How to Share Audio Between Two Pairs of AirPods on IPhone
There is something special about two people listening to the same music through headphones. It could be a movie or a TV show, it doesn’t matter. That scene in Begin Again , where Mark Ruffalo and Keira Knightley exchange playlists using an old-school headphone splitter , is etched in my memory. But the days of headphone jacks and audio splitters are behind us.
While it’s not as romantic as tying two people together with a six-foot headphone cord, you can achieve the same results using AirPods, all without the need for a dedicated app. You can share music, movies, or whatever you like with your friend or partner’s AirPods without having to connect them entirely to your iPhone.
Share audio using Control Center
The most reliable way to share audio between two pairs of AirPods is to use the playback controls in Control Center. First, connect your AirPods and keep them in your ears. Then ask a friend to hold the AirPods case open or hold it in your ears.
In Control Center, open Playback Controls. Select your AirPods from below to open the Devices menu.
Here, select the Share Audio button.
Now, as long as your friends’ AirPods are open and nearby, they will appear in the pop-up menu. If this doesn’t happen, try pressing and holding the pairing button on the back of your AirPods case. Once they appear, click the Share Audio button.
Both AirPods will now be listed in the Devices menu, and from here you can control their volume levels independently. You can also long-press the volume slider in Control Center to get two separate sliders, one for each pair of AirPods.
To mute your friends’ AirPods, open the media playback screen in Control Center and tap the 2 Headphones button to open the Devices view.
Here, uncheck the boxes of the AirPods you want to disable.
Temporarily connect nearby AirPods
To make this process easier, Apple has integrated a new pop-up menu that appears when another pair of AirPods is nearby. If you’ve seen pop-ups for connecting to your Apple Watch or sharing your Wi-Fi password, you’re familiar with it.
While your AirPods are already connected to your iPhone, bring a couple of friends near your device and make sure their case is open. After a short wait, you should see a menu pop up. Because it involves proximity, you may have to try a few times for the menu to appear—Apple does its best to ensure you don’t get inundated with pop-ups on a train full of people listening to AirPods, so it’s a bit strict here.
When the pop-up window appears, click the Temporarily Share Audio button, then press and hold the Pair button on the back of your friends’ AirPods case. Click “Done” and both pairs of AirPods should now be connected to your iPhone.
To disconnect, go to the Playback menu in Control Center, open the Devices menu, and uncheck the AirPods you want to disconnect.