Connect Two Bluetooth Headphones to Android With This Handy Guide

AirPods Pro and Bose headphones connected to Android phone
AirPods Pro and Bose headphones connected to Android phone

Our step-by-step guide to enabling audio sharing in Android devices.

Headphones generally are not designed for sharing as the cups are often non-detachable. This becomes a hassle when you’re trying to watch a video or listen to a song with your friend while in public areas.

An alternative workaround would be to perfectly time when to hit the “play” button with your friend on each device. A tad too much effort for synchronized playing.

For Apple users, there is the audio sharing feature launched by Apple in 2019. But what about Android users? Good news! There exist easy workarounds for Android users too, to enjoy Bluetooth music sharing.

Here’s a complete walkthrough of the various ways you can connect two headphones to your Android device. Think Samsung’s Dual Audio feature, other lesser-known features launched by Google and Bluetooth, and more! Without further ado, let’s dive in!

What Is the Dual Audio Feature on Android Devices

The Dual Audio feature allows users to stream audio to two wireless headphones or speakers simultaneously.

Users can also control the media output volume of each audio device independently. Gone are the days when you and your friends would incessantly argue because you couldn’t reach an agreement on the audio volume!

The Dual Audio feature was first introduced by Samsung in 2017, along with its Samsung Galaxy S8 launch. This was two years ahead of Apple’s Audio sharing feature.

Dual Audio is theoretically a feature accessible to all devices operating with Bluetooth 5.0 and above. However, other factors such as your device operating system, e.g., Android version, and hardware capabilities also play a part in your accessibility to this feature.

Samsung has made this possible with one caveat: the limitation of its accessibility to only selected Galaxy devices.

Here’s a list of devices that currently support the Dual Audio feature:

As mentioned in the introduction, Apple also has its own version of the audio sharing feature, launched in 2019 along with its iOS 13 launch.

The key difference between Samsung’s Dual Audio and Apple’s audio sharing is that the latter has made its feature available to only its line of devices, including only AirPods and Beats. Samsung’s Dual Audio, on the other hand, can work on different Bluetooth headphones.

How to Connect Two Bluetooth Headphones via Dual Audio Feature

If you’re already holding one of the Samsung Galaxy series devices listed above, this is the section of the article you’ll need to pay extra attention to. Here is the complete step-by-step guide on how you can start enjoying Dual Audio now:

  1. Turn on your Bluetooth headphones and activate pairing mode to be connected to your phone.
    • For Bluetooth earbuds, such as the Samsung Galaxy Buds, you’d just have to open the case lid near your Samsung handset to activate pairing mode.
    • For Bluetooth headphones, it would usually require pressing the pairing button. You’ll know the headphones have entered pairing mode when the status indicator blinks red and blue.
      We recommend you read through the relevant user manual to confirm the steps for activating pairing mode.

      AirPods' pairing button.
      AirPods’ pairing button.
  2. Go to Settings > Bluetooth.

    Bluetooth Toggle on.
    Bluetooth Toggle on.
  3. Connect to the two Bluetooth headphones by tapping on their names, one at a time.

    Two Bluetooth headphones connected.
    Two Bluetooth headphones connected.
  4. Swipe down from the top of the screen to access the quick panel menu and tap on the Media button. You should be able to see the two headphones that you’ve connected as audio outputs.
    Tip: If you can’t find the “Media” button on your quick panel, chances are high that it might have been disabled. You can easily enable it again with a change of settings.

    Media output in the quick panel menu.
    Media output in the quick panel menu.
  5. Select both headphones by checking the checkboxes beside their names. You can now enjoy listening to the same audio streaming from one device with a friend or loved one at the same time!

    Media output checkbox.
    Media output checkbox.

Will I still be able to enjoy the features of Dual Audio if I am an Android user but not using a Samsung phone? Yes, you can!

However, this will require a few workarounds.

One of them would be to use Bluetooth adapters that support dual audio. A few noteworthy examples are the Avantree C51 and 1Mii ML300.

Avantree C51

Close look at the Avantree C51 Adapter (From: Amazon)
Close look at the Avantree C51 Adapter (From: Amazon)

The Avantree C51 is a USB Type-C Port adapter that allows users to connect two Bluetooth headphones to one Android device.

Before you make your purchase of the Avantree C51 adapter, there are two things you’d have to check first:

  1. Check that your device has a USB Type-C port.
  2. Check that the Type-C port is built for audio output. You should be able to verify this by checking either your device’s user manual or the specs on the manufacturer’s website.
Alternatively, a simple test of the above criteria would be to plug in a pair of wired headphones into the Type-C port.

Once you’ve confirmed that your device is indeed compatible with the Avantree C51, the next step would be to pair your Bluetooth headphones with the adapter.

To turn on Avantree C51’s pairing mode, all you would have to do is to plug it into your device’s USB Type-C port. Then, you can simply turn on one of your headphones and wait for them to connect.

Once you’ve successfully paired your first pair of Bluetooth headphones to the adapter, press and hold the pairing button at the right side of the adapter to initiate the pairing process again.

A “Welcome to Avantree” message will be played through your connected headphones upon successful pairing.

The highlight of the Avantree C51 adapter is that you will still be able to charge your smartphone despite having the adapter plugged in. All thanks to the adapter’s design that comes with another vacant USB Type-C port at the bottom of the adapter.

