How to classify Bluetooth devices and accessories in iOS 14.4

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Classify Bluetooth devices in iOS 14
It's worth the effort.
Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Apple’s new iOS 14.4 update, which rolled out to everyone Tuesday, gives us the ability to classify Bluetooth devices and accessories for the first time. Doing so helps make them work even better with iPhone and iPad.

We’ll explain why, and show you how to classify your connected Bluetooth devices in no time at all.

You get six options for specifying Bluetooth devices connected to your iPhone or iPad in iOS 14.4: car stereo, headphones, hearing aid, speaker and other. And it’s important to choose the right one.

Making the right choice can not only offer improved audio notifications, but it can also ensure headphone audio level measurements are accurate. For instance, you won’t hear audio that’s too loud when wearing headphones, or too quiet when streaming to a speaker.

Luckily, classifying your devices is simple and doesn’t take long.

Specify Bluetooth device types in iOS 14.4

These are the steps to follow:

  1. First ensure you have updated to iOS 14.4 or iPadOS 14.4.
  2. Now ensure the Bluetooth device you want to classify is connected to your iPhone or iPad.
  3. Open the Settings app, then tap Bluetooth.
  4. Tap the i button alongside the device you want to classify.
  5. Tap Device Type.
  6. If the correct classification isn’t already selected, choose from one of the six available options.

Note that Apple headphones, such as AirPods and AirPods Pro, are already known to iOS. Therefore, they will be classified already. You won’t get an option to change their device type.

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