How to connect two AirPods to the same Apple device

After connecting them, users can listen to the same song or watch a movie without disturbing others.

To be able to connect 2 AirPods, that device must support Audio Sharing. Thankfully, most modern Apple devices support the feature, and all iPhones after the first-generation iPhone 8 and iPad Pro will be compatible. In this article, let's learn how to connect 2 AirPods to 1 iPhone, iPad or MacBook.

How to connect 2 AirPods with iPhone or iPad

This guide only covers the steps of connecting the second AirPods to the device.

Step 1: Unlock iPhone and stay on home screen.

Step 2: Now, open the AirPods or AirPods Pro case and hold it near the iPhone for a while. Everyone will see an animation to connect AirPods, now need to press the Temporarily Share Audio button.

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Once done, press and hold the button on the back of the charging case to complete the process.

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Step 3: Now, open Bluetooth settings on your iPhone and everyone will be able to see the AirPods connected to their phone.

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The strength of this feature is that iOS gives users individual control over the volume of devices that require access.

Step 4: To control the volume individually, play the video and drag the Control Center down. Next, tap the AirPlay icon and control the volume of each AirPods individually.

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How to connect 2 AirPods to MacBook

Users can also play audio through different AirPods on their MacBook Air or MacBook Pro. However, this process will be more complicated and requires a bit of tinkering in the system settings.

Step 1: Reset the second AirPods to connect to the Mac computer. To do so, press and hold the button on the back of the charging case until you see the LED blinking white.

Step 2: Open Control Center on Mac and navigate to Bluetooth Settings. Click on the Bluetooth Preferences option and users will see other AirPods on the menu. Then, click the Connect button.

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Step 3: Open Finder and select Applications from the left panel. Next, scroll down until you see Utilities and double-click the Audio MIDI Setup option.

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This will open a small window. Now click on the little plus icon below and select Create Multi-Output from the list.

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Step 4: Next, uncheck the default speakers of your MacBook. Instead, select 2 AirPods and close the window.

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Step 5: Once done, press the Apple icon in the upper left corner and select System Preferences from the menu.

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If the Bluetooth Settings window is open, click the Back button and navigate to Sound. If not, click the Sound option. Now, all you need to do is select the Multi-Output Device to play the video or audio file and enjoy the shared audio between the connected AirPods.

However, users cannot customize the volume of each AirPods individually, but on iPhone and iPad.

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Whenever you need to disconnect, open Bluetooth preferences and tap on the devices you want to disconnect. If you're using headphones like AirPods Max, you'll need to frequently tap the Connect button as they will automatically disconnect whenever you remove them from your ears.

Jessica Tanner

Update 15 March 2022