How To Use Lightning Headphones On Laptop? [The Easy Way To Do It]

If you are an Apple user you will know that they always aren't compatible with non-Apple devices. This poses a problem as you end up spending a ton of money buying Apple products and then struggling to use them with other brands.

Off late, Apple has started providing lightning headphones for their iPhones and iPads or airpods.

Wonder how to use lightning headphones on laptop? This article will answer that questions!

In order for you to understand which adaptor will help you resolve your issue, we have provided a list of solutions below.

How to Use Lightning Headphones on your Laptop?

1. Use a USB-C adapter

The USB-C port is primarily used by Apple in all its devices that were made before the advent of lightning connectors. Even some Windows hardware uses USB-C ports nowadays.

This is why you will easily find the USB-C adapters online and offline. To get your lightning headphones on the laptop working, use the adaptor.

Lightning to USB-C adapter

If you are in the market for a USB-C adaptor then you can try this one by UGREEN. Available on Amazon, the UGREEN C adapter is MFI certified and is compatible with all the Apple or airpods have lightning cables.

The adaptor works well with Apple iphone earphone connector, iPads, and smartphones without any reduction in quality. The adapter is plug-and-play without any driver installation, has a high-performance DAC chip, and is built to last for a long time.

Made with high-quality aluminum alloy, the adapter boasts a braided cable with reinforced connectors. However, do note that this adapter only works with laptops that run Windows 10 or above.

If you are using an Apple laptop then you might have to make changes to your Audio settings to use this adapter to connect and use lightning headphones on the laptop.

Once you have connected the adapter using this guide on how to use a single jack headset on pc without a splitter, follow the next steps

1. Go to System Preferences
2. Click on Sound and then select the center, Output tab
3. Here you need to select the right output device which you plan to use

2. Use a USB-A adapter

Most laptops come with a USB-A port or commonly known as the USB port. This rectangle-shaped port usually is placed on the left or right-hand side of the laptop body. This USB port can deliver USB 2.0 or USB 3.0 speeds.

Now you will need to find lightning to USB-A adapter to get your lightning headphones on laptop. Finding these adaptors might be a little difficult as they are not quite popular but you might be able to find online electronic stores selling them. Nowadays, USB-C adaptors are extensively used and USB-A adapters are slowly getting phased out.

Once you do manage to procure the USB-A adapter, all you have to do is to connect one end to the lightning headphone and the other end to the USB slot of your adaptor. This should get the lightning cable working with the laptop.

You will read a lot on online forums that this option isn't really possible as such adaptors are extremely hard to find. This is quite true. If you are not able to find such an adapter and your PC doesn't have a USB-C slot, only the standard USB slot then you don't have any option left.

You will not be able to use the lightning headphones on your laptop and you will need to buy a fresh pair of headphones for your laptop, before which you might want to check out this guide on whether can you use apple earphones for mic on pc.

Types Of USB Ports

Before you get into the buying process, you first need to check the laptop port. Laptops usually have one of these two types of USB ports

• USB-A
• USB-C

The most commonly used laptop ports are the USB-A ports which are much bigger than the USB-C port. This is the port you use to plug in your hard disks, flash players, charging cables, etc. However, some newer laptop models have started shipping out with the USB-C port.

Apple's own devices also use USB-C ports. The newer models of the Macbook Air, Macbook, and Macbook Pro all come with new USB-C ports.

But surprisingly, the lightning earbuds aren't compatible with these as well if you are wondering how to use lightning headphones on laptop!

Once you have confirmed the kind of port your laptop has, you will need to figure out how to connect the lightning headphones to the laptop. Here are two ways you can do this.

Tips for selecting the right adaptor

Online stores and offline shops are flooded with various kinds of adaptors and selecting the right one can sometimes put you in a dilemma. While attempting to connect your lightning headphones to your laptop, you will need to buy a Lightning to usb adapter.

Before you buy the adaptor, you need to know two things

1. The lightning end of the headphones should be female
2. The USB side should be male. This end goes into the laptop USB port

You also need to know that some of these adaptors are used only for charging and not for the transfer of audio. So, before you pay for them, do check if they play audio as well.

Once you do get the right adaptor, especially a USB-A adapter then take good care of it as those adaptors are really impossible to find in order to use lightning headphones on a laptop!

Why Is It Difficult To Use Lightning Headphones?

Way back in 2012, Apple introduced the lightning port in the iPhone 5 that was used for charging. However, all their products still used the standard 3.5mm headphone jack.

But then in 2016, when the iPhone 7 was launched, it removed the 3.5mm jack from the phones and started shipping products with the lightning connector port.

This meant that only Apple headphones could be used on the newest iPhones and iPads and airpods. And it also meant that the lightning headphones could work only with the iPhones and iPads. To counter this problem, Apple shipped their products with a lightning adapter with a 3.5 mm headphone jack that could plug into compatible phones and laptops with a good sound quality.

But the lightning technology is primarily used by Apple and since other brands don't support it, there are compatibility issues to use lightning headphones. And this is why these are adapters in the market to connect such products with others.

Apple has its own lightning adapters but they can be quite expensive. If you don't want to burn a hole in your pocket, then you will need to look for 3rd party adapters to connect the lightning headphones with your laptop to use windows spatial sound quality.

Why Do Companies Use Lightning Headphones?

Lightning headphones are a major advancement in portable headphone technology and they are considered to be much superior to the standard 3.5mm audio jacks.

The lightning connector technology was invented by Apple and deployed in its iPhones and iPads since the connector is shorter and slimmer. This saves precious space on the phone and makes way for other parts.

However, once this technology was launched, compatibility issues started cropping up and that is why Apple and other manufacturers started making adapters to remove the compatibility issue with your use of lightning headphones.

But this still doesn't remove all headphones issues. As discussed above, if your laptop has the standard usb adapter then there is probably no way to get your lightning earphones to work with your laptop.

Unless you somehow do manage to find a USB-A adapter. And the chances of that happening are very slim in order to use portable lightning headphones.

Do You Need The Lightning Headphones?

If you haven't yet got the lightning headphones and are about to buy them, then you need to rethink your decision in case you want to use headphones on your laptop.

Yes, the lure of superior quality is very convincing, but at what cost? The major drawback of using these lightning headphones is that you will face audio compatibility issues while you use lightning headphones. Also, sometimes people face the issue of one earphone being louder than the other as well.

Each time you use the headphones on a different device, you might need to buy more adapters.

Is it really worth it? And, your headphones might end up lasting longer than the adapters? Then what do you do! If you research online, you will find many good-quality headphones that deliver amazing audio experiences.

Conclusion On Lightning Headphones on Laptop

Even though Apple products claim to be superior in quality to other headphones products in the market, you can face compatibility issues.

Apple's ecosystem is very tight-knit and designed to work great with other Apple products. Yes, lightning headphones do have a definitive quality advantage over 3.5 mm aduio jack products. And Apple headphones fans will swear by them!

However, when you decide to make Apple products work with other brands then you might face a challenge. Now in case you do use the lightning headphones then you now have two solutions to make them work with your laptop that have sound quality.

Follow the above-mentioned steps, purchase the right adapter compatible with the laptop and the headphones and you should be using your lightning headphones in no time. Before you go, make sure to check out our guide on how to pair skullcandy crusher and a guide to fix headphone symbol on phone won't go away.

FAQs About Lighting Headphones