How to Connect Bluetooth Headphones to Windows

The headphones are charged and sitting next to the PC, but Windows never lists them when you go looking. Pairing only works while the headphones are broadcasting, and most of them only broadcast for a couple of minutes after a specific button hold. Pairing is also separate from playback, so sound can still come out of the speakers afterward.

Put the headphones into pairing mode

Hold the power or pairing button until the light flashes, usually blue and white in turn. The hold is longer than a normal power on, around five to seven seconds on most models, and the manual gives the exact one. Headphones that connected to a phone earlier need this step anyway, because they reconnect to the phone instead of advertising to Windows.

Add the device in Windows

Go to Settings, Bluetooth & devices, and check that Bluetooth is On. Click Add device, choose Bluetooth, and wait for the headphones to appear by name in the list. Click the name, wait for Your device is ready to go, and click Done. On Windows 10 the same flow is under Settings, Devices, Bluetooth & other devices.

Set the headphones as the sound output

Pairing does not move the audio. Click the speaker icon in the corner of the taskbar, click the arrow at the right end of the volume slider, and pick the headphones from the list of outputs. Windows remembers the choice for that device from then on.

Switch to the hands-free version for calls

The same list often shows the headset twice, once as Stereo and once as Hands-Free or Hands-Free AG Audio. Only the hands-free entry carries the microphone, so pick it inside the meeting or call app, then switch back for music.

If music sounds thin or muffled. The hands-free mode is still selected. It drops audio quality hard to make room for the microphone, and the fix is picking the stereo entry again in the output list.

If it pairs but will not connect, or shows as paired and stays silent. Go to Settings, Bluetooth & devices, click the three-dot menu on the headphones, choose Remove device, and pair again from scratch. That clears a stale pairing record and resolves most connection trouble.