How I Use Bluetooth Earbuds on Flights
I’m a huge fan of noise-cancelling headphones. They’re a technological marvel – slip them on at 33,000 ft, fade out the drone of the engines, and be enveloped by the soaring soundtrack of your movie instead.
I’ve really grown to enjoy using my noise-cancelling earbuds in the sky.
My first-ever active noise cancelling (ANC) headphones were the Bose QuietComfort 25s. They served me faithfully for many years. I later swapped to the Sony WH-1000XM3, which also performed admirably.
It wasn’t until I started travelling more for work that I decided to downsize my setup. I was trying to travel lighter, and the bulky headphone case was taking up too much space in my backpack.
Enter: Earbuds and Transmitters
Towards the end of 2023, I decided to try out ‘truly wireless’ earbuds. Bose had just released the QC Ultra Earbuds, so I ultimately settled on that.
(At the time, I bought it for 15% off RRP at Myer – around A$382. It now routinely goes on sale for $369 at most major retailers).
I now travel with these two gadgets for all my audio entertainment needs.
While some airlines are now installing Bluetooth-compatible entertainment screens, it will be a few years before these become more commonplace. Right now, every flight I’ve been on still doesn’t natively support Bluetooth.
That’s where a transmitter comes into play. The AirFly Pro, which is sold at major retailers, is a popular choice for many. But I don’t like the idea of the dongle hanging by a cable. It seems like a potential point of failure.
I decided to go for something with a different form factor and more value for money – the 1Mii B05 from Amazon. It comes in a charging case and has a two-pronged airline adapter built-in.
The 1Mii B05 adapter in action on a flight.
After trying it out for a few months, I’m happy to say the combination has worked flawlessly onboard. Not only is the setup lightweight, but the audio quality is far better than any airline-provided headset I’ve tested alongside.
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There is a very slight lag in the audio transmission over the SBC codec. For me, it’s not big enough to be too noticeable, and I'm very particular about audiovisual quality.
While the 1Mii B05 supports the aptX Adaptive and Low Latency codecs, the Bose QC Ultra Earbuds have the newer Snapdragon Sound codec. It seems the two are not backwards-compatible.
I’m hoping that eventually we’ll get a Bluetooth transmitter similar to the 1Mii B05 that supports Snapdragon Sound, so we can experience near lossless sound transmission wth minimal lag.
Final Words
The noise cancellation and spatial audio of the Bose QC Ultra earbuds is astounding. My one nitpick is that it doesn’t support Multipoint (the ability to connect to two devices at the same time), which would be handy in the office.
I like the 1Mii B05 form factor and charging case. Pair it with your earbuds before its first-ever flight, as it might be difficult to do on an aeroplane with lots of other devices around. Afterwards, it reconnects to the earbuds automatically whenever it’s turned on.
The only problem I’ve had with this setup is… user error. I once left the B05 transmitter plugged into the socket on the aeroplane. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get it back and had to buy another.
Take it from me: check that both your earbuds and Bluetooth transmitter are back in the charging case at the end of every flight!
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