Using Auracast is one flow on every device: scan for nearby broadcasts, pick one from the list, listen — no pairing. The entry point moves by device (Samsung's Quick Settings, a hearing aid's app or remote, a posted QR code), and the fixes when nothing appears are the same everywhere: firmware, battery, distance.
Figures on this page were checked September 2026. Menu labels follow the sources as published; UI labels can vary by model and software version.
The universal flow
Every Auracast journey is three verbs, whichever device holds them. Scan: an assistant listens for broadcasts in range — the Bluetooth SIG’s assistant white paper explains why the discovery task sits with phones, watches and remotes rather than the receivers: scanning is power-hungry, and aids and earbuds have small batteries. Pick: the assistant lists what it found, named by the venue or the host. Listen: selecting a stream starts it on the receiver — hearing aids, earbuds, headphones — with no pairing step.
That flow is the same at a church, an airport gate and a friend’s living room. Only the entry point moves.
Where each device hides it
| Device | Broadcast entry | Documented |
|---|---|---|
| Galaxy phone (broadcast out) | Quick Settings → Audio Broadcast; Media or Voice mode | Samsung support pages, 2026-09-24 |
| Galaxy phone (listen) | Quick Settings → Audio Broadcast → Listen tab | Samsung support pages, 2026-09-24 |
| Galaxy Buds | Buds settings → "Listen to Auracast broadcast" | Samsung support pages, 2026-09-24 |
| Hearing aids | Aid controls or the manufacturer’s companion app; some remotes scan directly | SIG assistant enumeration + manufacturer apps |
| Venue shortcut | Posted QR code joins the broadcast directly | Frankfurt Airport case, SIG blog |
For devices without a documented path on this page, the manufacturer’s own support pages are the authority — the SIG’s directory names the products, and each maker documents its own controls. The Samsung walkthrough covers the Galaxy case in full because it is the best-documented; the flow on other devices rhymes with it.
The Galaxy walkthrough
Samsung’s support pages give the fullest published walkthrough, and it doubles as a template. To broadcast: open Quick Settings, tap Audio Broadcast, choose Media (share the phone’s music) or Voice (share the phone’s microphone), and tap the broadcast icon to start. To let hearing aids join, turn on "Allow hearing aids to connect." To keep the circle closed, set the broadcast password. To listen: open the Buds settings or Quick Settings, tap the Listen tab, and pick a stream from the list.
One naming note travels with every search: Samsung renamed the feature Audio Broadcast, effective in One UI 8.5. If a guide says Auracast and the phone says Audio Broadcast, they are the same switch.
When nothing appears
The empty list has three usual causes, in checking order. Firmware: receivers gain broadcast support and fixes through updates, so an out-of-date aid or earbud may not scan correctly — update first. Battery: scanning and streaming both draw power, and a low battery throttles the radio. Range and placement: broadcasts are radio; walls and distance thin them out, so close the distance to the transmitter or the posted QR code. If the venue uses a code, it also bypasses the list entirely — scan, and the broadcast joins directly.
One more habit worth building: check the venues tracker before traveling. Knowing a venue broadcasts changes the arrival routine from exploration to a single scan — and the how-it-works page explains why that scan lists only what is genuinely in range.
Two phones or a phone and a pair of compatible earbuds are all the lab you need: broadcast from one, scan from the other, join. Doing it once at home — no pressure, no queue behind you — makes the venue version automatic. The flow is the same everywhere; only the broadcast name changes.
FAQ
Open your device's broadcast scan — on a Galaxy phone it lives in Quick Settings as Audio Broadcast; hearing aids scan through their app or remote — and pick a broadcast from the list. That is the whole flow: scan, pick, listen, no pairing.
Anything built for the role you need: Galaxy phones and recent earbuds, Auracast-enabled hearing aids, and an expanding list of headphones and speakers in the SIG's product directory. Each device needs current firmware and a way to scan.
The usual three: firmware on the receiver is out of date, the battery is low (scanning draws power), or you are out of range of the transmitter. If a venue posts a QR code, that joins the broadcast directly and bypasses the list entirely.
Streaming draws power like any audio playback. The SIG's assistant white paper explains why the design puts scanning on assistants rather than on the aids themselves — to keep the power-hungry discovery task off small batteries. Streaming itself is normal playback load.
blafili Bicast XLR Transmitter
XLR and USB-C inputs with Bluetooth 5.2 and a broadcast mode for feeding several receivers at once. Built for studios, venues and shared listening.
- Samsung Support, ANS10001042, "Broadcast audio from your Galaxy phone": Quick Settings > Audio Broadcast; Listen tab; "Allow hearing aids to connect"; Audio Broadcast rename effective One UI 8.5. samsung.com/us/support/answer/ANS10001042/, accessed 2026-09-24
- Bluetooth SIG, Auracast FAQ: assistant enumeration (smartphones, smartwatches, or hearing aid remotes); Wi-Fi-like join flow. bluetooth.com/auracast/faq/, accessed 2026-09-24
- Bluetooth SIG, "How to build an Auracast assistant" white paper: scanning task taken away from earbuds and hearing aids (small batteries); broadcast advertisements carry name, contents, configuration. bluetooth.com, accessed 2026-09-24
- Bluetooth SIG blog, Frankfurt Airport coverage — on-site QR code joining the gate broadcast. bluetooth.com/blog/auracast-broadcast-audio-takes-off-at-frankfurt-airport/, accessed 2026-09-24
- Bluetooth SIG, Auracast find-a-product directory: headphones, speakers and hearing devices listed by manufacturer and Auracast role. bluetooth.com/auracast/find-a-product/, accessed 2026-09-24