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Amazon Tap and Bluetooth pairing

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michaelpickel

Amazon Tap and Bluetooth pairing
« on: June 21, 2016, 02:12:58 pm »
I love my Amazon Echo and now I have the Tap, but I also have a Sonos home hifi system (unfortunately the two are not comparable).  My Sonos system has a "Connect" module with audio output and the Tap is supposed to be Bluetooth pair-able.  I bought a Miccus Home RTx Bluetooth audio transmitter (through Amazon) and interfaced it with the Sonos Connect audio output.  Music is transmitting, but when I try to pair the Miccus RTx with the Tap, NADA!  Both the Miccus and Tap claim to be fully A2DP compliant.  The Miccus works and pairs with other devices.  The Tap will pair with my iPhone. 

The key word which Amazon uses in its pairing directions is "mobile device."  Is that a vague way of saying you can only pair the Tap with an iPhone/iPad/iPod (or similar Android devices)?  I'd hoped to be able to use my new Tap as a portable speaker to extend my Sonos programming outside to the deck or clip the Tap to my beltloop and enjoy music as I work in the garden.  All possible if I could get the Tap to pair with the Miccus RTx.

Any thoughts?  Any others have similar problem?

Thank you very much.

DParker

Re: Amazon Tap and Bluetooth pairing
« Reply #1 on: June 21, 2016, 03:52:03 pm »
Both the Echo and the Tap are only bluetooth pairable as audio receivers, not as audio sources (the Dot has that capability though).

michaelpickel

Re: Amazon Tap and Bluetooth pairing
« Reply #2 on: June 21, 2016, 04:16:43 pm »
Thank you, but I am trying to receive only on the Tap, not send.
« Last Edit: June 21, 2016, 04:18:47 pm by michaelpickel »

DParker

Re: Amazon Tap and Bluetooth pairing
« Reply #3 on: June 21, 2016, 05:01:23 pm »
Thank you, but I am trying to receive only on the Tap, not send.

Ah, sorry...I misread your post.  I guess that when I saw "Sonos" my brain just assumed that you were trying to use it as a receiver.

In that case, does your Miccus transmitter support BT v2.1 (or newer)?  Or is it 2.0 or older (ie, does it require the use of a PIN code when pairing)?

michaelpickel

Re: Amazon Tap and Bluetooth pairing
« Reply #4 on: June 21, 2016, 05:31:39 pm »
Thanks. I have just sent your question to Miccus tech support for a clarification. I will reply when I know the answer.

mike27oct

Re: Amazon Tap and Bluetooth pairing
« Reply #5 on: June 21, 2016, 06:27:29 pm »
If you cannot get the Miccus to work right, just to let you know, I have two different BT ones purchased from Amazon that DO work with all the echo devices (and anything I have connected them to) including iPod,(to transmit) to Echo,  two Dots and two Taps. BTW, you have to take input for BT TX from device's audio signal (e.g. headphone out) to convert audio to BT,  So, if Miccus is not working, get a refund from Amazon and buy one or both of these:
http://www.echotalk.org/index.php?topic=242.0

BTW, Michaelpickel, when I was a very little kid, my mom often called me MichaelPichael, and I had not recalled that name again until your post!


michaelpickel

Re: Amazon Tap and Bluetooth pairing
« Reply #6 on: June 22, 2016, 10:09:48 am »
Thanks. I have just sent your question to Miccus tech support for a clarification. I will reply when I know the answer.
Got the following from Miccus support, "the RTX uses Bluetooth v 2.1. It does not require the use of a PIN to pair."

So, I'm at witt's end. The confusing part is that during pairing attempts, the Tap keeps referencing "Alexa app" or "mobile device."  I can't use the Alexa app, as I'm not pairing with the iPhone... Aren't I?

DParker

Re: Amazon Tap and Bluetooth pairing
« Reply #7 on: June 22, 2016, 11:03:34 am »
Got the following from Miccus support, "the RTX uses Bluetooth v 2.1. It does not require the use of a PIN to pair."

So, I'm at witt's end. The confusing part is that during pairing attempts, the Tap keeps referencing "Alexa app" or "mobile device."  I can't use the Alexa app, as I'm not pairing with the iPhone... Aren't I?

You need to use the app not because you're pairing with your phone, but because the app is where you instruct your Tap to enter pairing mode.  Start up the app and open the menu.  From the menu select "Settings".  Once there, select your Tap from the Alexa Devices list.  From there, select "Bluetooth".  Then tap the "Pairing Mode" button.  NOW you should be able to pair with your Miccus device.

mike27oct

Re: Amazon Tap and Bluetooth pairing
« Reply #8 on: June 22, 2016, 02:34:24 pm »
Perhaps reading the instructions from the Tap Support page (found here) can help you learn how to do this:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=hp_bc_nav?ie=UTF8&nodeId=200127470

michaelpickel

Re: Amazon Tap and Bluetooth pairing
« Reply #9 on: June 22, 2016, 03:34:24 pm »
Thanks, Mr "Pichael," but I've been through these pages already.  It uses the term "your mobile device (such as a phone or tablet)"  Amazon always puts connectivity in the terms of "mobile devices."  Does that mean portable phones and music players ONLY?  They never seem to say so.  You successfully connected two different Bluetooth transmitters to both is Tap and Echo.  So, it would seem that it's possible.  I bought the Miccus Home RTx over a year ago and it works fine with small portable Bluetooth speakers--just not the Tap--so I can't send it back.

