[Dana Lee]

Just got Earscribe and trying to set it up on my phone. Do I need the app for translation to work at all? I’m not great with tech stuff and the manual is kinda confusing.

[Lopeza]

I wouldn’t count on skipping the app entirely if translation is the main thing you bought these for. That part I’m pretty sure about from my own use.

When I first set mine up, I paired them straight to my phone like normal earbuds because that’s all I knew how to do. Music and calls worked fine that way, so I figured I was done. Then a few days later I was helping a neighbor sort out some paperwork with a relative who only speaks Portuguese, and I kept waiting for the translation to kick in. Nothing happened. Turns out the translation side basically lives in the app, so without it the buds are just regular audio earbuds. Once I installed it and went through the setup, that same conversation worked well enough for us to get through the forms.

The manual is not great, I’ll give you that. What helped me was doing one step at a time instead of trying to follow the whole booklet in one go. Pair in the app first, then poke around the settings after. It took me maybe twenty minutes total, and I’m not techy either.

Not saying the app is exciting to use, because it isn’t. But for translation specifically, you do need it.

[Alex_28]

The app is basically required for translation to work at all. I found that out when I tried using mine without installing it first. The earbuds connect over Bluetooth and play audio fine, but the actual translation stuff happens through the app. So without it you just have regular wireless earbuds.

I get the manual being confusing though. Took me a bit to figure out the pairing order. You have to pair the buds to your phone first, then open the app and let it connect to them again. If you do it in the wrong order it just sits there not doing anything.

Once it’s set up it works okay for basic stuff. Not sure it beats just using a phone translator app for quick things, but the earbud part is more convenient when you’re actually talking to someone face to face.

[Pete Tilbrook]

I mostly use mine for podcasts and music, so I hadn’t even opened the app for the first week or two. The buds paired fine over Bluetooth and did the normal earbud stuff no problem. It’s only when I finally poked around the app that I saw the translation side sitting in there, with the language picks and the conversation setup. So for plain listening you can skip it, but the moment you actually want it translating, that’s where it lives. Nothing about it was hard once I sat down with it for ten minutes, the manual just buries the simple stuff under a wall of text. If you’re only after the translation part, install the app first and save yourself the confusion later.

[Sant_five]

App barely did anything for translation in my case.

[Maya Foster]

I set mine up without reading the manual, just paired them and poked around the app until things made sense. The app itself is pretty simple once you’re in it.

[Alex Foster]

Kind of a pain if you ask me, but yeah the app is pretty much where everything happens. I messed with it for like 20 minutes before I got the hang of it, mostly just tapping stuff until it made sense. Not really a manual person though.

[Pixel Pete]

I think the app does most of the heavy lifting for translation but you can still use them as normal earbuds without it. I messed around with mine on a trip last month and the translation part only kicked in once I had the app open and the right mode selected. Before that they just acted like regular Bluetooth buds. The manual is not super clear about that part, it kind of buries it in the middle somewhere. If translation is what you actually care about, just install the app and poke around the translate section, it made more sense to me once I saw the buttons in front of me instead of reading about them. The pairing itself was easy though.

[Alex Morgan]

The app is where you pick your languages and set up the translation mode, so yeah you need it for that part. I only installed it once I actually needed to talk to someone in Spanish though. For just listening to stuff I never bother opening it.

[Devon Lee]

I got the app mostly for the language picking part, since I couldn’t figure out how to switch things around otherwise. My husband just uses them as regular earbuds though and never touched the app once. So I guess it depends what you actually want them to do.

[Luna Sketch]

The app is basically required, yep.

[Tom911]

The app isn’t optional if you want translation.

[Emma_RD]

I’m still deciding between these and a couple of other brands, so this thread is actually helpful. My main thing is whether I’d even bother with translation on a phone call or if it’s more for in-person stuff. The app side sounds like a normal part of setup though, not some extra hassle.

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