Late-night TV. Everyone else asleep. You’re stuck with the volume so low you can barely make out dialogue.
Bluetooth headphones fix that. But getting them connected to a Samsung TV trips people up — because the menu path changes by model year, and there are two entirely different setups depending on whether your TV has Bluetooth built in.
This guide covers both. You’ll find the step-by-step pairing process, a year-by-year menu table from 2015 through 2025, what to do if your TV has no Bluetooth at all, and fixes for every common error.
Does Your Samsung TV Have Bluetooth?
Check this before you do anything else. Not all Samsung TVs support Bluetooth audio — particularly models made before 2015.
Quick test 1 — The Smart Remote check. Samsung’s Smart Remote (the slim one with no number pad, no physical channel buttons) pairs to the TV via Bluetooth. If your TV came with one, Bluetooth is built in.
Quick test 2 — The Settings menu check. On your TV, go to Settings → Sound → Sound Output. If you see a Bluetooth Speaker List option in the menu, your TV supports Bluetooth audio. If that option isn’t there, it doesn’t.
Not sure which Samsung model you own? The TV Model Number Decoder breaks down your model code and shows you the exact specs, including audio output capabilities.
If your TV passes either test, read on. If not, skip straight to the no-Bluetooth section below.
Step-by-Step: How to Connect Bluetooth Headphones
This works with any Bluetooth headphones — Galaxy Buds, Sony WH-1000XM5, JBL, Sennheiser, Bose, or any third-party wireless headset that isn’t designed exclusively for mobile devices. If you’re also looking to pair earbuds or in-ear monitors to a TV, the process is nearly identical — our guide on how to connect earbuds to a TV covers the differences.
Step 1 — Put Your Headphones into Pairing Mode
This is where most people get stuck. Powered on is not the same as pairing mode.
Hold the power button or Bluetooth button for 3–5 seconds until the LED flashes rapidly or you hear a voice prompt like “pairing” or “ready to connect.” That’s pairing mode. Check your headphone manual if you’re unsure — the exact method varies by brand.
Step 2 — Navigate to Bluetooth Speaker List
The menu path depends on your TV’s model year. Use the table below.
| TV Year | Menu Path |
|---|---|
| 2023–2025 | Settings → All Settings → Sound → Sound Output → Bluetooth Speaker List |
| 2022 | Menu → Settings → All Settings → Sound → Sound Output → Bluetooth Speaker List |
| 2018–2021 | Settings → Sound → Sound Output → Bluetooth Speaker List |
| 2017 (M, N, R series) | Settings → Sound → Sound Output → Speaker List |
| 2016 (K series) | Settings → Sound → Expert Settings → Wireless Speaker Manager → Bluetooth Audio Devices |
| 2015 (J series) | Menu → Sound → Speaker Settings → Bluetooth Headphones |
2024 model note: Samsung reorganized the menus on 2024 TVs. Go to Settings → All Settings → Connection → Bluetooth Devices instead of the Sound path.
Step 3 — Scan and Connect
On the Bluetooth Speaker List screen, select Scan or Refresh. Keep your headphones within 1–2 feet of the TV while scanning. Distance matters significantly during initial pairing — trying to connect from across the room often fails.
Your headphones should appear within 30 seconds. Select them, then choose Pair and Connect. If nothing appears after 60 seconds, move the headphones closer and scan again.
After Connecting — What Changes on Your TV
The moment pairing completes, the TV speakers go silent. All audio routes to the headphones. Your Samsung remote still controls volume.
One hard limit: the TV natively connects to only one Bluetooth audio device at a time. For two people listening simultaneously, use the Multi Connect feature covered further below.
What If Your Samsung TV Has No Bluetooth? {#no-bluetooth}
A TV without Bluetooth doesn’t mean you’re confined to wired headphones. A Bluetooth audio transmitter plugs into your TV’s existing audio output and broadcasts wirelessly to any Bluetooth headphones. Check Bluetooth audio transmitter for TV.
For a full comparison of methods for non-Bluetooth TVs, see our guide on connecting wireless headphones to a TV without built-in Bluetooth.
Option 1 — Optical (TOSLINK) Connection
Most Samsung TVs have a Digital Optical Audio Out port — a small square socket, usually labeled “OPTICAL” on the back panel. This delivers the best audio quality of the three adapter options.
- Plug the transmitter into the optical port.
- Power it via USB (most transmitters use USB for power).
- Put the transmitter into pairing mode.
- Put your headphones into pairing mode.
- Hold both devices close until they pair.
One mandatory step: Go to Settings → Sound → Expert Settings → Digital Audio Output and set the format to PCM. Without this, many transmitters receive no signal or output white noise. This single setting resolves the “no sound through transmitter” issue in most cases.
Option 2 — 3.5mm AUX or RCA Connection
If your TV has a 3.5mm headphone jack or red/white RCA audio outputs, transmitters that support these work the same way. No PCM setting change needed.
Volume note: On optical and RCA connections, the TV remote usually can’t adjust transmitter output volume. Use the headphone’s own volume controls or the transmitter’s dial.
Not sure which audio outputs your Samsung model has? The Soundbar Compatibility Checker identifies your TV’s output ports and flags compatible audio adapter types.
Connect Two Pairs of Headphones at Once (Multi Connect)
Samsung’s Multi Connect feature sends audio to two Bluetooth devices simultaneously from the same TV. Available on most Samsung Smart TVs from 2020 onward.
