How to Connect Two Sets of AirPods to One Device and Share Audio
Are you using AirPods for a while now and you want to share the music you are listening to with a friend?! Sharing music used to be fun but also unhygienic when we think of the old ways when we used to give our earbuds to someone else.
However, times have certainly changed and as Apple introduced us with so many features, they also introduced us to the Audio Sharing feature, allowing two people to listen to the same music or perhaps watch the same movie on a single device with two pairs of earbuds.
Here is how you can connect two AirPods sets to the same iPhone or iPad and share audio with a friend.
The first thing you have to be sure of, in order to connect two pairs of AirPods to the same iPhone or iPad is to check whether you have compatible headphones and a compatible iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. Speaking of this, the compatible versions of those are:
- iPhone 8 or later
- iPad Pro 12.9 inches (2nd gen or later);
- iPad Pro 11 inches
- iPad Pro 10.5 inches
- iPad Air (3rd gen)
- iPad mini: 5th gen
- iPad: 5th gen or later
- iPod touch (7th gen)
On the other hand, the compatible headphones are:
- AirPods Max
- AirPods Pro
- AirPods (1st gen) or later
- Powerbeats
- Solo Pro
- Powerbeats Pro
- Powerbeats3 Wireless
- Beats Solo3 Wireless,
- Beats Studio3 Wireless,
- BeatsX and Beats Flex
How to connect two sets of AirPods to one mobile device
- First, go to your Home screen on your device.
- Next, connect your first pair of headphones as you usually do, by placing the AirPods case near your phone (around 60 seconds).
- An animation will appear and you need to tap on Connect.
- Follow the screen prompts and tap on Done.
- Then, swipe down from the top-right corner of your screen and choose the AirPlay icon in the Control Center.
- Those devices that are logged into the same iCloud account will see the AirPods automatically set up.
- When you open your Bluetooth settings on your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch, you will notice both pairs of AirPods on the list.
How to listen and share music simultaneously with a friend via AirPods and Beats headphones
If you want to share the music you are listening to on your AirPods or Beats headphones with a friend, check out these simple steps below:
- Connect any of the compatible Airpods or Beats headphones that are mentioned above to your iOS or iPad device.
- Next, tap on the AirPlay icon that looks like a triangle with circles above. For this you can go either to the Control Centre on your iPhone or iPad, or you can find it in the app you are listening to.
- Then, tap on Share Audio.
In case the headphones that you are sharing music with are AirPods or AirPods Pro, you need to bring them close to your iPhone or iPad and open the lid. Then, press and hold the button that is on the back of the case.
If the headphones that you are sharing music with are AirPods Max, you need to hold them close to your device.
When it comes to Beats headphones, you need to put the Beats in pairing mode and again hold them close to your device.
Once the headphones appear on your screen, you need to tap on Share Audio. Also, you might notice Temporarily Share Audio and Connect to iPhone.
Did you know that wireless earbuds AirPods work on Androids as well? Learn how to connect your AirPods to an Android device.
How to pause/play the music you are listening and how to control the volume
One among the great features that AirPods or Beats headphones offer, is that you can control each pair separately. Actually, this means that they both have the option to separate volume controls so that each one that listens can individually change and customize the levels depending on their needs.
Apart from controlling the volume, listeners can individually pause and stop the music they are listening to, by using the Lock Screen controls or the Control Centre controls.
Good thing to know is that you can access the volume controls in the app that you are listening to and on the AirPlay icon just by tapping on it. In addition, if you press and hold the volume slider in Control Centre, you will be able to see both headphone volume controls as they’ll show up on the screen as large vertical bars.
In order to control the volume on each set of headphones, you have to drag the volume slider on each pair. Another thing you can do is to drag the volume slider at the bottom to control the volume on both headphones.
How to stop sharing music with another pair of headphones
Ok, so maybe you are done sharing music and you want to stop. The process is simple and you just need to tap on the AirPlay icon in the Control Centre on your iPhone or iPad, then tap on Lock Screen or in the app that you are listening to.
Just untick the pair of headphones you want to stop sharing music to and in just a second you will be disconnected from the second set of headphones.
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