How to Use Auracast: Check Compatibility, Share Audio and Join a Broadcast

To use Auracast, first identify the device that will transmit audio, the device that will receive it, and the phone, app or other interface that will select the broadcast. Confirm explicit support for each role, install available software and firmware updates, and then use the relevant Bluetooth or companion-app controls to start or find a stream.

Bluetooth support, Bluetooth LE Audio or an “Auracast ready” label does not by itself confirm that a particular role is enabled. Check the exact model, firmware, operating-system version and regional variant before following a menu path; a protected broadcast may also require a password or QR code.

Understand the three roles before checking devices

Auracast setup becomes clearer when you separate three functional roles. One product may perform more than one role, but the ability to find a broadcast does not necessarily mean that the same device can create one.

• Transmitter: The source that creates the broadcast. Depending on the product, it could be a phone sharing media, a television sending program audio, a venue sound system or a dedicated transmitter connected to another source.
• Receiver: The listening hardware that reproduces the broadcast. Compatible products may include earbuds, headphones, speakers, hearing aids, hearing implants or standalone receivers used with headphones or a neckloop.
• Assistant: The interface that discovers, selects and, where necessary, authorizes a stream. It may be a phone’s Bluetooth menu, a hearing-device app, a touchscreen charging case or a standalone receiver.

The assistant is best understood as the selector rather than automatically as the listening device. A phone might display available streams for connected hearing aids or earbuds, while a standalone receiver may combine selection and listening functions in one product.

Run a compatibility preflight check

Check the complete signal path rather than searching only for “Bluetooth” in a specifications list. You need a source that can create the broadcast, listening hardware that can receive it and an available method for choosing the stream.

1. Record the exact model number of every phone, earbud, headphone, speaker, television, hearing device and adapter involved. A family name may cover several generations or regional variants with different capabilities.
2. Consult the manufacturer’s manual or support page for explicit references to an Auracast source, transmitter, receiver or assistant. Related labels can include Audio broadcast, Share audio, Broadcast sound, Find an audio stream or Listen to Auracast.
3. Install stable operating-system, firmware and companion-app updates offered for the relevant model and region. Reconnect the devices afterward and check whether the expected control has appeared.
4. Enable Bluetooth LE Audio if the manufacturer exposes a setting for it. If the workflow requires the receiver to be paired with an assistant phone first, complete that ordinary pairing before scanning for broadcasts.
5. Compare the instructions with the installed software version and country variant. Do not assume that a menu shown for another market or product generation is available on yours.

This verification is necessary because advertised readiness may refer to hardware intended for later activation. RNID’s Auracast guidance says some products sold as “Auracast ready” do not yet work with the feature and recommends asking the manufacturer when it will be enabled before purchasing. It also explains that private broadcasts can require a password or QR code and that some assistants cannot handle those access methods.

If the documentation does not explicitly confirm the role you need, ask the manufacturer about the exact model, firmware and region. A generic statement that a product supports LE Audio is not a reliable substitute for confirmation that its Auracast function is active.

Create a broadcast from a compatible phone

The phone must support the transmitter or source role, not merely Auracast discovery. Start playing the required media, or prepare the supported microphone input, and open the phone’s Bluetooth settings or audio-sharing control.

1. Select Share audio, Audio broadcast, Broadcast sound using Auracast or the equivalent command.
2. Choose the audio source if the phone offers a choice between media and microphone input.
3. Review the displayed stream name and any access credential. Set or change them only if the implementation provides those controls.
4. Start the broadcast and keep its notification or control page available so that you can pause or stop sharing.
5. Give intended listeners the correct stream name, password or QR code without distributing private access details more widely than necessary.

Samsung Australia’s Galaxy S26 instructions say the phone can broadcast media or sound from its built-in or a USB microphone, while listeners need an audio device supporting Bluetooth LE Audio. The page provides separate paths for One UI 8.5 and One UI 8.0 or earlier and states that the guide applies to Australian Galaxy variants, so owners elsewhere should use documentation for their own market and software.

If the broadcast command is absent, pairing ordinary Bluetooth headphones is unlikely to resolve an unsupported source role. Recheck the manufacturer’s compatibility list, installed firmware and any prerequisites for showing the control.

Join a broadcast with a phone and earbuds or headphones

When the phone acts as the assistant, pair and connect the compatible earbuds or headphones first if the manufacturer requires it. Keep the receiver powered on and open either its Bluetooth device page, the system’s broadcast-audio menu or the relevant companion app.

