How to Connect the 3M Pro-Protect to One or Two Devices via Bluetooth

In this post, I am outlining the steps for pairing and connecting the 3M Pro-Protect Electronic Hearing Protector.

We are also looking at how you can simultaneously connect to two devices.

This isn’t an “official function” and there are some limitations (see section connecting to two devices), but I wanted to give it a go and see if it works.

For most use cases, I recommend sticking to one active connection at a time.

But, if you have two phones you have to attend to, perhaps this can help you out.

Note: Switching between different devices with the Pro-Protect has not been an issue for me. The limitations only apply to the “unofficial function” of maintaining two active connections at the same time.  

How to connect the Pro-Protect to one device (e.g., Android, iPhone, iPad)

I recommend that you wear your Pro-Protect while pairing so that you can hear the voice assistant.

1. Press the power button and keep it pressed while you hear the voice assistant going through the following sequence:

Power On. Battery High. Bluetooth Pairing.

2. Release the power button.

3. Go to your phone’s (or computer’s) Bluetooth list and locate the entry 3M Pro-Protect.

(If you need more details on this point, see the next section.)

4. Tap the entry 3M Pro-Protect.

Voice Assistant: Pairing successful. Bluetooth Connected.

(Or only Bluetooth Connected if this is not the first time you are connecting to a particular device.)

The next time you turn on the Pro-Protect, they will attempt to automatically re-connect to the most recently connected device.

Tip:

• If you want to switch to a different device after the Pro-Protect have auto-connected, just double-press the power button (twice in short succession) to disconnect and return to pairing mode.
• Alternatively, you can also just turn them off and go through the steps above again.
  

The power button now serves as the control button of your Bluetooth device:

• Press this button to play and pause.
• During an incoming phone call, press this button to answer/terminate a call.
• Double-press / triple-press quickly to go to the next/previous track.
• Keep it pressed for 3 seconds to turn the earmuffs on and off.

Music volume has to be adjusted directly on your device.

For more information on these earmuffs, please also read my post 3M Pro-Protect Electronic Hearing Protector Test and Review.

Addendum: where to find the Pro-Protect Bluetooth entries on your device

Ignore this section, if you are familiar with locating the Bluetooth list and entries on your phone.

The following assumes that your Pro-Protect are turned on and in pairing mode.

iPhone and iPad

Go to Settings->Bluetooth

If this is the first time you are connecting to an iPhone or iPad, you should find the entry 3M Pro-Protect under Bluetooth->Other Devices.

Should you not find the entry turn your phone’s Bluetooth off and back on to re-scan.

If you have already paired the Pro-Protect to your device, locate the entry under My Devices:

Android (based on a Samsung Galaxy A52 5G)

Long-tap the Bluetooth icon to get to the Bluetooth list.

If this is the first time you are connecting to a particular phone, you should find the entry 3M Pro-Protect under Bluetooth->Available Devices.

If you can’t find the entry, tap Scan on your Android phone to re-scan.

If you have already paired the Pro-Protect to your device, locate the entry under Paired Devices.

Connecting the Pro-Protect to two devices (two active Bluetooth connections)

This is not a function mentioned by 3M, so I am not holding any of the limitations against the manufacturer; it just happens to work (for the most part), so I wanted to share it.

I prefer using the headset with only one active device connection and that’s what I recommend for most use cases.

But if you have to attend to calls from two phones, you could give this a try.

Limitations

• To connect to two devices, you have to do it manually every time you turn on the headset.
• When you receive a call on one device while listening to music/audiobook on a second device, the music doesn’t pause (it is only muted).
• Alternating between two devices can cause volume hiccups: For example, upon returning from a phone call on phone A, the music on phone B may suddenly be louder.

What you need to know before you start

Once your headset has auto-connected to the most recent device, you cannot connect to a second device until you disconnect that auto-connected device.

The Pro-Protect are in single-connection mode, so to speak.

What you have to do instead, is manually connect to two previously paired devices.

Here is what I believe to be the most straight-forward way to manually connect to two devices

A. Pair the Pro-Protect to two different devices by going through the section “Connecting the Pro-Protect to one device” twice, once for each device.

This only has to be done once, not every time you turn on the Pro-Protect!

As a result, you obtain a “paired” entry for the Pro-Protect on two different devices.

I have just done this with an iPad and a Samsung phone:

On the iPad I now find an entry 3M-Pro-Protect under Bluetooth->My Devices.

On my Samsung Galaxy A52, I have the same entry under Bluetooth->Paired Devices (Android).

B. You can now manually connect the Pro-Protect to both devices

Make sure the Pro-Protect are turned off.

1. To prevent auto-connect, press the power button and keep it pressed while you hear the voice assistant going through the following sequence:

Power On. Battery High. Bluetooth Pairing.

2. Release the power button.

3. Go to your first (already paired) device and tap the entry 3M-Pro-Protect.

Voice assistant: Bluetooth connected.

4. Go to your second (already paired) device and there too tap the entry 3M-Pro-Protect.

Voice assistant: Bluetooth connected.

Voilà, we now have two active Bluetooth connections to the Pro-Protect.

In our example here, this is to an iPad and an Android phone. (I have also tried this with two Android phones.)

Controls with two active Bluetooth connections

What happens when you get a phone call?

Suppose I am listening to music on the iPad and a call comes in via the phone: the music gets muted and I hear an incoming-call alert. Short-pressing the power button answers the call.

Upon terminating the call (e.g., via the power button), the Pro-Protect return to playing music from the iPad.

(The music often comes back louder in this scenario though, so I have to adjust the volume down.)

How to switch media audio from one Bluetooth connection to the other?

The most recently connected device is active, so if you press the power button on the headset, you are starting/pausing audio on that device.

To listen to audio from the second device, audio must be paused on the first device. Then go to the second device and press play. When you are pressing the power button now, you are controlling the second device.

Suppose, for example, I first connected to the phone and then the iPad: the Pro-Protect power button controls the iPad.

To give the controls to the phone, I have to pause audio on the iPad (e.g., vie the headset power button) and press play on the phone.

Conclusion

Connecting to one device at a time is straight-forward and the Pro-Protect will auto-connect when you turn them on, so that is what I recommend for most use cases.

I have also had no issues switching between phone, laptop, and iPad.

Concurrently connecting to two devices isn’t an official function: it isn’t mentioned in the manual or on 3M’s website.

But, the electronics are there and it largely works.

While dual-connectivity on the Pro-Protect has a few quirks, I think it is worth a try if you have to receive phone calls from two different phones (e.g., you have multiple numbers to attend to).

To make use of two active connections, you have to manually connect to both devices each time you power-on your Pro-Protect.

If you’d like to learn more about the Pro-Protect, check out the post Pro-Protect Electronic Hearing Protector Test and Review.