AirPods Pro Tip: How To Stop Apple Earbuds From Automatically Switching Between iDevices

Apple added a slew of enhancements to the iPhone experience via iOS 14. These included improvements to the AirPods Pro's performance and features and how the popular audio accessory works with other iDevices.

One of the improvements comes in the form of automatic switching, which allows AirPods Pro users to seamlessly transition from listening to songs or playlists on their iPhones to watching YouTube videos on their iPads and back – all without having to exert a lot of effort to move from device to device.

Despite the convenience that automatic switching brings, some users might find it annoying at times and might prefer to stop the AirPods Pro from switching very quickly.

For instance, there's the iPhone user who may be listening to their favorite podcast but suddenly needs to open a complementary or supporting video to watch on YouTube. The AirPods Pro switches to the larger device, cutting off the user's podcast listening session.

Another instance is when a user is listening to songs via Apple Music on their iPhone and then proceeds to open a tutorial video on their iPad. Again, the AirPods Pro automatically switches to the bigger device, interrupting the user's listening experience.

Thankfully, Apple does have a way for users to stop the automatic switch feature from doing all of the above-mentioned issues. There are actually two ways to do it.

• Temporary stop

Users who are currently listening to audio on their iPhone through their AirPods Pro but pick up another device that has the same Apple ID logged in will always be greeted with a small pop-up that appears at the top of the screen. This pop-up will indicate that the AirPods Pro model switched to another device.

Along with those details comes a small blue round button to the right. This button has an arrow that indicates an “undo” or “return” function. Tapping on it switches the AirPods Pro back to the first device.

• Permanent stop

Those who want to disable automatic switching for whatever reason can also do so by going to Settings > Bluetooth, then the “i” icon next to the AirPods Pro.

From there, uses should scroll down to look for and tap on “Connect to This iPhone,” then select “When Last Connected to This iPhone” in the screen that appears.