How to Connect Two Bose Speakers Together
Connect two Bose speakers with Party Mode or Stereo Mode in the Bose app. Here is the pairing order, which models work, and why stereo often fails.
Two Bose Bluetooth speakers connect to each other through the Bose app, using either Party Mode or Stereo Mode. Party Mode plays the same audio through both speakers for extra volume and works across different SoundLink models. Stereo Mode splits the audio into left and right channels and only works between two speakers of the same model.
The pairing itself takes about a minute once you know the order to do it in. Most of the trouble people run into comes from mixing two different models and expecting stereo, or from having one speaker still connected to a phone that has walked out of the room.
Party Mode against Stereo Mode
Party Mode sends the same full range signal to both speakers. Twice the output, spread over a wider area, and the two speakers can be different models. This is what you want for a backyard, a kitchen and dining room, or anywhere the goal is coverage.
Stereo Mode assigns one speaker the left channel and the other the right. It sounds considerably better for actual listening, because you get the separation the recording was mixed with. The catch is that both speakers must be the same model, and they need to be roughly 4 to 8 feet apart with you sitting between them for it to do anything useful.
If you have a SoundLink Flex and a SoundLink Revolve, Party Mode is your only option. That is a hardware limitation, not a settings problem.
How to pair two Bose speakers
- Turn on the first speaker and connect it to your phone over Bluetooth as normal.
- Open the Bose app. Portable SoundLink speakers use Bose Connect. Smart speakers and soundbars use Bose Music, and the two are not interchangeable.
- Turn on the second speaker and put it into pairing mode by holding its Bluetooth button until the light blinks.
- In Bose Connect, swipe down on the image of the connected speaker to reveal the list of nearby speakers, then select the second one.
- Tap Party Mode. Both speakers will chime and start playing the same audio.
- If both are the same model, a Stereo Mode option appears next to it. Tap that to split the channels, and tap it again to swap which speaker is left.
On many SoundLink models you can also toggle between the two modes by pressing the Shortcut button on either speaker once the link is established, which saves reaching for the phone.
Which Bose speakers support it
The feature runs across the SoundLink portable range, including the SoundLink Flex, SoundLink Micro, SoundLink Mini II, SoundLink Revolve and Revolve+, SoundLink Max, and the SoundWear wearable speaker. Generations matter less than the range does.
Older models predating the Bose Connect app do not support it at all, and no firmware update adds it. If your speaker does not appear in the app, it is not going to link.
SimpleSync is a separate feature and gets confused with this constantly. SimpleSync links a Bose smart speaker or soundbar to a Bose portable speaker or a pair of Bose headphones, so the same audio plays in two places with independent volume. It is not Party Mode, it lives in the Bose Music app rather than Bose Connect, and it does not do stereo.
When it will not work
The common failure is both speakers being remembered by different phones. A speaker that is still connected to a tablet in another room will not join the party, and the app gives no useful error. Turn Bluetooth off on every other device first.
Distance is the other one. The link between the two speakers is Bluetooth, so keep them within about 30 feet of each other and of the phone, with as little wall between them as possible. Outdoors that range holds up well. Through two brick walls it does not.
If a speaker refuses to link after that, clear its pairing list by holding the Bluetooth button for around 10 seconds until it announces that the list is cleared, then start again from step one. That fixes most stubborn cases.
Frequently asked questions
Can you connect two different Bose speakers together?
Yes, in Party Mode. Two different SoundLink models will happily play the same audio together for more volume and wider coverage. Stereo Mode is the one that requires matching models, because the speakers have to be acoustically identical for left and right separation to make sense. If the app only offers you Party Mode, that is why.
How many Bose speakers can I connect at once?
Two. Party Mode and Stereo Mode both link exactly two speakers, and there is no way to add a third to a SoundLink group. If you need audio in more rooms than that, the Bose smart speaker range using the Bose Music app supports proper multi-room grouping, which is a different system.
Why won’t my second Bose speaker connect?
Almost always because it is still paired to another device. Turn off Bluetooth on every phone, tablet and laptop that has ever connected to it, then try again. If that does not work, hold the Bluetooth button on the second speaker for about 10 seconds to clear its pairing list, and pair it fresh. Keeping both speakers within 30 feet of the phone also helps.
Does Party Mode reduce sound quality?
Not noticeably. Both speakers receive the same full range stream, so each sounds the same as it would alone. What changes is the acoustic result in the room, since two speakers playing identical audio from different positions can create some comb filtering as you walk around. Stereo Mode avoids that and sounds better if you are sitting still between the two.