My iPhone 12 mini came with a lightning headphone that works great with my audio apps but doesn’t work with the iPhone phone app. When I receive a call while using the headphones the sound only comes from the phone’s built in speakers, not through the headphones. How do I get the phone app to work with my genuine IPhone headphones?
iPhone 12 mini
This just happened with my wife's phone (an iPhone 15 Pro running iOS 17.3.1). Searching Apple discussions here and elsewhere unearths lots of questions about this issue and few solutions. I tried everything suggested: restarting the phone, updating iOS, swapping adapters and headsets (she is using the USB-C to headphone adapter with a beloved wired headset) – and more – but nothing worked. She had to switch to another phone to be able to use her headset. The odd thing was that, as described above, music played in the headset just fine.
This told me it had to be an obscure iOS system setting, so I started methodically trying anything that might work. I eventually found this:
Settings -> Sounds & Haptics -> Headphone Safety -> Lightning Adapters
The setting screen here contains a toggle labeled "Connected To Headphones," but only when the headphone adapter is plugged in and there is a headset plugged into that. On my wife's phone with this brand new adapter, this toggle was off. Switching it on fixed the problem.
My mistake. The airpods I'm using came with my earlier iPhone 7. I'm assuming they should be fully compatible with the later iPhone 12 mini. However they do not work with the phone app on my phone. Is there anyway to remedy this without buying new airpods?
If you had bought it from an authorized Apple Store, iPhone 12 Mini never came with a headphone. That is an additional accessory bought separately.
iPhone headphones don’t work on phone calls, only work with music apps
