Congratulations on your purchase! But now you need to figure out how to connect a Bluetooth speaker to a phone or tablet. And this is done quite simply, as this article will demonstrate.
Portable speakers have been around for a long time. For example, owners of Sony Ericsson Walkman series mobile phones could purchase such an accessory at the same time. But if before its assortment was very small, now everything has changed. In online stores, you can easily find speakers that play independently and connect them to external sound sources. With the first, everything is clear, they have a slot for a memory card and a USB port on the case. Well, the latter are connected to a smartphone or tablet. What does this process look like?
Types of Bluetooth Speaker connections
For starters, we note that there is some standardization among portable speaker manufacturers. That is, they use several popular connection methods. These are generally the following two ways:
Bluetooth connection: the so-called "blue tooth" is present in all smartphones, tablets, laptops and many mobile phones. Therefore, this method is universal. It also doesn't require tripping cables. But this method is also the one that consumes the most energy.
Audio cable connection: recently used less and less. However, some manufacturers do not forget the corresponding connector. Not without reason: it is through the cable that the sound is transmitted with the best quality.
It is extremely rare for wireless speaker manufacturers to introduce other methods of receiving sound. For example, someone can use Wi-Fi for these purposes. But this method will not be universal, because not all devices can transmit sound over Wi-Fi. Therefore, let's leave the additional methods for pairing the speaker and the smartphone in parentheses, concentrating on the two most popular connection methods.
Wired connection
If your speaker has a 3.5mm mini jack, then you're in luck. If available, the sound quality will depend only on the implementation of the speakers, and not on the stability of the signal reception and the version of Bluetooth. However, you need to make sure that it is an input and not an output. This can be done in two ways:
Look at the speaker box or in the instruction manual - the word "AUX" should appear near the 3.5mm jack. This means it is for connecting an audio cable.
Try connecting headphones to the speakers that are playing. If music starts playing in them, then this is an exit, not an entrance. If there is no effect, then this is an audio input. How to make the speaker play without connecting to a smartphone? Insert a memory card with music or activate the radio. Of course, if only the portable speaker provides these functions.
For a wired connection, you will need, of course, an audio cable. In stores, it is commonly referred to as an AUX cable. Its length does not matter. At both ends of this cable there is a 3.5mm mini plug of the "daddy" type. You will see the same plug on the headphone cable. Plug one end of the cable into the corresponding jack on your speakers and the other into the headphone jack on your smartphone. That's it, you can start playing music! Don't forget to turn the column on.
When you use a cable, you have somewhat limited movement of the speaker; you will have to move it along with the phone. But on the other hand, the sound is transmitted through the cable at maximum volume, without distortion or loss. And the battery charge of the smartphone will drain very slowly, as in the case of listening to music with headphones.
Wireless connection
If you bought a bluetooth speaker, you will definitely want to use it without using a cable. As mentioned at the beginning of this article, Bluetooth is most often used for wireless sound transmission. The blue tooth version does not play an important role, basically it only affects power consumption and autonomy. If the speaker and the smartphone have built-in Bluetooth chips of different versions, then there is nothing to worry about - they are all backward compatible.
The easiest way to wirelessly connect a bluetooth speaker is if it and your smartphone are equipped with an NFC chip. If available, simply connect the speaker to the back of the phone, and then the devices automatically sync; You only need to confirm this action by pressing the "OK" button.
If there is no NFC on one of the devices, you will have to make a manual connection. At least the first time. This is done as follows:
1. Turn on your wireless speaker.
2. Go a to the notification panel of your smartphone.
3. Hold your finger on the Bluetooth button. You can also go to the corresponding section through "Settings".
4. Here you need first of all to activate Bluetooth, if it was switched off before. To do this, use the appropriate switch located at the top of the section.
5. Click the search button. If you just turned on Bluetooth, the search for nearby devices may start automatically. 6. The smartphone screen should show all the Bluetooth devices that are currently on and nearby. Click on the one that, by name, resembles the model of your bluetooth speaker.
The system will start the synchronization process. You may be prompted to enter a digital code located somewhere at the bottom of the column. Or you will be asked to do something with the device, for example press and hold the power button for three seconds. But much more often, for a successful pairing, no action is required.
In the future, the connection to the column will be made automatically as soon as it is turned on. Of course, you must have Bluetooth enabled on your smartphone for this.
summarizing
Many wireless speaker owners are thinking about what type of connection is most convenient. We think it is better to use Bluetooth. But remember that sound is transmitted through the air in compressed form, unless the speaker with a smartphone supports the AptX profile. However, portable speakers are often compact and therefore physically unable to reproduce sound at the highest quality. Therefore, we recommend that you do not worry about using the wireless method to connect.
For starters, we note that there is some standardization among portable speaker manufacturers. That is, they use several popular connection methods.