What is Bluetooth multipoint, and how does it work?

Most people are familiar with Bluetooth®, which is key in the operation of wireless headphones, but Bluetooth multipoint is a newer and underutilized function of the common technology.

What is Bluetooth multipoint? It’s a feature that lets you simultaneously connect your headphones to two source devices. Here’s everything you need to know about how it works, why it’s beneficial, and how to use multipoint on Bose devices.

Bluetooth multipoint has been around for more than 10 years, but many people still don’t take advantage of this useful feature. With multipoint, you can connect wireless Bluetooth headphones to two source devices at a time — some Bluetooth devices even support triple connectivity, allowing you to connect to three devices at once.

Why does this matter? The most common application for multipoint is connecting headphones to a smartphone and computer simultaneously, which can be quite useful during the workday. When your headphones are connected to both source devices, you can quickly switch back and forth between them. For example, you can alternate between listening to music from your smartphone and dialing in to virtual meetings on your computer without having to manually disconnect from and reconnect to each device. Multipoint can also be used to connect headphones to two different smartphones, in case you have separate personal and work phones.

While multipoint lets you connect to multiple devices simultaneously, it’s important to note that you generally can’t stream audio from both devices at the same time. To figure out which audio takes precedence when connected to multiple devices, the technology automatically creates a hierarchy of media. Incoming calls are considered the most important and given precedence over other types of audio, and alarms and notifications are given priority over things like music or podcasts. The exception here is if you have headphones with advanced multipoint, which allows you to answer two calls on different devices and merge them into one — however, this technology is generally only available on specialty headsets used in call centres.

Keep in mind that a special broadcasting system is required to support Bluetooth multipoint, and while many wireless headphones are equipped with the technology, it may not be available on all products.

When compared to regular Bluetooth, multipoint makes it faster and easier to multitask and switch between devices. The easiest way to explain the difference is with a real-life example: During the workday, you’re using wireless noise cancelling earbuds to listen to your favourite podcast (which you’re streaming on your laptop) when your boss calls your phone. With standard Bluetooth, you would have to pause your podcast, disconnect your wireless earbuds from the computer, then go into your phone’s Bluetooth settings and manually connect to your headphones. This would likely take a few minutes to do, by which time you’d probably have missed the call.

Bluetooth multipoint makes the process much faster and easier, as your headphones are already connected to both your smartphone and computer. Thanks to its hierarchy of media, the feature would pause your podcast and automatically switch over to the phone audio, allowing you to immediately answer the call. When you hang up, your headphones would go back to the podcast — no manual adjustments needed.

If you have a pair of Bose Bluetooth earbuds or headphones, you can easily turn on multipoint to connect to multiple source devices. Here’s how: In the Bose App, go to Settings and then Bluetooth Connections. Here, you’ll find a toggle switch that allows you to turn Bluetooth multipoint on or off, depending on your preference.

When the setting is on, you’ll be able to connect your headphones to two source devices. You can change which device you’re listening to simply by pausing the audio on one and pressing play on the other. Alternatively, you can switch between two devices using the Bose App.

Bluetooth has been around for many years, and while most people know of the technology, features like Bluetooth multipoint don’t always get the attention they deserve. (Did you know it’s also possible to stream audio from one phone to two or more Bluetooth speakers? Learn how to connect multiple Bluetooth speakers to amplify your next party.) By learning how to use different Bluetooth features, you can streamline your workday and use your Bose headphones to their full potential.

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