You have to get wired headphones. Bluetooth won’t transmit through water.

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https://www.strava.com/...tes/zachary_mckinney

Have you tried or is the comment based on how it supposedly works? (Not saying that you're wrong, just want someone with actual experience to comment.)

What is the use case you are looking for bluetooth versus products that have been on the market for over 15 years like the Swim MP3 by Finis???

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First, mp3 is not an option since I consider it outdated technology that I’m not willing to go back to. That problem is however solved by this spectacular invention: https://www.underwateraudio.com/...reaming-media-player

The rationale for buying BT headphones is that I would use them also outside the pool - which I wouldn’t do if I get a pair of wired swimming headphones.

Also, I like gadgets and think that wireless is much more convenient than wired and would prefer it from a personal standpoint.

Sure, I’ve taken a salt bath listening to the music off of my watch on my Plantronics Backbeat FIT and if I put my wrist under the water, the music just cuts out.

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https://www.strava.com/...tes/zachary_mckinney

Finis Amnis Stream.

Although if you own the MP3 files (i.e. not streaming via Spotify, Apple Music, etc.) the Duo might work better. With only one device, it's less fiddly. I use the Duo and it works fine.

AfterShokz makes a set you can upload mp3/podcasts to (but like everyone else has said, not Bluetooth)

The Finis Amnis Stream requires a watch with offline music capability, so it is not an option.

It does however use BT to stream the music from the watch to the headphones - underwater. As they write in the manual, the watch shall be clipped onto the holder of the headphones and not be worn on the wrist since the BT signal does not travel that far underwater.

In my case I won’t have the transmitter (Delphin micro-tablet) quite as close to the receiver (the headphones) as you would with the Finis Amnis. But a lot closer than if I had the transmitter on my wrist.

From what I understand it is possible for the BT signal to travel a short distance (a couple of inches) underwater. So, is there anyone who as actually tried the setup that I’m asking about and tried to use BT headphones while swimming when the transmitter is clipped onto the back of your head?

Any music player that supports Bluetooth headphones will work. It’s just that they only provide clips for a few popular watch brands. You’ve already got a clip

They are bone conducting headphones with a wire, that require another unit for playing music, priced at 290 EUR. Not really standing out as a great purchase imo.

This is a completely different setup than what I’m asking about and I hardly think it translates to the setup I am considering. Unless you’ve tried it with your watch and headphones both underwater, keeping them close to one another?

I've experimented with this quite a bit. In short, every waterproof bluetooth earbuds/headphones I have tried simply don't work while swimming. I've put my phone on the edge of the deck like my kickboard and as soon as I get 5 yards away with my head in the water it just gets garbly.

I ended up getting Aftershokz swimming bone conducting headphones. Works perfect every time. I just have to buy music.... I used it as a motivator and earned myself music points. $1 in music for every 10,000 yards swam. That way I kept my music fresh. I have a lot of music on there now...

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Hillary Trout
San Luis Obispo, CA

Your trip is short. Make the most of it.
https://www.slogoing.net/

plant_based's answer is correct, maybe try learning to focus on swimming since you're unwilling to use MP3's. I had the finis and I quit using them - it's too much of a distraction. I just decided to enjoy swimming rather than thinking of it as a 'necessary' evil of triathlon.

As I will have the transmitter on the back of my head, the distance to the transmitter on the pool deck won’t be an issue.

Ok. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on an unrelated matter.

So, then what is the question?

I guess you will be swimming waterpolo style? Water goes over my head a lot. I breath to the side with half my face in the water so the device would go into the water. And I flip turn, completely submerging the device. And I streamline off the wall, again completely submerged. I guess if I had tried swimming waterpolo style then it would be a simple distance problem. But, I actually want to swim. So, bluetooth doesn't work. The bluetooth connection starts to drop as water goes over the device and then it eventually drops completely as you get further away and the water is going over the device and it is hella annoying when it is trying to reconnect.

Why don't you just try it?

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Hillary Trout
San Luis Obispo, CA

Your trip is short. Make the most of it.
https://www.slogoing.net/

https://news.mit.edu/...ane%20communication.

Good luck.

I will do regular kind of swimming, no waterpolo. And before buying headphones for ~120 EUR that I might not be able to use for their main purpose (swimming) I’d like to know if someone had tried it and knows if it works or not.

So far it appears as no one has done just that (i.e. having a BT music player/transmitter on the back of their head, using BT headphones).

Yup. Clearly you are the very first person on planet earth to have that idea. Wish I had thought of that. {eye roll}. Good luck to you.

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Hillary Trout
San Luis Obispo, CA

Your trip is short. Make the most of it.
https://www.slogoing.net/

I think I’m far from the first person to have thought of this and most likely someone has tried it and could tell from experience if it works or not. Which is why I asked the question.

So far the only two users who have posted any answers from trying to use BT headphones in a water environment is plantbased who used a wrist watch in a bathtub and you, who had the phone on the pool deck while swimming (unless I completely misunderstood your answers). Both which are quite dissimilar to my setup.

There is a reason everyone here says it doesn't work. That being because it doesn't. If you put a watch in your swimcap and earbuds in your ear you do limit the maximum distance between the sender and the receiver. But plenty of people have told you that transmitting in water (where both sender and receiver will be) plainly sucks via bluetooth. Do the test with any bluetooth connection for your distance of '1 human head' under water if you want to submerge phone/watch/whatever. There's your test.

I guess from your answer you haven’t actually tried if it works or not?

I’ve tried to find an answer by someone who’s actually tested, with a setup corresponding to what I’m thinking of, rather than just saying that it doesn’t work. But so far no one in this thread appears to have done that but keeps saying that bluetooth transmission sucks underwater - which I’m aware of. Why I’m curious is that I’ve read claims that BT transmission is (only) a few inches underwater, which would be sufficient for my setup.

I’d be happy to test it and am fully ok to to be proved wrong, in the sense that it doesn’t work. But I’m not really keen on having to buy a set of headphones for ~120€ just to test it, finding out that it doesn’t work and have to buy waterproof wired headphones.

Someone here literally said bluetooth crapped out when his watch (connected to a speaker) went under water in a bath. Sure, nobody did exactly your test, but that's just because nobody needs to. You can just extrapolate from similar tests.

Also the setup is just more cumbersome than the very simple headphones designed for swimming.

Was the watch held two or ten inches below the surface? Did the fancy bath salt and the candlelights disturb the signal? I don’t know, do you?
Well, since mp3 is not on option it is what I have to go with. And the setup is not limited to swimming which I consider a big advantage.