Connect your iPhone by Ethernet

Why wired helps

Streaming uncompressed audio over a network is a real-time job. Every packet has to arrive before its moment to play. On Wi-Fi, packets can be delayed by interference, by other devices using the network, by the phone moving between access points, or by the Wi-Fi radio itself doing housekeeping. A receiver covers that with a buffer: a small reserve of audio held back so short delays don't cause gaps.

The trade-off is latency. The worse the network, the bigger the buffer needs to be, and the longer the delay between hitting play in the DAW and hearing it on the phone. A wired connection doesn't have Wi-Fi's hiccups, so the buffer can be small and gaps essentially disappear.

When it's worth it

• Busy or congested Wi-Fi, like shared buildings or studios with a lot of devices.
• Long listening sessions where even an occasional gap is distracting.
• When you want the lowest delay between the DAW and the phone, for example when making quick edits and listening back.
• A phone that stays on the desk, used as a small-speaker reference next to your monitors.

For most quick checks, like a few seconds on the phone speaker or a pass in Mono, Wi-Fi is plenty. The cable is for when the phone becomes a fixed part of your monitoring setup, sitting next to the screen for the whole session.

If you walk around the room or the house with the phone, Wi-Fi is the point. Use a cable when the phone is staying put.

Before you buy an adapter: improve the Wi-Fi

A cable is the most reliable fix, but a few Wi-Fi changes often help on their own:

• Get closer to the access point, or at least remove walls and large metal objects from the path.
• Prefer 5 GHz or 6 GHz over a crowded 2.4 GHz band when your router offers them.
• Put the Mac on Ethernet, so only one of the two devices is on Wi-Fi.
• Reduce competing traffic: large downloads, backups and video streams on the same network all take airtime.

If gaps persist after that, or you simply want the lowest delay, go wired.

What you need

• An iPhone with USB-C (iPhone 15 and later).
• A USB-C Ethernet adapter. Any "USB-C to Gigabit Ethernet" adapter works with iOS.
• An Ethernet cable to the same router or switch as your Mac.

Set it up with MixOutpost

1. 01

   Plug in the adapter and cable

   Connect the adapter to the iPhone and the cable to your router or switch. iOS Settings shows an Ethernet entry when it's working.

2. 02

   Open MixOutpost and listen

   Your Mac appears as usual. Pick it and tap Listen.

3. 03

   Confirm in Connection info

   Tap ⓘ (Connection info). Network should say Ethernet.

With a cable, Auto buffering settles lower, so there's less delay, and Dropouts this session should stay at zero. You can leave Wi-Fi on; iOS prefers the wired connection. The phone's own speakers still play normally, so you can use the wired phone as a small-speaker check.

When you're on Wi-Fi, Connection info shows a short tip suggesting exactly this for USB-C iPhones.

Reading Connection info

The Connection info panel is useful whether you're wired or not. The rows most relevant here:

If the Mac doesn't appear

• Check the network. The cable has to go to the same network as the Mac, not a separate guest or office network.
• Check the adapter. If iOS Settings doesn't show Ethernet, try another cable or port, or another adapter.
• Connect by address. If your network blocks discovery, enter the Mac's address in Sources › Connect by address. See troubleshooting the connection for more.