Need "third party pairing app" for bluetooth.

[JayhawkSD]

By way of introduction, bought a new Sony 49" television yesterday. Great picture, fair sound, but nothing else works. I specifically made sure it had red and white RCA jacks in back for my headphones and external speakers, but they produce nothing, I cannot find anything in setup that addresses settings for them, and they are lebeled as "input" connections in any case. There is nothing in any of the instructions about them.

So I finally gave up and bought a pair of Bluetooth headphones. The television says "searching for devices" and finds nothing. My iPhone finds the headphones when they are in pairing mode but the television does not. Tried removing the Sony microphone, disabling Bluetooth on the tv and re-enabling it. Nothing works.

Found something online that says, "All you need is a 3rd party bluetooth pairing app (I got it from aptoide app) and you can connect your bluetooth earphones from there. I have tested my qcy earphones as well as a generic bluetooth reciever.All you need is a 3rd party bluetooth pairing app (I got it from aptoide app) and you can connect your bluetooth earphones from there. I have tested my qcy earphones as well as a generic bluetooth reciever."

I have no idea what that means. The television is a "smart tv" connected to my wifi, but does not, to my knowledge, have a browser. How I would download that app to my television, and how I would use it once it was downloaded?

It appears that short of this "third party app" I have to buy Bluetooth headphones that are specifically compatible with this television, that is ones that are not A2DP, but Bluetooth devices do not generally say whether they are A2DP or not. So, what, just buy them and see if they connect? Any ideas how I can turn this useless brick into a television that I can watch when my wife is asleep?

And a word to the wise, DO NOT BUY SONY TELEVISIONS.

[LuvLoogie]

1. What is the model of your new tv

Please be specific withe series number, version etc.

[JayhawkSD]

4. XBR49X800E

During the setup it did a "Searching for updates" immediately after it connected to my WiFi.

[LuvLoogie]

7. Maybe this app is compatible with your TV

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.myklos.btautoconnect

Did you download the Opera browser for your TV?

[JayhawkSD]

10. I'm not clear on what the app does.

It says, "First, connect and pair with your Bluetooth device manually..." which is precisely what I am unable to do.

And, "Did you download the Opera browser for your TV?" I do not have the slightest idea how I would do that, and I see nothing in the instructions that would suggest a method for doing it.

Edit: I just clicked on the link in your post #8, and it looks like that answers the question about downloading Opera. I'll look into that in the morning. Looks like there is a lot of other good stuff in the numbered selections at the bottom, too. I'll be back. Thanks.

[LuvLoogie]

8. Some tweaks from Tom's Guide

https://www.tomsguide.com/us/sony-tv-settings-guide,review-5605-7.html

[JayhawkSD]

12. This one looks really helpful.

It looks like that answers the question about downloading Opera. I'll look into that in the morning. Looks like there is a lot of other good stuff in the numbered selections at the bottom, too. I'll be back. Thanks.

[JayhawkSD]

15. Somewhat less useful than I thought.

A good bit of it doesn't seem to apply to my television. Apparently not all Sony tv's behave alike.

I did get into the Google store. There are very few functional apps in there. Lots of ones for playing games, which I don't, and ones furnished by networks, but only one browser, produced by an individual named, iirc, Howard something. Opera not present.

There doesn't seem to be any way to get apps not offered by the Google store unless I install a browser created by an unknown individual. I am liking Sony less and less. Most of the "featured apps," for instance, cannot be uninstalled it seems.

[LuvLoogie]

9. Also try disconnecting/unpairing the headphones...

from your phone, and then try again to connect to your TV

[JayhawkSD]

11. I never actually connected the headset to the phone.

Merely saw that it was present in the list of devices to which I could connect.

Thanks for all the input, though. This stuff is way over my head.

[LuvLoogie]

13. You are welcome.

You may have to press a button on the headphones in order to pair up with the TV. And there is a section at the bottom of the Tom's Guide page that talks about Bluetooth specifically.

[JayhawkSD]

14. Yes, thanks, I did get that part.

It flashes red and blue when it is in pairing mode. The Tom's Guide looks like a real treasure. I am exploring that now.

[LuvLoogie]

16. Yeah. Tom's has great content.

This is another of their sites. More hardware based.

https://www.tomshardware.com/

[canetoad]

2. This may not be the exact same TV

You should Google the model for Sony manuals.

https://helpguide.sony.net/tv/fga1/v1/en-142/index.html

The left hand menu has a box that says 'Using the TV with other devices. Click on that and the next page gives you bluetooth instructions.
I really doubt that you need a third-party app.

[JayhawkSD]

6. Yes, I went through that process.

Right up to the point that it says to select the device from the list. There is no list. It merely says "Searching for devices," and finds none.

[kozar]

3. not sure about bluetooth part

but I would think a USB wireless headset would work? Dongle in Tv and wireless headphones. I can't say I have heard of a 3rd party pairing app, but I dont have all the knowledge in the world either. and I am leery of "reviews" that point to a specific product as hard as that one reads to me.

