Can You Play Music Through Both Bluetooth and Wired Headphone Jack On A Smartphone?

Playing music on both Bluetooth and the headphone jack at the same time on your smartphone isn’t usually possible with standard settings. You will need to use a headphone splitter (best option) or alternatively an audio routing app (read on for details).

Most phones are designed to send audio to only one output at a time. When you connect a Bluetooth device, like wireless headphones or a speaker, your phone typically stops sending sound to the headphone jack.

When you connect headphones to the phone’s jack, the internal hardware recognizes this connection and directs audio to the headphones. Similarly, when you pair a Bluetooth device, the phone switches the audio output to the Bluetooth connection. This overrides the headphone jack.

Certain Android phones have a feature called “Dual Audio.” This lets you play audio through two different Bluetooth devices at once. But even with this feature, using a wired headphone and a Bluetooth device together for audio output isn’t standard.

Splitting audio between bluetooth and phone Jack
Alternative options
What apps allow music playback on both Bluetooth and wired headphones
Impact on sound quality when using Bluetooth and headphone jack simultaneously
Battery life impact when playing music on both Bluetooth and wired headphones
Troubleshooting issues when using Bluetooth and headphone jack together
Dual audio output on Android devices

Splitting audio between bluetooth and phone Jack

You can use Bluetooth and wired headphones at the same time by using a Y splitter and a Bluetooth Audio Transmitter. A Y splitter will cost you around $4 and Bluetooth Audio transmitters start from $10. Here’s how to use Bluetooth and wired headphones simultaneously:

1. Connect the Y splitter to your Android phone

2. Connect one end of the Y splitter to the wired headphones

3. Connect the other end to a Bluetooth transmitter

4. Lastly connect your wireless headphones to the Bluetooth transmitter.

Now you’ll be able to use your Bluetooth and wired headphones at the same time on your android device.

Alternative options

On Android phones, the “Separate App Sound” setting also allows you to designate specific apps to play audio only through Bluetooth or only through the headphone jack. So you couldn’t necessarily split a single audio stream, but you can listen to different apps through different outputs. Some Samsung and LG phones have this feature built in under Sound settings.

The SoundAbout app provides more flexibility by actually splitting a single audio stream between outputs. You can designate a percentage split, like sending 70% to Bluetooth headphones and 30% to wired headphones.

It functions as an audio router and requires giving the app audio permissions. Some reviews note it can occasionally be buggy though.

For iPhones, the “Media Output” option under Bluetooth settings lets you send media audio to two devices simultaneously. However, it doesn’t work for ringtones, alerts or navigation prompts, just music, videos, games, and podcasts. You’ll need Bluetooth headphones paired to use this feature.

What apps allow music playback on both Bluetooth and wired headphones

Here are some apps that allow music playback on both Bluetooth and wired headphones simultaneously:

As mentioned, the popular SoundAbout audio routing app for Android allows splitting the music stream between Bluetooth and wired headphones.
AudioManager (Android): This open-source app routes music to two outputs such as Bluetooth and wired headphones. It gives you control over volume balance and audio sources.
AudioRouter (iOS): For iPhone/iPad, AudioRouter splits the audio and sends it to two devices simultaneously, whether Bluetooth or wired headphones. It works for music, videos, games.
Airfoil (Mac): On Mac computers, Airfoil allows sending the same audio to multiple outputs including both Bluetooth and wired headphones. It works for all audio including music, videos, and games.

Impact on sound quality when using Bluetooth and headphone jack simultaneously

Splitting audio between a phone’s Bluetooth and headphone jack simultaneously can impact sound quality to some degree:

Bluetooth audio quality is generally not as high as wired headphone jack output, due to the compression and encoding required to transmit over Bluetooth. This will affect the quality of any audio streamed to Bluetooth headphones. (source: NYTimes)
When using an audio splitting cable or app, the audio signal essentially has to be split, with each output receiving only a portion of the full strength signal. This weakening of the signal can decrease maximum volume and introduce some distortion.
Built-in phone options like iPhone’s “Media Output” may compress the audio further when sending a single stream over Bluetooth and headphone jack simultaneously. Sound quality takes a hit compared to using one output exclusively. (source: SoundGuys)

In generally, sound quality is best when using either Bluetooth or wired output individually. Splitting the stream degrades the audio fidelity to some degree due to inherent limitations and signal processing required.

That said, the impact depends on the specific hardware, cables, and splitting method used. A high-quality headphone splitter cable will result in less loss of audio fidelity than splitting through software on a phone.

Similarly, newer Bluetooth codecs tend to provide higher quality wireless audio than older standards. The degradation of sound quality may be negligible for some use cases, but more noticeable for discerning listeners or lossless audio formats.

Using Bluetooth will drain the phone’s battery faster than just using the wired headphone jack. Transmitting the audio signal via Bluetooth takes more power than a wired connection.

How the audio is split between outputs can affect battery usage. If most audio is sent to low-power wired headphones, battery impact may be minimal. But splitting 50/50 between Bluetooth and wired will drain the battery quicker.

Battery life also depends on the Bluetooth headphone model. More efficient Bluetooth 5 headphones will use less battery than older Bluetooth 4.x models. Noise-cancelling Bluetooth headphones also use more power.

Troubleshooting issues when using Bluetooth and headphone jack together

Here are some potential issues that may occur when using Bluetooth and wired headphones simultaneously from a phone, along with troubleshooting tips:

Audio cutting in and out: ensure Bluetooth headphones are fully charged and check for any firmware updates. Move phone away from other Bluetooth devices.
Only one output works: confirm audio splitting app/feature is enabled. Check for correct audio routing in phone settings. Try rebooting phone and re-pairing headphones.
Low volume on one output: adjust volume balance in audio splitting app. Make sure nothing is blocking headphone jack. Clean out debris from jack.
Delay between outputs: some lag is normal due to processing but excessive delay may mean a low-quality splitter is used. Try a different splitter cable or use phone’s built-in feature instead of app.
Buzzing/humming noise: move phone away from other electronics. Use high-quality splitter cable and try different headphones. Phone may also have audio hardware issue.
No sound from one device: forget paired device from phone and re-pair. Check headphone/cable for damage. Reinstall audio splitter app.

Dual audio output on Android devices

Enabling dual audio output on Android devices allows you to play music through two sets of Bluetooth headphones or speakers simultaneously. Again though, this feature mainly applies to Bluetooth devices and does not include using a wired headphone jack alongside a Bluetooth connection.

To enable dual audio, first, make sure your Android device supports this feature. It’s commonly found in newer models and often in Samsung devices with Bluetooth 5.0.

Here’s how to activate it: