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I can see it is easy to turn on/off Bluetooth, but it would be great if I could set or switch a speaker bluetooth in my devices. Is there a way to set system values?

How can I create an action or shortcut for a Bluetooth device on iOS? I am currently using iOS 12, so I would prefer a solution for that version, if possible.

Cody Gray - on strike
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Chris G.
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4 Answers4

14

You can set up such a Shortcut starting from iOS 14.0 in just three steps. Here they go:

  1. Scripting -> Device -> Set Bluetooth
    Turn Bluetooth On
  2. Scripting -> Control Flow -> Wait
    Wait 5 seconds
  3. Scripting -> Device -> Set Playback Destination
    Set playback destination to <your bluetooth device>

Step 1 is obvious. Thanks to step 2 your device has time to activate bluetooth and scan for nearby bluetooth devices. If you skip this step the shortcut will likely terminate its execution with no effect. In step 3 you can choose your default playback device or select Ask Each Time option in order to select manually every time.

NOTE: Wait time from step 2 may be different for your device. I tested on iPhone SE 2020 and 5 seconds was just enough. If your device does not connect within that time then try increasing it.

BONUS: Add fourth step, which will automatically play some music.

  1. Apps -> Music -> Play Music
    Play Music
Robzzson
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  • What if Bluetooth is already on by default? Can I skip the waiting? – Ian Jan 12 '21 at 17:06
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    As of this writing, on iOS 14.3 the Set Playback Destination only shows Airplay devices and bluetooth devices which are connected. So when setting up your shortcut, you first have to connect to the bluetooth device in question. – Paul Wieland Jan 28 '21 at 17:26
12

For Bluetooth devices in general, it seems that you are (currently) out of luck. For audio devices (i.e. speakers and headphones) specifically, there is a solution though!

You can use the command ‘Set playback destination to’ and select your Bluetooth device. Make sure it is currently connected or else it may not show up in the list.

Note that as of right now (iOS 14.0), the command is bugged and may silently terminate the execution of your shortcut unless that device is already connected (i.e. unless it does nothing). Weirdly enough, this can be fixed by simply adding the (exact same) command twice in a row. It will then do exactly what you expect: Wait for the device to connect, and then continue running the shortcut - or show an error message if it didn't work.

main--
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Perdina
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    Good call, useful knowledge. Interesting that "Set playback destination to" does not show when searching for Bluetooth in Shortcuts. – esaruoho Nov 10 '19 at 19:52
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As of right now (November 2019), Shortcuts does not provide control over which Bluetooth device to connect to, or querying a list of available Bluetooth device, or finding out if device x is paired or unpaired.

Shortcuts currently just offers "Bluetooth On/Off". This could change in the future, but today, the situation is this.

esaruoho
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  • Is there some kind of way to run specific shortcut when the iPhone connects to a specific Bluetooth device, like when it connects to the car's Bluetooth? – Pini Cheyni Jul 16 '19 at 08:58
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    There is currently no detection method for that. No "if connected to X via Bluetooth, do Y". there's just the "Set Bluetooth On/Off".. It would be great to have more, but maybe later down the road, @PiniCheyni – esaruoho Jul 17 '19 at 09:14
  • They should add this! – tbrodbeck Sep 13 '20 at 10:32
  • This answer is outdated, see below. – main-- Sep 27 '20 at 14:22
2

There is some degree of convenience in that Siri will respond to "open bluetooth settings." Then, one tap on the device name is required to connect.

Boby2nd
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