1. Select Listen, Find a broadcast, Find an audio stream or the manufacturer’s equivalent command.
2. Allow the scan to finish, then choose the stream by name. Where several streams are present, confirm the room, language or program before connecting.
3. Enter the password or scan the QR code if the broadcast is protected and your assistant supports that method.
4. Wait for a listening or connected status, then raise the receiver volume from a moderate starting level.
5. Use Leave, Exit or Stop listening when finished. Leaving a broadcast is different from removing the receiver’s normal Bluetooth pairing.

Some phones place broadcast discovery inside the connected earbuds’ settings, while others expose it at the main Bluetooth level or in an app. If the stream appears but the earbuds remain silent, discovery is working; check receiver compatibility, firmware, selected audio output, mute state and volume next.

Use Auracast with hearing aids and hearing implants

For hearing devices with built-in Auracast reception, stream selection may happen in the phone’s Bluetooth settings, the manufacturer’s app or a compatible charging case. Pair the hearing devices as instructed, open the available-broadcast list, select the required stream and provide its access credential when prompted.

A manufacturer-specific sharing workflow may impose narrower requirements than Auracast in general. Oticon’s audio-sharing instructions specify Oticon Companion-compatible hearing aids with Bluetooth LE Audio support and select LE Audio Android devices running Android 15 or later. The documented process pairs the hearing aids first, opens Share audio from the phone and displays a stream name, password and QR code for another listener.

If a hearing device has no built-in receiver, ask the venue whether it supplies a compatible standalone receiver or neckloop. In a neckloop arrangement, the separate accessory receives the Auracast stream and passes audio to a hearing device with an enabled telecoil program; the hearing aid is not independently receiving Auracast.

Do not change clinical fitting settings merely to solve a connection problem. Check the receiver selection, hearing program and ordinary volume controls first, and consult the device instructions or hearing-care provider if the required program is unclear.

Protected streams can create an accessibility problem when the available assistant cannot enter a password or scan a code. Venue operators should therefore provide clear joining instructions and human assistance, while listeners can request the stream name, language and access method before a session begins.

Connect speakers, televisions and dedicated transmitters

An Auracast-capable speaker may operate as a receiver, a transmitter or both. Identify the documented role before using its broadcast control: receiving generally requires scan or listening mode, whereas transmitting requires a supported input and an explicit command to start the stream.

For a television, confirm that Auracast output is enabled on the exact model and regional variant. If it is not built in, a dedicated Auracast transmitter connected to a supported TV output may provide the source role, but the adapter, connector, output format and television settings must all be compatible.

Do not assume that an ordinary Bluetooth transmitter or a proprietary television-hearing accessory creates an Auracast broadcast. The product documentation should name Auracast and identify transmission as a supported function.

Before relying on a speaker, television or adapter at an event, test the full path with the intended source material and a separate compatible receiver. Confirm that the correct program or language is being transmitted and that the stream continues when unrelated paired devices disconnect.

Troubleshoot broadcasts that do not appear or play

Begin by locating the last role that demonstrably works. A visible stream confirms that the assistant can discover the broadcast, but it does not prove that the selected receiver can decode and play it.

• No broadcast command on the source: Verify source-role support, regional availability, operating-system version and firmware. Search for the exact model rather than a related product family.
• The broadcast list is empty: Confirm that the transmitter is actively broadcasting, move closer and refresh the scan. Restart the participating devices if the expected stream still does not appear.
• Other listeners see the stream, but you do not: Check the assistant phone’s compatibility and updates, then verify that the intended receiver is powered, paired and connected as required.
• The stream appears but will not connect: Enter the password again or rescan the code currently displayed by the broadcaster. Confirm that you selected the intended stream where several have similar names.
• The status says connected but there is no sound: Check receiver volume, mute state, audio-output selection and the active hearing-device program. Verify that the transmitter is sending an active source rather than silence.
• Audio breaks up: Reduce the distance and major obstructions between the transmitter and receiver. If every listener is affected, inspect the source and transmitter; if only one listener is affected, focus on that receiver and its connection.
• The menu differs from the manual: Match the instructions to the installed software and country variant. The feature may have moved, been renamed or remain unavailable for that configuration.

Treat a factory reset as a late troubleshooting step because it removes pairings and customized settings. Before contacting support, record exact model numbers, firmware and operating-system versions, region, the missing menu label and which of the three roles already works.

Make one controlled test before relying on Auracast

Use a short, familiar audio clip and one receiver for the first test. Confirm that the broadcast can be created, discovered, joined, heard and left before adding more listeners or moving to a public environment.

For a protected stream, test the provided password or QR code through a second compatible assistant. This checks the joining instructions separately from the transmitter’s ability to create the broadcast.

Your practical next step is to create a three-line compatibility record for the transmitter, receiver and assistant. Add the exact model, firmware, region and manufacturer-confirmed role to each line; once all three are verified, the device-specific menu path becomes an operational step rather than a compatibility guess.

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