How to Connect Wireless Earbuds to a Smart TV (Every Brand)

Watching a film with the TV speakers blaring disturbs everyone else in the house, especially late at night. Wireless earbuds solve the problem neatly: pair them with your smart TV and the sound goes straight to your ears while the room stays quiet. Most TVs made in the last few years have Bluetooth built in, and even older sets can join in with a cheap transmitter. Here is how to connect your earbuds on every major TV platform — and what to do when the sound will not play or falls out of sync with the picture.

Quick Answer

Put your earbuds in pairing mode, then on the TV open Settings > Sound > Sound Output (or Bluetooth devices on Google TV and Fire TV), select Bluetooth Speaker List or Add Accessory, and choose your earbuds when they appear. The TV’s sound will switch to the earbuds automatically. If your TV has no Bluetooth, plug a Bluetooth audio transmitter into its headphone or optical socket instead.

Before You Start: Check Your TV Has Bluetooth

Almost all Samsung, LG, Sony, TCL, and Hisense smart TVs from 2018 onwards include Bluetooth for audio. To check quickly, look for a Bluetooth or “Wireless Speaker Manager” option in the sound settings, or search your model number on the manufacturer’s website. Two important notes:

• Some TVs use Bluetooth only for the remote control and the magic pointer, not for audio output. If there is no Bluetooth speaker list in the sound menu, your TV falls into this group.
• Most TVs can connect to only one Bluetooth audio device at a time, so two people cannot each use their own earbuds unless the TV supports dual audio (some newer Samsung models do) or you use a transmitter with dual-link support.

If you are shopping for earbuds mainly to use with a TV, our network’s general guide to extending wireless earbud battery life will help you get through a whole film on one charge.

How to Connect on Each TV Platform

Samsung TVs (Tizen)

1. Put the earbuds in their case, open the lid, and hold the pairing button until the light flashes — or follow your earbuds’ pairing instructions.
2. On the TV, press Home, then go to Settings > Sound > Sound Output.
3. Select Bluetooth Speaker List. The TV searches for nearby devices.
4. Choose your earbuds from the list and select Pair and Connect.

LG TVs (webOS)

1. Set the earbuds to pairing mode.
2. Press the Settings button on the remote and go to Sound > Sound Out.
3. Choose “Use Wireless Speaker” or LG Sound Sync/Bluetooth, depending on the model year.
4. Select Device List, pick your earbuds, and confirm.

Google TV and Android TV (Sony, TCL, Hisense, Philips)

1. Put the earbuds in pairing mode.
2. Press Home and open Settings > Remotes & Accessories > Pair accessory (on Google TV it may be under Settings > Remotes & accessories > Accessories).
3. Select your earbuds from the list and choose Pair.
4. Sound switches automatically. Use Settings > Display & Sound > Audio output if you ever want to switch back to the TV speakers.

Amazon Fire TV (Edition TVs and Fire TV Sticks)

1. Set the earbuds to pairing mode.
2. Go to Settings > Controllers & Bluetooth Devices > Other Bluetooth Devices > Add Bluetooth Devices.
3. Select your earbuds when they appear. Use the remote’s volume buttons to control the level.

Apple TV (for completeness)

On an Apple TV box, go to Settings > Remotes and Devices > Bluetooth, choose your earbuds, and they connect — AirPods pair instantly if they are on the same Apple account.

No Bluetooth on Your TV? Use a Transmitter

A Bluetooth 5.x audio transmitter costs very little and plugs into the TV’s 3.5mm headphone socket or optical (Toslink) output. Set the TV’s sound output to that socket, put the transmitter in pairing mode, then pair your earbuds to the transmitter rather than the TV. Look for a transmitter that supports the aptX Low Latency codec if you watch a lot of films, and check that your earbuds support it too, so voices stay in sync with lips on screen. The Bluetooth overview on Wikipedia explains the versions and audio codecs if you want the background before buying.

Fixing Audio Delay (Lip Sync Problems)

Bluetooth adds a small delay, usually 100–250 milliseconds. Most people never notice it with music, but dialogue can look slightly dubbed. Try these in order:

1. Use the TV’s audio sync setting: Many TVs have an “A/V Sync”, “Bluetooth audio delay”, or “Lip Sync” adjustment under sound settings.
2. Turn off sound processing: Surround virtualisation and equaliser presets add processing time. Set the sound mode to Standard or PCM output (Settings > Sound > Expert Settings > HDMI-eARC Mode or Digital Output Audio Format > PCM).
3. Reduce interference: Keep the path between the TV and your seat clear of the router and microwave ovens, which share the 2.4GHz band.
4. Restart the connection: Disconnect and re-pair the earbuds; a fresh connection often resets a drifting delay.

Only One Earbud Plays, or the Volume Is Too Low

Two complaints show up often after a successful pairing. First, sound from only one earbud: this usually means the earbuds paired with the TV as two separate devices or the secondary bud never joined. Put both buds back in the case, close it for ten seconds, take them out together so they link to each other first, and then reconnect to the TV. Second, volume that stays whisper-quiet even at maximum: some TVs have a separate Bluetooth volume control plus a “fixed volume” or headphone volume setting buried in accessibility or expert sound menus — raise that too. On Samsung TVs, check Settings > General > Accessibility for the multi-output and volume options; on LG, the Sound Out menu’s advanced settings hold a similar control. Note that a few TVs let you play the TV speakers and Bluetooth at the same time (Samsung’s Multi-Output Audio, meant for hearing assistance) — useful if one viewer needs earbuds and everyone else needs the speakers, but a surprise if you enabled it by accident and cannot work out why the room speakers will not mute.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Forgetting the earbuds are still paired to your phone: Most earbuds auto-connect to the last device. Turn off your phone’s Bluetooth or disconnect them there first, otherwise they will never appear in the TV’s list.
• Pairing instead of connecting: After the first pairing, you normally just select the earbuds in the sound output menu — do not delete and re-pair every time.
• Leaving the TV speakers selected: Some TVs list the earbuds but keep output on the TV speaker until you confirm the switch.
• Expecting two sets of earbuds to work: Standard TV Bluetooth supports one audio device; plan on a dual-link transmitter for couples.

Conclusion

Connecting wireless earbuds to a smart TV takes under two minutes once you know where your brand hides the Bluetooth menu: sound output on Samsung and LG, accessories on Google TV, Bluetooth devices on Fire TV. Put the earbuds in pairing mode first, disconnect them from your phone, and use the TV’s sync or PCM settings if voices drift. For TVs without Bluetooth, a small transmitter in the headphone or optical socket does the same job.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use AirPods with a Samsung or LG TV?

Yes. AirPods pair like any other Bluetooth earbuds: put them in the open case, hold the case button until the light flashes white, then select them in the TV’s Bluetooth speaker list. You lose Apple-only features like spatial audio personalisation, but basic audio works fine.

Why do my earbuds connect but there is no sound?

The TV output is probably still set to the TV speakers or an HDMI soundbar. Go to the sound output menu and select the earbuds explicitly. Also raise the volume with the TV remote — Bluetooth volume is separate from speaker volume on many models.

Can two people listen with separate earbuds?

Only if the TV supports dual Bluetooth audio (some 2022 and later Samsung models) or you use a dual-link Bluetooth transmitter. Otherwise, one audio device at a time is the limit.

Will Bluetooth earbuds work with cable TV and games consoles too?

Yes, as long as the sound passes through the TV. Anything you can hear through the TV speakers — broadcast channels, consoles, streaming sticks — is sent to the paired earbuds, because the TV routes all its audio to the selected output.