First of all: are you sure your headset is connected with your phone?

Other less obvious things to try:

- Start/join a chat in the application. Turn off your headset (disconnect it from your phone) and turn it back on while still inside the chatroom. HelmChat or Jitsi Meet will recognize the change of audio devices and switch to your headset.

- Start/join a chat in the application. Press the 3 vertical dots at the right of the red disconnect button. Select 'Select the sound device' and select your Bluetooth device.

Can you only occasionally hear the other(s)? Can only talk for a short time? Hearing the disconnected sound a lot?

The issue is probably the (lack of) internet connection in your region. Make sure you have 3/4/5G cell coverage in the region where you will drive. And prepare some music for the moments that there is no coverage as there will be some silent moments as well.

If your region has a bad or inconstant 3/4/5G internet connection it might be that Helmchat is not the application you should use. Buy a headset with a decent intercom system is the best optional or use an 'intercom' application on your phone which build up a connection through Bluetooth.

Check the next FAQ item for coverage maps.

There are coverage maps provided by mobile operators. These give you an idea if there is internet in your region.
If you have a coverage map of your country/provider that isn't listed, please send me the link so I can add it here.

Country / Provider specific

• Netherlands (KPN)
• Netherlands (Vodafone)
• Netherlands (T-Mobile)
• Netherlands (Tele 2)
• Belgium

Global

• GSMA
• Nperf

One of the many question I received on this subject:

Areas with no mobile signal are a problem as these remote areas are often where the best biking roads are, and where groups of bikers want to ride... (and where we're most likely to get lost!)

Remote locations can indeed be a problem for cell reception. I ride a lot in the Netherlands and it's one of the few countries with cell reception almost everywhere. Unfortunately we lack the more interesting roads.

The problem is that I don't think Bluetooth or WiFi is a solution. In the mountains the range of Bluetooth or WiFi is limited because of the impenetrable rock formations and on open roads the distance between bikers increases as the speed goes up. Cardo headsets for example fix this by using Radio Frequency as well, something a phone cannot do as it does not have the hardware.

I've tried a dedicated WiFi router with a large antenna strapped to a bike. But it can take a really long time before a phone decides to re-connect to the WiFi access-point after it lost connection. Most of the times it was so slow that it just doesn't work well.

Many countries are currently investing in getting data reception in the more rural areas. That will probably help a bit in the next couple of years. Until then even HelmChat won't fix all issues we currently have, so prepare some music for the moments you cannot talk to your friends.

Android limits the volume of the Bluetooth audio to protect for possible hearing damage. It has a side effect  that the audio input volume of your headset might be too low to properly hear the others.

To raise the volume of Bluetooth audio you'll have to enable a setting called Disable absolute volume.  After enabling this setting you will have a separate Bluetooth and device volume slider. Also, any volume limitations will be gone.

1. Open Settings.
2. Choose System.
3. Open About phone.
4. Locate the Build number and tap it 7 times in succession to enable Developer options.
5. You should now see Developer options in Settings > System.
6.  Scroll down until you reach the Networking section.
7. Once there, enable (toggle ON) the Disable absolute volume option.

Welcome to 2020. Where almost every Bluetooth headset can play high quality lossless audio, but where Google (Android) decided that audio quality to a Bluetooth device should be 16kHz or 8kHz when it's also recording with the Bluetooth microphone. 16kHz is fine for voice audio but is not so great for music.

We build in a fix that could help on some devices, but probably not on newer ones. Start the HelmChat application, open the side menu (3 horizontal lines at the top left), go to Settings, open the Advances Settings menu at the bottom and enable 'Use AudioManager MODE_IN_CALL'.

I have been searching for a solution for many hours, but there seem to be none. I've tested other applications who provide VOIP audio (like Discord for example), but they have the same audio quality which means even they don't have a solution. This might save you time searching for a better alternative.