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applefan9215

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 12, 2019
33
24
The 6s/first gen SE/7 (at least as of iOS 13.2.2 or so, if not earlier versions of iOS 13) actually DO unofficially support audio sharing (there are two methods to share audio and one of them works). Even though they're not on the list for audio sharing, it was noted on Reddit that if you manually pair two pairs of AirPods or other compatible headphones to an iPhone that is officially unsupported, the phone would split the audio just fine with no glitches. However, this is the only method that works. The other method (bringing two supported iPhones together and automatically getting the share audio pop-up) doesn't work on these devices for some reason even though iPad 5/6/7 and iPod touch are supported with this method.

There are a bunch of reports on Reddit about people having the 6S/7/SE and having it work via pairing two pairs of headphones manually. Here's one link to a reddit thread:
Note: Manually pairing more than one pair of Bluetooth headphones and having them both active was never possible in iOS 12, so Apple must have added in support for audio sharing for these devices and simply forgot to explain in their release notes that audio sharing does work in some form.
 
Did not work for me on an iPad Pro 12.9 (2015) with Airpods 2nd Gen and Beats Solo3. You can cycle the check mark between them, but it won't share audio. The iPad does show both connected.
 
Did not work for me on an iPad Pro 12.9 (2015) with Airpods 2nd Gen and Beats Solo3. You can cycle the check mark between them, but it won't share audio. The iPad does show both connected.

Hmm, interesting! What iOS version are you on? There were a few people with an iPhone 6s or 7 who got it to work early on.

What if this was actually a bug and Apple patched it in later versions, causing it to no longer work?

Apple's official requirements for audio sharing make no sense. Only devices released in 2017 or later such as the iPad 5, 6, 7 and iPod touch are supported, yet all iOS devices released in 2015 or 2016 aren't supported (6s, 7, SE, A9X iPad Pros). These devices don't have any differences in hardware from the other A9 and A10 devices that are supported.
 
Hmm, interesting! What iOS version are you on? There were a few people with an iPhone 6s or 7 who got it to work early on.

What if this was actually a bug and Apple patched it in later versions, causing it to no longer work?

Apple's official requirements for audio sharing make no sense. Only devices released in 2017 or later such as the iPad 5, 6, 7 and iPod touch are supported, yet all iOS devices released in 2015 or 2016 aren't supported (6s, 7, SE, A9X iPad Pros). These devices don't have any differences in hardware from the other A9 and A10 devices that are supported.

exactly. I thought the official requirements for wireless audio sharing were so dumb. It doesn’t make sense
 
For what it may be worth, I was able to enable audio sharing using an iPhone 6S Plus running iOS 13.3.1 between two sets of AirPods -- first and second generation... :)
 
For what it may be worth, I was able to enable audio sharing using an iPhone 6S Plus running iOS 13.3.1 between two sets of AirPods -- first and second generation... :)

Thanks for confirming! It probably does seem like Apple left it out of the A9X iPads for some reason but added it back in for the 6s/SE and 7.

Another question: does it work flawlessly or does it lag at times? I was speaking to someone else with a 6S and they said it was laggy for theirs.
 
Has someone been able to do it with a 6S/SE/7 on iOS 13.5? I don't have my 7 anymore as I gave it to my father and only have my iPhone X and iPad Pro 12.9 (2015)
 
Thanks for confirming! It probably does seem like Apple left it out of the A9X iPads for some reason but added it back in for the 6s/SE and 7.

Another question: does it work flawlessly or does it lag at times? I was speaking to someone else with a 6S and they said it was laggy for theirs.
No discernable lag to report -- note this is based upon me testing this arrangement via placing one AirPod from each of the two sets into my ears...
 
Sorry for bringing back an old thread, but I just noticed on Reddit that someone with an iPhone 7 (who updated to the latest iOS 14 beta) can no longer get audio to both pairs of headphones at the same time. The sharing audio feature did work on iOS 13.3 according to him.

Funnily enough, I haven't heard anything about it working on 13.4 or above.

Can anyone else with a first gen SE/6S/7 (or a 9.7 iPad Pro) test the audio sharing functionality on iOS 14 beta?
 
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