How to Connect AirPods and Bluetooth Headphones to an Apple Watch

You can rock out wirelessly using your headphones and Apple Watch in just a few easy steps. We'll show you how.

It might come as a surprise, but you don’t need your iPhone to rock out with headphones. You can easily connect your AirPods or any Bluetooth headphones to an Apple Watch and listen to music while on the go or anytime else.

We’ll show you the simple way to connect your AirPods or wireless headphones to the Apple Watch.

Connecting Your AirPods or Bluetooth Headphones to Apple Watch

If you’re wanting to use any AirPods with your Apple Watch, there’s some great news. Whenever you pair Apple’s wireless headphones to your iPhone, they are also connected to the Apple Watch.

So there’s no need for you to go through any type of pairing process.

To connect, swipe up from the main watch face to find the Control Center and look for the Bluetooth pairing icon which is a triangle with three circles above it. Select that and then choose which AirPods to connect to.

On the AirPods, you’ll hear the familiar sound when the connection is made. For compatible AirPods, on the Apple Watch screen, you can select whether to use Noise Cancellation or Transparency mode.

Make sure to find out more about how to customize and use the Apple Watch Control Center.

For other Bluetooth headphones, the connection process takes a few more steps. First up, place the headphones into pairing mode. Next, on the Apple Watch head to Settings > Bluetooth.

Your Apple Watch will search for any nearby Bluetooth headphones. When found, select the headphones on the Apple Watch screen. The pairing process will then be complete.

And now that your headphones or AirPods are connected to the Apple Watch, find out how to download music to an Apple Watch to listen to at any time, even without an iPhone.

You can also stream music away from an iPhone if you’re connected to Wi-Fi or have a cellular-enabled model.

Enjoy Music on Your Apple Watch

Whether you have a pair of AirPods, or Bluetooth headphones, connecting to an Apple Watch takes just a few seconds. And in no time, you’ll be listening to music directly from the wearable device.