Today I have a lot of free time, so I decided to test out Bluetooth, which has been in the news again recently.
I placed the WiiM device outdoors and checked the Bluetooth connection sensitivity in a situation with as few obstacles as possible.
[Test devices]
<Transmitters>
1) WiiM Mini (BT 5.2)
2) Android phone (Poco F7 Pro : BT 5.4)
3) WiiM Ultra (BT 5.3)
<Receiver>
Nothing Ear (Earbuds : BT 5.3)
<Test Source>
[Test 1] WiiM Mini
The Mini is placed on the road in front of my house.
First, I checked the Wi-Fi signal strength.
<Case A>
I connected Bluetooth earbuds to the Mini, put them in my ears, played the test track, and walked away from the Mini to check for any dropouts.
The drop occurred about 10m away from Mini. The further away from this point, the more drops occur. I also noticed that changing the direction of my head made the drops more likely to occur.
At a distance of 30m, the sound became intermittent and almost impossible to reproduce. And then, when I exceeded 40m, communication became impossible.
This shot was taken from a location 30m away from Mini.
<Case B>
Next, I placed a plastic bottle filled with water in front of the Mini and conducted the same test. This is to confirm any changes in situations where there were obstacles.
I could hear drops about 5m away, and at 10m, the drops were so frequent that it was almost impossible to play.
[Test 2] Poco F7 pro
The Wi-Fi sensitivity of the phone is not a problem.
<Case A>
I placed the phone in the same position and conducted the test in the same manner.
Even at a distance of 30m, the sensitivity was good and there were no drops. At 40m, there was a drop, but I was able to continue walking. As long as I stay still and watch the phone, I can listen to music without any problems.
As I approached the 50m mark, the drop increased, but it was still playable. Finally, at the 70m mark, communication became almost impossible.
<Case B>
There were no problems with playback at a distance of 10m, but at around 20m, I began to hear dropouts, and at 30m, communication was almost impossible.
[Test 3] WiiM Ultra
The Ultra's Wi-Fi sensitivity was not good, but testing was feasible.
<Case A>
The Bluetooth sensitivity of the Ultra was better than that of the Mini, and it was almost as good as a my phone. There was no interference in playback even at a distance of 30m, and drops began to occur at 40m. Communication was lost at approximately 60m.
<Case B>
In this test, Ultra performed almost as well as my phone. Communication was almost impossible at a distance of 30m.
[Result table] Case A
: Drop occurs
: Frequent drops
:almost incommunicado
[Result table] Case B
#I recorded this by sticking it on various points along the guardrail.
[My opinion]
As I have mentioned before and also based on this test, I don't believe there are any significant issues with the Bluetooth connection of the WiiM devices.
If you are experiencing problems connecting your WiiM device and headphones via Bluetooth, even if your headphone connect well with other devices (such as a phone), this doesn't necessarily mean that the WiiM device is the cause of the problem.
As far as I know, I have rarely seen any reports of problems with WiiM Bluetooth receivers on this forum. Most posts are about problems connecting Bluetooth headphones.
Since there are no problems with Bluetooth receiver on WiiM devices, it is unlikely that there are problems with Bluetooth transmitter alone. So I believe the first thing to suspect is the headphones.
Even if you perform the same test, you may not get the same results, but they will probably be similar. If you encounter problems between your WiiM device and your Bluetooth device, I recommend thoroughly checking that there are no obstacles in the WiiM installation environment.
Thank you
I placed the WiiM device outdoors and checked the Bluetooth connection sensitivity in a situation with as few obstacles as possible.
[Test devices]
<Transmitters>
1) WiiM Mini (BT 5.2)
2) Android phone (Poco F7 Pro : BT 5.4)
3) WiiM Ultra (BT 5.3)
<Receiver>
Nothing Ear (Earbuds : BT 5.3)
<Test Source>
[Test 1] WiiM Mini
The Mini is placed on the road in front of my house.
First, I checked the Wi-Fi signal strength.
<Case A>
I connected Bluetooth earbuds to the Mini, put them in my ears, played the test track, and walked away from the Mini to check for any dropouts.
The drop occurred about 10m away from Mini. The further away from this point, the more drops occur. I also noticed that changing the direction of my head made the drops more likely to occur.
At a distance of 30m, the sound became intermittent and almost impossible to reproduce. And then, when I exceeded 40m, communication became impossible.
This shot was taken from a location 30m away from Mini.
<Case B>
Next, I placed a plastic bottle filled with water in front of the Mini and conducted the same test. This is to confirm any changes in situations where there were obstacles.
I could hear drops about 5m away, and at 10m, the drops were so frequent that it was almost impossible to play.
[Test 2] Poco F7 pro
The Wi-Fi sensitivity of the phone is not a problem.
<Case A>
I placed the phone in the same position and conducted the test in the same manner.
Even at a distance of 30m, the sensitivity was good and there were no drops. At 40m, there was a drop, but I was able to continue walking. As long as I stay still and watch the phone, I can listen to music without any problems.
As I approached the 50m mark, the drop increased, but it was still playable. Finally, at the 70m mark, communication became almost impossible.
<Case B>
There were no problems with playback at a distance of 10m, but at around 20m, I began to hear dropouts, and at 30m, communication was almost impossible.
[Test 3] WiiM Ultra
The Ultra's Wi-Fi sensitivity was not good, but testing was feasible.
<Case A>
The Bluetooth sensitivity of the Ultra was better than that of the Mini, and it was almost as good as a my phone. There was no interference in playback even at a distance of 30m, and drops began to occur at 40m. Communication was lost at approximately 60m.
<Case B>
In this test, Ultra performed almost as well as my phone. Communication was almost impossible at a distance of 30m.
[Result table] Case A
: Drop occurs : Frequent drops :almost incommunicado| Distance/Device | 1. Mini Bluetooth 5.2 | 2. Poco F7 Pro Bluetooth 5.4 | 3. Ultra Bluetooth 5.3 |
| ~10m | | ||
| ~20m | | ||
| ~30m | | ||
| ~40m | | | |
| ~50m | | | |
| ~60m | | | |
| ~70m | |
[Result table] Case B
| Distance/Device | 1. Mini Bluetooth 5.2 | 2. Poco F7 Pro Bluetooth 5.4 | 3. Ultra Bluetooth 5.3 |
| ~10m | | ||
| ~20m | | | |
| ~30m | | | |
| ~40m | |||
| ~50m | |||
| ~60m | |||
| ~70m |
#I recorded this by sticking it on various points along the guardrail.
[My opinion]
As I have mentioned before and also based on this test, I don't believe there are any significant issues with the Bluetooth connection of the WiiM devices.
If you are experiencing problems connecting your WiiM device and headphones via Bluetooth, even if your headphone connect well with other devices (such as a phone), this doesn't necessarily mean that the WiiM device is the cause of the problem.
As far as I know, I have rarely seen any reports of problems with WiiM Bluetooth receivers on this forum. Most posts are about problems connecting Bluetooth headphones.
Since there are no problems with Bluetooth receiver on WiiM devices, it is unlikely that there are problems with Bluetooth transmitter alone. So I believe the first thing to suspect is the headphones.
Even if you perform the same test, you may not get the same results, but they will probably be similar. If you encounter problems between your WiiM device and your Bluetooth device, I recommend thoroughly checking that there are no obstacles in the WiiM installation environment.
Thank you
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