My TV has Bluetooth, but I can’t connect my headphones

If you're having difficulties with connecting your Bluetooth headphones to the TV, it's possible that your television does not support the required Bluetooth profile. Despite being a common term, Bluetooth technology is used for different functions and tasks. Each task requires a different Bluetooth profile. If your TV is not equipped with the right Bluetooth profile, it's unable to connect with your headphones because it can't perform the function it needs to do. 

Different Bluetooth profiles

A device can have one or multiple Bluetooth profiles. Each profile performs a specific function on your device, and in this case, TV. 

Examples of common Bluetooth profiles:

• A2DP (Stereo Audio): the A2DP Bluetooth profile supports the exchange of high-quality stereo audio signals.  This profile enables your TV to pair with Bluetooth headphones.
• AVRCP (remote control): the Audio / Video Remote Control Profile allows your TV to receive signals from the remote control. If your TV has Bluetooth, but it can't connect to headphones, it's possible that the TV Bluetooth refers to the Bluetooth used to communicate with the remote control. 
• HOGP (low energy device connectivity): the HID over GATT Profile ensures low energy device connectivity. 
   

How do I know my TV has the A2DP Bluetooth profile?

Bluetooth profiles are listed on the specifications page. You can consult your TV specifications on your TV product page:

1. Enter your model name in the search bar to find your product page.
2. The specifications tab is located on the top left-hand side.
3. On the specifications page, the supported Bluetooth profiles are listed in the Connectivity section. 
    

My TV has the A2DP profile, but I can’t connect headphones

If you’re sure that your TV supports the A2DP profile, but still can’t connect your headphones, try the following options:

1. Confirm pairing mode and previous connections: ensure your headphones are in pairing mode and confirm that they haven’t connected to another device nearby. A Bluetooth device can pair with up to eight devices, and it will automatically connect with the previous device if it’s nearby. In that case, your TV will not detect it. 

2. Turn Bluetooth off and on again: in your TV Bluetooth settings, you have the option to turn Bluetooth off and on. Doing this will refresh the Bluetooth scan. 

3. Restart both devices: sometimes restarting your TV and your headphones can do the trick. Make sure you put your headphones in pairing mode after the restart. 

Video: How to connect Bluetooth headphones with my Sony TV