Despite being one of the easiest Apple products to use, AirPods have many hidden tricks and controls that aren’t readily apparent (via Apple Support), the Share Audio feature among them. To connect a second pair of AirPods to your iPhone, we are assuming that one pair of earbuds is already connected to the smartphone.
- While listening to audio on your iPhone, either open the Control Panel and tap AirPlay or tap the AirPlay option from within the app you’re using.
- Tap the Share Audio option in the menu that appears.
- To pair the second set of earbuds, open the AirPods case (with the earbuds inside) near the iPhone’s screen. If you are using AirPods Max headphones, remove them from their case.
- When the second pair of AirPods appears on the iPhone’s screen, tap Share Audio again.
- To test that both pairs of AirPods are connected, go to Bluetooth within Settings and check to see whether both products are listed under connected devices.
If the connection was successful, you can now use a single iPhone with two different pairs of AirPods. Each user can control their own volume level using the controls on the AirPods. To stop sharing audio with the second pair of AirPods, swipe down from the top right corner of the iPhone’s screen to open the Control Center, tap AirPlay, and then tap the checkmark next to the pair of earbuds you want to remove.