Earbud Remote Control: Standards?

[PeteCress]

My N7000's earbuds are on the way out - cable fraying at the plug.

Straight-up replacement is only five bucks on Amazon (Amazon.com: Samsung Wired Stereo EHS60 Serious Sound Earbud 3.5mm universal headset with In-Line Multi-Function Answer/Call Button (Black): Cell Phones & Accessories) but the sound quality is commensurate with the price.

OTOH, inline volume control is handy for use in the gym... so I'd be up for a third-party set with better fidelity and the inline control.

Apple's standard definitely does not work with the Samsung Note.

The Question:

How many standards for the inline control are there? I see some buds that purport to support the Note 2, but no mention of my old Note. But I'd hope that anything "Samsung" would work with all Samsung tablets and smartphones....

Or am I just wishing?

 

[SiempreTuna]

Yeah, this is a real issue with Android: Google didn't impose any standards.

This means each manufacturer does whatever they please and it turns out, what pleases them is doing something completely different for just about every device.

Basically, it's a real 'what the **** were you thinking, Google?' issue. You know that vast, omni-present market for iPhone compatibile devices (which includes my car fucryinoutloud!): that can NEVER happen for Android simply because of this incomprehensible omission.

Really, really irritating. Perhaps the worst thing about Android.

What this means for your volume control requirement is that you have to hope that someone with your device has happened to buy a set of earphones with volume controls that happen to work and that they have happened to post about it or that they happen to see this post.

Good luck with that.

Your only other option is trial and error: find a retailer that stock LOTS of earphones and let you try them out and experiment with every set until you find one that works.

Most earphones with a single button and a mic will work .. to a point. You might find some of the double-click-to-skip or long-click-to-rewind type things don't work.

I have some MEElectronics M6P earphones that weren't that expensive, are pretty comfortable, stay in the ear well, sound pretty good, give reasonable noise insulation and work fine for calls. Haven't had them long enough to comment on how durable they are, though.

 

[PeteCress]

x.

 

[chanchan05]

You can try a third party music app that can override the phone's native inline control standard. For example, PowerAMP has a setting which allows it to control prev, next, ff and rew using the mic button on any headset that has that.

 

[PeteCress]

You can try a third party music app that can override the phone's native inline control standard. For example, PowerAMP has a setting which allows it to control prev, next, ff and rew using the mic button on any headset that has that.

What I am really after is volume control. Just tried PowerAmp with an iPod headset (which only does volume.... no FF or Next) and it wasn't having any of it.

Sounds encouraging though - in that it's sounding more and more like response to those signals in general is something that can be modified rather than being burned into the hardware.

If that is true, then something which globally accomodates Apple earbuds would seem to be an attractive reason for rooting (if that were necessary) the device.

Apple seems tb the de-facto standard for headsets whereas it sounds like Android has no standard at all.

Also, IMHO there are quite a few people migrating to Android from IOS and I would think the flow will grow in coming years.

 

[chanchan05]

What I am really after is volume control. Just tried PowerAmp with an iPod headset (which only does volume.... no FF or Next) and it wasn't having any of it.

Sounds encouraging though - in that it's sounding more and more like response to those signals in general is something that can be modified rather than being burned into the hardware.

If that is true, then something which globally accomodates Apple earbuds would seem to be an attractive reason for rooting (if that were necessary) the device.

Apple seems tb the de-facto standard for headsets whereas it sounds like Android has no standard at all.

Also, IMHO there are quite a few people migrating to Android from IOS and I would think the flow will grow in coming years.

I used PowerAmp controls with an iPod compatible Philips-O'Neill Specked earbuds. Volume control and controls worked. Just went into the settings and enabled headset override.

 

[PeteCress]

I used PowerAmp controls with an iPod compatible Philips-O'Neill Specked earbuds. Volume control and controls worked. Just went into the settings and enabled headset override.

PowerAmp doesn't do it for me feature-wise....\

But I tried installing FineVolumeControl.

I can get FineVolumeControlto control the volume to the buds, but below 4%, the sound gets cut off. To get it back, I have to go up to 18% - whereupon the sound returns.... and then back down to 4%. But below 4% is probably where the sound gets comfortable with these particular earbuds and the sound gets cut off there.

If I try Preferences | Advanced Preferences | Volume Level and try setting it to "Low" or "Extra Low" instead of "Normal", it just cuts off the sound the same as if I try to lower it below 4%.

I'm starting to wonder if it's some built-in limitation/flaw in the N7000's hardware.