How to Connect Bose Speakers

Pairing mode first, then your Bluetooth settings

Pairing a Bose speaker (opens in a new tab) follows much the same flow on a phone, tablet or computer. Make sure the speaker has enough battery, since a low charge can make pairing fail or drop mid-connection. Put it in pairing mode, which might show up as a blinking light, a tone or a voice prompt. Then open Bluetooth settings, keep that screen open while it searches, tap the speaker's name and play something to confirm the sound is coming from the speaker.

The buttons and lights below are the SoundLink Flex 2's. For any other Bose speaker, find your product on Bose support (opens in a new tab) to get its own steps.

On a Flex 2, we'd pair from your device's Bluetooth settings first and leave the Bose app for later, because the speaker pairs without it.

Pairing a SoundLink Flex 2

If the speaker has been wet, wait until it and its USB-C port are completely dry before you plug it in, because charging it wet might damage the speaker.

Brand-new Flex 2? Connect it to a USB power supply once before you pair it. It doesn't need a full charge, but that first connection activates the battery.

1. Press Power to turn the speaker on, and bring your phone, tablet or computer close to it.
2. Hold the Bluetooth button (opens in a new tab) until the Bluetooth light slowly blinks blue.
3. Open Bluetooth settings on your device and choose Bose Flex 2 SoundLink, or the name you gave the speaker in the Bose app.
4. When the Bluetooth light turns solid white, play something. No sound? Check the volume on the speaker, on your device and in the app you're playing from.

Use the Bose app for settings and updates

The Bose app is where you manage connections and speaker settings, adjust the audio, change the voice-prompt language and get updates. Download it and follow its steps to add the Flex 2. If you already use the app for another Bose product, add the speaker from the product list.

On Android 6.0 or later, Fast Pair is another option. Turn on Bluetooth and Location, put the speaker in pairing mode with its Bluetooth light slowly blinking blue, and set it next to your phone. Then tap the pairing notification. If none appears, check that notifications are on for Google Play Services, or pair through Bluetooth settings instead.

Switch between two connected devices

The Flex 2 remembers up to six devices and can stay connected to two at once, but it plays audio from only one at a time. To switch, pause playback on the first device and start it on the second.

When you turn it on, the speaker reconnects to the two devices it used most recently, as long as they're on, have Bluetooth enabled and are within range. If another device connects while two are already connected, it replaces the older connection.

Connected but playing the wrong thing? Pause or disconnect the other device. In the Bose app, Source on the product control screen manages multipoint, and turning multipoint off disconnects the second device.

Link a second Bose Bluetooth speaker

Speaker linking (opens in a new tab) plays the same audio through the Flex 2 and one other Bose Bluetooth speaker, as long as that speaker has a Shortcut button. Two of the same model can play in stereo, while different models play together in Party mode.

Keep both speakers within 30 feet (9 m) of each other and of the device you're streaming from, ideally in the same room or open area with nothing in between. Make sure both speakers are turned on before you link them.

1. Press Shortcut on the primary speaker. A voice prompt asks you to press Shortcut on a second speaker, and the Shortcut light slowly blinks white.
2. Press Shortcut on the second speaker.
3. Wait for the voice prompt and solid white Shortcut lights on both. Matching models announce Stereo mode, then Left on the primary speaker and Right on the second. Different models announce Party mode.

With two matching speakers, press Shortcut on either one to switch between Stereo and Party mode. If Shortcut opens a voice assistant or Spotify Tap instead, go to Shortcut on the Bose app's product control screen and set it back to speaker linking.

To unlink them, press and hold Shortcut on either speaker, or press its Power button. You can also unlink them in the Bose app.

Connect to a Bose smart speaker or soundbar

Playing the Flex 2 alongside a Bose Smart Speaker or Smart Soundbar uses a separate feature called SimpleSync (opens in a new tab). It's not the same as linking two Flex 2 speakers in stereo.

1. Keep the Flex 2 within 30 feet (9 m) of the smart speaker or soundbar, and hold its Bluetooth button until the light slowly blinks blue.
2. In the Bose app, choose the smart speaker or soundbar you want to share audio from, then tap Group (opens in a new tab). If you don't see Group, open Product Control at the lower left.
3. Under SIMPLESYNC, tap the plus next to the Flex 2. Connecting it for the first time? Tap Connect a New Product and choose the Flex 2.
4. Tap X at the upper right once you've picked it. Allow up to 30 seconds for the connection, then check you're hearing audio from both. Use the group and individual volume bars to set the levels.

The Flex 2 can connect to only one of those products at a time, and walls and building materials can weaken reception. To reconnect a smart speaker or soundbar you've linked before, use the Bose app.

If the group stays silent, we'd check what the soundbar is playing before redoing the connection. A soundbar that's playing Bluetooth audio can't use SimpleSync (opens in a new tab) to link another speaker.

Still won't connect?

Turn the speaker off and on, check its charge, and bring your device closer, away from obstructions and anything that could interfere. On your phone or computer, turn Bluetooth off and back on, or restart it. If the speaker pairs but you hear nothing, try a different music source and pause playback on any second connected device.

Next, try pairing a different phone or tablet before you clear the speaker's device list.

To clear it, hold the Bluetooth button for 15 seconds, until you hear a tone and the Bluetooth light blinks blue. Then delete the Flex 2 from your phone or computer's Bluetooth list and pair it again the same way as before.

If it still won't connect, contact Bose customer service from Bose's SoundLink Flex (2nd Gen) support page (opens in a new tab). Tell them which devices you tried, what the lights did, and whether pairing, playback or speaker linking was the part that failed.