Airpods Pro and Apple Carplay (Honda NT1100)

#1 · 21.07.2025, 03:44

Hi Everybody,

I find Apple Airpods with Scenic to be a great combination that offers good sound and noise cancellation that eliminates most of the turbulence noise when riding.

It works well when using Scenic on the phone display (Iphone SE 3rd gen)

I would like to use Apple Airpods with Scenic running to Apple Carplay but cant get a good solution with sound to the airpods.

Of course Honda's Bluetooth will not recognize the airpods. Honda requires a BT headset to be connected to use Carplay, but there is an easy workaround on this described by various Africa Twin users (AT and NT and some other Honda models use the same Apple Airplay). The two step workaround involves to confirm OK to "do not pair head set" and then press Honda's return button for couple of seconds - and voila: Apple Carplay is connected to the Honda display but with no sound so there will be no vocal riding instructions. I tried various sound settings on the phone but nothing gets Scenic's sound to the Airpods. Same thing using Spotify with Airplay in this way but in that case it is actually possible to re-direct the Spotify sound to the Airpods via the phones Airplay. Spotify's music selection, fwd functions etc. can be controlled "as normally" by Hondas handle bar buttons. Unfortunately this doesn't work with Scenic and I wonder if someone out there has a solution? Question to Guido: if there is no easy solution available - is it possible to make Scenic's sound Airplay compatible so it can be re-directed in the same was as in the case of Spotify and other other apps?

Woaw this became much longer that I thought from the beginning... but there might be payback avoiding hearing loss plus time savings in less navigation mistakes 🙂

#2 · 21.07.2025, 07:15

I'm not sure why you are referring to Airplay?
CarPlay really is just a remote control of the iPhone.

So can you connect the iPhone to the AirPods , plus a bluetooth connection to the bike and do the workaround for no headset.
If tried my iPhone and AirPods with Scenic, Waze, MRA and google maps and all give voice instructions.
I wonder if you have voice setup in Scenic and have you tried the different outputs it offers?

[caption id="attachment_9448" align="alignnone" width="369"] Screenshot[/caption]

#3 · 21.07.2025, 15:41

Thanks for your comment HighPeakRider,

With Scenic connected to Carplay there comes no sound to the Airpods.

Neither from Scenic nor from Spotify.

I tried different ways to get sound to the Airpods when using Carplay and was successful with Spotify but not with Scenic.

If you check the screenshots it says Airplay and by changing that setting I was able to direct the Spotify sound from Carplay (no sound) to the Airpods. Maybe Airplay is not the right word – it actually says Bluetooth and Airplay on the control button.

The option to redirect the Scenic sound from Carplay to the Airpods seems not available with Scenic – at least not to my best understanding.

BR / Paul

#4 · 21.07.2025, 15:44

.... and Yes I tried the various voice setups in Scenic showed in your screen shot

#5 · 22.07.2025, 01:03

Ah so that’s just Apples generic fancy name.

Did you try this

https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/airpods/dev499c9718b/web

To set up your AirPods with an Android phone or other non-Apple device, follow these steps:

On your non-Apple device, make sure that Bluetooth is on (on an Android device, go to Settings > Connections > Bluetooth).
Do one of the following:
- AirPods 1, 2, or 3, or AirPods Pro (all models): With your AirPods in the charging case, open the lid, then press and hold the setup button on the back of the AirPods case for about 5 seconds, or until the status light flashes white.
- AirPods 4 (both models): Open the case with your AirPods inside, hold it next to your device, then double-tap the front of the AirPods case so the status light flashes white.
- AirPods Max: Press and hold the noise control button for about 5 seconds, or until the status light flashes white.
When your AirPods appear in the list of Bluetooth devices, select them.

#6 · 22.07.2025, 03:51

Thanks High Peak Rider,

You certainly taught me something. I couldn't dream of that Apple would allow connection of their Airpods to a non Apple device.

I was able to follow the instructions and pair the Airpods as Headset to the Honda Bluetooth.

A step in the right direction ... but still no sound in the Airpods. Tried so many settings but no success.

This is not a Scenic issue - rather a Apple/Honda thing so I will investigate consult the NT1100 or Africa Twin Forums for more on this.

If Apple Airpods/Honda is a dead end, still it could be a solution to redirect the sound from Scenic to the Airpods as in the Spotify case but that would involve Guido and probably not a top priority .

#7 · 22.07.2025, 04:08

Paul

If you brake this down.

If you don't involve the bike and use Scenic to AirPods do you get sound? I do on mine.

Then you have this workaround
"The two step workaround involves to confirm OK to "do not pair head set" and then press Honda's return button for couple of seconds - and voila: Apple Carplay is connected to the Honda display but with no sound so there will be no vocal riding instructions."

So that should leave sound directly connected to phone and CarPlay just showing the apps.

I use a carpuride and my connections are
iPhone bluetooth > headset
iPhone bluetooth > Carpuride CarPlay

So I have no sound going through CarPlay, in fact I can turn the bike off and just walk away, I either pause music from the bike, or just pause it on my headset.
CarPlay has zero involvement in the sound output and I can use hey Siri as an audio control.

#8 · 22.07.2025, 05:03

Hi again HighPeakRider,

Problem solved !

It seems to be a well known issue that Airpods connected to Honda MC / Apple Carplay has so low initial volume that they appear not working.

The solution is to increase the volume manually on the Airpods by swiping up the volume a lot on the stem of one of the Airpods.

I did this and then had to fine tune the volumes for headset, airplay and system in the Honda menu.

Thanks a lot for your advice and support - the key was your suggestion to connect the AirPods directly to the Honda (something I thought was impossible).

Hope this can help others as well

Happy that Guido can use his time for more important stuff than this 🙂

/ Paul

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#9 · 22.07.2025, 05:22

You could use the Apple shortcuts app to create a routine that automatically sets the volume when CarPlay connects.

I do this with my Chigee, so that it’s always consistent regardless of what volume I’ve had my phone at before.

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#10 · 22.07.2025, 05:31

Quote from Dae on 22.07.2025, 05:22

You could use the Apple shortcuts app to create a routine that automatically sets the volume when CarPlay connects.

I do this with my Chigee, so that it’s always consistent regardless of what volume I’ve had my phone at before.

What does that look like as a shortcut?
I wonder if I can create one if I connect my bluetooth headset, I'm not very good with the shortcut app......

Edit I found that......

[caption id="attachment_9454" align="alignnone" width="369"] Screenshot[/caption]

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#11 · 22.07.2025, 07:30

How cool is that!!!

Thx DAE

Will try the short cut thing to set the volume when connected to CarPlay

#12 · 22.07.2025, 08:26

I did it because I got fed up of the volume being wrong depending on if I’d previously listened to music in the office, on the train etc.

Sometimes the music would come through the Cardo too quiet, or deafeningly loud. This way it’s always the same.

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