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In 2022, I first wrote about this travel hack, and it was well-received by the vast majority of my readers. I recently came across an update in tech expert Rich DeMuro’s excellent newsletter, where he highlighted the 2.0 version of the AirFly. Here’s what Rich had to say in his Gadget of the Week column:
“Frequent fliers swear by the AirFly, and now there’s a new and improved version: the AirFly Pro 2. It’s a small $60 dongle that lets you connect your Bluetooth headphones to the seat-back entertainment system. You just plug the AirFly into the headphone jack on the seat-back screen, and it transmits the audio via Bluetooth to your preferred (hopefully noise-cancelling) earbuds or headphones. Yes, more planes are adding direct Bluetooth support—but the rollout is slow.”
Rich is right. As he points out, the updated version offers much better sound and has faster pairing, extended battery life (up to 25 hours), physical volume controls and you can also “use it to convert old-school devices with a 3.5mm headphone jack—like an old iPod, car stereo, or gym machine—into a wireless Bluetooth source.“
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Here’s my original post about the AirFly: If you enjoy watching in-flight movies when you fly but prefer to use your AirPods, then you’ll love this cool product. AirFly is a small family-owned in Charleston, South Carolina that has created a wireless transmitter that lets you use wireless/noise-cancelling headphones or AirPods on airplanes (or in gyms) by connecting them to wired headphone jacks using Bluetooth technology.
“AirFly allows users to never use those annoying cords as you can wirelessly transmit audio from in-flight entertainment, gym equipment, gaming devices, TV’s or any 3.5mm audio jack. Use your AirPods, earbuds or wireless headphones anywhere with no more cords in the way. Now you don’t have to sacrifice audio quality/comfort in flight.”
Even if you’re flying business class, the headsets the airlines give you are usually not comfortable, dirty and don’t have the best sound quality. And if you’re flying coach, don’t even bother taking the free, cheaply made plastic headsets the flight attendants pass out. I think a lot of people just take them because they’re free – it’s a total waste.
AirFly Pro has a 33-foot (10 meter) reach so you can relax with plenty of space to enjoy your content. Use AirFly Pro where there is no Bluetooth available to allow items such as wired speakers/soundbars, rental cars, and boat sound systems to wirelessly receive audio from gaming devices, phones or tablets. AirFly Pro has a battery life of 16+ hours to cover even the longest flight. If you forget to charge before takeoff, AirFly Pro can be used while charging with the included cable.
You can also use them as a splitter on your iPad if you want to watch a movie together with your traveling companion. Buy AirFly Pro on Amazon (now you would want to get AirFly Pro 2) or direct from TwelveSouth.
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Please find such a product that is compatible with Bluetooth hearing aids.
Hearing aid technology is advancing, so there should be something that works.
We can’t put other ear buds in and also our aids!
(tho depending on the hearing loss, one could use ear buds only)
Air fly worked great for us.
Thank you
Lynn
Hey man, can you explain the splitter option a bit more? So, I got a 4k projector but with no ARC or eARC hdmi whatsoever. I thought I’d have to replace it entirely in order to get atmos. So you’re telling me, with a splitter I can send the video from my PC to the projector and the audio directly to the sound bar? Thank you!
Hi Chantel
This is question is above my paygrade.
It’s a BlueTooth wireless device that Apple, Android, Beats, Bose, and a hundred other companies support to achieve the WIRELESS capability of their respective product.
Johnny,
I’ve following you and using your site for 15-20 years now. I’ve used a lot of your recommendations and every one have been spot on. I bought some AirFly Pros last year and they work amazing. Worth having. Thank you fro all you do with your travel expertise.
Thanks for the kind words and support
The last 3 flights I was recently on had no seat tv screens. I used the airlines wifi and watched all their free movies, etc. using my Bluetooth cancelling headphones, which I always have on, and pairing with my cell. No extra accessories needed.
Sir
Are devices like that even allowed to be used on airplanes. They make such a big deal about switching your phone to airplane mode
Don
Yes, you can use Bluetooth in the air. FAA approved it in 2013 but flight attendants will probably tell you to wait until you’re above 10,000 feet
The Koi Pond at HNL Airport is still there. You have to go towards the central part of Main Terminal. You were at the small garden court next to the inter-island terminal.
YES, I followed exactly as directions said. As I said, my airpods went from green to white and back to green as described in the directions…
Johnny Jet, upon your recommendation I purchased these right before an upcoming flight. I tried pairing at home, didn’t work. Figured I try on the plane. Big disappointment! I even emailed Twelve South a few days before leaving. They didn’t respond to my email. I could get my apple pro ipods to go from the white to green as described in their tutorial but the airfly product kept switching between amber and white. They never connected. When I return home I will send it back to Amazon or dispute the charge with my credit card. What a waste of my time. I would NOT recommend this product.
I’m sorry to hear this. I haven’t had anyone else complain. Did you “AirPods must be INSIDE AirPod Case to enter pairing mode (#1 pairing mistake). AirFly features industry leading Bluetooth 5.0 with aptX Low Latency Codecs. If you are experiencing anything less than high quality audio, first check the audio source. Regarding latency, ensure your device supports Bluetooth 5.0. BT 5.0 has latency of appr. 1ms.”
4.3 out of 5 stars is not too bad on Amazon. I ordered my set this morning. Sometimes if I am traveling with my camera gear, there is no space for my Bose headphones (wired version), so this will be a nice addition. Plus there are so many other uses where I do not want to be wired. There is same day delivery in LA, so I will have it later today!
It’d be nice to also show this for Android. A lot of us don’t have any Apple products.
I bought this item (https://amzn.to/3fxFrrP) back in February of 2020. Used it on one return transatlantic trip and found that it worked very well. Can recommend this unit and it is about 1/2 the cost of the item you were showing
This is genius, I had no idea such a device existed. Thank you so much!
This product has a ton of negative reviews on Amazon.
I can’t imagine why you would promote them.
Oh wait. Yes I can.
Um, the overwhelming majority are positive.