How to Use the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR

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Use these tips to help you master the iPhone XS, iPhone XR and iPhone X — from how to navigate the devices to getting the most out of their new features.

How to Pair Your iPhone XR or XS with Bluetooth Earbuds

Like every iPhone since the seventh-generation models, the iPhone XS and XR don’t have a headphone jack. We’ve mourned, and we’ve moved on. For headphones, you can use the Lightning earpods that come in the same box as your new iPhone — provided you weren’t planning on charging your iPhone X at the moment — or you can retrofit your old wired headphones with a Lightning-to-3.5mm headphone jack adapter that also comes in the box. (You will almost definitely lose that dongle at some point, but Apple sells them for $9 a pop.)

There’s a third option: You can fully embrace a wireless world and invest in a pair of Bluetooth headphones to pair with your new iPhone. Using a wireless headset isn’t quite as easy as plugging a wire into a headphone jack, but it’s pretty close.

There are two ways to pair your Bluetooth headphones to your new iPhone, depending on whether you own Apple’s AirPods or a pair of regular wireless headphones. —Caitlin McGarry

How to Pair Bluetooth Earbuds Not Made By Apple

1. Make sure your wireless headphones are charged up. Power them on.

2. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.

3. Under Settings, select Bluetooth.

4. Turn Bluetooth on.

5. If your wireless headphones are turned on, your iPhone will discover their Bluetooth signal and list them under nearby devices.

6. Tap on the device you want to pair with your phone. You’ll know the two are paired when the word Connected appears next to the name of your Bluetooth headphones.

MORE: Best Wireless Earbuds

How to Pair AirPods with Your iPhone XS

If you own Apple’s AirPods, the process is more seamless, as you might expect. The following steps assume you've already turned on Bluetooth on your iPhone.

1. Bring your AirPods case close to your iPhone and open it. You’ll see a prompt to connect the two devices.

2. Press the button on the back of the AirPods case as prompted by the screen on your iPhone.

3. The Bluetooth AirPods case will start connecting to your iPhone.

That’s it. You’ll even get to see how much charge both the AirPods and the charging case have remaining.

4. AirPods will remain connected to your phone until you manually disconnect them in the Settings menu. When you pop the AirPods in your ears, they will automatically turn on — no switches, buttons or settings changes required.

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Tom's Guide Staff
Tom's Guide Staff

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7 Comments Comment from the forums
  • spal26558
    It's good I understand n I will tell my friend also
    Reply
  • doduyvuong
    If i switch the Control USB Restricted Mode on iPhone XS and i forget it for so longtime, untill the batterie is running out, can i still be able to recharge it to use t again?
    Reply
  • webgtlnbrgrs
    Gee, it asked me if I wanted to up load all the info from my iPhone 7 , I clicked yes, and it said put both phones close together and it did it all on it's own, I don't understand why you even wrote this article ..
    Reply
  • dittodan
    I tried several times and this only brings up a screen to let you "slide" to make it go off. What am I doing wrong?
    Reply
  • dittodan
    Tried adding an Amazon and and PayPal CC and it denied me. Before I got this phone, both of the cards were signed up and working fine.
    Reply
  • dittodan
    Is this higher capacity charger the same one used for an iPad?
    Reply
  • powerharp
    After years of using Android, I changed to an iPhone ONLY because iPhone can stream audio to my hearing aids. After 2 weeks with the iPhone there are several clearly inferior characteristics. Most annoying is that you cannot close all open apps at once. The requirement to swipe each open app up or possibly do three at once is garbage. it is extremely difficult to switch between apps as will, something I did frequently on my clearly superior Android phones. Also, Android has apps that allow you to record phone calls but Apple doesn't, claiming that it is illegal in a lot of places. It's also legal in a lot of places. The iPhone function to swipe to get to the open apps is a joke (Android just requires a touch) and the procedure to get to the previous screen when browsing is also laughable compared to Android.
    Reply