Normally, you can only connect one Bluetooth headphone or speaker to a smartphone or tablet. As soon as you turn on another paired device, the connection to the first one is lost. However, with a detour, you can also listen with 2 Bluetooth headphones on one device at the same time.
Apple makes it particularly easy to operate two audio devices on one iPhone or iPad thanks to “Audio Sharing”. However, this is also possible with Android.
iPhone & iPad: Share audio with two headphones
Users of an iPhone or iPad need at least iOS 13 to activate the corresponding option. However, this only works with Apple’s own AirPods or Beats. If you have two corresponding pairs, you can share the music on both devices:
- First, connect a pair of headphones to the iPhone or iPad.
- Call up the control center.
- Press the Airplay button here. If the Airplay feature is available directly in the music playback app, you can also activate it there.
- Now you can select “Share audio”.
- The other pair of AirPods should be in the charging case. Now hold the case close to your own already connected device.
- Open the lid. Wireless Beats should be put into pairing mode.
- The entry for the headphones should now appear on the iPhone with music playback. Here you can select the “Share Audio” option and start playing music on both Bluetooth headphones at the same time.
Dual Audio: Two Bluetooth headphones at the same time on Samsung Galaxy smartphones
Samsung users can also connect multiple Bluetooth headphones to a smartphone via “Dual Audio“. Here’s how it works on Galaxy smartphones:
- Go to the smartphone’s settings.
- Open the “Connections” section.
- Select the “Bluetooth” section here.
- Now pair both headphones with the Samsung Galaxy smartphone.
- You can now select both headphones for music playback via “Media“.
The “Dual Audio” option is also available on some Android smartphones from other manufacturers.
Connect 2 Bluetooth headphones at the same time
If your Android smartphone does not have the “Dual Audio” option, you will need additional accessories to enable the connection of multiple headphones. This works with a “Bluetooth Splitter”. The splitter is first connected to the smartphone via cable, for example, via the jack headphone port. The headphones are then not connected directly to the smartphone, but to the splitter. The audio signal is passed from the Android device to the Bluetooth splitter, which then transmits the music to the two paired headphones.
Not only headphones, but also several Bluetooth speakers can be connected to a smartphone or tablet in the aforementioned ways. Some speaker manufacturers also offer their own solution for this. For example, you can activate JBL Connect for JBL speakers.