Auracast™ broadcast audio for assistive listening, designed and walk‑tested for your venue
Auracast lets compatible phones, earbuds and hearing aids pick up your sound system directly. We design the coverage for a full room, install it, and walk-test every listening area.
By David Harmon, Founder & Principal Consultant·How we write
Auracast is Bluetooth® LE Audio broadcast. One transmitter, connected to your sound system, sends audio that any number of compatible phones, earbuds, hearing aids and loan receivers in range can join. Listeners pick your broadcast from a list, much like choosing a Wi-Fi network. As of October 2026 it works, it’s growing, and it has real limits.
Ordinary Bluetooth pairs one phone with one headset. Broadcast is different: the transmitter doesn’t connect to anyone, so a hundred listeners cost no more airtime than one. A phone menu or a hearing-aid app, which the Bluetooth SIG calls the “assistant,” finds the broadcast and hands the details to the listener’s earbuds or hearing aids. A QR code on a sign can do the same job.
For a venue, Auracast is an assistive listening system: a clean feed of the speech and program, delivered to people who struggle to hear it from the loudspeakers. Done well, it’s simple for listeners. Done casually, it drops out when the room fills, or hearing aids can’t join at all.
Who Auracast reaches today, and its limits
As of October 2026Reviewed quarterly. Device support changes fast.
Auracast reaches people a hearing loop can’t: listeners with supported phones and earbuds, people whose hearing aids or implant processors support Auracast, and anyone you hand a receiver. It covers lobbies, overflow rooms and second languages easily, and it usually needs no floor work.
Here is what it can’t do yet:
IPhones can’t join an Auracast broadcast on their own. Only some Android phones can.
Most hearing aids in use don’t support it, even though every major maker now sells models that do.
Joining takes a step. A menu, an app or a QR code, where a telecoil user just presses T.
There’s a short delay, a few tens of milliseconds, depending on the settings, against essentially none for a loop.
Coverage has to be designed around walls, crowds and a busy 2.4 GHz band.
No dedicated performance standard yet. IEC 60118-17, for 2.4 GHz streaming to hearing aids, is forecast for November 2027.
In the US it still needs the full ADA loan-receiver fleet, with neckloops on a quarter of them, plus signage.
That’s why, for most rooms where a loop can be built, our default is a hearing loop and Auracast fed from the same audio mix. Read how we choose between a loop, Auracast or both for the full comparison.
How a venue Auracast system works
Short answer
Your mixer or sound processor sends a speech-first assistive listening mix to one or more transmitters mounted high on the walls. Phones, earbuds and compatible hearing aids join the broadcast. Everyone else borrows a preset receiver with earphones or a neckloop, which also serves telecoil users.
Illustration
Mixer or DSPAssistive listening sendAuracast transmittersPublic or private broadcast
Phones and LE Audio earbudsJoined from the phone’s menuSupported Android phones today. IPhones can’t join on their own yet.
Hearing aids that support AuracastJoined through the maker’s appNewer hearing aids and some implant processors, once activated.
Loan receiversPreset, handed out at the doorEveryone else. A quarter with neckloops for telecoil users.
Figure 1. One assistive listening mix feeds the transmitters; listeners join on their own devices or borrow a receiver.
Two setup details catch people out. Hearing aids are only required to support Standard Quality streams (16 or 24 kHz), and most can’t play a 48 kHz-only broadcast, so a transmitter set to High Quality alone sounds fine on earbuds and silent on most hearing aids. And microphones can’t plug straight into a transmitter’s line input; they need a preamp, which is usually the mixer.
The ADA still requires receivers
Short answer
Auracast can be part of an ADA assistive listening system. But when a room is built or altered, the 2010 ADA Standards still call for receivers for your seating capacity, with a quarter of them (at least two) usable with neckloops, plus signage. A hearing loop that covers every seat removes the neckloop share. Auracast has no equivalent exception.
The count comes from Table 219.3 of the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design. Some examples: 120 seats need 5 receivers, 2 of them hearing-aid compatible; 300 seats need 12 and 3; 800 seats need 30 and 8. Earbuds don’t count as hearing-aid compatible; neckloops do. Signs with the International Symbol of Access for Hearing Loss go in each assembly area (§216.10).
