How to connect 2 pairs of airpods to iphone

AirPods audio sharing in iOS 13

How to connect 2 pairs of airpods to iphone

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Thanks to iOS 13, with a second set of AirPods or PowerBeats Pro, two people can listen to the same audio from one device at once. Here is how it works.

There are two ways to go about sharing your audio with iOS 13. First is the effortless proximity-based method Apple showed off on stage at its World Wide Developer Conference. It is easy and appealing as many of Apple's devices are — just move one device towards the second and a card will display asking to share audio.

How to connect 2 pairs of airpods to iphone

Audio sharing

At the moment, we are currently working with the first beta of iOS 13 which doesn't seem to support this method at the moment. We will revisit this as iOS 13 moves closer to launch. Fortunately, the second method does work in beta one.

Manually pairing

The alternative method requires a bit of manually work rather than just bringing two devices together.

How to connect 2 pairs of airpods to iphone

Bluetooth menu connecting two sets of AirPods in iOS 13

  • First, we have our iPhone with our AirPods connected
  • Next, we open the Bluetooth menu inside of Settings
  • Hold the pairing button on the back of the second set of AirPods
  • Tap the second set of AirPods when they appear under "Other devices" are ready to pair
  • Confirm both device show "Connected" in the list of devices

How to connect 2 pairs of airpods to iphone

That's it! Now we have both pairs of AirPods connected to our single iOS 13 device. From the AirPlay menu, both pairs of AirPods should be visible and will hear the same audio coming through.

We saw no delay either between each set of headphones and both headphones can have their audio adjusted independently — similar to AirPlay 2 speakers.

Apple says this new feature will work with both AirPods and PowerBeats Pro on iPhone 8 or later, iPad Pro 12.9-inch 2nd generation and later, iPad Pro 11-inch, iPad Pro 10.5-inch, fifth-generation iPad, third-generation iPad Air, fifth-generation iPad mini, and the seventh-generation iPod touch.

There’s something special about listening to music or watching a movie with someone. Thanks to the share audio, feature you can connect two pairs of AirPods or Beats headphones to the same iPhone or iPad for a joint listening experience.

So, let’s learn how to connect multiple AirPods to a single iPhone or iPad.

  • Devices that support share audio
  • How to connect two AirPods to an iPhone
  • Control volume when sharing audio on two AirPods
  • How to stop sharing audio on iPhone

To use the share audio feature on iPhone or iPad, you need one of the below devices running iOS 13/iPadOS 13 or later.

  • iPhone 8 or later
  • iPad Pro 12.9 inch (2nd generation) or later, iPad Pro 11 inch and 10.5 inch
  • 3rd generation iPad Air and later
  • 5th generation iPad mini and later
  • 5th generation iPad or later

The share audio feature will work with the below headphones:

  • Any pair of AirPods – AirPods (1st gen and later), AirPods Pro (1st gen and later), and AirPods Max
  • Powerbeats, Solo Pro, Powerbeats Pro, Powerbeats3 Wireless
  • Beats Solo3 Wireless, Beats Studio3 Wireless, BeatsX, Beats Flex, and Beats Fit Pro
  1. Connect the first pair of AirPods as usual.
    • Open the case near your phone.
    • Follow the prompts to connect.
  2. Open the Control Center.
    • On iPhones with Face ID: Swipe down from the top right
    • On iPhone with Touch ID: Swipe up from the screen’s bottom.
  3. Tap the AirPlay icon.
  4. Tap Share Audio.

    How to connect 2 pairs of airpods to iphone

  5. Keep the second pair of AirPods or Beats headphones close to the phone.
  6. Once they’re detected, tap Share Audio and follow the on-screen prompts.

    How to connect 2 pairs of airpods to iphone

That’s it! Once connected, you’ll see both AirPods displayed on the screen.

How to control volume when sharing audio on two AirPods

  1. Open the Control Center.
  2. Drag the volume control slider below each connected pair of headphones to adjust the volume as needed.

How to stop sharing audio on iPhone

  1. Open the Control Center.
  2. Tap the small tick icon next to the AirPods with which you no longer want to share audio.

    How to connect 2 pairs of airpods to iphone

That’s about it. As you can see, it’s pretty simple to listen to audio on two pairs of AirPods simultaneously from the same iPhone or iPad. Let me know in the comments below if you have any questions or issues.

Read more:

  • AirPods not connecting to iPhone? 8 Fixes and FAQs
  • How to setup Personalized Spatial Audio for AirPods
  • AirPods flashing orange? How to fix it
  • Dropped your AirPods in water? 7 Ways to fix water damage

  • AirPods

How to connect 2 pairs of airpods to iphone

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Mehak has a master’s degree in communication and over ten years of writing experience. Her passion for technology and Apple products led her to iGeeksBlog, where she specializes in writing product roundups and app recommendations for fellow Apple users. When not typing away on her MacBook Pro, she loves being lost in a book or out exploring the world.