Every time that I look this up, all the websites or articles say the answer is switching the settings to "When last connected to this Mac". I don't want the AirPods to ever automatically connect to my Mac, even when it was the last device it was connected to. Does anyone have any ideas for this?
AirPods (3rd generation)
This thing drove me crazy for years. I'm using my AirPods only with my iPhone and larger headphones with Mac and never want it to switch back and forth, but it always does.
I might have just solved it with AirPods 4. It works under the latest macOS at the moment (15.3).
I looked in all possible places where settings can be stored and found something interesting, and it likely works.
Steps:
1 - Connect AirPods to Mac, go to Settings, select "When last connected to Mac".
2 - Open Terminal, run the following command, you will be asked for a password.
sudo defaults read /Library/Bluetooth/Library/Preferences/com.apple.MobileBluetooth.devices
The output will look something like that:
{
... different stuff ...
"FC:A5:C8:B8:07:67" = {
... different stuff ...
OwnerNoMagicPairing = 0;
... different stuff ...
UserNameKey = "My AirPods 4";
... different stuff ...
};
... different stuff ...
}
You are looking for the section with your AirPods name in UserNameKey; it should (but probably might not) have the OwnerNoMagicPairing key set to 0.
Next, you need to copy the top-level key of this section ("FC:A5:C8:B8:07:67" in case above).
3 - Run the following command, replacing "FC:A5:C8:B8:07:67" with your specific value from above.
sudo defaults write /Library/Bluetooth/Library/Preferences/com.apple.MobileBluetooth.devices "FC:A5:C8:B8:07:67" -dict-add OwnerNoMagicPairing -int 1
You may rerun the first command to check that now OwnerNoMagicPairing set to 1.
4 - Open AirPods settings again, check that "When last connected to Mac” is still selected, and click disconnect.
After that, when I insert my AirPods, it connects to my iPhone.
On Mac, click connect on AirPods, and it switches to Mac.
Put AirPods back to the case, take them out, and insert them again - they still connect to my iPhone, even though they were last connected to Mac and even if my iPhone screen is off.
Play anything on Mac and AirPods doesn’t switch to it automatically.
Fn fantastic!
My AirPods 2, which I no longer use but still added to my settings, also have this key. So this should work with other Apple headphones too.
This thing drove me crazy for years. I'm using my AirPods only with my iPhone and larger headphones with Mac and never want it to switch back and forth, but it always does.
I might have just solved it with AirPods 4. It works under the latest macOS at the moment (15.3).
I looked in all possible places where settings can be stored and found something interesting, and it likely works.
Steps:
1 - Connect AirPods to Mac, go to Settings, select "When last connected to Mac".
2 - Open Terminal, run the following command, you will be asked for a password.
sudo defaults read /Library/Bluetooth/Library/Preferences/com.apple.MobileBluetooth.devices
The output will look something like that:
{
... different stuff ...
"FC:A5:C8:B8:07:67" = {
... different stuff ...
OwnerNoMagicPairing = 0;
... different stuff ...
UserNameKey = "My AirPods 4";
... different stuff ...
};
... different stuff ...
}
You are looking for the section with your AirPods name in UserNameKey; it should (but probably might not) have the OwnerNoMagicPairing key set to 0.
Next, you need to copy the top-level key of this section ("FC:A5:C8:B8:07:67" in case above).
3 - Run the following command, replacing "FC:A5:C8:B8:07:67" with your specific value from above.
sudo defaults write /Library/Bluetooth/Library/Preferences/com.apple.MobileBluetooth.devices "FC:A5:C8:B8:07:67" -dict-add OwnerNoMagicPairing -int 1
You may rerun the first command to check that now OwnerNoMagicPairing set to 1.
4 - Open AirPods settings again, check that "When last connected to Mac” is still selected, and click disconnect.
After that, when I insert my AirPods, it connects to my iPhone.
On Mac, click connect on AirPods, and it switches to Mac.
Put AirPods back to the case, take them out, and insert them again - they still connect to my iPhone, even though they were last connected to Mac and even if my iPhone screen is off.
Play anything on Mac and AirPods doesn’t switch to it automatically.
Fn fantastic!
My AirPods 2, which I no longer use but still added to my settings, also have this key. So this should work with other Apple headphones too.
Since it works for most of us here it's not a system wide bug or issue.
Have you installed and run any "cleaning", "optimizing", "speed-up", anti-virus or VPN apps on your Mac?
Download and run Etrecheck.
Copy the report
and use the Additional Text button to paste the report in your reply.
Then we can examine the report and see if we can determine the cause of the problem.
lacheporter wrote:
While this is a terrible user experience, you can turn off bluetooth on your mac all together as a "work around". But yes I agree, just stop reconnecting once I hit forget.