Visitors’ own phones and hearing aids don’t reduce the count under the current text. That’s our reading; as of October 2026 no regulator has said whether personal devices count. Churches are exempt from the ADA’s public accommodation rules, but building codes can still require assistive listening in new construction and alterations. Our ADA assistive listening guide has the full rules and a receiver calculator for your seat count.
General information, not legal advice.
Why Auracast coverage has to be designed
Short answer
A transmitter that covers an empty room can leave the back rows dropping out once people fill the seats. Range, walls, the audience’s bodies, mounting height, Wi-Fi and the stream settings all decide whether every listener gets clean, unbroken audio. We design for the room full and prove it with a walk test.
Distance and walls
Spec sheets claim 85–100 m (280–330 ft) of range, measured in open air. Indoors with an audience, plan on about 30–40 m (100–130 ft) per transmitter. The Bluetooth specification only requires receivers to handle signals down to −70 dBm, so we design for at least that at every seat with the room full. Many devices do better; we don’t count on it.
The audience
People absorb 2.4 GHz radio. In measurements, one person between the transmitter and the listener costs about 10 dB and two cost about 15 dB. That’s the difference between a strong signal and a dropout.
Example · illustrative valuesTransmitter +20 dBm, 8 ft up · listening height 4 ft
At or above our −70 dBm planning target
Below target (hatched): dropouts likely
Signal-strength contours, dBm
Test position
In plain English: the same transmitter that covers an empty room can leave the back rows short once people fill the seats, because bodies absorb the signal.
Back row, empty−59 dBm
Back row, full−74 dBm
Lost to the audience15 dB
Figure 2. One front transmitter in a 300-seat room. Full, the back rows fall about 15 dB, below the −70 dBm planning target. A higher mount or a second transmitter fixes it.
Mounting height and overlap
Transmitters go about 6–10 ft (1.8–3 m) up, aimed at the audience, so the signal passes over heads instead of through them. Where one transmitter can’t cover the room, neighbors overlap by about 20%. As of October 2026, the Bluetooth SIG still lists a standard method for multi-transmitter coverage as in development, so some devices may need a moment to re-join when a listener walks between areas. We place transmitters so seated listeners stay with one.
Power and spill
We start at +20 dBm, the highest Bluetooth power class, and turn it down only where the signal reaches somewhere it shouldn’t. The signal passes through walls. That’s useful for a lobby or overflow room, and a privacy question for a courtroom next door.
Wi-Fi and the 2.4 GHz band
Bluetooth LE uses 2402–2480 MHz, the same band as Wi-Fi channels 1, 6 and 11. More listeners add no traffic; more broadcasts do. Busy Wi-Fi close to the audience is the main risk in large venues, so the survey includes a spectrum check.
Several broadcasts, private broadcasts and names
One system can carry the main program, an interpreter and audio description as separate broadcasts. A private broadcast is encrypted with a Broadcast Code for courtrooms and closed meetings. Names matter more than people expect: the newest Samsung phones can send personal broadcasts, so a listener may see several in the list. “Sanctuary – English” beats a model number.
A consumer Auracast transmitter costing about $60–160 can send a mixer’s audio to a few nearby listeners, and in a small room that may be enough. It isn’t a complete assistive listening system: no receivers or neckloops, no signage, often no hearing-aid stream, and range figures that assume an empty room.
We see churches try these first, which is reasonable. What to check before relying on one:
Range. Home units are built for a living room. Spec-sheet ranges vary widely and are measured without an audience.
Hearing aids. If the unit sends only a High Quality stream, most hearing aids won’t play it.
Levels. Church users report that the same broadcast plays at different volumes on different hearing-aid brands. A clean, steady feed from the mixer and a sensible level help.
The ADA gap. A transmitter alone gives you no receivers for people without compatible devices, no neckloops and no signs. Retail kits that add receivers for about ten listeners run around $1,000.
What a venue pays a professional for is the rest: design for big or difficult rooms, integration with the sound system or a loop, measured verification, the ADA receivers and paperwork, and setup so people can find the broadcast. If you’ve already set one up and it drops out or hearing aids can’t join, we troubleshoot Auracast systems too.
