Can you connect non-Apple wireless earbuds to Apple Watch?

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Can you connect non-Apple wireless earbuds to Apple Watch?

I'm considering getting an Apple Watch Series 3, and I want to get a pair of bluetooth wireless earbuds to go with it. I'm a bit weary to go for the Apple products since I don't want to drop TOO much money at once, so I'm curious if other earbuds will work with it as easily as AirPods do.

Lets say I buy a pair of Galaxy Buds (or Buds+). If I pair them to my iPhone, will they be able to connect to my watch as well without going into the settings like the AirPods can? Or do I have to manually pair it? Also, will features like pausing/skipping songs through the earbuds work too? I think the Buds/Buds+ have some button on it for pausing and such, so will that work on the watch too?

Apple Watch

Posted on Apr 1, 2020 5:32 PM

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Answer 1

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BobHarris

Level 9

55,235 points

Apr 1, 2020 6:04 PM in response to ViralVillagerYT

It is possible. I will not promise there isn't a brand that does not follow all standards, but...

I've paired 4 different Bluetooth headphones to my Apple Watch

My AirPods (very easy)

My Sony Noise Cancelling Headphones

And two 15 year old bluetooth headphones.

The hardest part was finding the instructions on how to put the headphones into "Discovery" mode so that the Apple Watch will see them as a device to pair with. Lots of google searching for those 15 year old headphones. I still had the box for the Sony's with the instructions inside.

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Answer 2

BobHarris

Level 9

55,235 points

Apr 1, 2020 7:25 PM in response to ViralVillagerYT

OK, just for you, I paired my Sony Noise Cancelling headphones to my Apple Watch (normally they are paired to my Mac while I'm working from home).

I can tap in the middle of the over the ear Right ear cup and pause/resume play.
I can swipe up, and raise the volume
I can swipe down, and lower the volume
I can swipe back to front and skip to the next track
I can swipe front to back, and rewind to the beginning of the song. If I quickly swipe front to back again, I skip backwards in the tracks.

Those are all the headphone controls I have that go back to the Apple Watch.

I am going to put my Sony's back on my Mac now 😀

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Answer 3

BobHarris

Level 9

55,235 points

Apr 1, 2020 7:44 PM in response to ViralVillagerYT

And the headphone microphone works as well.

I just did a test with my Wife using Apple Watch Walkie-Talkie, and regardless of how close or far away my watch was from my mouth, my Wife said my voice was constant volume and there was not change based on how close or far away my Apple Watch was from my mouth.

So that is one more feature. You can handle voice conversations via your headphones.

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Answer 4

Apr 1, 2020 6:16 PM in response to BobHarris

Okay, so it is possible. But will features onboard the headphones work? Like, for example, I have UTAXO UT-BH001 Bluetooth headphones (very cheap ANC over-ear headphones), and it has features like volume control and playing/pausing by pressing the power button. If I connected those to the watch, would I still be able to use the volume and playback controls? (Here's the headset https://www.amazon.com/Cancelling-Headphones-Utaxo-Bluetooth-Cellphone/dp/B07QL578VM/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?dchild=1&keywords=utaxo+ut-bh001&qid=1585790128&sr=8-1-fkmr0)

Also, if I connected that headset to my iPhone and Watch, would I have to manually disconnect it to one device to connect it to the other? Or can I use the apple watch to change the playback destination?

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Answer 5

Apr 1, 2020 7:27 PM in response to BobHarris

So functions like that do work. Awesome! Thanks for that, man! I appreciate it. :)

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Answer 6

Apr 2, 2020 7:59 AM in response to BobHarris

Even better! I probably wont even have to get any new headphones then! :)

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Can you connect non-Apple wireless earbuds to Apple Watch?

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