Hi all,

I got very bored yesterday and decided to pair my phone to my laptop to see what would happen. Not long after, I noticed a device in the recording tab of sound properties with the following name:

Line; Simon's iPhone SE A2DP SNK


A2DP is a common Bluetooth protocol used for stereo audio; it's what many headsets and speakers still use today. The fact I had a recording device named after my iPhone suggested that it would let me stream audio from my phone to the computer, somehow. I tried going to the context menu and hitting connect, which is a thing you can do with some Bluetooth devices; unfortunately this didn't work. After a bit of googling, I found that you have to install a third-party app to make this happen, though i'm not certain why. it's called Bluetooth Audio Receiver, and you can get it from the Microsoft store.


So, the steps are as follows:

1. Pair your phone with your computer (you can initiate this from either the phone or computer).

2. Download Bluetooth Audio Receiver.

3. Open Bluetooth Audio Receiver, press enter on your device in the list, and find the "open connection" button.


That's it! Your phone audio should now come through the computer. Unfortunately this does not include phone calls, but it does include system sounds, screen-readers, and any audio you decide to play on the phone, such as Spotify, books, or podcasts. I think this is pretty brilliant and I've been so much more attentive to my phone since discovering it.


Interestingly, opening a connection from Bluetooth Audio Receiver seems to do two things:

1. It does whatever black magic makes the Bluetooth audio connnection work properly.

2. It enables "listen to this device" on the A2DP audio device I discussed earlier, setting it to play back through the default audio device in Windows.


If you're still paying attention this far in and you haven't picked up on it already, there's one final bonus: Your phone audio is actually sent through an input device on Windows. Not only can it be sent through your default soundcard; it can also be recorded. If you have any content on your iPhone that you'd like to record onto the computer, this is a rough but effective way to do it. Just pair the phone and open the connection as described above, set your recording app on Windows to record from the A2DP device, and play the audio from your phone. I could see this being useful for app and game demonstrations and so much more.


Let me know if you have questions/comments. It might help if you CC my address; I don't always see list mail.


-Simon