How to Fix AirPods Auto Switch Not Working from Mac to iPhone

New AirPods Auto Switch feature not working properly on your Apple devices? Do wireless headphones route audio playback source from iPhone to Mac and vice versa, but it doesn’t always work? Do AirPods automatically switch audio inconsistently from Mac to iPhone?

Worse yet, does AirPods auto-switching kick in when you don’t need it and not working when you want it to? You are not the only one with this problem! Apparently, this is generalized behavior and is most likely due to the fact that the auto-routing feature is new and requires finer tuning.

Fix AirPods auto switching not working

Here are some tips you can apply in case your AirPods refuse to switch between iPhone and Mac:

1. Are your AirPods compatible?

First, make sure your AirPods are compatible with the new auto-switching audio feature. According to Apple, the ‌AirPods‌ (2nd generation), AirPods Pro and AirPods Max are able to switch automatically between your devices. If you have 1st generation AirPods manufactured between late 2016 and early 2019, you will not be able to use this option because the headphones do not have H1 chip.
Made: Automatic audio switching is also available for Powerbeats, Powerbeats Pro and Solo Pro!

2. Turn on AirPods switching on iPhone / iPad

Next, make sure the AirPods are set to automatically switch between your devices:

• Connect your AirPods to your iPhone or iPad and open the Settings app.
• Opt for the Bluetooth menu.
• Tap blue ‘i’ icon, available next to the AirPods name.
• Press on Connect to this iPhone (iPad).
• To select Automatically.

3. Enable switching of AirPods on Mac

If your wireless headphones don’t automatically route audio from iPhone to Mac, make sure the feature is also enabled on your macOS Big Sur machine:

• Open the Control center, available in the top menu bar and click Bluetooth.
  Or: Click directly on the Bluetooth icon, if you have configured it to appear in the menu bar.
• Click on Bluetooth Preferences …, available at the bottom of the Bluetooth box.
• Find your AirPods in the list and click Options.
• Click on the available drop-down menu, next to Connect to this Mac label.
• Select the Automatically option.

Important: Whenever your Mac connects to AirPods, you are visually notified with a notification banner, displayed in the upper right corner of the screen. However, a series of users have reported that the alert goes off too often, to the point that it becomes annoying. Apparently, it is triggered by every switch from iPhone to Mac or iPad to Mac. Currently, the only way to get rid of it is to keep your Mac’s AirPods setting on the “When last logged in to this Mac” status.

4. Update to the latest software

As mentioned above, Apple is always tweaking this feature and that’s why you need to update your devices to the most recent software versions. This goes for all of your Apple devices, including the AirPods themselves, as well as iPhone, Mac, iPad, and HomePod.

Made: AirPods 2, Pro, and Pro Max are capable of automatically installing new software updates. The most recent firmware for AirPods 2 and AirPods Pro is 3A283.

Point: Apple also recently released iOS 14.3, iPadOS 14.3, and macOS Big Sur 11.1 and we noticed that the automatic switching of AirPods has been improved!

Did you manage to fix AirPods auto bluetooth switching issue? Did any of the tips above help you? Are we missing something? Use the comments section and share your comments!

Related: How to turn off optimized AirPods battery charge and force your wireless earbuds to 100% charge as fast as possible!