Using a Bluetooth connection, you can use third-party devices such as wireless keyboards, headphones, speakers, car kits, game controllers, and more with iPhone.
The Bluetooth option takes you to where you can pair your iOS device with a wide range of accessories like keyboards, speakers, headsets, etc. You can also choose to deactivate Bluetooth when you don’t need it. This can save some battery power, but the amount saved is quite negligible. I tend to use accessories quite regularly, including AirPods, so I keep Bluetooth on.
The first thing in the Bluetooth settings window is an option to turn the Bluetooth capability on or off. Subsequently, you will find any Bluetooth devices you have previously connected to your iOS device. Aside from the device name, you’ll also be told whether the device is currently connected. To reconnect a device, make certain that it is ready and nearby. Tap on the device name, and your iOS device should attempt to connect. Past these devices, you’ll find any devices within range that are ready to be paired with, or in other words, connected to your iOS device. Simply double tap the name of the device to initiate a pairing attempt.
Pairing devices is reasonably simple. Things like speakers and headsets will simply connect. Typically, such devices will have easy methods to put them in pairing mode, which you should always doo before tapping their name. For example, if I want to connect my Trekz Titaniums, I first put them in pairing mode. I then check the list of devices and tap on its name. It will then pair and sound will start coming through the headset rather than the speaker built into my iOS device.
Other accessories including keyboards often require you to enter a short number on the keyboard followed by the “enter” key. If a PIN number is required to connect with one of those, it can be entered on the iOS device. Once a device has been paired, you shouldn’t need to pair it again when you want to use it in the future. It should, in theory, pair automatically when both devices are near each other and powered. In practice, I’ve had to cause my iOS device to forget about a keyboard or other device when something has gone wrong with the pairing and then pair the device as if for the first time. This has happened much less often with iOS 15 than it used to in earlier versions. Reliable Bluetooth connectivity has definitely improved.
The More Info button beside each device’s name takes you into a small window containing information and choices relative to that particular connected accessory. Don’t ever presume that there’s only information to be found here. For one thing, there’s the Forget This Device option. This can come in handy when something goes out of sync with the connection, and you need to connect a misbehaving device from scratch. Depending on the accessory, there may be more options. If you have a set of AirPods, for instance, they add a number of configuration options to the More Info dialogue reached by the button beside their name.
See also: An overview of Wi-Fi Settings for iPhone
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