Can't play music or podcast on bluetooth headphones

Question

Level 1

8 points

Can't play music or podcast on bluetooth headphones

Strange one. I have a bluetooth headset that I've been using with my iPhone 7 for years.

Today, I can send/receive calls and listen/talk to callers on the headset without problem, and I can play music and podcasts on the phone's speaker when the BT headset is disconnected, but when I connect the headset (paired to the phone), I can't play music or podcasts on the phone (through the headset), nor can I hear them on the headset. Pressing 'play' on the phone starts the music playing (without sound), then after 10 seconds it stops. As I said, phone calling still works.

I've tried restarting the phone (power off/on), updated headset firmware, unpair/pair. I have confirmed in 'settings' that it is pairing with the right device, and the "headset" icon shows up in the top right corner of the phone.

I'd think it was a headset problem, but phone calls work perfectly, and are even auto-answered when I put the headset on.

Phone is running IOS 12.1.4.

Suggestions? Thanks.

iPhone 7, iOS 12

Posted on Feb 26, 2019 10:01 AM

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Answer 1

LenBH Author

Level 1

8 points

Mar 1, 2019 1:56 PM in response to Joseph_S.

Hi, Joseph.

Thanks for the reply.

Unfortunately, selecting the audio source using the Control Center didn't help. However, I did connect to a different set of bluetooth earbuds, and they worked fine, so I guess it's an issue with my original headphones (even though they worked fine for phone calls). I'll have to look at them more closely to see what's up.

Edit: Got it working. I selected other sources for microphone and speaker in the Windows sound settings, and also closed my softphone app running on the PC, and it came to life! I'm not sure I needed to do all those things (mic, speaker, softphone), but that worked.

Cheers.

Len

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Answer 2

brenden dv

Community Specialist

Mar 3, 2019 6:26 AM in response to LenBH

Hi LenBH,

Thanks for following up to provide the details of that solution. Glad to hear it's working for you now!

Take care.

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Answer 3

Joseph_S.

Community Specialist

Feb 27, 2019 9:01 AM in response to LenBH

Hi LenBH,

Thank you for using the Apple Support Communities. I understand you're running into some issues using a Bluetooth headset to play music and podcasts.

Testing while on calls was a great idea, and that helps to rule out a few possible causes. Have you tried using your Control Center to select your headphones as an audio source while playing music? If not, give this a try. These steps are from the article titled Use and customize Control Center on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch:

"Press deeply or press and hold the audio card in the upper-right corner of Control Center to quickly play, pause, and control the volume of your favorite song, podcast, and more.

Tap to switch the audio output to speakers, headphones, Apple TV, or another audio device. You can also choose to play the same music across multiple speakers you have set up in your home.

You might also see cards for nearby devices that you can control audio playback for. Just tap a card to control audio for that device. You can also use the cards to create a shared music queue with friends."

I hope this helps you!

Have a great day.

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Can't play music or podcast on bluetooth headphones

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