How to stop (or start) AirPods switching between your Mac and iPhone

Recent AirPods and Beats switch to whichever Apple device you start playing on, as long as it’s signed in to the same Apple Account. Handy, until your Mac grabs them in the middle of a call on your phone.

Change it on your Mac

1. Connect the AirPods to your Mac.
2. Open System Settings and click their name in the sidebar.
3. Set Connect to This Mac to:
   • Automatically: the Mac takes them when it starts playing.
   • When Last Connected to This Mac: the Mac only takes them if they were last used with it.

Use the second option if your Mac keeps stealing them.

Change it on your iPhone

On your iPhone, with the AirPods in, go to Settings → [your AirPods] → Connect to This iPhone for the same two choices.

Switch by hand

On the Mac, click Bluetooth or Sound in Control Centre and choose the AirPods. NotchMind, which I make, also shows them in the notch with their battery as soon as they connect, and has an output button in the notch’s music player. See AirPods and Bluetooth in the notch.