How to Pair Your Android Phone or Tablet with Bluetooth Devices
Bluetooth is an evolving technology that allows you to connect to nearby devices from your phone or tablet, here’s how to do it.
Part of the mobile experience is having external devices you can connect to via Bluetooth. Maybe you have a pair of Bluetooth headphones or external speakers you want to connect to for improved audio. Typically, the Bluetooth device will be a speaker, but could also be an earpiece or keyboard. Whatever the device is, here’s a look at how to pair a Bluetooth device with your Android phone or tablet.
Pair Bluetooth Device with Android
To get started, you need to make sure that Bluetooth is enabled on your phone. You can turn it on by simply swiping down from the top of the screen and tapping the Bluetooth icon on the Notification shade.
After Bluetooth is enabled on your phone, make sure the speaker or device you’re connecting to is also in pairing mode so it’s discoverable – which obviously varies depending on the device. Then head to Settings > Connected devices > Bluetooth.
On the next screen, tap “Pair new device” and then find the available device and select it. In the example below, I am connecting to a pair of Bluetooth headphones.
Then wait briefly while the connection is made and then start using your speaker or another device with your phone. The next time you go to the Bluetooth section in Settings, you will see a list of devices that you’ve paired with in the past and reconnect to them later. If you want to remove a device, just tap the Settings icon next to it and choose the remove or forget option. Of course, here you can also choose what the device can be used for or edit its display name.
It’s also worth noting that Google is making the Bluetooth pair process easier by adding a new feature called Fast Pair. It works on Android 6.0 Marshmallow and newer. It allows supported devices like Pixel Earbuds to be discoverable when in close proximity to your Android phone or tablet. A notification pops up on the screen that you tap to pair the two without digging through Settings.
