How to Switch Bluetooth Devices on iPhone & iPad from Control Center

Want to know the fastest way to change and switch Bluetooth devices on iPhone or iPad? How about switching Bluetooth accessories directly from Control Center? Now that’s possible. Many of us have multiple Bluetooth peripherals that we use with along our iPhones and iPads, and as a result, we might find ourselves switching between multiple devices on a regular basis. For example, you may own a pair of AirPods or AirPods Pros for listening to music, podcasts and make phone calls, but also have an infotainment system in your car that does just the same, and every time you switch to it while driving.

Previously, users had to go to the Bluetooth section within the Settings app every time they wanted to switch to a different Bluetooth peripheral, which is not exactly quick (but it does work). Well, that has changed with the recent updates to iOS and iPadOS, as you can now switch between multiple Bluetooth devices without even having to leave your home screen or the app you’re using.

This functionality has been made possible with the help of Control Center, which has received some incremental updates with the latest iteration of iOS. Apple has been constantly adding new features to the Control Center with each new version of iOS ever since it first came out in 2013, including a major redesign just a couple of years ago. Now you can switch Bluetooth devices too, similar to the ability to switch wi-fi networks from Control Center on iPhone and iPad, and it’s just as handy.

If you’re keen on trying this out for yourself, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we’ll be discussing how you could switch between multiple Bluetooth devices directly from the home screen of your iPhone and iPad, using Control Center. Without further ado, let’s get straight to the procedure.

How to Change Bluetooth Devices on iPhone & iPad from Control Center

First of all, since this functionality is limited to devices running iOS 13 / iPadOS 13 and later, you need to make sure your iPhone and iPad has been updated to the latest version. Here, we’re under the assumption that you’ve paired multiple Bluetooth peripherals to your device before.

Accessing Control Center may vary depending on the iOS device that you’re using, so simply follow the steps below.

1. If you’re using an iPad, iPhone X or newer device, you can access the Control Center by swiping down from the top-right edge of the screen. However, if you’re using an iPhone with a big forehead and chin, like the iPhone 8 or older, simply swipe up from the bottom of your screen as show in the screenshot below, in order to access it.
2. Once you’re in the Control Center, long-press the Bluetooth icon, located at the top-left section that houses other toggles for Wi-Fi, Airplane mode and Cellular. You’ll get a haptic feedback from the display as you do this. This is Apple’s “Haptic Touch” feature which has replaced 3D Touch across all their devices with the iOS 13 software update.
3. You’ll now see a pop-up that shows a list of all the Bluetooth devices that you’ve paired before. Simply tap on the device name you want to switch to.
4. Now, it’ll take a few seconds to make the connection as usual, but when it’s done, the device you’ve switched to will show up as “Connected”. In this menu, if you tap on “Bluetooth Settings”, your device will directly take you to the Bluetooth section within the Settings app.
5. This step is not necessary for switching between multiple Bluetooth devices, but if you want to further customize certain Bluetooth peripherals like AirPods and CarPlay infotainment systems, you’ll have to head over to this section.
   

That’s all you need to do to switch between multiple Bluetooth devices on your iPhone and iPad directly from the Control Center.

You could do this while you’re in the middle of playing games by switching from an Xbox One controller to PS4 controller on an iPhone or iPad, or for using a mouse with iPad while browsing the internet in Safari or working on a Pages document, or listening to music with a Bluetooth speaker, or just about anything else, the possibilities are limited only by your Bluetooth accessories.

Similar to this new capability, users can also use the Control Center to quickly switch between Wi-Fi networks too. That being said, this new method to switch between multiple Bluetooth devices could take some time to get used to, especially if you’ve often opened used the Settings app to perform the same operation to juggle Bluetooth hardware connections.

Thanks to Haptic Touch, Apple could theoretically add more functionality to the Control Center and make it increasingly convenient to access certain features that once required you to dig through the Settings app. Perhaps a future iOS and iPadOS release will introduce more features like this?

What do you think about this sleek trick to quickly switch between multiple Bluetooth devices on your iPhone or iPad? Do you think you’ll use it often, forget about it, or need some time to get used to it? Let us know your thoughts and opinions on the updated Control Center quick access features like this in the comments section down below.