You’re happily listening to music on your AirPods when the sound is suddenly interrupted by a Bluetooth speaker. Don’t get frustrated. Quickly change the settings on your iPhone running iOS 26.1, and this will never happen again.
Here’s what to do.
A cool new feature in iOS 26.1 helps your AirPods and Bluetooth speaker hear each other
It’s irritating if the song or podcast you’re listening to on your AirPods suddenly stops and starts coming out of a wireless speaker. But there’s a good reason: Apple has rules in place for managing your iPhone’s audio.
iPhones follow a “most recently active” audio route logic. When a new Bluetooth audio device turns on or reports that it’s available, iOS treats it as the most recent output option. The iPhone thinks “the user probably wants to use this” and starts sending audio to them, even if you’re actively using your AirPods.
In many situations this makes sense. But not always. Sometimes other people turn on a nearby Bluetooth speaker so they can use it, and — surprise! – your iPhone switches to it.
Or maybe you just got into a car. Most modern automotive systems are set up to automatically connect and pick up audio when the driver turns the ignition on. The car just assumes that’s what everyone wants. But that may not be the case if you’re the passenger.
How to access the new “Keep audio with headphones” setting in iOS 26.1
Screenshots: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Apple understands your frustration and iOS 26.1 provides a fix. Flip just one switch and your iPhone will continue streaming to your AirPods, regardless of Bluetooth speakers.
To get started, open the Settings app on the iPhone. Faucet Generalthen scroll to AirPlay and continuity. Tap it.
There you will find a new option: Keep audio with headphones. This is disabled by default. Rock it on.
As Apple says in Settings, turn this switch on because you want this behavior: “When using AirPods or other wireless headphones, keep sound with the headphones when other devices like speakers or cars connect to iPhone.”
And there you are done. Or maybe you now want to make the same change on your iPad. Anyway, enjoy listening.
