Most earbuds can't carry your voice into console chat: the PS5 doesn't pair Bluetooth headphones, and an Xbox needs an Xbox-made radio or the controller's jack. Gaming earbuds get around this with a USB dongle. Choose by the dongle your console takes, then check mute and how each pair handles your phone.
Each pick’s maker lists it for this setup. Its catch is right under it.
PS5 and PS Portal
PlayStation Link to a PS5, a PS Portal, a PC or a Mac, and Bluetooth to your phone at the same time.
No mute on the earbuds: you mute with the controller's button or the PS5's menu.
Or: Sony INZONE Buds, noise cancelling and a mute on the bud, for PS5 and Windows.
Xbox
The Xbox edition's dongle has an Xbox / PC switch, so the same pair also works on a PS5, a PC or a Switch.
Buy the Xbox edition, in black, Matcha or Yuzu: the PlayStation edition and the White and Glorange colours don't work on an Xbox.
Or: Xbox Wireless Headset, Microsoft's own headset, if over-ear is fine.
Windows PC, with mute on the bud
A USB-C transceiver, a mute you hold on the left bud, and sidetone you set in INZONE Hub.
Its Bluetooth is LE Audio only, so an iPhone or an older Android phone gets no sound over it.
Or: SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds, ordinary Bluetooth to any phone, one connection at a time.
Noise-cancelling wireless earbuds with a USB-C dongle for a Windows PC or PS5
Windows PC: Works
Its Bluetooth is LE Audio only: Sony says a phone without LE Audio gets no sound over Bluetooth, and that includes iPhones.
PlayStation's own earbuds: PlayStation Link for PS5, PS Portal, PC and Mac, with Bluetooth to a phone at the same time
Windows PC: Works
There's no mute control on the earbuds: PlayStation points to the DualSense mute button, the PS5's menus or its Windows driver.
Wireless earbuds with a USB-C dongle for PS5, PC and Switch, and Xbox in the Xbox edition
Windows PC: Works
For Xbox, buy the Xbox edition: its dongle has an Xbox / PC switch. The PlayStation edition's dongle doesn't work on an Xbox, and neither do the White and Glorange colours.
Try a different platform or headset edition, remove a control filter, or shorten the model name.
USB alone does not confirm console chat support.
3 models in this guide.
Sony says the PS5 can't find or pair Bluetooth headphones at all, and points to a headset with a USB dongle or a wired one in the DualSense controller's 3.5 mm jack instead. On an Xbox, chat runs through a headset made for Xbox or a wired headset in the controller's jack. On a Switch 2, Nintendo says Bluetooth headphones play the sound but their mic isn't used in GameChat.
That's why every pair on this page comes with a USB dongle, and why the dongle you get matters more than the earbuds. Wired earbuds with a four-pole 3.5 mm plug and a mic on the cable are the other way in: they plug into a PS5 or Xbox controller like a wired headset.
SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds come in a PlayStation and an Xbox edition. The PlayStation edition's USB-C dongle works on a PS5, a PC, a Mac and a Switch, not an Xbox. The Xbox edition's dongle has an Xbox / PC switch: at Xbox it works on an Xbox, at PC on a PS5, a computer or a Switch. So if you play on both, buy the Xbox edition. SteelSeries also says the White and Glorange colours don't work on an Xbox.
Sony's INZONE Buds use a USB-C transceiver with a PC and a PS5 setting. Sony lists Windows PCs and the PS5, no Xbox or Switch, and says to plug the transceiver into a USB-C port rather than a USB-A adapter or a hub.
PlayStation's PULSE Explore use PlayStation Link through a USB-A adapter on a PS5, a Windows PC or a Mac, and connect to a PlayStation Portal with no adapter. PlayStation lists no Xbox or Switch route. A USB-C adapter is sold separately.
Only the PULSE Explore play PlayStation Link and Bluetooth at once: PlayStation says you can take a phone call while playing on the PS5. PlayStation doesn't say which connection gets the mic when both are in use.
The GameBuds switch between the dongle and Bluetooth with a triple tap, one at a time. The INZONE Buds can't play the transceiver and Bluetooth together either, and their Bluetooth is LE Audio only: Sony says a phone without LE Audio, an iPhone among them, gets no sound over Bluetooth.
On the GameBuds, hold the button on either bud for a second to mute. On the INZONE Buds, hold the left touch sensor. The PULSE Explore have no mute on the earbuds: you mute with the DualSense controller's mute button, the PS5's control center or PlayStation's Windows driver.
The INZONE Buds and the PULSE Explore have sidetone, so you hear your own voice: set it in INZONE Hub on Windows, or on the PS5 for the PULSE Explore. SteelSeries lists a transparency mode for the GameBuds that lets outside sound in, not sidetone.
Plug the dongle into the console or computer you'll play on, set its switch if it has one, and select the earbuds as both input and output. Talk while you watch the input meter, then try mute.
Not over Bluetooth: Sony says the PS5 can't find or pair Bluetooth headphones. Use earbuds with a USB dongle made for the PS5, or wired earbuds with a mic in the controller's 3.5 mm jack.
Earbuds with an Xbox-made radio, such as the Arctis GameBuds' Xbox edition, or wired earbuds with a mic in the controller's 3.5 mm jack. The Xbox doesn't take Bluetooth earbuds.
Yes, when the plug is a four-pole 3.5 mm one (three dark rings): it carries sound and the mic through a PS5 or Xbox controller's jack. A three-pole plug carries sound only.
Check the exact platform, connection and required controls. Then measure the stand or arm position before adding mounting parts.