What is Auracast? A plain guide for venues

The short version

Auracast is the Bluetooth SIG's name for broadcast audio over Bluetooth LE Audio. A transmitter connected to your sound system sends the audio by radio. Anyone nearby with a device that supports it can join: LE Audio earbuds or headphones with a supported phone, hearing aids or cochlear implant processors with Auracast, or a receiver you lend them.

The Bluetooth SIG says "an unlimited number of in-range Auracast receivers" can join one broadcast. The transmitter sends one signal; in the SIG's words, it does not know how many devices are receiving it.

How it works

There are three parts.

• The transmitter. A box, usually fed from a spare output of your mixer or sound processor. It needs a power source and often a network connection.
• The receivers. Whatever plays the sound: earbuds, headphones, hearing aids, a loan receiver with earphones or a neckloop.
• The assistant. The Bluetooth SIG's word for whatever helps a listener pick a broadcast: a phone, a watch, a hearing-aid app or remote. It shows a list of broadcasts by name, "similar to the UI commonly used to connect to Wi-Fi networks."

Each broadcast has a name your visitors see, like "St Mary's Main Service". You can run more than one broadcast, for a second room or a second language, if your equipment supports it.

There are two audio qualities. Standard Quality (16 or 24 kHz) is the one every receiver must support, including hearing aids. High Quality (48 kHz) gives richer sound for music, and not every receiver can play it. The SIG requires public transmitters to always send a Standard Quality stream.

Who can use it today

• Android phones. Google's list (September 2025) names the Pixel 8 series and newer, Samsung flagships released since 2023 (Galaxy S23, S24, S25 and Z Fold5 to Fold7), and specific Xiaomi and POCO models. The phone and the earbuds must both support LE Audio.
• iPhones. At the time of writing we found no native Auracast listening on iPhone. Listen Technologies says iPhone users can join through Auracast-ready hearing aids' apps or borrow a receiver.
• Hearing aids and cochlear implant processors. Some models support Auracast; others are sold as "Auracast-ready". Listeners can ask their hearing care professional whether theirs is enabled. Hearing aids join Standard Quality streams, usually through the maker's phone app.
• Everyone else. A loan receiver, with earphones, headphones or a neckloop for people whose hearing aids have a telecoil.

Our guide to how listeners join walks through each of these.

So Auracast does not remove the need for loan receivers. In the US, the ADA sets a minimum number of receivers by seating capacity whatever technology you use. See our guide to what the ADA requires.

What it needs from your building

Auracast uses the 2.4 GHz radio band, the same band as 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi. That brings three things to plan for.

• Walls. Brick and concrete take a large share of the signal. A side chapel or overflow room behind a solid wall may need its own transmitter. Our deep dive on walls, crowds and 2.4 GHz has the numbers.
• People. Human bodies absorb 2.4 GHz signal. A room that works when empty can have weak spots when full. Mounting the transmitter high, above head level, reduces this, as the SIG's own guide notes.
• Other radio users. Wi-Fi, some wireless microphones and wireless lighting control share the band.

Published range figures vary widely. A UK code of practice says reception is "typically up to 50m", depending on local conditions and transmitter power. Auri quotes about 30 to 40 m in any direction for its transmitters, measured to a set signal level on its own receiver. AUDIOropa quotes "up to 100 m, even in difficult environments" for its CASTER. Your walls, your crowd and the mounting position decide the real answer, which is why a plan and an on-site walk test matter. See what happens during an installation.

Does it replace a hearing loop?

Not usually. A Bluetooth SIG blog post reports that panels at the HLAA 2025 convention called it best practice for venues to "add Auracast broadcasts alongside current systems." People whose hearing aids have a telecoil rely on loops, and HLAA advises listeners to choose hearing aids that are both Auracast-enabled and have a telecoil. Our comparison of Auracast, loops, FM and infrared goes into the details.

Common questions

How many people can listen at once?

The Bluetooth SIG says there is no limit: an unlimited number of receivers in range can join one broadcast. What limits a venue in practice is coverage and how many people have a device that can join.

Is it like pairing Bluetooth headphones?

No. Nothing is paired to the transmitter. Listeners join a broadcast from a list or by scanning a QR code, a bit like choosing a Wi-Fi network.

Can the room next door hear it?

Possibly. Walls reduce the signal but do not stop it. Lower transmitter power and careful placement reduce what reaches the next room, and a private broadcast with a code stops people without the code from listening.

Does Auracast meet the ADA?

The ADA sets requirements for the installation, not for a brand of technology: the system, the receivers and neckloops, and the signs. HLAA puts it this way: venues can meet their obligations with many technologies, including Auracast, and the key question is whether the deployment meets the ADA's standards. The Center for Hearing Access is more cautious and says it is too soon to say. Our ADA guide has the details.

Do we need a sound system?

Usually the transmitter takes its audio from your existing sound system. Where there is none, an installer adds a microphone and a small mixer or preamp.