How to prevent iPhone from auto-connecting to bluetooth audio devices?

I have a few Bluetooth devices in the house that, if left on, my phone automatically connects to them.


What I’ve been doing to prevent this is turn off Bluetooth on my phone. But when I do this, I lose other functions on my phone (like handoff).


Where is the setting on iOS to prevent the phone from automatically connecting to Bluetooth audio devices? The default audio output should be the phone speaker, unless I choose otherwise.


iPhone air

ios 26

Posted on Feb 23, 2026 11:50 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Feb 23, 2026 12:01 PM

There is no setting to prevent that. That would go against the bluetooth specifications set by the Bluetooth SIG, who control the standards.


Turn the devices off if you don't want your phone to automatically connect to them.


4 replies

How to prevent iPhone from auto-connecting to bluetooth audio devices?

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