The red light will stay ON while charging and will go OFF when charged. Charging does not take long. Since you have no manual, you turn the headset on by pressing down or toward your head and holding the button down. If it's in your ear already, you'll hear a four-note upward pitch sequence to indicate it's powered on. If it's out of your ear, you'll see a red light, followed by a blue flashing light.

Set your phone into Bluetooth mode and make sure in the menus that Bluetooth is "discoverable" or some such lingo to search for the headset. The pairing code for this headset is 0000 (zeros not O's), so when you set your phone up to pair with the headset and the phone wants a pairing code, enter 0000. After the pairing is completed and Bluetooth is activated on your phone, you should hear a high pitched single tone to indicate the headset is in range and communicating with your phone. If you separate from your phone over about 30 feet or if communication is interrupted with your phone for some reason, there will be a lower pitch single tone, indicating loss of communication. After pairing, you should not have to go through the code sequences or setup again unless your phone is completely reset. You should be able to set your phone to Bluetooth, turn your headset on and hear the four-note sequence, followed by a single high note.

Push the switch up or away from your mouth to step the volume up. Likewise, push the switch down or toward your mouth to lower the volume. I've never turned it down, it's always a little low in volume to me even at max.

Push down or toward your head BRIEFLY to answer or hang up the call. Depending on your phone, you can also activate dialing or voice command by using this same brief push. There is a brief delay between pushing the button and being able to talk on most phones, so you might listen for a volume or noise change before talking.

To turn the headset off, push down or toward your head and hold the button down. You will hear a four-note downward pitch sequence to indicate power-down. If you're looking at the headset, you will see a steady red LED, then it will go off. By the way, a flashing red LED indicates need to recharge. A flashing blue LED indicates the unit is operating correctly.

Remember, battery consumption on your phone is greater with Bluetooth turned on, whether you use the headset or not. Bluetooth units constantly stay in touch with their partners, much like your phone stays in touch with the cell towers. So watch your phone's battery indicator a little more closely until you get used to your talk patterns and general use. Depending on your situation, your phone may not use much more battery than before.

Standby (inactive but ON) time on the headset is very good, and battery shelf life (power OFF) has been good also. These headsets are extremely useful in a car or if you are busy with your hands during calls. Just remember to use your head (pardon the pun) and not take or make calls while doing something dangerous. You wouldn't do that with your corded home phone, would you? The vote is still out, but they do tend to look a little nerdy when worn constantly in public. I hope you get as much benefit from your Bluetooth headset as I have from mine. I thought they were completely Nerdsville before, but I'm a convert now. Good luck.

Mark in Oklahoma

I've noticed the charger plug (the nib at the end of the charger cord) doesn't always seat securely into the Plantronics 521 receptacle. When this happens, the red charging light comes on briefly, and then will go out, indicating the connection is not being made and charging is not occurring. The red light must stay on for it to charge. I've found that placing something on top of it (like a paperback book) will hold the plus in place. I've also clipped it with a clothespin - low tech, I know, but it works to hold the charger nib in place.