Best of Luck

[JayhawkSD]

5. That seems to be a transmitter/receiver pair.

As far as I can see that appears to be a bluetooth transmitter connected via usb and a bluetooth headset. Seems redundant when the television is already transmitting bluetooth signal. That's telling Sony, "Okay I'll pay you for something that you rendered unusable, and I'll even pay for the replacement." Seriously?

[JayhawkSD]

17. Issue is resolved, but not entirely happily so.

I went back to the store, Best Buy, and they could not possibly have been nicer or more helpful. I have become a real fan of that store.

They went trough the Bluetooth setup with a headset with a Sony 900E model, and I said, "Yes, but mine doesn't do that." So they went to an 800E on display and found that it had the same menu I described and the same failure to connect that I have. So they called their Sony rep, and asked what gives.

I only heard the Best Buy guy's end of the conversation, but clearly he was about as peeved with Sony as I was. At one point he asked, "Well what's the Bluetooth for, then?" and a bit later, "Then why include it in the menu?" In short, while it does say on the box and in the advertising that it supports Bluetooth, and it has a Bluetooth selection on the setup menu, no, this model does not support Bluetooth.

Best Buy offered to trade the set for another that does support Bluetooth, and to reduce the price on the upgrade, but I didn't want to go through the hassle of making the swap. So I bought a Bluetooth transmitter that connects through the optical connector. Got it set up this afternoon and it works fine.

So, black mark for Sony. They sold me something and did not deliver, and the television cost me $160 more than I expected it to. But very high marks for Best Buy. They turned themselves inside out to solve the problem for me.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

18. I had a feeling that this is where things were going

Bluetooth and WiFi are "supported" by products but no actual hardware with a interfacing radio is native in the device. I saw this in a BluRay player I was researching. One easy way to check this before buying is to look at the specs to which Bluetooth or WiFi standard the device is actually compatible with. For Bluetooth, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluetooth#Specifications_and_features lots of stuff for sale now is advertising version 4.1 or higher. For WiFi, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wi-Fi#Versions most devices include 802.11n or the newer 802.11ac.

If no mention of the actual version is included in the units capabilities, this likely means the unit has a USB port where you can insert a dongle adding the wireless function you desire.

Should the label that touts Bluetooth support also have print saying, "Dongle required/not included"? Absolutely. Just as many device labels explain that batteries are required and not included.

On the plus side, many retailers today, like the folks at your BestBuy, really go the extra mile for you. Kudos to them and everyone who's knowledgeable and customer centered in brick and mortar retail sales.

I'm glad your sales folks were helpful and thanks for your story.

[JayhawkSD]

19. All well and good, but nobody ever talks about Bluetooth versions.

They just say Bluetooth. They don't say "Version x.xx" or "A2DP" or "802.xx" or anything, either on the hosting device, or on the portable device. The television and the headset both just say "Bluetooth."

The box, the advertising, the instruction manual, and the setup menu that you look at in the store of the model 800E and the model 850E are identical. But with the model 850E you do not have to buy a transmitter. The headset pairs with the television instantly. With the model 800E you do have to buy a transmitter, because the headset does not pair with the television.

So with the model 850E the "actual hardware with a interfacing radio is native in the device," while with the model 800E it is not, and yet the wording on advertising and on the product box is identical. How is this not consumer fraud?

You cannot "check this before buying is to look at the specs to which Bluetooth or WiFi standard the device is actually compatible with," because those specs are not provided either in the advertising or anywhere on the box the product comes in. At least not with these Sony products.

"Should the label that touts Bluetooth support also have print saying, 'Dongle required/not included'?"
I would say they should not, because those devices do not, in fact, support Bluetooth. They have USB, RCA or optical ports that allow a transmitter to be connected, and the transmitter supports Bluetooth. Those ports can also support a vast array of other types of electronic devices that have nothing to do with Bluetooth. Saying that they support Bluetooth, even if they admit that a Bluetooth transmitter is required to do so, is fraud. Nothing in their hardware supports Bluetooth.

Again, if they do not have an internal Bluetooth transmitter, if their internal electronics cannot pair with external Bluetooth devices, then they are committing fraud by claiming that they "support Bluetooth."

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

20. re: "...they are committing fraud..."

Agreed. Having your software Bluetooth compatible does not/should not be advertised as "supporting Bluetooth."

Saying "support Bluetooth" is basically a lie.

I try never to buy anything without looking at the full version of the manufacturer's specs.
Your time and money spent above buying the original item were wasted by what are essentially lies.

[JayhawkSD]

21. Unless it does.

The Sony model 850E does support Bluetooth. You do not need a transmitter. All you need is the Bluetooth headset. It does not need to be a specific version or flavor of Bluetooth. When you follow the directions followed by Sony and by the headset manufacturer, which are very simple, the headset connects directly to the Sony television.

It is perfectly proper for Sony to say that the Model 850E "supports Bluetooth," because it does.

The model 800E says that it supports Bluetooth, but it does not because, unlike the model 850E, it requires a transmitter.