How to Connect Sony Headphones to an iPhone
Seven seconds, not two, which is why most attempts fail. Plus why LDAC does nothing here and the reconnection problem you will actually hit.
Hold the Sony power button for around seven seconds until you hear “Bluetooth pairing”, then open Settings, Bluetooth on the iPhone and tap the Sony entry under Other Devices. Seven seconds rather than two is the detail that trips most people up. One thing to know upfront: iPhones use AAC and never support LDAC, so the high resolution codec Sony advertises is inactive here.
That is not a sound quality problem, since Apple’s AAC implementation is well regarded, and it does mean codec support should not affect which Sony model you buy for an iPhone.
The steps
- Switch the headphones off.
- Hold the power button for around seven seconds, past the point where they power on, until you hear the pairing announcement and the light flashes blue twice in a repeating pattern.
- On the iPhone, open Settings, then Bluetooth, and make sure Bluetooth is on.
- Wait for the Sony entry to appear under Other Devices and tap it.
- Wait for it to move into My Devices showing Connected, which the headphones also announce.
On Sony earbuds, put both buds in the case and hold the touch sensors on both for around seven seconds.
The two light patterns are worth distinguishing. A slow blue pulse means connected or waiting to reconnect. A rapid double flash means discoverable and ready to pair.
The problem you will actually hit
Sony headphones reconnect aggressively to any device they have paired with before, so a laptop, an iPad or a work phone in the same building will claim them the instant they power on.
The symptom is headphones that seem to be working normally, refuse to appear on the iPhone, and are in fact connected to something in another room.
Turn Bluetooth off on every other device before pairing. Once you have the Sony Sound Connect app installed, disconnecting from within it is faster.
If the iPhone shows them as connected but audio still plays through the phone speaker, open Control Center, tap the AirPlay icon in the audio card and select the headphones.
The Sony app on an iPhone
Sony Sound Connect, previously Sony Headphones Connect, is worth installing.
It handles firmware updates, which fix connection problems more often than people expect, and there is no other way to apply them.
It manages the list of paired devices and switches between them without going into Bluetooth settings.
It holds the settings that live in the headphones: cancellation level, ambient sound control, equalizer, DSEE upscaling, Speak to Chat and the multipoint toggle.
Multipoint is switched off by default on several models, which surprises people who expect an iPhone and a laptop to stay connected at once.
Two devices at once
Enable multipoint in the app, then pair the iPhone first, put the headphones back into pairing mode and pair the second device. Both stay connected, and audio follows whichever is playing with calls taking priority.
On some Sony models multipoint and LDAC cannot both be active, so enabling two device connection disables the high resolution codec. On an iPhone that costs you nothing, because LDAC was unavailable anyway.
This is not the same as Apple’s automatic switching, which is an Apple silicon feature third party headphones cannot replicate. Sony multipoint holds both connections rather than moving between them, which is arguably more predictable.
What you get and do not get on an iPhone
Apple devices have never supported LDAC or the aptX family, so every Bluetooth headphone connects to an iPhone using AAC or the older SBC.
Lossless audio is unavailable over Bluetooth on any headphone including Apple’s own, since no current Bluetooth codec carries it. Lossless on an iPhone needs a wired connection.
Sony’s DSEE upscaling still works, since it runs inside the headphones rather than depending on the codec.
Battery level appears in the iPhone Batteries widget once connected, without the app.
Our guide on headphones for iPhone covers what to compare once the codec question is off the table.
Wired, if you want lossless
Most Sony over-ear models include a 3.5 mm socket and ship with a cable.
Recent iPhones use USB-C, so a USB-C to 3.5 mm adapter at USD 9 to 15 connects them. Apple’s own adapter contains a competent digital to analog converter and enables lossless playback from Apple Music.
Active cancellation still works on a wired connection on models that support it, provided the headphones are switched on.
A cable also removes latency, which matters if you are editing video or making music on the phone.
When it still will not work
Delete the headphones from the iPhone by tapping the information icon in the Bluetooth list and choosing Forget This Device, then pair from scratch. Clearing only the headphone side leaves the problem.
Clear the headphones’ own pairing list if it is full, since Sony models store a limited number and drop the oldest, which causes erratic behavior.
Update firmware in the app.
Keep within about 30 feet and away from a Wi-Fi router, since Bluetooth and 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi share a band.
Our guide on making Sony headphones discoverable covers the reset procedures by model.
Frequently asked questions
How do I connect Sony headphones to my iPhone?
With the headphones off, hold the power button for around seven seconds until you hear the pairing announcement and the light flashes blue twice repeatedly. Then open Settings, Bluetooth on the iPhone and tap the Sony entry under Other Devices. Holding for only two seconds simply powers them on, which is the usual mistake.
Does LDAC work on an iPhone?
No. Apple devices have never supported LDAC or the aptX family, so every Bluetooth headphone connects to an iPhone using AAC. Apple’s AAC implementation is well regarded, so this is not a quality problem, and it does mean the codec support Sony advertises for Android is inactive and should not influence your choice.
Why won’t my Sony headphones show up on my iPhone?
Almost always because another device has already claimed them, since Sony headphones reconnect aggressively to anything they have paired with before. Turn Bluetooth off on every laptop, tablet and other phone nearby, then enter pairing mode again. If the iPhone shows them connected but plays through its own speaker, select them from the AirPlay icon in Control Center.
Can Sony headphones connect to an iPhone and a laptop at once?
Yes, with multipoint enabled in the Sony Sound Connect app, since it is switched off by default on several models. Pair the iPhone first, then put the headphones back into pairing mode and pair the laptop. On some models multipoint disables LDAC, which costs you nothing on an iPhone since that codec is unavailable there anyway.