What happens during an Auracast installation

The order below is our summary of the Bluetooth SIG's installer guidance, Auri's installation best practices and the UK industry code of practice. Small single-room jobs move through it quickly; large venues need much more time for the survey and design.

1. The first conversation

The installer asks how the space is used, how many seats there are, who will listen (phones, hearing aids, loan receivers), whether you need more than one program (a second room, a second language), whether privacy matters, and which rules apply where you are. Auri's guidance starts here too: decide "which areas of the venue need Auracast broadcast audio access."

2. The site survey

Expect someone to walk the building with a floor plan. They will look at:

• the listening areas, including balconies, overflow rooms and side chapels;
• wall materials and possible mounting points high above the seats;
• your sound system, and which output can feed the transmitter;
• network ports and power for the transmitters;
• the 2.4 GHz radio environment at a busy time: Wi-Fi, wireless microphones, wireless lighting control.

Auri's best practices ask installers to check that the transmitter "is not impacted by Wi-Fi or other signals, and vice versa," and flag that wireless DMX lighting control "may interfere with Auracast signals." Our guide to Auracast and Wi-Fi explains why.

3. Design

The installer decides how many transmitters you need and where, plans coverage for a full room, sets up each program and its broadcast name, sizes the loan receiver kit and its charging, and plans the signs. In the US, the receiver count comes from the ADA table for your seating capacity.

4. Proposal

A good proposal lists the equipment, labor and what the venue must provide (the audio output, network ports, power, access), states what is excluded, and says how the system will be tested before handover.

5. Installation

Transmitters go up high and central, facing the seats (see transmitter placement). The installer connects the audio feed and network, then sets the broadcast names, keeps the Standard Quality stream on, and sets each broadcast open or private. The SIG recommends public broadcasts be open.

6. Commissioning

This is the proof. The Bluetooth SIG's method is to start at low power and "use an Auracast receiver to walk throughout the intended coverage", raising the power until "reception is consistent", then to repeat the check "when the room is being used." Auri adds a quality test with "all systems and services (e.g., Wi-Fi)" running as they normally would. Expect a listening check too. See commissioning an Auracast system.

7. Handover

You should receive a record of what was tested and how it performed, the settings as left, join cards and signs, and training for the staff who will hand out receivers. The UK code of practice says a certificate of compliance "is to be produced and supplied to the venue management". Elsewhere, a written record is good practice. In the US, signs follow ADA §216.10.

8. Registration

With your approval, the installer can register your location with the Bluetooth SIG once the broadcast "is fully deployed and accessible." Registration lets you use the Auracast trademarks to promote the service, and the SIG can list you in its public database of locations.

9. Aftercare

The SIG recommends "regular checks" that broadcasts are available in installations with no loudspeakers, where a fault could otherwise go unnoticed. Re-test after building work, a new Wi-Fi system or new wireless microphones.

What your venue provides

• Access to the building, the floor plans and the sound system.
• A contact who can approve mounting positions and cable routes.
• Network ports and power, agreed with your IT team.
• Whoever programs your sound system, if a new output is needed.
• A place to store and charge the loan receivers, and someone responsible for them.