MacOS Bluetooth headphones connection

audiobluetoothheadphonesmacosmicrophone

I use a set of Bluetooth headphones (Bose QC35) that can connect either with good audio or with a microphone and some distortion. This works well with my iPhone usually in the audio mode, but switches when calling or answering the phone.

On my Mac (macOS Sierra 10.12.4) they work as audio only.

How do I switch the headphones between modes?

On audio only they do not appear in the System Preferences -> Sound output.

On odd occasions I have made them appear in degraded audio and microphone mode by moving out of range and losing the connection and then moving back in range but this does not occur reliably. In this case the headphones do show up as a microphone in System Preferences.

Best Answer

I do know that the degraded quality can be fixed by switching the Mic (Input device) to your Mac's mic rather than the headphone's mic. It's a software issue as far as I know.

Related Solutions

MacOS switches to Bluetooth headphones automatically

You can consider setting your Mac not to auto-connect to Bluetooth headphones, using this command in Terminal:

sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.Bluetooth.plist DontPageAudioDevices 1

This will not interfere with Apple Magic Mouse, Keyboard or Trackpad. Only audio devices will not be auto-connected.

IPhone – QC 35 paired with MacBook and iPhone simultaneously audio stops

If your Bose QC35 headphones are simultaneously connected to your MacBook and iPhone, then whichever device is sending an audio signal through to them will be heard in the headphones.

Now, pausing iTunes on your MacBook only pauses iTunes, it isn't going to pause any other audio - so if your headphones are connected at the time then any other audio will still be heard on your headphones, not on your internal MacBook speakers.

If what you want is for sound effects to not play through your headphones, then you can configure your Sound preferences (System Preferences > Sound) so that sound effects play through your internal speakers, even when your headphones are connected via Bluetooth.

Hope this helps, but if I've misunderstood your problem, perhaps you could clarify your question.

Reset and pair again

Another option you could try is to full reset your bluetooth device list and start again. To do this:

Slide the power switch to the Bluetooth symbol and hold it there
After about 10 seconds you should hear "Bluetooth device list cleared"
Now delete your headphones from the Bluetooth list on your MacBook and iPhone
Pair your headphones again, but only to your MacBook
Use your headphones with your MacBook for long enough to feel your issue is resolved
When satisfied, pair your headphone to your iPhone
Test to see if the behaviour is now what you expect between both devices

NOTE: I have always found that there are random issues like you're experiencing when multiple devices are simultaneously connected to Bluetooth headphones. For me, I no longer do this - but hopefully you have more success.

Bose Support

It may be worth you checking with Bose Support. I remember reading somewhere that these headphones can have their firmware updated - so perhaps Bose could shed some light on the issue you're having or whether or not there is an update available.

Best Answer

Related Solutions

MacOS switches to Bluetooth headphones automatically

IPhone – QC 35 paired with MacBook and iPhone simultaneously audio stops

Related Question