If you own an AirPods or other headset and ever want to share the music you listen to, with your friends over iPhone and want to listen to it simultaneously you can easily do it using an in-built feature.
This also works on iPad and any wireless headsets; all you need to do is follow these simple steps below. However, keep in mind that this built-in feature is available on iOS 13 and above.
Apple Devices that Support Audio Sharing
Every Apple product which has iOS 13 or above has a built-in feature to share audio. To be more precise.
iPhone
- iPhone 12 series
- iPhone SE (2nd Gen.)
- iPhone 11/Pro/Pro Max
- iPhone Xs/Xs Max
- iPhone XR
- iPhone X
- iPhone 8/8 Plus
iPad
- iPad Pro (10.5″/11″/12.9″ 2nd Gen.)
- iPad (5th Gen. or newer)
- iPad Air (3rd Gen.)
- iPad mini (5th Gen.)
iPod Touch
- 7th Gen.
Wireless Headsets that Support Audio Sharing
Listed below are some of the wireless headsets which support audio sharing on iOS 13.
- AirPods Pro
- AirPods (2nd Gen.)
- AirPods (1st Gen.)
- Beats Powerbeats
- Beats Powerbeats Pro
- Beats Powerbeats3 Wireless
- Beats Solo Pro
- Bears Solo3Wireless
- Beats Studio3 Wireless
- BeatsX
In the case where one of the devices has already played music and has AirPods in your friend’s ear, connected to either his iPhone or iPad may be below are the steps you can follow to share audio to their AirPods.
Step 1 – Connect the AirPods to your device and put them on your ears.
Step 2 – Now from Control Center or from your Lock Screen, tap on the audio output icon, after you have played music from any app you are using.
Step 3 – Tap on Share Audio from the Headphones section and get the Apple devices close to each other.
Step 4 – On your Device tap on the Share Audio button and Press the Join button on the other device.
Step 5 – The audio/ music will then be played simultaneously over the devices.
- Also, even after following the steps above you are not able to share audio, your Airdrop might have a connectivity issue with your Phone.
If you want to share audio to AiroPds easily, you can do it when your friend’s AirPods are still in Charging Case. To do so, follow the steps below.
Step 1- Make sure you have put your AirPods on your ears and get your friend’s AirPods close to your device (it may either be your iPhone or iPad).
Step 2 – Open the Lid of the charging case of your friend’s AirPods, your Device will then have a pop-up notification with a Temporarily Share Audio button, Tap on it.
Step 3 – Once done, make sure you press the pair button on their AirPods to connect to your device.
After the AirPods are connected, you can start sharing audio by Tapping the Done button
How to Control AirPods Audio Sharing
After you have connected the AirPods or Beats headphones to your device, you are now able to control the audio volume, and below are two ways to do so.
Change Volume when Sharing AirPods Audio
Both the Headsets are set on the same volume by default; however, you can control the volume individually later on as per your preference, follow these steps to do so.
- Once you open the Control Center head to the Volume slider.
- The Volume slider will now indicate two people’s icons and once you tap on it, it will display two volume sliders one for you and one for your friend. Control each one separately as per your preference.
Change the Volume on your Device
Once you share audio by connecting your AirPods, you can manually change the volume simply by pressing buttons on your device just like how you do normally. You can control your volume and other things like disconnecting the AirPods as per your liking.
How to Stop Sharing AirPods Audio
After you have enjoyed listening to the music with your friends, you can follow the steps below to disconnect the Headsets.
Step 1 – Tap on the Audio output icon from the app you are listening to.
Step 2 – On your Lock Screen or Control Center in the Headphones section, tap on the tickmark located next to your friend’s AirPods or Beats headphones.
Step 3 – Once the audio stops and headphones are disconnected from your device, the tickmark will no longer be displayed.
Audio Sharing with Headphones other than AirPods
The audio Sharing feature does not only support AirPods but also other wireless headphones like Beats Headphones but make sure they are compatible (you can check if the Beats Headphones are compatible or not by checking from the above list). If you own a Compatible model, follow the steps below to connect the headphones to your iPhone or any iPad.
Step 1 – First make sure your own Airdrops are connected to your Apple device and also make sure your friend turns on his headphones.
Step 2 – On your friend’s headset, press the Power button for less than a second and make sure your AirPods, iPhone, or iPad are close to his Apple device.
Step 3 – A pop-up notification with a Temporarily Share Audio button will appear, Tap on it.
When you are done, the audio will be shared and will be played simultaneously over the headphones.