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Requirements

• An iPhone running iOS 17 or later
• A USB cable that connects the iPhone to the computer (Lightning or USB-C, data-capable)
• Tether Sender installed on the Windows computer (download v1.0.0)
• The Apple Devices app or iTunes installed on Windows, which provides the USB driver

iPhone not connecting

The App shows "Waiting for computer" and never changes to "Playing from".

1. Install the USB driver. On Windows, install the Apple Devices app from the Microsoft Store or iTunes from Apple. Without one of these, Windows cannot talk to the iPhone over USB.
2. Trust the computer. The first time you plug in, the iPhone asks "Trust This Computer?". Tap Trust and enter your passcode. If you tapped Don't Trust, unplug, then go to Settings → General → Transfer or Reset iPhone → Reset → Reset Location & Privacy, and plug in again.
3. Check the cable. Some inexpensive cables carry power only. Try the cable that came with the phone, or any cable that lets the iPhone show up in File Explorer.
4. Confirm Tether Sender is running. Look for its icon in the system tray. If it is not there, start it from the Start menu.
5. Match the port. The port in the App's settings must match the port in Tether Sender. The default is the same on both sides, so only change it if you have a reason to.
6. Restart both ends. Quit Tether Sender, force-quit the App, unplug the cable, then plug in and start Tether Sender before opening the App.

Connected but no sound

1. Check the iPhone's volume and the mute switch. Tether Audio plays through the media volume, not the ringer.
2. Check what Tether Sender is capturing. Open the tray menu and confirm the capture device is the one your music or video is playing through. If the computer is playing through a different device, the sender hears silence.
3. Play something. The buffer meter on the App's main screen moves when audio is arriving. If it sits at zero, the computer is not sending anything.
4. Silent Mode and Focus. The App plays in Silent Mode, but a Focus that blocks the App's audio session can stop it. Turn the Focus off to test.

Crackling, gaps, or dropouts

1. Switch to the Stable preset. It uses an 80 ms buffer and tolerates a busy USB bus. If Stable fixes it, you can try Normal again later.
2. Use a different USB port. Plug directly into the computer rather than a hub, and prefer a port that is not shared with a webcam, external drive, or other high-bandwidth device.
3. Look at the statistics panel. Rising underruns mean audio is arriving late; rising dropped packets point to the cable or port. Send us a screenshot if you cannot resolve it.
4. Check the computer's load. A CPU pegged at 100% can starve the sender. Close what you can and see if it improves.
5. Disable Low Power Mode on the iPhone during long sessions, as it can throttle background audio.

Sending all of the PC's audio

By default, Tether Sender captures the device you select. To capture everything the computer plays, including on a PC with no speakers, install a virtual audio cable (for example VB-CABLE), set it as the default output device in Windows, and choose it as the capture device in Tether Sender. Every sound from every program will then reach the iPhone.

Subscription and billing

Tether Audio is a subscription purchased through Apple's App Store. Tether Sender is free.

• Manage or cancel: on the iPhone, open Settings → your name → Subscriptions → Tether Audio. Cancelling stops the next renewal; you keep access until the end of the current period.
• Refunds: Apple handles all billing, so refunds are requested from Apple at reportaproblem.apple.com. We cannot issue refunds directly.
• Restore purchases: if you reinstall or switch phones, sign in with the same Apple ID and tap Restore Purchases in the App's settings.

Tether Sender

Tether Sender is open source. Releases, source code, and the issue tracker are on GitHub. If you find a bug in the sender, opening an issue there is the fastest route, but email works too.