As time goes by, more and more manufacturers are dropping support for the 3.5 mm headphone jack.
And, although this growing trend has met its share of criticism, you can’t blame the manufacturers from taking this route. Designing phones and tablets without a headphone jack allowed for a more uniformed and streamlined look, and an easier IP68 rating against water and dust.
Finally, Bluetooth has caught up in terms of data transfer rate, meaning that it can forward high-quality audio in real-time to your headphones, with no loss in quality.
Pros & Cons of Bluetooth Headphones
It is undeniable that Bluetooth and generally wireless headsets are the future, with an increasing number of smartphone manufacturers making their own models. But, there are a few drawbacks when it comes to wireless headsets, which may be a dealbreaker for some while being totally irrelevant for others.
– Wireless
– Not cord tangling
– Enclosed system
– They have a battery life
– Generally pricier
– Quality of sound varies
While there are no low-range wireless headphones, you can purchase a solid pair quite cheap from Amazon that has a good sound and a relatively long battery without breaking the bank.
We all want our smartphones to be slim and sleek. Furthermore, the inclusion of USB type C (which supports audio output) has been declared to be better than its predecessors. As such, it makes logical sense to ditch the 3.5 mm jack to make room for slimmer builds and HD audio output via USB type C.
However, there is one problem. You can’t use the USB port to charge your phone while simultaneously listening to your music via the headphone jack. There are also other benefits of having more than 1 port.
If you have a newer smartphone without a headphone jack, you are better off making the jump to wireless headsets. But don’t consider Bluetooth headsets as a downgrade. They are able to deliver excellent audio quality, therefore, doing what they are meant to do.
However, there are still some qualms and minor inconveniences associated with Bluetooth headsets. For example, with Android devices, the volume controls only work on the system volume levels of your device when connected with your Bluetooth headset. This makes listening to music a hassle when you need to raise or lower the volume.
Therefore, for the purpose of this article, we have put together a quick step by step guide so you can control the volume on your Bluetooth headsets.
Step 1: Enable Developer Options
- Open phone Settings and go to System.
- Tap On About Phone.
- Then tap on the phone Build Number 7 times. Once done, this will give you access to Developer Options on your device.
Step 2: Disable Absolute Volume
- Open Phone Settings, go to System and then Developer Options.
- Scroll down until you see the Networking Tap on it.
- From here disable absolute volume.
Once done, your Bluetooth and system volume will be separated. Even after connecting your Bluetooth headset to your Android device, you will get dedicated controls to help you manage the ringer volume as well as the volume for media playback.
This means you can crank up the volume settings to the max and start listening to your music or other media files at higher volumes.
Note: The above method is meant to work on Android Nougat and above.
The steps described above will differ slightly if you are using a smartphone from a manufacturer who applies their own custom skin.
Tyler Sheeks says
This doesn’t work on s20FE
David Foster says
No,did not help,my Developer Options doesn’t show absolute volume,the thing in networking is something about USB
Wally says
No, it did not because it did not tell me how to raise the volume on my Ultra Micheleob ear buds