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Headphones are an excellent way to enjoy your favorite music and audio. They also serve a very important function of blocking out noise so you can focus on what you’re listening to. But, with headphones being used by more people it’s possible that we will run into some problems over time, so we may need to disable some features.
Headphones are controlled by the operating system and not an app itself, so to disable the headphone controls on the phone, the user must install an app for it. Also, wireless headphones are earphones controlled through voice assistance, so deactivating the latter may help.
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Why do my Headphones Control my Phone?
Years ago, headphones and earphones didn’t have any extra features, and the buttons on them were only to control the volume, and ꟷin the most sophisticated modelsꟷ, there were buttons to control phone calls. Nowadays, headphones and earphones are wireless, and the buttons on them serve to control some of the device actions.
The headphone controls can be confusing the very first time, and it is easy to get used to them, yet people prefer to use the traditional ways to manage their phones or tablets.
The headphones buttons can perform different actions to control mostly the music player and phone calls. These are simple actions such as pressing the buttons to skip a song or answer a call. Though, some models have one single button that according to how many times is pressed in a specific period and for how long, then, the button will perform a specific action.
Nowadays, the headphones can be physically connected to the phone ꟷthe traditional wired headphonesꟷ, or these can be wireless and be connected to the phone via Bluetooth. Wired or wireless, headphones and earphones come with functions and gestures to control specific features.
Now, answering why do the headphones control the phone is somewhat ambiguous. First of all, the headphones or earphones do not control the phone, these just perform some actions to manage certain apps on the phone. The control, buttons, and functions on the headphones or earphones are made to make them easier to manage.
Let’s think that I’m driving and I receive a call; I cannot take my phone and hang it up, that’s dangerous! Instead, with a simple touch to one of the earphones, I can answer the call and keep driving. Also, it is just too much easier to manage and control the music player with the headphone buttons that constantly unlock the device to skip a song or pause it.
How do Headphone Buttons Work?
Every brand differs on the distribution of the buttons; some models can have one single button, while others are inline models and may have two or three buttons. However, every button has a function, and some gestures with the phone can help to control certain, such as the music player.
In general terms, the buttons on the headphones serve to skip to the next song, to pause or play the song, and to interact with a few apps, such as start/stop recording audios or hang up a call.
Wireless or wired headphones commonly have more than one button; these are to control the volume, play/pause, skip the song, or go back to the previous one, and an on/off button. However, earphones can have one or more buttons, and some models of earbuds work by touching them on a specific zone. Thus, for those earbuds how only have one button when this is pressed once, the music stops or it starts playing, and when it is pressed twice quickly, it skips to the next song.
To explain this in more detail, the buttons are commonly divided into three: function button, power button, and volume buttons. Thus, the distribution can change according to the brand and model, but generally, most of the commands are done in the same way and it only changes the button.
How do You Turn off Headphone Control?
Though, every model or brand has different distributions on the buttons of the headphones; these external devices can be controlled through the phone. But before going into that, let’s talk a little bit more about the buttons themselves and their functions.
Above, I mention that the button can be divided into three: function button, volume buttons, and power button.
Function Button. This also works as the power button and some models can include it separately; however, the functions regarding the power remain the same.
- To turn it on/off, press it for 2 seconds.
- To paring with the device, press the button for 4 seconds.
- Press the button once to stop or play the music, answer or end a call.
- Press the button twice to skip to the next song, and press it three-time to go to the previous song.
- In some models, hold the button for a few seconds to activate the voice assistant.
Volume Button. These are two buttons, one for the increase and the other to decrease the volume.
Power Button. Most of the headphones have a power button, but the earbuds don’t have one and the function button is used instead. However, the functions that perform the power button are:
- Turn it on and off when the button is pressed once.
- Pairing with the device when the person presses the button for 2−4 seconds.
How to Turn Off the Headphone Mode?
Sometimes, the headphones or earphones are disconnected from the phone, but the phone is still on headphone mode. This is annoying since anything can be listened through the phone speakers.
Commonly, sometimes the phone remains in headphone mode, and this can often happen with wireless earphones. However, if it is a wired headphone or earphone; firstly, plug the earphones, wait a few minutes, and then unplug the earphones from the device. This can happen because it may be dirty on the headphone jack, it could be physical damage or an issue with the OS.
When the phone gets stuck on the headphone with wireless earphones, it is mostly for a pairing issue. First, turn off the Bluetooth and reset the phone; if this doesn’t work try to reconnect the earphones to the phone, and then disconnect them by turning off the Bluetooth. Also, some apps can manage the headphones and their functions, and these apps can disable the headphone mode.
These are just some basic solutions, though it could be common that wireless headphones can have a connection issue and as result, the phone gets stuck on the headphone mode, once the earphones and phone is reset, the phone goes back to its normal mode. If the phone gets stuck on the headphone mode for too much time, even days, it can be an operating system issue.
Also, physical damage can be affecting the control of the device and headphones. When headphones are wired, any damage to the wired or jack can cause a malfunction on the phone. Then, when it is a wireless headphone, it could be a connectivity issue; thus, this can be caused for damage to the Bluetooth chip of the phone, or on the earphones.
How do I Change the Headphones Setting on my Android?
Sadly, there is no way to access directly to the headphone’s settings, though, some apps offer some control to the settings of these external devices. However, some features can be managed without installing any app. Thus, the headphones work individually, and all the functions and control are managed by the operating system and not the app itself.
The audio balance is the only feature that can be controlled through the phone. For this, open the settings and go to Accessibility, now look for Sound Balance and check the different options and select one according to the music that is playing.
However, to control the headphones or earphones, an app must be installed on the device. As I said before, the headphone mode is directly intertwined with the operative system, and there isn’t a system app to control them.
Though, some apps can be found on the App Store that can control and disable the headphone mode. Also, disable the voice assistance of the phone; wireless earphones activate themselves through some commands to control some functions on the phone.
Conclusion
Headphones control can be useful, but sometimes this can cause some troubles to control the phone, and since it ain’t a system app to control them, it is tiring and stressful to find a solution. Though, some independent apps can help to manage the headphone mode.