Nucleus Smart Reviews

by BanditG8or

I am also having all of the issues mentioned above. I contacted Cochlear chat and was told to download the “current” version because Apple was supposed to have fixed all of these issues recently. So even though I doubted the version in NucleusSmart Store would more current because I have automatic downloads, I deleted my current Smart App, downloaded the Smart App again, then spent all the time to set it up once again. No improvement. AT ALL. My situation is worse!
In fact, now my N7 will not even pair to my iPhone at all. Did NucleusSmart I just downloaded corrupt my iPhone’s pairing ability? This is a disaster!

Unfortunately, I am older and have to use a magnifying glass to be able to read the small remote control. And my arthritis makes it very difficult to use the buttons. Plus, the remote is so small that it does not have the same functionality previous remote controls had.

Why would you upgrade a processor and downgrade the remote?? Then produce a faulty app that is the primary way to program the N7 processor? It makes sense no sense at all.

I am so unhappy with the situation that I may well go back to my N5.

by Just*the*mom

I was told that with my new N7 processor I would not need a separate remote control, as I would be able to control functions through my IPhone app. (So I didn't order a remote as one of my free options) What a load of phooey! After several months I am ready to toss both in the garbage. NucleusSmart and processor are constantly losing connectivity! At least once a day i have to go through the pairing process, sometimes I cannot get it to pair at all. Incredibly frustrating trying to take a phone call and losing connectivity...and of course the ability to at least switch it to telecoil!

by AngelsofShannon

I would’ve originally given 5 stars but due to the recent update of NucleusSmart failing Nucleus recipients, the # is down to 1.

I loved having NucleusSmart to control the sound processor and not having to carry to remote control. It worked fantastic until Apple’s recent updates. 13.2.1 & after.

The recent updates have messed with NucleusSmart in that notifications now “hijack” my hearing. Every time a notification hits my phone, my hearing was pulled in to app (or phone) with beep sounds, a brief pause & then a high pitched screeches. It’s very difficult to maintain in person or phone conversations as the person’s voice would be drowned out each time a notification came up on the phone. I have to ask people to pause on speaking to me until app releases my sound back to environment. I had to shut off all notifications except phone & messages that I needed. It still “hijacked” the hearing too often. I now keep my phone on silent mode. I have to visually check for msgs, phone calls or any notifications that I originally had sent to me.

This is a horrible glitch! I now intend to get a remote and delete NucleusSmart to not have my hearing hi jacked further. I’m extremely disappointed with Apple & their update & frustrated my hearing has been effected in such a negative way.

by Rookiemash

My son got his N7s last week. I was hoping that NucleusSmart would be useful. It's opposite. It's unreliable. Sometimes it gets connected to N7s sometimes not. Sometimes it only connect one of them when both R and L are open and working. It changes the program settings frequently. I select a program and when I check later on R and L setup to different program. It should not stream the phone rings, audio and phone calls to the N7s since I adjust the settings in general settings section. But it streams all of them into the N7s. I check general settings. Then the streams come back to the iPhone but then it goes to the N7s back and forth. Very inconsistent and unreliable. Not sure if this is happening because of N7 malfunctioning or because of NucleusSmart. Probably I'll remove it and use the remote control instead. All of this is happening while my son is in the range of Bluetooth.

by C.J. Chester

What a horrible app. NucleusSmart is very unreliable. Every morning when I try to use it with my TV streamer or phone it gives me an error message to turn on my processor and move it into range when it is already on and in range. So then I need to turn the Bluetooth on my phone off, close NucleusSmart , shut down and restart my processor. I may have to do this several times before I can get it to work, it takes me 10-15 minutes every day to do something that should be automatic. This was the great and grand improvement that Cochlear made to the N7 from the N6!? Cochlear should give you a remote control for the the N7 instead of charging $100 for one if the iPhone app is so unreliable. Then they don’t even support it with updates to fix the bugs. It’s very frustrating. But the folks who have Cochlear implants and N7 processor are a real actively small group, so nobody really cares.

by JA Verdi

More often than not, when I tap the Nucleus app, I get an error message that says the processor cannot be found. This is annoying, to say the least and happens often enough that it’s time wasting as well.
This is not a recent error. It’s been happening for the past year. App updates are in place. There’s a series of turning the processor off and on and then removing the coil from my head to invoke a “coil off” error message that sometimes causes NucleusSmart to work again but not always. As a last resort, I delete NucleusSmart and download it again which makes it work again for a short time. That’s pretty inconvenient.
This is my second processor. Cochlear replaced the first one earlier this year and it worked well with NucleusSmart for a few months. For the past two or three weeks, it’s failed more often than not.

