How to stop headphones from automatically connecting to Apple watch every single time.

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How to stop headphones from automatically connecting to Apple watch every single time.

I have a set of bluetooth headphones that I use with a few different apple products around my house. When I'm done using the headphones with any particular item I turn bluetooth off on that item, so that if, for instance, I want to listen to a podcast on my iPad, I don't accidentally connect to my iPhone across the house. This apparently does not work with my apple watch. Every time I turn my headphones on they automatically connect with the watch, I've got to go find the watch wherever it is, open the 'swipe up' menu and I find that the 'airdrop/bluetooth' blue indicator has automatically turned itself on, so I turn it 'off' by setting it to 'speaker'. Say an hour later I want to listen to something on my mac, turn the bluetooth headphones on, right away, connects to my apple watch! I understand that there's a bluetooth toggle in the settings of the watch, but if that's the case, what the **** is the option in the menu for?? Every other apple product has a quick menu bluetooth option that turns bluetooth on and off, but with the watch I've got to go menu>settings>connections>bluetooth>off, every time? What the heck?

Apple Watch Series 2, watchOS 6

Posted on May 29, 2021 1:14 PM

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Answer 1

May 29, 2021 8:57 PM in response to Ganswerthis

Well bluetooth is the primary connection between the iphone and watch. I wonder if turning airplane mode on would disconnect your headphones.

However I think there is something out of place how those headphones switch from one device to another and how your watch is "grabbing" them like that. Perhaps the root cause is in that. Is it the same odd behaviour with some other headphones as well?

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Answer 2

Ganswerthis Author

Level 1

9 points

May 29, 2021 9:06 PM in response to better_half

Hmm, I’ll try the airplane mode you suggested. This does happen with other Bluetooth devices. If the proper ‘Bluetooth’ setting is switched off, it will not switch itself on, it’s functions as it should. However, in the Apple Watch quick menu, there is an icon similar to the ‘airdrop’ icon on the other devices, when I long-click on this it gives me list of Bluetooth devices to connect to so long as my ‘Bluetooth’ is on. My hope was that turning this ‘airdrop’ looking symbol off (by tapping it, like with wifi or airplane mode’) that that would in effect make it not possible to connect any headphones, allowing me to connect them to something else, however this icon activates/turns on whenever a known Bluetooth device is powered on in the house. This leaves me wondering why there is no direct toggle for Bluetooth on/off as there is for wifi, and instead there is this strange little ‘airdrop’ style indicator that doesn’t control anything per se, so much as just tells me when a Bluetooth device is connected.

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How to stop headphones from automatically connecting to Apple watch every single time.

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