What we deliver
Short answer
A survey, a coverage design modeled with the room full, equipment chosen for the room, a clean feed from your sound system, installation, and a documented walk test. Then join cards, signs, discoverability setup and staff training, so people can actually find and use the broadcast.
1
Step 1: Survey
Room size and construction, where the audio comes from, mounting points, power and network, and a 2.4 GHz spectrum check.
On site, or photos and drawings first
2
Step 2: Design
Transmitter count and placement modeled in BroadcastPlan Pro with every seat filled, plus the ADA receiver count. Labeled as a model prediction.
Written proposal
3
Step 3: Integrate and install
A speech-first feed from analog, DSP or Dante; a Standard Quality mono stream for hearing aids; transmitters mounted and aimed.
Usually 1–2 days on site
4
Step 4: Verify
We read the transmitter’s actual on-air settings, then walk the room with a phone, a hearing aid and a receiver: signal, dropouts, join time and an audible check.
Walk-test record
5
Step 5: Hand over
Broadcast names, QR join cards, signage, venue registration and staff training on receivers and charging.
Verification is where Auracast jobs usually go wrong. Good signal strength doesn’t prove good audio: a muted source behind a healthy transmitter looks perfect on a meter. Hearing aids also fail to join if the broadcast is High Quality only, repeats its packets too few times, or uses too short a buffer. So we check what the transmitter is actually sending, then listen. The record goes into your handover pack, alongside the loop measurements on a hybrid job. Our page on how we commission and document every system shows what that record contains.
At handover we also register the venue with the Bluetooth SIG’s free location program, which licenses your Auracast signage, and help you add the “Auracast broadcast audio” attribute to your Google Maps listing so visitors can find you.
Adding Auracast to a hearing loop you already have
If your loop works, keep it. Telecoil users lose nothing, and a loop that serves every seat still removes the neckloop share of the ADA count. Auracast goes alongside it, fed from the same assistive listening mix, with its own signage and a walk test. If the loop hasn’t been checked in a while, measure it first. See what changes when you add Auracast to an existing loop.
Which phones and hearing aids can join
As of October 2026Reviewed quarterly. Check again before you print signs.
Support is changing fast, so we don’t publish model lists. Here is the state of play, and where to check a specific device.
iPhone: as of October 2026, iPhones can’t join an Auracast broadcast on their own. iPhone owners can join through the apps of some hearing aids that support Auracast, or borrow a receiver.
Android: recent Pixel and Samsung Galaxy flagships and some Xiaomi and POCO models. Check Google’s Android Auracast support list (dated September 2025). The earbuds must support LE Audio too; ordinary Bluetooth earbuds won’t join.
Hearing aids: by August 2026 every major maker sold models that support Auracast, some still waiting on activation, including ReSound, Oticon, Phonak, Starkey, Widex and Signia. Most hearing aids in use don’t support it yet. The label “Auracast-ready” usually means the hardware is there but still needs activating.
IEC 63087:2026, published September 18, 2026, sets requirements for providing assistive listening systems of every type. A dedicated standard for 2.4 GHz streaming to hearing aids, IEC 60118-17, is forecast for November 2027. As of October 2026, there is no dedicated performance standard for Auracast systems yet.
IllustrationAs of October 2026
2010 ADA Standards
Set where assistive listening is required, how many receivers a room needs, the hearing-aid-compatible share and signage (§219, §706, §216.10). The text predates Auracast; its advisory notes name induction loop, infrared, FM and hardwired systems.
IEC 60118-4:2014 (with Amendment 1:2017)
The performance standard for hearing loops: field strength, evenness across the listening area, frequency response and background noise. Every loop we hand over is measured against it.
IEC 63087:2026 published
Sets requirements for providing assistive listening systems of every type, including 2.4 GHz streaming, the band Auracast uses. We’re reviewing what it asks of Auracast installations.
Where things stand todayToday
No dedicated performance standard for 2.4 GHz streaming to hearing aids yet. No Bluetooth SIG installer certification and no venue certification program. We walk-test and document every Auracast system.
IEC 60118-17Forecast
Expected to cover single-transmitter 2.4 GHz streaming to hearing aids, including a method for measuring coverage. Forecast dates can move; we’ll update this page when it’s published.
Figure 3. Hearing loops have had a performance standard for years; a dedicated standard for 2.4 GHz streaming to hearing aids is forecast for November 2027.