This means you will never have to worry about having your battery drained out while using it.

One of the drawbacks of the Avantree C51 adapter, however, is that only the first-connected pair of headphones would have its microphone function working.

The second pair is still able to listen in at the same time, but the microphone function will not work.

1Mii ML300

Close look at the 1Mii ML300 Adapter (From: Amazon)
Close look at the 1Mii ML300 Adapter (From: Amazon)

One other type of Bluetooth adapter you could consider is the 1Mii ML300. It is a 3.5mm audio port adapter, which can be a great alternative to the Avantree C51 adapter if your current smartphone does not have a USB Type-C port.

Similar to the Avantree C51, the 1Mii ML300 adapter will be powered on and in pairing mode, once plugged in.

The LED light indicator will turn blue when one Bluetooth device has been connected. It will glow purple when two Bluetooth devices have been connected successfully.

Light indicators for successful pairing of headphones with 1Mii ML300 adapter (From: Amazon)
Light indicators for successful pairing of headphones with 1Mii ML300 adapter (From: Amazon)

The best feature of the 1Mii ML300 adapter is that it can interchange between being a Bluetooth transmitter and a receiver.

As a transmitter, the adapter sends audio via Bluetooth to Bluetooth-enabled devices, such as Bluetooth headphones, to support the Dual Audio feature.

And as a Bluetooth receiver, the adapter allows non-Bluetooth devices (such as your old boombox) to receive audio from a Bluetooth-enabled device, such as your smartphone.

The 1Mii ML300 adapter might look less desirable than the Avantree C51 since it doesn’t support the microphone function. This means that none of the connected headphones would be able to turn on their microphone while connected through the adapter.

How to Play Music to Two Devices Simultaneously via AmpMe

People using their mobile phones as portable speaker to a party using AmpMe (From: AmpMe)
People using their mobile phones as portable speaker to a party using AmpMe (From: AmpMe)

If you do not wish to purchase a Bluetooth adapter to connect two Bluetooth headphones at once to your Android device, you could also try AmpMe.

AmpMe is a mobile application built to solve the pain of not having loud enough music while hanging out with friends. It was first launched in 2015, before Dual Audio was introduced.

What AmpMe does is that it allows users to host or join virtual parties. In any case, the volume of the music playing at such parties via this tool would be louder than before.

The more people at the party, the louder the music will be.

Each attendee’s smartphone gets converted to a portable speaker, so the volume is multiplied with the number of people in the party.

While AmpMe still does not have the ability to replicate the same effect as Dual Audio, there are ways to make it work. In fact, using this application can help you create your own silent party!

Simply invite one or more mobile phones to your AmpMe party and pair those phones with their own Bluetooth headphones to accomplish this.

Here’s how:

  1. Download the application to your mobile device.
    AmpMe is available in both Apple’s App Store and Google’s Playstore.
  2. Connect your Bluetooth headphones to your mobile device before entering the AmpMe application.
  3. In the landing page of the AmpMe application, there are two options to select from — hosting a party and joining a party.
  4. Click on the “Host a party” button in the AmpMe app, and it will generate a unique joining code. Your party invitees will have to key in the code through the app to join the party.
You must be within a 10-meter range from the host to join the party.

Now, you and your friend, or your loved one, will be able to enjoy the same audio streaming from one device simultaneously.

AmpMe can only play media from your personal music library on your phone, YouTube, SoundCloud, and Spotify. Additionally, only the host would be able to control the music played in the party from his/her device.

When Will the Dual Audio Feature Be Available to More Android Devices?

Currently, the Dual Audio feature is only accessible to selected Samsung devices. That said, both Google and Bluetooth have also been working behind the scenes to make this feature more accessible to all.

Google’s combined audio device routing feature

Like the Dual Audio feature, Google’s combined audio device routing feature supports audio streaming to more than one device at a time. This feature, however, is intended for devices operating on Android 12 and above.

Unfortunately, this does not mean that you’d now be able to enjoy the audio sharing feature as soon as you update your Android software version.

Instead, Google has launched this feature as a form of a public API. This means developers are free to integrate it into their software development to provide users with this feature.

There have, however, been no reported cases of this API being integrated into any Android device till date.

Moreover, despite Google being the creator of this public API, it was not integrated into their own subsequent device launches. This includes the latest Pixel 6 launched in late 2021.

The exclusion of the audio device routing feature has understandably left many fans of Google and its Pixel range disappointed.

Bluetooth’s launch of LE Audio

Sharing music together with Auracast
Sharing music together with Auracast

Bluetooth launched its latest technology, LE audio, in the second half of 2022. With LE audio, a new feature named Auracast has also been released. This feature allows users to connect to an unlimited number of audio devices from a single source, such as your smartphone or laptop.

It is expected that the first wave of consumer devices that operate on the Bluetooth LE Audio system will be released before the end of 2022, as confirmed in Bluetooth’s launch announcement.

Conclusion

Are you already enjoying the simultaneous streaming of audio from your phone to your and your friend’s Bluetooth headphones?

What’s best is that you now have all the freedom to adjust the volume without having to listen to your friend grumbling about it.

Which method did you use in the end to achieve the Dual Audio feature, and how has it worked for you since? Do share your experience in the comments below!

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