How to quickly connect to AirPods in iOS 11?
I have AirPods and I love them but I don’t love what a hassle it is to switch my phone to send audio output to the AirPods. I have my AirPods synced with multiple devices such as my Mac, so it doesn't know which one to connect to.
What I do now is:
- Swipe up from the bottom edge to raise the control center.
- Force press the wave icon in the top right of the audio playback control
- Tap the audio out control button on the right to raise a list of output devices.
- Select the AirPods from that list.
This is too hard. There must be a simpler way. Is there?
For instance, can I configure a single tap control center button to switch to airpods? Tell Siri to do it with a properly phrased command?
Just because one device sleeps does not make the airpods sync with another device. In such a case nothing happens and you have to manually connect on the device of your choice. I also struggle with this. My devices are not equal and I do different things on my iPhone, iPad, Macbook and iMac. What would be perfect, as mentioned, is a Siri integration. But that would mean that the Airpods understand Siri, which they don't. Thanks for the tip to go via the media control, far less hassle but not ideal.
I came across your post while looking for a solution to the same problem. In the meantime, it's possible to at least reduce your 4-step process to a 3-stepper, assuming you're starting from the home screen, although it does require keeping the settings app in your device's dock area:
- Force press the "Settings" app icon
- Select "Bluetooth", conveniently located on the last (i.e., nearest) row of choices.
- Select AirPods from the list of Bluetooth devices.
AirPods automatically connect and enable themselves as the audio output when taken out of the case and placed in your ears.
The audio output is switched back to the phone when AirPods are placed back in the case. You should rarely need to manually set the output device.
If you do need to manually set the output, you can 3D Touch anywhere on the media control, not just the wave icon in the corner.