Fenix 5s plus on left wrist with Jaybird Vista 2

I just got the jaybird Vista 2s and I really enjoy most aspects of them. However I am still having the same connection issues that plague other wireless headphones with the master headphone on the right ear with the Fenix 5s on the left wrist. I guess I assumed this wasn't going to be an issue because you can wear either headphone individually, but when they are both connected, it appears the right is still the master and left is slave connection. To verify this I switched my 5s to my right wrist and had zero static issues. On my left it was mostly ok, but enough to be annoying. If I brought my left wrist down to my side static every time.

The hopeful news is that since either headphone can be used individually, this might be correctable with future firmware updates but I'm not going to hold my breath for anytime soon as this is a new product launch and the Fenix 5s probably isn't high on jaybirds priority list. 

Just putting this out there in case anybody has a similar situation.

Other than my watch connection, I've had zero issues with my phone connection and I'm really enjoying the ANC and soundsense modes! They are definitely built well and have similar fit to the jaybird tarah.

Patrick

  • The solution with Galaxy Buds is to remove only the left bud from the case, close the case and let the watch connect to the left bud only. This will establish the left bud as master and you can then bring the right bud into play and everything should remain good.

    I have no idea whether this might also work with other brands, but surely worth trying.

  • I will for sure try this! I've also reached out to jaybird to see if they have any pointers. 

  • Just to update a few points after speaking with a jaybird rep:

    • The connection issue with the garmin [fenix 5s plus] is known, but it seems that every iteration of firmware correction with garmin that was suppose to fix, still results in the connection issue
    • The order in which you take the earbuds out of the case doesn't have any effect on anything to do with performance for the Vista 2 buds. The only thing that happens is the earbud that is taken out first will be the one that announces the battery level and says 'connected' - but that's because it is the first bud that is being connected, so that's the only difference. After that, things that happen on only one earbud are determined by whatever earbud has the best connection to the phone at the time that action is performed. Example: when a phone call comes in, whichever earbud has the best connection, the microphone on that earbud is what is used for the call. 

    From this, it seems Jaybird Vista 2 have the ability to pick the best connection to either the left or right bud, but the Fenix 5s plus firmware does not take advantage of this feature.

    I hope this issue gets corrected in upcoming firmware updates, but as this isnt the latest watch, I'm not sure how much resources they have allotted for it.

    If there is a garmin rep reading this, let us know!

  • To clarify, this connection issue is only seen while trying to listen to music during an activity. Just listening to music alone doesn't seem to have any issue. I assume there is some power/processing limitation at play?

  • I had a pair of Jaybird Vistas which were my designated "Garmin" buds - same issue.  They worked brilliantly at first; I went on a trial 12-mile run with just the 5X+ and J-Birds, no static, no drops.  But the signal quality seemed to degrade over time and I was relegated to using my phone again for music.  To be fair, I've had the same problem with a pair of JBL Endurance Peaks, and about ready to try a second pair of JBLs (LIVE 300s).  The Jabra 65Ts worked okay with the FENIX, but there was a constant prompt for using the "foot pod" function which is problematic and moreover unnecessary.

    Hope you get a fix!