There are some applications that use the Philips SpeechMike for integrated voice recognition or dictation that don’t support the newer SpeechMikes. These models include the Premium line such as the SpeechMike Premium 35xx and 37xx series. Since availability of the older SpeechMikes are limited and for most part, not available at all, that has caused some issues for a few of our clients. They end up in a scenario where they are required to either upgrade their applications to support the newer models or 
look for alternative reporting methods.
Don’t Worry. We can help
Fortunately there is a workaround for this. The SpeechMike Premiums can be put in Compatibility mode, also known as Legacy Mode which basically turns them into a SpeechMike II making them compatible with the majority of legacy applications that require older SpeechMikes.
There is a bit of a gotcha that we recently experienced when using compatibility mode with the latest version of the Philips Device Control Center. Starting at version 4.3.x, it appears as though it no longer supports legacy mode as it issues a warning saying the SpeechMike II is no longer supported and does not appear as a device in the Philips Device Control Center. This essentially prevents any applications dependant on the PDCC from using it unless they have their own integrated legacy drivers. The workaround is to roll back to Device Control Center version 4.0. You can download it here. You will still get the Unsupported SpeechMike warning but you will be able to use it with your applications as before. You may want to disable automatic update checking as well.
To put your microphone into SpeechMike Compatibility mode, do the following; Hold down the F1 and F3 key on the SpeechMike at the same time until you hear a beep from the device and you will see an amber light beside the F2 key. If you look at the Device Control Center, you will see the device disconnect, them reconnect as a SpeechMike II. To change it back to normal mode, hold down the F1 and F3 key again until you hear the beep again and see an amber light beside the F3 key.
If you need any help with this, please contact us.
