Submitted by Fred Straker on
The AirPods, AirPods Pro, and AirPods Max have one thing in common, they all automatically switch between the iPhone, iPad, or Mac. This means if you're wearing AirPods and switch devices, the audio connection follows wherever the same iCloud account is used. For some situations, this feature can be an inconvenience.
Turning off automatic switching keeps your AirPod connected to one device. For example, if you start working on a Mac and you want the AirPods to stay connected to the iPhone nearby, you must disable auto switching. Another way to prevent automatic switching is to have each device signed into a different iCloud account.
To disable automatic switching by AirPods between devices, follow these steps:
- Make sure your AirPods are connected to your iPhone
- Navigate to Settings -> Bluetooth
- Tap the information (i) icon next to your AirPods
- Tap Connect to this iPhone
- Choose When Last Connected to This iPhone
Once the connection setting is changed, the AirPods will remain connected to the iPhone when available. They can always be switched to a nearby iPad, Apple TV, or Mac manually under the Bluetooth settings for that device.