by Cubfn

When it works I would give it 5 stars but sadly it’s only a 2 right now because it basically does not work consistently.
NucleusSmart is great when it works. Right now I have to use the remote to adjust volume because NucleusSmart decides to work or not when it feels like it.
I can’t fine tune the treble/bass because NucleusSmart won’t let me. I’ve tried uninstalling and reinstalling app and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Right now it doesn’t. I don’t see audiologist for a few weeks and when I do, I’d like to figure out another option to adjust the settings besides NucleusSmart, if that’s even possible. Very disappointed because I had high hopes for this and without the ability to adjust it, the device isn’t that great. NucleusSmart is really necessary.

by N7 Dennis

App works well but I hate that there are unnecessary things trying to stream to my processors ( like using NucleusSmart store and app ads taking control for no reason), it's annoying and unnecessary. The only way I've found to stop them is to turn off all streaming from the phone! Unfortunately I notice that the only response from Cochlear custom service is to tell everyone to visit cochlear web site to find your local custom service team contact details, what a joke! There seems to be a lot of common problems but they offer zero information that might help.

by Mmclanr

This is an amazing app BUT when apple sent out the new IOS 13 update, it completely screwed up the streaming options. 9 times out of 10 the phone won’t Bluetooth to my processors causing me to uninstall NucleusSmart , forget the device on my Hearing Aid compatibility settings the. Reinstall everything. I have to do this 3-4 times a day if not more depending on what’s going on. Being someone that relies on his phone for work, this is completely unacceptable. Beside that, before for the update it worked great.

by Solskinn1

Does NucleusSmart stream directly to the apple watch if the watch has cellular connectivity/plan?
Or would I still need my phone close by?
With cellular on watch you can receive calls and answer texts etc so should it not also be able to stream directly so it works independently from the phone?This would be a big plus. I do not see this addressed anywhere and do not want to purchase cellular for my watch if NucleusSmart does not stream independently from my phone.

by C.Miller

I am an adult with bilateral N7s. I, too, am experiencing all the issues everyone else is noting. I love the direction the developers are going with this because this tool makes being in control so much easier and improves quality of life.

Things I would like improved is music streaming range - when my phone is sitting on my desk in front of me or in my pocket, connection is sporadic so the phone always has to be held close in hand. Almost always I will lose connection while on a phone call at some point - extremely frustrating so some improvements are needed there. Another thing along with everyone else is NucleusSmart connecting with the processors...usually hit or miss and never a fast connection.

Other than that, I love being able adjust all the settings, not having to carry around a phone clip or remote.

Thank you Cochlear! My life has changed because of this technology.

by Walk For Sight

Overall, I like NucleusSmart . It is handy to use. I like that you can change programs and make adjustments to volume and other settings discretely. I also like the ability to actually see what settings you have. Doing it on the processor, you cannot know what settings you have. I never had issues with pairing as other apps have had. The only time I have issues with pairing is when I first pair the iPhone and the processor. Once I do that, I have no issues. I believe the problems I have with the initial pairing Is probably user error. The 3 star would be higher if NucleusSmart has the ability to save favorite settings and favorite settings for certain locations. Particularly is saving settings for the TV streamer and the Mini Mic. I have seen the ability to save settings on other hearing aid apps. I would give NucleusSmart a higher rating if saving can be done.

by ANG2108

First off, I think it's incredible the way I can now pair my CI directly with iOS. I switched to an iPhone just so I could use NucleusSmart. It's awesome for phone calls and listening to music.

That being said, there are severe limits on functionality. For example, any app with any audio access will automatically pair my CI with the phone. For example, on my solitaire app even though I've turned off the sound in that app, it will still automatically pair with my CI and mask all environmental sounds with the silence from NucleusSmart . NucleusSmart needs to allow selective app access to the CI.

by Steve W. Jackson

Don’t mistake my rating and complaints: having N7s and NucleusSmart is still a GREAT improvement for me. But rather than correcting annoying issues with updates, more are appearing!

For quite some time I’ve been getting dropouts when streaming music while my iPhone is in my pocket. Seriously? And it would be great if an incoming phone call wouldn’t activate streaming when my phone is using CarPlay! I’m forced to wait a short time for streaming to disengage before I speak to my caller.

Now, over the past several days, nearly every time I open NucleusSmart I have to wait while it’s “connecting” to my N7s. I don’t EVER close NucleusSmart except when it (all too frequently) can’t find one of my processors. So this is impeding my daily use.

