Listen with AirPods on iPhone

Use AirPods to listen to audio from your iPhone.

Hear what’s playing on your iPhone

Put one or both AirPods in your ears.

Tip: You can share what you’re listening to with a friend wearing AirPods or compatible Beats headphones or earphones. See Share audio with AirPods and Beats headphones from iPhone.

Stop the audio

Remove both AirPods from your ears, or if you’re wearing just one, remove it.

If you return one to your ear within 15 seconds, play resumes automatically.

Pause the audio

All models: While listening with both AirPods, remove one. When you return it to your ear, playback resumes automatically.
AirPods Pro: Press the Force Sensor on either of your AirPods. To resume playback, press again.
Note: If you press the Force Sensor for too long, a chime sounds, and the noise control mode changes. Press and hold the Force Sensor to return to the mode you want, then try to pause or resume the playback again.
AirPods: (2nd generation) Double-tap either of your AirPods. To resume play, double-tap it again.
AirPods: (1st generation) You can set either of your AirPods to pause when you double-tap it, then resume play when you double-tap it again. See Adjust AirPods settings with iPhone.

Skip tracks

AirPods Pro: To skip forward, double-press the Force Sensor on either of your AirPods. To skip back, triple-press the sensor.
AirPods: (2nd generation) To skip forward, double-tap either of your AirPods. You can set either of them to skip back when you double-tap it. See Adjust AirPods settings with iPhone.
AirPods: (1st generation) You can set either of your AirPods to skip forward or back when you double-tap it. See Adjust AirPods settings with iPhone.

Change noise control modes (AirPods Pro)

Open Control Center, press and hold the volume control, then choose one of these settings at the bottom of the screen:

Noise Cancellation: Blocks out external sounds.
Transparency: Lets you hear the environment around you.
Off: Turns off both noise cancellation and transparency.

Tip: To quickly change modes, press and hold the Force Sensor on either of your AirPods Pro until you hear a chime. (In Settings, you can choose which modes are available. See Adjust AirPods settings with iPhone.)

Change the volume

Summon Siri, then say something like “Turn down the volume.” Or drag the volume slider on the playback destination screen, on the Lock screen, or in Control Center.

You can use Health on iPhone to monitor the audio levels from your AirPods. It can be helpful to understand how long and often you’re exposed to loud volume as it can affect your hearing. See Monitor audio levels on iPhone.

For more information about AirPods, including how to clean them and how to use them with Macs and other Bluetooth devices, see the AirPods support website.

Helpful?

iPhone User Guide