How to Pair Two AirPods with a Mac or Windows PC

If you are an iPhone or a Mac user, then Airpods are the best wireless earbuds that you can use. What makes Apple’s wireless earphones better is that you can connect two pairs of AirPods to a Mac and even a Windows PC.

In this way, three pairs of AirPods can be used at once, and you and your friends or spouse will not have to share one pair while watching something together.

How to pair two sets of AirPods to a Mac

Well, begin by pairing the AirPods with your Mac. This is a process that is pretty simple and easy to follow. However, before you do this, make sure that the AirPods have different names; in case they have the same name, you might have to change the name of your AirPods first. This will also lead to the reduction of confusion during the pairing exercise.

If you want to connect two AirPods to a Mac, this is the first thing you should do:

1. On the screen, move the pointer up to the left so that you can go and click on the Apple menu that will appear. Open System Preferences in macOS versions prior to Big Sur; it’s called System Settings in Big Sur and later versions.
2. Choose Bluetooth from the list and then turn it on. What is important to remember is that this window needs to stay open.
3. Just open the lid of AirPods, but don’t take the Pods out of the case. On its backside, there is a button that you need to press to start a white status light blinking.
4. To locate the AirPods under Bluetooth, look under Bluetooth settings. Select Connect. This should prepare your AirPods for use.
5. The Connect button appears in the Bluetooth System Settings on Macs.

When you’re done setting up the two AirPods, things get a little tricky here, but to sum it up – In MacOS, there is no option to share audio. For this, you need an Audio MIDI setup.

Share using Audio MIDI Setup

iPadOS and iOS have a shared audio feature, which means that MacOS does not have to help in the sharing of the audio output to multiple connected Bluetooth devices at once.

However, you must still be able to get audio to play on two sets of AirPods connected to your Mac through the Audio MIDI Setup app that is naturally included in any version of the macOS. This setup can be done on any type of audio equipment, mainly whether it is Bluetooth enabled or not.

1. Charge either set of AirPods with your Mac, as elaborated above. The same applies to Bluetooth headphones, for instance.
2. To do this, open a Finder window, and on the left sidebar, click on Applications.
3. Open the Utilities folder. You can also use the keyboard shortcut Shift + Command + U or go to the Finder menu and press utilities.
4. Right-click over a folder named Utilities within the folder, open it, and then run Audio MIDI Setup. Spotlight may be used to search for a program by the name of Audio MIDI Setup.
5. Press on the plus sign which is located in the Audio MIDI Setup Window. Right-click on it, and from the options that appear, choose Create Multi-Output Device.
6. This feature can also be found under the Create Multi-Output Device option on Mac.
7. Onto the left list, pick out the Multi-Output Device option. You may wish to call the setup something else.
8. Right-click the audio setup you recently renamed, and then click it once again as the active icon appears. There will be a menu that comes up; the one to choose is Use This Device for Sound Output. Or you can look at the macOS menu bar and then click on the volume icon. In this case, go to the new audio setup found under output.

Don’t forget to remove the connection from your second pair of AirPods while sharing an audio with your friend.

The resulting setup does not permit dedicated volume knobs for every pair of headphones. AirPods have their own buttons located on the earphones; the user can adjust the volume with these buttons or use the Mac’s Control Center.

On MacBook, however, there is an opportunity. In this case, make sure both the two sets of AirPods are inside the charging cases and that they are charged.

1. Take the case and just place the AirPods near the MacBook.
2. On your MacBook screen, there should be the AirPods icon. Select the AirPod icon.
3. A window opens with a prompt: Due to its shipping feature, this is how to use both AirPods.
4. Click Connect. Put the lid back on and do the same for the other set of AirPods.

These should start and run as soon as the audio is on your Macbook. To set the volume at the two levels separately, go to System Preferences on MacBook, then Sound, then Output. The latter should enable the control of the volume to be achievable.

Step By Step Guide to Pairing Two AirPods to a Windows Laptop or PC

In this article, I will explain to you how to connect two pairs of AirPods on a Windows computer that utilizes Bluetooth.

1. Place the AirPods inside the charging cases and ensure that the lid of the charging case is ajar.
2. This is a case designed with buttons, one of which you will have to look for at the base part of the case. Press it and hold for few seconds and you will find that it blinks in white.
3. Control panel for features and settings on an operating system of a PC.
4. Select Devices, then Bluetooth. Here, the AirPods should be seen in Devices if I am not present. Should go back to the AirPods cases. Check that they are still in their cases and do step two.
5. Press Select and go to + Add Device. Select the AirPods in the menu. This option, however, is not permanently situated in the same position on the screen, and its position depends on the version of the OS currently in use.
6. Do the same thing for the second set of AirPods.
7. Click on the AirPods on the list and pair it by selecting Connect.
8. Click Done. It is now possible to uncase the AirPods and use them with a Windows PC.

If the above steps are an issue for you, you can try another procedure below.

1. In iTunes, click the Airplay arrow.
2. If using your AirPods for your device list, then select it among the available gadgets.
3. Switch the Use for audio output to an off position. This should enable you to hear audio on the AirPods.

Why Your AirPods Won’t Connect to Mac or Windows PC?

There are various reasons why your AirPods may fail to connect to your PC:

• You are still using the older version of the software. If there is an updated version for it, then you should download it.
• This connection could be done with Bluetooth turned off, and in the process, this could be ON if you are connecting with Bluetooth. It should be noted that Bluetooth should be enabled so that sections in the system settings turn on Bluetooth as well.
• For this case, the AirPods have to be inside the charging case. You also need to press the setup button until the status light blinks white in order to be able to proceed with the setup process. This means that the AirPods are on standby and are able to pair with the iPhone.
• It is your fault that you did not go through the motions provided on the screen, as they should be followed. If you feel that something was done wrong, you can repeat the steps to get to the connection successfully.
• Problems may occur if connecting to a Mac if the AirPods are not placed proximity to the Mac with the lid open.
• If none of the above works, you can proceed to hard reset your AirPods before retrying the steps.

Raise Up and Tell More About Listening

Some of the sweet moments in life include listening to music with a friend. People also better respond to lyrics when there is someone they can share it with while listening to the music. That listening experience can be enhanced with AirPods and can let a specific person join in.