I still don’t understand why my TV streamer nearly always fails to reconnect to one or the other of my N7 processors after I go out of range (like a bathroom or snack break) and then return. This NEVER happened when I used N6 processors and the remote. It’s the same TV streaming device.

Honestly, the switch to N7 processors and NucleusSmart has been a great experience overall, and I so badly want to be able to give it a 5-star rating. But it’s not getting there. And referring me to a support team is unhelpful.

by Chef Dragon86

I’ve been using N7 for around 2 years now.
Very happy overall with it but with the recent updates I’m getting disconnected from my iPhone streaming as I’m using it more frequently.

It would also be great to remove the time between connecting and hearing voices while connected to apps like google maps. The sound gets clipped every time a new message is being announce so you miss the first second or so of directions

by KateMonster22

NucleusSmart has definitely improved over time, so overall I feel very positive about it. It’s a nice view of the processor, and it’s easy to switch programs or accessories. If I were to recommend a couple improvements:

*Being able to turn processor sounds off is awesome because some iPhone apps trigger streaming with every piece of media so the beep-on beep-off keeps happening and it’s maddening. That said, it would be nice to have more finite control. I’d love to be able to turn the ‘streaming’ beeps off but keep battery level or coil on beeps.

*If I have my Bluetooth off when I open NucleusSmart , it says it can’t connect, but doesn’t seem to try again when I turn Bluetooth on, and doesn’t offer a “retry” button - I have to close out NucleusSmart and restart it. A refresh button would be nice.

by Southwestforpresident

Hello! I just upgraded to my N7 a few days ago, and began using NucleusSmart . Both the device and NucleusSmart work absolutely fine, but there’s one issue. I don’t know if this is due to the newest update or if any other devices are experiencing these issues, but it takes away the experience from having an N7 in the first place. that “experience” is the volume control setting. When I first got my implant and started streaming music, I noticed that it would auto adjust the audio to something more quiet. I wanted to be able to control these settings, and I found out that I could do so by clicking my “Volume” tab where I can adjust the volume, and then clicking that little “more” button to get to the volume control settings. Only thing is that this “more” button is nowhere to be seen. I know other devices have it, and it even has it in the demo mode of NucleusSmart , but it is totally missing for me. Please, urgently fix this fast!

by Kristen Bartlett

I am a long time patient of one and eventually went bilateral in 2007 with Cochlear Implants (my very first implant was back in 1989). I have worn almost all of their processors and now here I am with the two N7s and I love them. I love them even more because of NucleusSmart.

It allows me to control my volume right on my phone which I have on me at all times (instead of looking for a remote) and hear so much better when I am on a call.

My favorite part is streaming the music! It makes my running at the gym more enjoyable and I can run forever. I’m so happy NucleusSmart was created as a perfect match for the N7s.

by Lessiy3

I’m a mom of a bilateral implanted 10 year old. She’s in love with her implants and would recommend to anyone, she’s been wearing her cochlear since she was two and on August she had her second one implanted and that’s when she switch to her N7 processors. NucleusSmart for a mom it really comes in handy to be able to control her processors better, as a kid I can say that she loves to listen music on my phone she says is more clear, when she talks on the phone with her dad is makes us really happy that she’s able to understand better and so do we, just because we can pair the N7 to my iPhone. NucleusSmart really helps connect the mini mic, for her to listen to music, listen to movies as well, it’s really nice, but my only but is that NucleusSmart is only good for an iPhone and I would love for it to be available to down load on an iPad that she does have because at 10 years old she’s not allow to have an iPhone yet. So please make an iPad app as well!!

by Disappointedwhitegirl

I’ve had a Cochlear implant since 1993 and it’s amazing how far it’s come along since then. I downloaded NucleusSmart solely to set up the Bluetooth functionality with my Nucleus 7 and the process was simple and straightforward. Being able to listen to music and calls via my phone is life-changing; I actually have a lot of normal-hearing folks that are jealous of me 😂.

Could we possibly have a macOS app for this functionality sometime in the future? I take a lot of video conferences calls from my work laptop and I would absolutely love to be able to connect to it via Bluetooth and ditch headphones forever.

Many thanks for this functionality. Truly amazing work.

by Sugarsrevenge

The N7 has been an amazing experience for my hearing but NucleusSmart doesn’t match up to the expectations I had for it.

Takes FOREVER to connect. Loading loading loading... while waiting to be able to change program or adjust volume. Seriously? The phone is already connected to the processor as evidenced by ability to stream phone call or music even without NucleusSmart , so the long delay for NucleusSmart to “connect” makes no sense.

Even more irritating, with one of the recent update I now have to login back in and reconfirm my processor device every single time the phone is rebooted. Why??? Why why why?? Please fix this.