Tell Apple:
Had to log into MacBook and turn off Bluetooth. ***
While this is a terrible user experience, you can turn off bluetooth on your mac all together as a "work around". But yes I agree, just stop reconnecting once I hit forget.
Hello Mr. Dakota Brower,
Thanks for using the Apple Support Communities!
If you want to prevent your AirPods from switching to your Mac, these steps can help:
If you don’t want your AirPods to switch automatically to your Mac, do the following:
1. Wear your AirPods, and make sure they’re connected to your device.
2. On your Mac, choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click the name of your AirPods in the sidebar (you may need to scroll down).
3. Below Connect to This Mac, choose “When last connected to this Mac.”
In some situations, you receive a notification about your AirPods on the screen of your Mac. Click the Connect button to confirm that you want your AirPods to switch to—or stay with—your Mac.
You can find those steps in here: Switch AirPods between Apple devices - Apple Support
If those steps don't seem to accomplish what you want or you'd like to see this work differently in the future, you can submit that feedback to Apple here: Product Feedback - Apple
Take care!
I'll provide this as feedback through the appropriate channel, but just to support Mr. Brower here.
It seems like a major oversight that there isn't an option for AirPods to merely turn on when a case is opened; one then chooses to connect to them in the Bluetooth menu of the preferred device without any alerts or notifications or any kind. It is completely passive.
This absolutely has to a UX oversight or a very weird product user flow exclusion. It's creepy. The automatic switching and connecting should remain, they're great, but wanting full control isn't exactly an outlandish customer experience.
Mr. Dakota Brower wrote:
Every time that I look this up, all the websites or articles say the answer is switching the settings to "When last connected to this Mac". I don't want the AirPods to ever automatically connect to my Mac, even when it was the last device it was connected to. Does anyone have any ideas for this?
I had a similar issue with AirPods in that whenever I put them on to list4d to audiobooks on my iPhone I would get a notification in the upper right hand corner of my iMac's screen that said my AirPods were detected nearby and there was a button to connect.
I then following the suggest ion to check the "When last connected to this Mac" and the next time I put them on I didn't get that notification. So it works.
Be sure you have Automatically set on the device you want to use the AirPods with.
It seems that Old Toad provided a perfect solution, but somehow it has been ignored.
In case you have not noticed: set it to Automatic on the phone, and to "when last connected to" on the mac, and it always prefer the phone over the mac.
I agree that this is a major oversight and presumption that Apple has made. I also don’t ever want my AirPods to connect to a particular Mac yet it does regardless of the setting. I recall when the AirPods first came out l, it was possible but along the way Apple decided to “improve”
experience by adding in the assumption that you wanted to connect your AirPods to whatever Apple device you happen to be using.
I do often wonder what type of thinking what goes on at Apple Infinite Loopiness.
I guess we all want functionality to match our exact use case and I imagine this is not easy to right code for. Having said that you would think Apple would be able to sort this out. My MAJOR complaint is work related. I use my AirPods Pro and Max for Teams calls. I use my iPhone on a stand as my camera for video and for audio when I connect. I "add" my MacBook Pro to the call to present and view content. It also allows me to get up from my desk, phon in hand, to get a coffee and be able to toggle on/off mute. Having my AirPods toggle, seemingly at random, between my phone and my laptop is maddening and frankly unprofessional and at times embarrassing, especially on important calls. The only workaround I've found for this is to remove my AirPods from bluetooth devices on my Mac but this means I would have to pair again each time I want to use them with my Mac. The other option is to have two sets of AirPods, one for the Mac, one for the phone, but this is stupid. A lot of us have an iPhone, iPad, and a Mac, I should be able to set a protocol to control if/how the AirPods switch from one device to another, or Apple should have a prompt asking if I want to switch.
On another note I hate it when I get into my car and the call I have going on my phone, or whatever the last podcast or music I was listening to automatically starts playing in CarPlay. Again, give me a setting to control that or a prompt on the phone to accept the switch.
Hello Mr. Dakota Brower,
Yes, it makes sense, but there is no option to bar them from ever connecting.
All you can do is turn off the automatic switching which was already provided, and this will ensure the only way they can connect with your Mac, is if you manually go in and pair it to the Mac:
Switch AirPods between Apple devices - Apple Support
Thanks.
Thank you Eric. It's unfortunate that there is no way to fully stop them from automatically connecting. Do you know if there's a way to check the battery level of the AirPods without opening the case and triggering them to connect?
I have my iMac and iPhone set up as follows:
iPhone: Automatically
iMac: When last connected to this Mac
After the first time I connected the AirPods to my iPhone I've never have a problem with them connecting to the iMac.
Here's what I did:
That should be it. I've had that working for me beautifully. That being said, it would have been nice for the settings (not just connection) of the airpods to 'sync' but we're not in a perfect world are we?
How to FULLY stop AirPods from automatically connecting to Mac.
