When you're indoors, you don't need to get bluetooth through your body. You're getting reflections off of nearby walls and ceilings which allow your bluetooth devices to communicate across your body, but without going through your body.
When you're outdoors, you no longer enjoy the benefit of reflected RF, and the design of the phone and the headset antennas needs to be very good, so the RF can make it through your body.
It is a hard problem, but a lot of headset manufacturers do achieve it. I'm surprised you still haven't found one that's acceptable. Of course, it's body dependent. Petite women will have less issues then large men, as the RF just has less water to travel through with them.
Today's bluetooth is limited to 4dBm max transmit power for class 2. Bluetooth 5 will be 20dBm, which is a lot more power. This is, actually, the same power that class 1 bluetooth devices now have, so I'm unsure why they brag about the higher power of bluetooth 5, but to be sure, most bluetooth devices now are not class 1.
The higher power will make even bad antenna engineers be able to get bluetooth through your body, but more importantly, you'll enjoy larger range when you are at the gym or in your home. Also, if you worry about RF effects on the human body, your worry can increase now as well!
But thanks for the explanation. This is good to know. I'll plan my walk to and from work through alleys instead of open parks. Because thinking back, it always works in alleys.
This is one of those moments when I wonder if most of the things I have learned in HN are bullshit, I'm usually struck with awe at the sapience of the HN hivemind too, but in times like this...
[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_common_misconceptions#...
Engineers juggle multiple constraints, cost, size, power, and efficacy, and 2.4 GHZ choice was the result of the size of the magnetron that would be cost effective and physically fit into the oven. But it did, of course, have to be within the range of frequencies best absorbed by water, which 2.4GHz is, and which is why it's difficult to get bluetooth through your body.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_absorption_by_...
The parent comment is exactly the kind of comment I expected and hoped for!
This is the most diplomatic way to say "lose some weight" I have ever heard.
I use them almost every day on my way to and from work (roughly an hour each way) and I can count the number of interference issues I've had on one hand, and definitely not every 30 seconds. This is with an iPhone 7 and iPad Pro 9.7".
They're not cheap, but I'd highly recommend them.
The only issue I have is when I'm near high voltage transfer lines. Like near train stops for example.
I bought some PlugPhones on KickStarter, and the connection issues drive me up the wall.
I suggest giving them a try. Phone in pocket has never been a problem for me, regardless of where I am at the time. The battery even survives a 4h+ marathon.
This has been my hypothesis, considering the disruption patterns I've noticed.
At home, well removed from other possible bluetooth sources, I rarely experience signal cut-out, or choppy reception.
When I move into high traffic areas, the amount of signal loss skyrockets. The worst areas are areas with lots of cars in motion.
My hunch, is that noise, destructive interference, and fortuitous signals result in dropped packets. And cars especially, tend to broadcast stronger signals that outshine an handset/headphone channel, cause both ends of the connection to drop packets.
This is just based on observation. In crowded train stations and near busy roadways my headphones act like shit. I get the feeling it's the old "poorly shielded blender appliance ruins the t.v. reception" business, except the interference drops out in the same way progressive scan HDMI monitors glitch up without shielding.
I have no proof that this is the case though.
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13128401
hint: both are possible, simultaneously. one does not contradict the other. each one is a different concern, with its own merits.
For instance getting on the BART being an enclosed space? I never have an issue. All of the headphones I've tested stay connected the entire time without issue. The SECOND I walk out of the station, even in the city, every pair of headphones I've tried work most of the time but typically cut out once every 30 seconds or so. But it's crazy inconsistent because I managed to walk to my office, once, the entire way without it disconnecting.
Seeing as bluetooth 5 helps with range I'm hope I can finally using it to keep my phone in my side pocket and actually listen to my headphones, uninterrupted.