It gets stranger, since now, I cannot pair my iPad/iPhone with either my Tap or my Echo! 

Tech Support at Miccus confirms that this device uses the most current version of Bluetooth A2DP.

Finally, today, Miccus support wrote to tell me that they have purchased a Tap and expect it to arrive by Friday, so they can determine what's going on.  (Pretty good support, even though I'm the first customer to contact them with with issue!)

Thanks again for your suggestions and continued support. 

michaelpickel

Re: Amazon Tap and Bluetooth pairing
« Reply #10 on: June 22, 2016, 03:39:16 pm »
Got the following from Miccus support, "the RTX uses Bluetooth v 2.1. It does not require the use of a PIN to pair."

So, I'm at witt's end. The confusing part is that during pairing attempts, the Tap keeps referencing "Alexa app" or "mobile device."  I can't use the Alexa app, as I'm not pairing with the iPhone... Aren't I?

You need to use the app not because you're pairing with your phone, but because the app is where you instruct your Tap to enter pairing mode.  Start up the app and open the menu.  From the menu select "Settings".  Once there, select your Tap from the Alexa Devices list.  From there, select "Bluetooth".  Then tap the "Pairing Mode" button.  NOW you should be able to pair with your Miccus device.

I see what you are saying, but once I turn on Bluetooth on the iPhone or iPad, the Tap immediately tried to pair with one of them and not the Miccus Tx.  In fact, the Tap tells me to pair with Tap unit and never recognizes the Miccus Tx.  Even then, when I try to pair the Tap with the iPhone or iPad it does not pair (I've tried this on the Echo, too) and neither will pair.

DParker

Re: Amazon Tap and Bluetooth pairing
« Reply #11 on: June 22, 2016, 04:10:48 pm »
It gets stranger, since now, I cannot pair my iPad/iPhone with either my Tap or my Echo!

I would say that this is what you should focus on now, since it's a pretty good indication that your Miccus device is not the problem (it might have its own problems as well, but if you can't even pair either Amazon device with either of your mobile devices then something more general is going on).

So, what steps are you taking in order to pair with your mobile devices, and what exactly happens when you try?

mike27oct

Re: Amazon Tap and Bluetooth pairing
« Reply #12 on: June 22, 2016, 08:20:05 pm »
OK Michael, this is all a bit tricky, I admit, but it can be done, and once you get the hang of it, you may wonder why you had trouble at first.  I just finished connecting one of my Taps to my TaoTronics BT transmitter that is plugged into the headphone out jack of my old Classic iPod, and right now my iPod is playing via BT to the Tap.  Cool.  It's the same principle to play from your Sonos assuming it has a headphone out jack.

First, know that you do not use the Alexa app on a mobile device to do the actually connecting, although you do use it to prep things.  Also, you need to know three things about using your BT transmitter; how to turn it off, how to pair it, and how to clear any pairings in it that can be causing a connection problem. 

You also will need to clear the BT cache of your Tap, so let's start there.  But, first let's COMPLETELY turn off the Tap (not to standby, but all the way off)  This is done by holding in the Tap's power button in the rear for a few seconds until you hear the three shut down beeps, then release the button.  Wait a few seconds and then use the same button to turn it back on with a single press in; it will take a while for it to completely reboot. 

Now, let's clear the BT cache of your transmitter.  I do this with mine from a completely off state and holding in the power button of it for 15 seconds until all LEDs flash.  Once I do this, the unit goes back to off state.  Leave yours in same off state.

Now, back to your Alexa app on mobile device, go into Settings, find your Tap, and enter its settings.  Select Bluetooth.  You will see both Pairing Mode and Clear buttons.  Tap the Clear button and the Tap will confirm the clearing action.

OK. both devices, BT TX and Tap are all cleared, and it is time to connect the two.  At this point stop using the Alexa app.  Tell the Tap to "turn on Bluetooth" or say "pair Bluetooth," either works. and the Tap will tell you, "from your mobile device look for your Tap's signal Amazon Tap-XXX on your mobile device." 

NO! -- the transmitter is NOT a mobile device, so what you do instead is immediately turn on your BT transmitter's pairing mode (mine requires holding in power button for six seconds until I see alternating LEDs flashing), they both flash slowly and when the pairing takes place, the Tap announces that pairing has been successful.  If your transmitter is plugged into an audio source, you will begin to hear the audio on Tap (be sure volumes of all devices are up high enough).  That it! 

My BT TX can retain the pairing much of the time, but if it doesn't, I may need to re-pair devices next time.  Each gadget is different, and why, if I have not had them connected for a while, I need to refer to the user manual for BT TX.  Also, my BT TX manual says to turn on it's BT pairing first, but I have more success to turn on the Tap (or Dot's) pairing first and then turn on the BT TX pairing last.  See, all a bit tricky, but it works once the bugs are out of the set up procedure.

If you still have problems, let me know.  These are of necessity long instructions, so you might want to print them out.  Also, when pairing the two devices they need to be close to one another.  I did all the pairing at a dining table today.

Good luck with it.

More Tips: turn off BT of other devices, like phone and tablets, etc. while doing this, and if you are having trouble connecting the phone and tablets to the Tap, your clearing the Tap's BT cache will help them connect, too.  Also "forget" the Tap in the phone and tablet BT settings.  Working with BT requires some detective work sometimes!