Bluetooth speaker whose startup tones can be muted?
April 12, 2022 10:57 AM   Subscribe

Can anyone suggest a currently-sold-in-2022 Bluetooth speaker whose startup tones/chimes/announcement can be muted, or doesn't exist in the first place?

There was a Previously a few years back, but the current models don't all get silenced: some manufacturers have apparently removed the option in their phone app. *insert dramatic teen-age eye-roll here*

For example, can I mute the sounds of the Wonderboom 2? (The original one could be muted, as could previous-gen JBL speakers.)

I just want a reasonably loud speaker that doesn't honk or shout or trill when I turn it on and off.
posted by wenestvedt to Technology (7 answers total) 6 users marked this as a favorite
 
It may be more than you want to spend, but I have this great speaker that makes no noise when it's turned on. It has a deep bump-bump when it connects, but that's all. It's quite likely that their other options similarly have no start-up noise.
posted by hydra77 at 11:58 AM on April 12, 2022


As far as I know you cannot mute the sounds of the Wonderboom 2. I got one because of Wirecutter's recommendation and I'm so annoyed no one ever mentions the startup sound in the reviews--I really do not like them.

Watching this eagerly for suggestions.
posted by rhiannonstone at 7:59 PM on April 12, 2022 [2 favorites]


Response by poster: Yeah, just got an answer on Amazon from Logitech confirming that the Wonderboom2's noises can't be disabled.

The Oontz Angle seems to be silent. I have their original model, which is a great speaker for it's time, and might go this way if there is no bigger option (e.g., JBL Flip 5) that can be silenced.
posted by wenestvedt at 6:29 AM on April 13, 2022 [1 favorite]


I'm happy with my Minirig3 which has an app setting to turn off tones. They seem to be finishing up a production run right now but should be available through Amazon when ready. I got mine pretty quick to Canada through Amazon. The android version of the setting app is flawless…the iOS app and connectivity seems not so flawless at the moment.
posted by brachiopod at 8:29 AM on April 13, 2022 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: Just got confirmation that the Flip 5 by JBL can't be silenced -- though it's not that loud, so it's not eliminated....yet.
posted by wenestvedt at 5:21 PM on April 13, 2022


As far as I know you cannot mute the sounds of the Wonderboom 2. I got one because of Wirecutter's recommendation and I'm so annoyed no one ever mentions the startup sound in the reviews--I really do not like them.

Watching this eagerly for suggestions.


Ditto. This speaker is excellent in all other aspects, and it's what I take into my office everyday--I'm listening to it now--but oh my god if I'd known the startup sound was this loud, irritating, goofy, purposeless, and irrepresible I would genuinely not have bought it. I would not buy one again, and I have looked for a solution to this issue with no success. I've even written to the company to, unsurprisingly, no response.

(My partner is a very light sleeper, and I'm a very early riser. I have to put four walls and two closed doors between us, then wrap the thing in a towel, to turn it on without waking him up in the morning.)
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 6:30 AM on April 14, 2022 [2 favorites]


Response by poster: Final update: I ended up with a JBL Flip 6. About six months later I was given an Anker Soundcore Mini. Both of them can be silenced!

The Flip is more speaker than I needed, since I only listen for like half an hour on weekday mornings. It has no problems being heard over the shower, though certain podcasters with deep voices who mumble are still a little muffled.

The little Mini is a great tabletop speaker, and also waterproof. I even drove around town with it in my noisy Suarbu for a day and it was good. Not "louder than the speakers" good, but better than "my iPhone's rice-sized speaker." And it has a grippy ring on its base, which helped it stay in place on my dashboard.
posted by wenestvedt at 10:04 AM on February 24, 2023


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