Audito Schweiz (in German), 3 November 2025. Independent (Pro Audito Schweiz, Swiss hearing-loss association; test devices were lent free by their manufacturers or owned by participants) ↩︎ https://pro-audito.ch/news/technische-analyse-des-bluetooth-auracast-systems-in-der-pilatus-arena/
  14. 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
  15. National Construction Code 2025, Volume One, Part D4: D4D7 Signage and D4D8 Hearing augmentation. Australian Building Codes Board. Australian Building Codes Board (NCC online), 1 May 2026. Government (Australian Building Codes Board) ↩︎ https://ncc.abcb.gov.au/editions/ncc-2025/adopted/volume-one/d-access-and-egress/part-d4-access-people-disability
  16. Can Bluetooth Auracast be used as an assistive listening system?. Pro Audito Schweiz. Pro Audito Schweiz (in German), 17 February 2025. Nonprofit advocacy (Pro Audito Schweiz, Swiss hearing-loss association) ↩︎ https://pro-audito.ch/news/kann-bluetooth-auracast-als-hoeranlage-eingesetzt-werden/
  17. Large area assistive listening systems (ALS): review and recommendations. Bakke MH, Levitt H, Ross M, Erickson F. Final report to the U.S. Access Board; Lexington School for the Deaf, Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Hearing Enhancement, December 1999. Government (U.S. Department of Education, NIDRR grant H133E30015; final report to the U.S. Access Board) ↩︎ https://www.access-board.gov/files/research/assistive-listening-systems.pdf
  18. Clear Signals: improving transport accessibility for deaf people and people with hearing loss. RNID. RNID (Royal National Institute for Deaf People), 22 September 2026. Independent (RNID survey and concept test; report funded by the Motability Foundation; Ampetronic, which installed the station's transmitters, announced in July 2025 that it commissioned RNID trials there, but the read sources do not establish whether those are the March 2026 concept test) ↩︎ https://rnid.org.uk/what-we-do/policy-and-influencing/clear-signals-improving-transport-accessibility/
  19. Assistive Listening Systems Quick Guide. Center for Hearing Access (reviewed by Juliette Sterkens, AuD). Center for Hearing Access, The John G. Shedd Institute, 29 October 2025. 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/Assistive-Listening-Systems-Quick-Guide.pdf
  20. 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
  21. 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
  22. A new Bluetooth audio scan-to-listen experience. Bluetooth SIG Market Development. Bluetooth SIG, 17 February 2025. Trade body (Bluetooth SIG marketing material; the SIG is an industry association funded by its member companies and owns the Auracast trademark) ↩︎ https://www.bluetooth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/02.20.25_Auracast_QR_Paper_FINAL.pdf

Change log

  • Published with 22 sources.
  • Cited joining routes and usability gaps, qualified device requirements and identified manufacturer guidance and trial funding.
  • Independent audit narrowed the joining summary and retained only the report-supported station-trial funding.

Cite this question

Equal Access Audio. “How do listeners find and join the right broadcast?” Assistive Listening Knowledge Base. Updated 13 October 2026. https://assistivelisteningknowledgebase.org/questions/finding-and-joining/ (accessed the date you read it).

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