Bluetooth is a wireless technology that unites and connects people and devices. It lets you share one side of your earbud with that friend sitting in the corner of the classroom, which would have never been possible with wires.
Connecting your Bluetooth headphones to your device is a straightforward task until you have one system and two headphones to pair with.
Fear not. In this article, you’ll learn how to pair multiple Bluetooth headphones to a single laptop or PC.
How to Pair Your Headphones to Your Laptop?
The first step is to check the Bluetooth version installed on your laptop or PC, as this feature is only available in Bluetooth version 5.0 or later.
Know The Bluetooth Version of Your Device
- To check the Bluetooth version on your laptop, press Win+X on your keyboard and then select ‘Device Manager.’
- Find ‘Bluetooth and double-click on it to expand.
- Right-click on your device’s Bluetooth adapter and click on ‘Properties.’
- From the tabs shown, click on the ‘Advanced’ tab and fetch the LMP value mentioned.
- If the LMP value shows 9, then your device has Bluetooth 5.0. If the LMP value is anywhere below 9, that means you have an older Bluetooth version, and you won’t be able to connect multiple devices to your laptop or PC.
How to Connect Multiple Bluetooth Headphones to Windows 10 & 11?
Although you can see two 3.5 mm jacks on your laptop, those are not for your headphones. One of them is for the input, i.e., the microphone, and the other one is for output sound, i.e. headphones.
I know you’ve tried plugging in your headphones in both the jacks, but it doesn’t work. The microphone in your headphones will work, but you won’t be able to hear the sound.
Let’s go along with how we can pair multiple Bluetooth headphones to Windows 10 & 11.
1. Windows 10
Follow the steps below to pair your Bluetooth headphones to Windows 10:
- Search for ‘Control Panel’ in the search bar and go to ‘Hardware and Sound’ in the control panel.
- Under ‘hardware and Sound’ click on ‘Sound’.
- A pop up window will appear. Click on the ‘Recording’ tab.
- In the recording tab, right click on ‘Stereo mix’, enable it, and then set it as the default device.
- In the image above, you can also see the ‘properties’ option, click on that.
- Going further, in the ‘Listen’ tab, check the box that says ‘Listen to this device’ and select your Bluetooth headphones from the drop-down menu.
- Click ‘Apply’ and ‘OK” to save the changes.
- In the ‘Playback’ tab you’ll see both the devices being displayed something like the image below, meaning that both your devices are connected and are playing the audio.
Note: If the ‘Stereo Mix’ isn’t listed in the device list, right click anywhere in the blank area and you’ll see an option to ‘show disabled devices’.
2. Windows 11
Below are the steps to pair your Bluetooth headphones to Windows 11:
- Search for settings in the search bar and click on ‘Bluetooth & devices.’
- Click on ‘Add device’ and select Bluetooth.
- Make sure that the device you want to pair is in ‘discoverable’ mode, i.e., the Bluetooth has been turned on.
- From the list of devices, select the one you want to pair with.
- Back to the settings, and you’ll get another ‘Add device’ option.
- Click on that, and just like you paired the first device, pair the second one.
- After this, set both devices as default devices by navigating through the Windows settings.
- If you do not get the name of your Bluetooth device in the device list, right-click anywhere on the blank space, and you’ll see a pop-up that says ‘show disabled devices.’
Click on that, and the device’s name will appear.
- Type ‘Control Panel’ in the search bar, then click the ‘View by’ drop-down menu and select ‘Large icons.’
- Select ‘Sound’ from the list and right-click on one of your Bluetooth devices to look for ‘Properties.’
- Navigate to the ‘Listen’ tab and check the ‘listen to this device box’.
- Click the ‘Playback through this device’ from the drop-down menu and select The Bluetooth device you want.
- Click ‘Apply’ and ‘OK’ to save the changes.
- Restart your laptop.
Using Virtual Audio Cable
Virtual Audio cable allows you to pair multiple Bluetooth devices to your laptop or PC. Its lite version is free of cost offering several advantages, and it also comes with a subscription. You have to purchase it to avail yourself of those other benefits.
Here’s how you can get it: https://vac.muzychenko.net/en/
- Once the download has been completed, you can go ahead and unzip the file.
- You can then extract the file to the desktop.
- Follow the on-screen prompts, run the setup file as administrator, and allow the software to install on your laptop or PC.
- Create a shortcut of the same on the desktop, and it will most probably be displayed as an ‘Audio repeater.’
- Open the ‘Sound’ settings and scroll down to find ‘Line 1’ in the playback and the recording tab in your Windows 10. In Windows 11, you’ll find “line 1’ in the Input and Output section of your sound settings.
- Set ‘Line 1’ as the default device in the playback and recording tab in Windows 10 and the Input and Output section in Windows 11.
- Open the ‘Audio repeater’ file twice.
- In the ‘Wave in’, select ‘Microsoft Sound mapper’ in the first window and select ‘Line 1 (Virtual audio cable) in the second window.
- In the ‘wave out’ option, select your Bluetooth devices in both windows.
- Lastly, click Start to enjoy sharing your audio with your friend.
When you’re done sharing the audio with your friend, ensure that you change the system settings from ‘Line 1’ to your normal Bluetooth headphones in your sound settings. The wired headphones or any other headphones might not work otherwise.
Simply go to the system settings, and in the output and input section of your sound settings, select your Bluetooth headphones as the sound output and input device.
Bluetooth Splitter
Using Bluetooth Splitters can be a straightforward and uncomplicated option instead of going for ‘Virtual Audio Cable’ when you want to pair multiple devices with your laptop or PC.
To use an Audio Splitter, you simply need to pair the audio splitter to your laptop or PC and then pair your Bluetooth headphones to that splitter one by one.
Ensure that the audio splitter is compatible with your laptop. Only then will you be able to enjoy uninterrupted listening.
Conclusion
That is pretty much everything you need to know in order to pair multiple Bluetooth headphones to your laptop or PC.
Although the steps are almost accurate, they may differ on the basis of brand and model.
To conclude, Bluetooth is a technology that made the wired world a little less wired, and it almost seems like a better place to live in.
Farhin found her affinity for tech while attending college fests. Joining Tech Wizard allowed her to merge her passions, where she not only satisfies her interests but also informs and engages readers through informative content. She aims to fuel readers’ knowledge and interest in technology through fact-based and credible articles.