How can I control both volume and track skip on my Android device from my headphones?

Question

How can I control both volume and track skip on my Android device from my headphones? I.e with a set of headphones having 3 buttons

• Button 1: Volume +
• Button 2: Play/Pause/Skip Forward/Skip Backward
• Button 3: Volume -

All android headphones I've seen to date only have a single button for skip control. I've been looking around the web for a clear answer very extensively, most of the answers revolve around either

1. Use Bluetooth headphones OR
2. Install app that converts the skip button to a volume control

Why can't android headphones have both features? Such controls have been available on Apple devices, Nokia Phones and Sony Phones etc. all through the simple headphones jack.

Answer 1

I will answer your question in the meaning "How can I control both volume and track skip on my Android device from my headphones?". This might not be supported by the system itself, but the Playstore holds a number of solutions available. Depending on your headset and Android device, one of them might work better than the other:

• JAYS Headset Control
• RemoteControl for Earphones
• Philips Headset
• Headset Droid Trial / Headset Droid (~ EUR 2)
• Headset Button ControllerTrial / Headset Button Controller (~ EUR 2)
• Klipsch Control

Ordered by their Playstore rating. These apps seem to share the same pattern -- and it is a pattern you use with the one-and-only button on your headset:

• tap 1x for play/stop (or to accept an incoming call)
• tap 2x for skip-to-next (or to reject an incoming call)
• long-press to increase volume
• tap 1x and then long-press to decrease volume

Plus more (up to 4x tap), but you've got the idea. I tried JAYS, which is the most configurable (1x tap and vol+ worked fine, but even after 3 weeks only 1 out of 10 tries for the other combinations worked, which might be due to hardware (headset) incompatibility) and the Philips Headset (which worked out of the box for all the above mentioned combinations -- no wonder, my Headset is a Philips, and that app was developed with this headset in mind). So if you have no luck with one of those, try another :)

Answer 2

Stock Samsung headphones have 3 buttons, volume +/- and pause. They also have a mic. They are only $5 on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-EHS64AVFWE-Premium-Stereo-Headset/dp/B007C5S3AU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1362357220&sr=8-1&keywords=samsung+headphones

Admittly, they aren't the best sounding and I don't like the remote being so close to the ear.

Answer 3

try these - HTC Stereo Ear Bud Headset for EVO 4G SHIFT 36H00880-04M the sound quality is pretty good, and the next\ previous buttons work for volume up \ down on my galaxy s4. they have a similar functionality as apple's ear buds, but for android.

Answer 4

With my Android 8.0 device and Bluetooth headset, skip+ and volume+ are on the same key, but differentiated by the length of pressing. By pressing for a long time during playback you skip forward, whereas by pressing briefly you increase the volume. It works analogously for for skip- and volume-. Not all apps seem to support this functionality though.