How to Sync Bluetooth Headphones to Any Device
Hold five to seven seconds until the light flashes rather than pulses. Here is the sequence, what each light pattern means, and why it usually fails.
Put the headphones into pairing mode, open Bluetooth settings on the device, and select them from the list. Pairing mode is almost always a long hold of the power or Bluetooth button, five to seven seconds from off, until the light flashes rather than sits solid. That flashing light is the signal to look for, and the most common reason pairing fails is that it was never reached.
Everything else in this guide is the handful of situations where that simple sequence does not work.
The universal sequence
- Start with the headphones switched off.
- Hold the power or Bluetooth button for five to seven seconds, keeping hold past the point where they power on.
- Release when the light flashes, usually blue and red alternately, and most models announce it out loud.
- Open Bluetooth settings on your phone, tablet or computer and select the headphones.
- Confirm they show as connected rather than only paired.
On true wireless earbuds, the pattern differs. Put both buds in the case, open the lid, and hold the case button for around five seconds. Many models also enter pairing mode automatically the first time you open the case.
Reading the lights
Worth knowing because it tells you exactly where you are.
Flashing quickly, usually alternating colors. Pairing mode, discoverable.
Slow pulse, usually blue. Powered on, connected or waiting to reconnect. Not discoverable.
Solid. Connected, or charging depending on the model.
If you are in the slow pulse state and expecting to pair, you have held the button for too short a time. Start from off and hold longer.
Why it usually fails
Another device already has them. The single most common cause. Headphones reconnect automatically to anything they have paired with before, so a phone in your bag or a laptop in another room will claim them the instant they power on, and the device you are trying to pair simply never sees them. Turn Bluetooth off on everything else in the building.
Never actually entered pairing mode. Hold longer and wait for the flash.
A stale pairing. If the headphones were paired to this device before and now will not connect, remove them from its Bluetooth list first and pair from scratch. Clearing one side only leaves the problem.
Flat battery. Charge for 30 minutes before troubleshooting anything else, since a deeply discharged battery will not respond to a button press and may show no charging light for several minutes.
The stored list is full. Most headphones remember a limited number of devices and drop the oldest, which produces erratic behavior. Clearing the list resolves it, and our guide on resetting Bluetooth headphones covers how.
Connecting to two devices
Multipoint holds two connections at once, with audio following whichever device is playing.
Where a model supports it, pair the first device, put the headphones back into pairing mode and pair the second. Both stay connected.
On several brands multipoint ships disabled and lives as a toggle in the manufacturer’s app, which is worth checking before concluding your headphones lack the feature.
The usual annoyance is a laptop going silent because a phone notification claimed the connection. Pausing on the device you are leaving before starting the other is more reliable than expecting the headphones to guess.
Device specific notes
| Device | Where to look |
|---|---|
| Android | Settings, Connected devices, Pair new device |
| iPhone or iPad | Settings, Bluetooth, under Other Devices |
| Windows | Settings, Bluetooth and devices, Add device |
| Mac | System Settings, Bluetooth, Connect |
| Smart TV | Sound or accessibility settings |
| Nintendo Switch | System Settings, Bluetooth Audio |
| PlayStation 5 | Not supported without a USB adapter |
| Xbox | Not supported without an adapter |
On Windows and macOS, the extra step is selecting the headphones as the output device afterward, since neither switches automatically. Our guide on connecting headphones to a computer covers it.
After they connect
Check they are connected for media rather than only for calls. If audio still plays through the device speaker while the headphones show as connected, select them as the output explicitly, which on a phone means the AirPlay or output icon in the control panel.
Install the manufacturer’s app and update the firmware, since connection reliability improves in updates and there is no other route to apply them.
Expect a delay of 100 to 200 milliseconds on video unless both ends support a low latency codec, which puts lips slightly out of sync. Video conferencing applications compensate automatically and most video players do not.
Frequently asked questions
How do I sync Bluetooth headphones?
Start with the headphones off, hold the power or Bluetooth button for five to seven seconds until the light flashes rather than pulses, then select them in your device’s Bluetooth list. On earbuds, put both buds in the case, open the lid and hold the case button for around five seconds. The flashing light confirms pairing mode is actually engaged.
Why won’t my Bluetooth headphones connect?
Usually another device has already claimed them, since headphones reconnect automatically to anything paired before. Turn Bluetooth off on every phone, tablet and laptop nearby. If that does not work, remove the headphones from the target device’s Bluetooth list and pair from scratch, and charge them for 30 minutes if they may be flat.
How do I connect headphones to two devices at once?
Use multipoint, which most current models support and which several brands ship disabled. Enable it in the manufacturer’s app if there is a toggle, then pair the first device, put the headphones back into pairing mode and pair the second. Audio then follows whichever device is playing, with calls taking priority.
What does the flashing light on my headphones mean?
A quick flash, usually alternating colors, means pairing mode and discoverable. A slow pulse means powered on and connected or waiting to reconnect, which is not discoverable. If you are seeing a slow pulse when you expected to pair, you released the button too early, so start from off and hold longer.