Harman Kardon Invoke speaker - can't pair Bluetooth

Anonymous
2020-09-16T03:45:56+00:00

I just tried using my Invoke again for the first time in a while, and I can't pair via Bluetooth in order to play music from my phone.  If I say "Hey Cortana, pair Bluetooth," it responds and says it is entering pairing mode, but my phone doesn't detect it.  When I try pressing the bluetooth button on the speaker, nothing happens... the speaker does not enter pairing mode as expected.

I did not have this problem the last time I used it (probably 2-3 months ago).

I tried doing a full factory reset and setup, and it still does the same thing.  The speaker seems to be working fine otherwise... I can issue other Cortana voice commands (i.e. whats the weather, play radio station) and it responds properly.

The speaker has the latest FW:

2.0.4.067aa17.vs-ssh-main

Barracuda_libre-11.1842.0

Can anyone help?  Thanks!

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Devices and drivers

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  1. Anonymous
    2020-12-06T18:47:48+00:00

    yes, it seems you're correct and I suspect the update to Kill cortana support was done ahead of schedule.  Maybe in mid Nov as that's when I started having WIFI disconnet issues.  We knew Cortana was going to be discontinued, but it appears the update bricked the speaker by still making it a requirement to set up cortana first before we even have the option to set up bluetooth to anything else.  It appears MS dropped the ball on this one as after the update bluetooth pairing should have been # 1 set up option.  SMH.  Not sure if this can be fixed anymore as we can no longer connect to the internet even if they wanted to revert and fix properly anymore. I think MS should refund ful $ for the speaker since they bricked it!!

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  2. Anonymous
    2020-12-05T18:54:37+00:00

    I have traded emails with Harmon Kardon support for a week.  While in the end, nothing was resolved and the official answer was, "we logged this, contact us when the firmware update comes out", I have to say they were way more interested in understanding the issue, and at least trying, than Microsoft has been.  

    They are very sure this is a Microsoft problem so they cannot really fix.  I am going to suggest that everyone with troubles here contact HK Support (Harman Kardon - Support) and fill out the 'contact us' form.  

    I don't expect resolution, but if enough people directly contact them, they may work harder on this.  Like I said, while no answer, my extended back and forth with them somewhat restored my faith in humanity.

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  3. Anonymous
    2020-12-05T18:26:32+00:00

    Please read the comment.  I want to connect to wifi.

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  4. Anonymous
    2020-12-02T20:45:19+00:00

    I was able to dig up an old iPad Mini and was able to make this work. 

    I do not know the reason (same Cortana App version as iPhone), but the highest available iOS version for the iPad Min I have is 12.4.9 vs 14.2 on my phone. 

    There was a difference in setup, as the iPad Mini was able to start the iOS Airport (Wi-Fi) Accessory setup routines and those are not running on the iPhone (Fails before this step).  As there is also failure on Windows, I am not sure if the failure is specifically in iOS or on the MS end.

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  5. JosephT71 9,220 Reputation points
    2020-11-30T18:34:07+00:00

    I just notice this in the Invoke manual --- Cortana has to be "US English" in order to do the setup.

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