David has installed Auracast systems in a large performing arts venue, a synagogue, a senior living community, a public library and several churches, mostly as a specialist subcontractor. Some were Auracast alone; others ran alongside hearing loops he installed in the same building.
Field note · Auracast
The one-transmitter rooms aren’t where the trouble is.
Most Auracast jobs are one transmitter in one room, and those go smoothly. “It’s the little one-transmitter installs that don’t have problems,” David says. Trouble shows up in larger venues: more transmitters, balconies, more bodies in the path, and listeners moving between areas. He hasn’t seen congestion or interference in his installs so far; large venues with busy Wi-Fi near the audience are where we expect it first.
Field rule of thumb: plan about 30–40 m (100–130 ft) per transmitter indoors with an audience, against 85–100 m on spec sheets.
A professionally designed Auracast system for about 300 seats, with the ADA receiver fleet, neckloops and signage, typically runs $8,000–12,000 installed. Most of the cost is the receivers and the labor to design, integrate and verify, not the transmitter.
The honest math for 300 seats, at October 2026 street prices: 12 receivers at about $335–377 each come to roughly $4,000–4,500. One venue transmitter is about $1,300–1,900. Charging, neckloops, signage and network connections add to that, and design, installation and commissioning take about two to four working days. Adding Auracast to a loop that already works is smaller: from $2,500 for one transmitter, the feed, signage and a walk test, with receivers extra if your ADA count needs them.
Not on their own: as of October 2026, iPhones can’t join an Auracast broadcast on their own. iPhone owners can join today in two ways: through the app for hearing aids that support Auracast, which can act as the “assistant” that finds the broadcast, or with a loan receiver from the venue. That gap is one reason the receivers still matter.
Do we still need loan receivers if we install Auracast?
Yes, when the room is built or altered, under the 2010 ADA Standards as we read them. The receiver count is set by seating capacity, and a quarter of the receivers (at least two) must work with neckloops for hearing-aid users. Visitors’ own phones and hearing aids don’t reduce that count under the current text. Only a hearing loop that serves every seat removes the neckloop share. General information, not legal advice.
Will Auracast replace our hearing loop?
Not any time soon, and we wouldn’t take out a loop that works. As of October 2026, most hearing aids in use can’t receive Auracast, while a telecoil works with a loop at the press of a button. Hearing-loss organizations expect the two to coexist for years. The usual move is to keep the loop and add Auracast from the same audio feed.
How many transmitters does our room need?
Many single rooms of a few hundred seats work with one transmitter, mounted high and aimed well. Plan on about 100–130 ft of usable range per transmitter indoors with an audience, not the 85–100 m on spec sheets. Balconies, side rooms, thick walls, lobbies and overflow spaces add transmitters; a second language may only need a second channel. We model the room full and confirm it with a walk test.
Can an Auracast broadcast be private?
Yes. A private broadcast is encrypted with a Broadcast Code, so only people who have the code can listen. That suits courtrooms, closed meetings and side-by-side rooms. The radio signal still passes through walls, so the code, not the wall, provides the privacy. We set it up so staff can share the code easily.
Can we offer more than one language, or audio description?
Yes. One Auracast system can carry several broadcasts at once, each with its own name, such as the main program, an interpreter channel and audio description. Listeners pick the one they want from the list. Each extra broadcast uses airtime in the 2.4 GHz band, so we plan the count with the room’s Wi-Fi in mind and check every broadcast in the walk test.
Is there a delay with Auracast?
A small one: a few tens of milliseconds, depending on the settings, against essentially none for a hearing loop. We measure it at handover. Most listeners won’t notice it if the system is fed correctly. The trap is in larger rooms with delayed loudspeakers: if the Auracast feed comes after that delay, the two delays add up and speech drifts behind the speaker’s lips. We take the feed before any loudspeaker delay.
What does “Auracast-ready” mean?
On a box, it usually means the hardware for Auracast is in the hearing aid or device, but the feature still has to be switched on. That gap is one reason we don’t count on visitors’ own devices when we size a system. Ask the hearing-aid maker or an audiologist about a specific model.
Planning Auracast for your venue?
Tell us about the room, the sound system and who needs to hear. You’ll hear back from David within 2 business days, with no obligation.
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