Use Live Listen with AirPods or Beats

With Live Listen, your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch can act like a microphone that sends sound to your AirPods or Beats.

Live Listen can help you hear a conversation in a noisy area or even hear someone speaking across the room.

To use Live Listen with your AirPods, AirPods Pro, AirPods Max, Powerbeats Pro, or Beats Fit Pro, your iOS or iPadOS device needs iOS or iPadOS 14.3 or later. You also need to connect your AirPods, AirPods ProAirPods MaxPowerbeats Pro, or Beats Fit Pro to your device.

iOS Control Center Settings 

Add Live Listen to Control Center

To use Live Listen, you need to add it to Control Center:

  1. Go to Settings > Control Center.
  2. Scroll down and tap the Add button add icon next to the Hearing button hearing icon.
  3. Tap Settings to save the changes.

iOS Control Center with Hearing shown 

Use Live Listen

  1. Open Control Center on your iPhone or iPod touch, or your iPad.
  2. Tap the Hearing button hearing icon.
  3. Tap Live Listen.
  4. Place your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch in front of the person that you want to hear. If you can't hear well enough, make sure to adjust the volume on your device.

You can also see your headphone audio levels in real time as you're listening to content. You can quickly glance to see detailed decibel-level information.

To use Live Listen with an external wired microphone, connect the microphone to the Lightning port or headphone jack on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.

If you can't connect to your AirPods, AirPods Pro, AirPods Max, Powerbeats Pro, or Beats Fit Pro, or if Live Listen won't turn on, make sure that Bluetooth is on and that your headphones are charged.

Learn about Live Listen with Made for iPhone hearing aids.

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