This little app keeps growing. Here are the additions, improvements, and fixes you can find in each release.
v2.3.0Latest
Audio clarity, volume memory, and Mic Guard
Added live Bluetooth audio link metrics and codec readout in the Accessories window: view active profile (Call mode vs. High Quality), codec, bitrate, RSSI signal strength, and retransmission charts with built-in glossary explanations.
Added Mic Guard to preserve high-fidelity Bluetooth stereo audio on connect by preventing macOS from switching the system default input to a headset's low-bitrate microphone.
Added accessory volume memory: NearPair now remembers your preferred listening volume per accessory and smoothly restores it upon reconnection.
Added pairing cancellation: cancel an in-progress pairing attempt directly from the setup card with clean timeout recovery.
Added a quick disconnect button directly on connected accessories in the menu bar dropdown.
Fixed stale over-the-air battery readings by immediately prioritizing fresh system battery levels and extending post-connect probes when an accessory reconnects.
v2.2.0
A quicker start
NearPair now asks, once, whether to start at login and whether to offer setup for accessories this Mac has not paired.
v2.1.1
Small fixes
Small internal improvements.
v2.1.0
A new look, and knowing when to stop
Adopted Liquid Glass on macOS 26. The menu, the setup card, the reconnection banner, the audio picker and the dashboard sidebar are drawn in the system’s material, so they sit over your desktop the way the rest of macOS does.
Reduce Transparency and Increase Contrast switch the new material back to a solid background, and macOS 14 and 15 keep the appearance they had.
NearPair now stops trying to reconnect an accessory it cannot reach. Earlier versions kept retrying for as long as the app was running; it now gives up after five failed attempts and starts again on its own once the accessory is heard nearby.
Fixed each failed reconnection attempt pausing nearby scanning for up to fifteen seconds, which left NearPair unable to see anything for long stretches when an accessory was switched off or in its case.
The button on a setup card now goes quiet when an accessory leaves pairing mode, instead of offering a setup that could no longer succeed.
A connection that times out now suggests checking that the accessory is on and out of its case, rather than pointing to Bluetooth Settings for something that was not wrong.
v2.0.1
Phones and computers stay out of the way
Prevented automatic reconnection and setup cards for paired devices that macOS identifies as phones or computers, including devices remembered by earlier versions.
Excluded iPhone and iPad names from nearby discovery.
Stopped adding phones and computers to the remembered accessory list.
v2.0.0
Your accessories, together
Added an Accessories window with connection state, battery readings, history and per-accessory settings, alongside a redesigned menu-bar experience.
Added up to 30 days of local battery history, with charts for each reported earbud and case level and a timeline of connections and battery changes.
Added detection and optional alerts for an earbud that consistently drains faster than its twin, with safeguards against isolated or incomplete readings.
Added AirPods discovery and improved matching for personalized accessory names.
Added shared audio: play through two or more connected audio outputs at once, with a quick sharing action and a picker for custom groups.
Added compatibility checks for shared-audio formats, cleanup when outputs disconnect, and recovery of leftover NearPair audio groups after a crash.
Added automatic reconnection with per-accessory controls, a pause after you disconnect manually, and increasing delays after failed attempts.
Added optional automatic audio switching for each accessory, plus controls to connect, disconnect, send audio and unpair from the Accessories window.
Added a compact confirmation banner for reconnected accessories. The Accessories window can open after a new pairing without interrupting routine reconnects.
Accessories already paired with your Mac now appear even without Fast Pair advertisements. Reconnection can be attempted without waiting for a nearby broadcast, and unpairing in System Settings is reflected in NearPair.
Added discovery for compatible accessories that do not use Fast Pair. Short discovery bursts find accessories in pairing mode while filtering out computers, phones and printers, with a preference to disable this discovery.
Improved coordination between nearby discovery and first-time setup so competing discovery attempts do not interrupt each other.
Added battery readings supplied by macOS for connected accessories that do not broadcast a level. Fresh Fast Pair readings take priority when they provide more detail.
Added experimental per-earbud and case battery reading for compatible Galaxy Buds through their vendor status channel. NearPair listens for status without sending control commands, and leaves unavailable readings blank.
NearPair now remembers accessories and their last reported battery levels. Remembered accessories can be hidden or forgotten, and battery history can be cleared.
Added a menu-bar battery percentage and optional charge dial, with a choice of the accessory running lowest or a pinned accessory.
Added optional low-battery warnings with an adjustable threshold and one warning per drain. The menu-bar level and warning follow the earbuds instead of a misleading charging-case reading.
Battery updates no longer disappear when an accessory alternates advertisement types. Connected accessories can retain updates when their identity can be matched reliably.
The menu-bar percentage now appears only for connected accessories. Older readings are labelled with their age, and an accessory that reports no battery still shows none.
Respected requests from accessories to hide battery readings across the menu and alerts.
Fixed setup cards appearing for already-connected accessories under generic names, and suppressed setup offers for accessories that have not identified themselves or are not in pairing mode.
Extended the free trial from three days to fourteen. Discovery, accessory names, reported battery and history remain available after the trial; setup cards, connecting from NearPair and automatic actions require activation.
Improved empty-state guidance for waking accessories and made activation requirements clear instead of offering inactive connection buttons.
Expanded support reports with reasons for withheld setup cards, including an ended trial, identity checks, device class and signal strength.
Improved battery-chart continuity, retained individual reading times, and kept accessory ordering stable as new readings arrive.
Updated the app surfaces to follow macOS accessibility appearance settings, with clearer charge displays and keyboard-accessible controls.
Fixed invalid replacement license keys and temporary validation outages discarding an existing working license.
Fixed quit-time cleanup so pending battery history is saved and shared audio is stopped before the app exits.
Fixed system-sound routing when leaving a shared-audio group after choosing another output in macOS.
Fixed diagnostic-report export in demo mode.
Redesigned the website with an updated product tour, compatibility information, FAQs and download guidance.
Improved release packaging and version consistency, and prevented slow analytics requests from delaying installer downloads.
v1.0.8
More devices, stronger licensing, and added polish
Expanded setup-card support across earbuds, headphones, speakers, watches, cars, and game controllers.