Steps:
- Put the first headphones into pairing mode.
- Go to Settings → All Settings → Sound → Sound Output → Bluetooth Speaker List.
- Select the first headphones and choose Pair and Connect.
- Put the second headphones into pairing mode.
- Return to Bluetooth Speaker List and scan again.
- When the second device appears, select it. Choose Multi Connect (not Replace).
Both devices now receive audio at the same time. Each user adjusts their own headphone volume independently.
Bluetooth Hearing Aids and Multi-output Audio
Multi-output Audio is a separate Samsung accessibility feature. It lets a hearing aid user pair their device to the TV while the TV speakers remain on at their own volume — so one person hears through their hearing aid at their preferred volume while everyone else hears through the speakers at a different level.
How to enable it by TV year:
- 2020 and newer: Settings → All Settings → General & Privacy → Accessibility → Multi-output Audio
- 2017–2019: Settings → General → Accessibility → Multi-output Audio
- 2016 (K series): Settings → System → Accessibility → Multi-output Audio
- 2015 (J series): Menu → System → Accessibility → Multi-output Audio
Troubleshooting — When Bluetooth Headphones Won’t Connect
Headphones Don’t Appear in the List
Root cause: Your headphones are still connected to another device — usually your phone — and aren’t available to accept a new connection.
Fix: Turn Bluetooth fully off on your phone (don’t just disconnect — turn the whole thing off). Power your headphones completely off, wait 10 seconds, then power back on into pairing mode. Scan from the TV immediately. This resolves the disappearing-device problem in the majority of cases.
Keep the headphones within 1–2 feet of the TV during the scan.
“Pairing Failed” Error
Root cause: The TV has a corrupted or stale Bluetooth cache entry for your headphones from a previous attempt.
Fix: Go to Settings → Sound → Sound Output → Bluetooth Speaker List. Find your headphones in the list — even if they show as disconnected or unnamed. Select the entry and choose Remove or Delete. Rescan and pair fresh. Clearing that cached data resolves the failed handshake.
Paired but No Sound
Root cause: Pairing completed, but the TV didn’t switch the active audio output to the headphones.
Fix: After pairing, go to Settings → Sound → Sound Output and manually select your headphones from the list. The output doesn’t always switch automatically on older firmware.
Audio Lag and Lip-Sync Delay
The cause is codec mismatch. Standard Bluetooth (SBC) carries 150–200ms of audio latency, which creates a visible gap between lip movement and sound. Headphones with aptX Low Latency support reduce this to under 40ms — imperceptible to most people.
If your headphones support aptX LL and still lag, try toggling Game Mode off on your TV. On some 2025 Samsung firmware builds, Game Mode reduces video processing delay without touching audio delay, which makes the Bluetooth lag more noticeable rather than less.
If you see an unusual error code appear on your TV during or after Bluetooth setup, the TV Error Code Lookup tool identifies what it means and suggests next steps.
Running outdated TV firmware can also cause unstable Bluetooth behavior across the board. The Samsung TV firmware update guide walks through how to check and update your software.
Keeps Disconnecting
Bluetooth range is approximately 30 feet in open space. Walls, furniture, and 2.4GHz interference from Wi-Fi routers or microwaves cut that range considerably.
If drops happen in the same room, interference is the likely culprit. Switching your Wi-Fi router to 5GHz removes it from the same frequency band as Bluetooth and often stabilizes the connection.
If none of the above steps fix a persistent pairing problem, a factory reset removes all corrupted Bluetooth data. Here’s how to factory reset your Samsung TV without losing your installed apps.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use AirPods with a Samsung TV?
Yes. AirPods pair through the standard Bluetooth process above. But Samsung TVs don’t recognize Apple’s W1/H1 chip, so automatic device switching, Siri activation, and volume sync through the TV remote won’t work. If seamless Apple audio integration matters to you, check the list of AirPlay 2-supported Samsung TVs — some models support AirPlay 2 as an alternative to Bluetooth.
Can I use headphones and the TV speakers at the same time?
Not through the TV’s native Bluetooth — connecting headphones mutes the built-in speakers automatically. The exception is Multi-output Audio for hearing aids (described above) or using a Bluetooth transmitter, which leaves the TV speakers active.
How far from the TV can I be?
Roughly 30 feet in open space. Expect 15–20 feet through a wall. Physical obstructions and wireless interference shrink this further.
Why does my volume remote stop working with a Bluetooth transmitter?
On optical and RCA connections, the TV treats the transmitter as a fixed-level output and disables remote volume control for those audio paths. Use your headphones’ controls or the transmitter’s volume dial. For broader Samsung TV volume issues unrelated to Bluetooth, see our guide on Samsung TV volume stuck or not working.
Bottom Line
Most Samsung TVs built from 2015 onward support Bluetooth audio. The core pairing path is: headphones in pairing mode → Settings → Sound → Sound Output → Bluetooth Speaker List → Pair and Connect. The exact menu wording shifts by year, but the sequence is the same.
No built-in Bluetooth? A transmitter via optical or AUX solves it — just set the audio format to PCM if you’re using the optical port.
Most pairing failures trace back to three things: headphones still connected to your phone, a cached entry in the TV’s device list, or the audio output not switching after pairing. Clear those first before anything else.