This 2020 blog post provides instructions and a review for the 8710A Bluetooth wireless speaker.
Introduction
The product I purchased was originally sold by M&S in the UK and the light green box had ‘Tunes. Beats. Base.’ written on the front.
I quickly got rid of my instructions then realised I needed to know a bit more about how the product works! Spending a bit of time with the product, I’ve created this blog post to help others.
The buttons
You press the middle button to turn on and off. The speaker will say ‘power on’ and ‘power off’.
You can control the volume using the plus and minus buttons. However you can still control volume from a device the speak is paired with.
Flashing blue light
The blue light flashes when the device is waiting to pair with a device. When paired, you will be informed by a voice.
If you’ve previously paired the devices, but see the speaker listed, look to see if your phone has a ‘previously connected devices’ or similar option. That is where I now find the speaker listed on my phone.
Quick succession of tones
This occurs when the device is it paired to breaks connection.
Battery status
Depending on the device you’ve paired the speaker to, you might be able to see the battery status of the speaker.
For example my phone will show me how much battery life the speaker still has, which I find useful.
Charging
At the top of the device, you gentle pull up the cover to reveal the micro USB port. Then when power is being supplied to the speaker, a red light is shown.
My review
I wanted a Bluetooth speaker to use with a phone, computer and tablet. So far I used the device with Android, LibreElec (Linux) and Windows 10 without any issues.
I don’t have another Bluetooth speaker to compare the audio quality to, but the sound quality for music playback isn’t amazing, but I think it’s acceptable. When listing to audiobooks, I think the product is fantastic!
I’ve attached the device to a metal storage unit and a washing line! I don’t know how durable it is, but it feels pretty solid and I like the design.
Final thoughts
I’m using the product weekly and the flexibility to quickly use between different devices and to easy move it around to new locations is what I like most about it.
I’m glad I purchased this speaker.