What is multipoint on Bluetooth earbuds and headphones?
Multipoint lets you connect headphones or earbuds to multiple devices via Bluetooth. Your wireless headset automatically switches to the device with the highest priority at that moment.
In this article
- 1. Multipoint: what is it?
- Multipoint lets you connect your earbuds or headphones to multiple devices at the same time via Bluetooth, such as your laptop and your phone.
- 2. How does it work?
- Multipoint is usually simple to set up:
1. Connect to device 1 (such as your laptop)
2. Turn off Bluetooth on device 1
3. Now connect to device 2 (such as your phone)
4. Turn Bluetooth on again on device 1 - 3. Why is it useful?
- Multipoint is useful because your headphones always give priority to the most important device at that moment.
- 4. Dualpoint vs. multipoint
- Dualpoint is multipoint, but multipoint isn't always dualpoint.
- 5. How does multipoint know which device matters most?
- That depends on what you're doing. Calls, for example, take priority over listening to music.
Multipoint? What's that?
Multipoint means your Bluetooth headphones or earbuds can connect to more than 1 device at the same time.
Regular earbuds or headphones can only connect to 1 device at a time. Multipoint earbuds can connect to 2 or more devices. Your phone and your laptop at the same time, for example.
How do you connect to multiple devices?
Headphones or earbuds with multipoint can connect to multiple devices. But how? That depends on your headphones or earbuds.
It usually works like this:
Connect your headphones to device A > Turn off Bluetooth on device A > Your headphones now try to reconnect > On device B, connect to your wireless earbuds or headphones through the Bluetooth settings > Turn Bluetooth on again on device A.
Why is multipoint useful?
The handy thing about multipoint is that you don't have to keep reconnecting to a different device. Your earbuds or Bluetooth headphones simply switch between your laptop and your phone whenever needed.
In practice: Say you're working from home on your laptop. You're listening to music on your laptop through headphones with multipoint. In 30 minutes, you have an 'inspiring meeting' on Teams. But then your brother, mother or partner (take your pick) calls your phone. Even though you're listening to music on your laptop, you hear the phone ring through your headphones. You answer using the button on your headphones. You have a nice chat, and when you hang up, your headphones automatically switch back to your laptop. After all, that's what you were listening to before the call.
When you turn on earbuds without multipoint, they always connect to the last connected device that has Bluetooth turned on. You'd be surprised how often we solve a 'connection problem' remotely just by explaining that.
We get asked: why can't I connect my earbuds? Our answer is often: your earbuds are already connected (to another phone, tablet or laptop, for example). Multipoint can solve that for good, because your earbuds simply connect to both devices.
Dualpoint vs. multipoint
Dualpoint is multipoint, but multipoint isn't always dualpoint. A rose is a flower, but a flower isn't always a rose.
- Dualpoint: you can connect to 2 devices at the same time
- Multipoint: you can connect to more than 1 device.
As you can see, there's some overlap. Headphones that can connect to 2 devices have a multipoint connection. But calling it dualpoint is more specific.
This infographic gives you a clear overview:
In short, dualpoint is sometimes also multipoint. Specifically, when you can connect up to 2 devices via Bluetooth.
Priority: how multipoint switches between devices
So how does your headset decide which device gets priority at any given moment? Multipoint follows a priority order.
- Calls and video meetings
- Music and video playback
- Connected only
So if you're listening to music on your laptop with multipoint earbuds and you get a call, your earbuds switch to your phone. Calls have priority 1, while audio playback has priority 2. That's how it works.
Here you can clearly see the priority multipoint gives each activity. Listening to music on your laptop (2) when a call comes in on your phone (1)? Your headset will always switch to your phone. That's because calls have priority 1 and listening to music has priority 2.
