Why Do My Bluetooth Headphones Keep Disconnecting?

Skipping, pausing or a full disconnect

From inside your headphones, a Bluetooth dropout, a music app that's gone to sleep and a battery-saving shutdown all sound alike: the music just stops. Each one needs a different fix, so we'd work out which you're getting before you change settings or reset anything.

Apple's test for Bluetooth headphones (opens in a new tab) is a good first step for any brand. Keep your phone within a few feet and play music that's saved on it, not streamed. If that plays cleanly, look at where you're listening and what you're streaming.

The sound skips but stays connected

Keep the phone close, in the same room, with a clear path to your headphones. Walls, floors and metal can all weaken a Bluetooth signal, and so can a person in between, including your own body.

Other wireless gear gets in the way too. Move away from busy Wi-Fi, microwave ovens and wireless speakers, or switch the microwave or speaker off, and see whether the skipping stops.

If saved music plays fine but streams stutter, check your Wi-Fi or internet connection, because a weak connection can make the stream buffer (opens in a new tab). Then play the same song in another app. If only one app stutters, update it and restart it.

Closing apps you aren't using, or restarting your phone or computer, can clear up skipping as well.

The music pauses or stops by itself

If the music stops when your phone locks or you switch apps, the phone may be putting your music app to sleep. On a Samsung Galaxy phone, open Settings > Apps, pick the music app, tap Battery and choose Unrestricted, which may use more battery. You can also remove the app from Sleeping apps (opens in a new tab) and Deep sleeping apps, or turn off Power saving.

If your phone isn't a Galaxy, check your phone maker's help pages for the battery setting that lets an app keep running in the background.

Some headphone features pause the music on purpose. Sony's Speak-to-Chat, for example, pauses or mutes music when you talk, and the Sony section below shows how to switch it off.

The headphones disconnect completely

First check the basics: the headphones and your phone or computer both switched on, Bluetooth turned on, and the device awake, not asleep. If the connection still drops with saved music and the phone right next to you, unpair the headphones and pair them again (opens in a new tab). Remove them from your device's Bluetooth list, restart the device, then pair them as if they were new. With AirPods, forgetting them on an iPhone or iPad removes them from every device on your Apple Account, so read the AirPods section below first.

Charge the headphones too, since a low battery can cause audio and playback problems, and install any updates for your phone, plus any headphone updates offered in the headphones' app.

If the sound jumps to another phone, tablet or computer, disconnect the headphones from that device and try again with just one connected. The Sony WH-1000XM5 can also reconnect to the last device it used, and then it may not connect to the one in your hand.

On a Windows PC, start with the Bluetooth troubleshooter in the Get Help app, which Microsoft offers on both Windows 11 and Windows 10. Then turn off Battery Saver or Energy Saver from the battery icon on the taskbar. In Device Manager, open your Bluetooth device's Power Management tab and clear Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power, and try Update driver there too. Microsoft's steps (opens in a new tab) also cover restarting the Bluetooth service.

The headphones switch themselves off

Charge them fully first. Then look in the headphones' app or manual for an automatic power-off setting. Headphones with a wear sensor, like the Sony WH-1000XM5 below, can also switch off when the sensor can't tell you're wearing them.

If you use AirPods

Supported AirPods switch automatically to whichever Apple device you're listening on when your devices share an Apple Account, so starting a video on your iPad can pull the sound away from your iPhone. To stop that on iOS 26 or later, wear your AirPods, go to Settings, tap your AirPods' name, tap Connect to This iPhone and choose When Last Connected to This iPhone. On a Mac, the same choice (opens in a new tab) is under your AirPods in System Settings.

To restart AirPods or AirPods Pro, put them in the case and close the lid for at least 10 seconds. If you forget them on an iPhone or iPad (opens in a new tab), that removes them from every device signed in to your Apple Account, so you'll need to pair them again afterward.

If you have Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones

For skipping on the XM5, open the Sony Sound Connect app, go to My Device > All device settings > Connection > Bluetooth Connection Quality and choose Prioritize Stable Connection. On an iPhone or another AAC-compatible device, Sony's current advice (opens in a new tab) is Prioritize Sound Quality instead. A busy spot can still cause the odd break in stable mode.

If music pauses when you talk, check Speak-to-Chat (opens in a new tab). It's off out of the box, but if it's been switched on, hold two fingers on the touch panel until you hear “Speak-to-chat deactivated,” or switch it off in the app. A brief pause as you start moving can be Adaptive Sound Control adjusting the noise canceling, which Sony says isn't a fault.

If the XM5 switches itself off, wear it with your ears inside the earpads and no hair, cap or scarf underneath, since those can stop wearing detection from working properly. Charge it fully. If it still turns off, go to All device settings > Power/Battery > Automatic Power Off in Sound Connect and choose Do not turn off. Wearing detection keeps working (opens in a new tab) with that setting.

With two devices connected, the first one can keep sending a silent signal (opens in a new tab) after you stop the music, so the second one stays quiet. Check that Connect to 2 devices simultaneously is on in the app, stop playback in the first device's app, close that app completely and then play on the second device. On a computer, also make sure the headphones are chosen as the Bluetooth audio output. Still silent? Check that the second device is actually playing and its volume is turned up.

Reset the XM5 before you initialize it

We'd always try a reset first, because it keeps your pairings and settings, while initializing erases every pairing. To reset the XM5 (opens in a new tab), connect it to a wall outlet with the supplied USB Type-C cable and a USB AC adapter, then press the power button and the NC/AMB button at the same time. Unplug the cable, reconnect to your phone and try again.

Initialize the XM5 if the reset doesn't help

Initializing (opens in a new tab) deletes every pairing and puts volume and other settings back to factory defaults, so you'll pair from scratch afterward:

1. Turn the headphones off and unplug the USB Type-C cable.
2. Press and hold the power and NC/AMB buttons together for about 7 seconds.
3. Wait for the blue light to flash 4 times. That means initialization is done.
4. Delete the WH-1000XM5 from your phone's or computer's Bluetooth list.
5. With the headphones charged and your device within about 3 feet (1 m), turn the headphones on. They go into pairing mode by themselves the first time after initializing.
6. Select WH-1000XM5 in your device's Bluetooth list to pair.

If the problem is still there after initializing and pairing again, contact Sony or your nearest Sony dealer. Tell them whether the sound skips, pauses or cuts off, or the headphones switch off, and which fixes changed anything. With another brand, contact that maker's support.