It’s particularly handy when you don’t have permanent PC speakers or the ones built into your laptop are poor quality. We’ll be showing you how to do this in Windows 10.
How to connect a Bluetooth speaker in Windows 10
1) The first step is to open the Settings app (Start then the cog wheel) and select ‘Devices’ – make sure it’s the newer Settings app first introduced in Windows 8 and not the more advanced Control Panel.
2) In the Devices menu, select the Bluetooth tab on the left-hand side and toggle Bluetooth to with the switch on if it says off.
3) Turn on your Bluetooth speaker and put it into pairing mode. The method of toggling pairing mode on varies between manufacturers – check your Bluetooth speaker manual for more details on how this is done. Most will have a dedicated pairing button.
4) Once in pairing mode, head back to the Bluetooth menu on the PC and wait for the speaker to pop up in the list of discovered devices.
5) Click the device and then click pair – depending on the Bluetooth speaker, you may be required to enter a number to complete the pairing process, but it isn’t always the case.
6) Once it’s connected, all Windows 10 audio should be rerouted via the Bluetooth speaker.
If this isn’t the case and there is no audio playback via your speaker, left-click the volume icon in the bottom right corner of Windows and choose it as the source above the volume slider.
Otherwise, right-click and open sound settings where you can also choose the source.
It’s also worth noting that some apps may need to be restarted for changes to apply – we’ve found this to be true with the likes of iTunes and Spotify in the past, along with many PC games.
Which speaker should I buy?
Now you know how to connect Bluetooth speakers to your PC/laptop in Windows 10, the next decision you need to make is which Bluetooth speaker to buy. Don’t worry though, as the Tech Advisor team has done all the leg work and has two separate charts full of amazing Bluetooth speakers.
For those that don’t want to pay over the odds for a Bluetooth speaker, we offer you our best budget Bluetooth speaker chart. However, for those that value high-quality audio no matter the price, you should take a look at our high-end Bluetooth speaker chart. There, we explain the kinds of things you should look out for when buying a Bluetooth speaker such as waterproofing, NFC support, etc, along with a few of our personal favourite speakers that we’ve used and reviewed ourselves.
Lewis Painter is a Senior Staff Writer at Tech Advisor. Our resident Apple expert, Lewis covers everything from iPhone to AirPods, plus a range of smartphones, tablets, laptops and gaming hardware. You’ll also find him on the Tech Advisor YouTube channel.
