The glowing -Bluetooth Status- light on the Sony SRS XB21 speaker.

How to Make Sony SRS XB21 Discoverable

To pair your SRS XB21 Sony BT speaker with a Bluetooth device for the first time, or to refresh old linkage info in that device, you have to know how to start up discovery mode on this Bluetooth speaker.  Now in this mode, the speaker sends out its name and currently valid connection information over the Bluetooth airwaves, so that nearby devices can find and join with it.  Thus in this post, we show you how to make the Sony SRS XB21 wireless speaker discoverable, to let you sync it with phones, tablets, computers, and smart speakers.

How to Make Sony SRS XB21 Discoverable, Step by Step Help

1. Turn On the XB21

Firstly, turn on the speaker by rapidly pressing its  Power  button.

E.g. See this button, pointed out by the cyan arrow, in the next picture.

The dark -Power- lamp on the Sony SRS XB21 speaker.
Sony SRS XB21 -Power- lamp dark.

The speaker then boots.

The glowing -Power- light on the Sony SRS XB21 speaker.
Sony SRS XB21 -Power- lamp glowing.

2. Press and Hold the Power-Pairing Button for One or Two Seconds

Secondly, to place the speaker into discovery mode, you press and hold the  double-duty Power-Pairing button. E.g. See the location of this button in the picture above.

Release the button when the status lamp begins fast blinking and the speaker makes a rising set of beeps and announces “Bluetooth pairing…” in a female voice. The unit is now discoverable by other devices.





Note also that putting the speaker in discovery mode does not erase its prior memorized Bluetooth connections.  It just allows you to connect to and add new devices to its memory.

Now if the speaker is in a corrupt state and will not go into discovery mode, you can reset it and see if that solves the problem. We describe that process in our How to Reset Sony SRS XB21 Wireless Speaker  post.

3. Done with How to Make Sony SRS XB21 Discoverable

Screenshot of the The iPadOS -Bluetooth Settings- page, showing Sony SRS XB21 speaker as Discovered but not Connected.
The iPadOS -Bluetooth Settings- page, showing Sony SRS XB21 speaker as Discovered but not Connected.

Finally, while the Bluetooth Status lamp is fast blinking, you should see the XB21 on any in-range phone, computer, tablet, or smart speaker, that is within several feet of it, as we see in the last picture.  The speaker appears as “SRS-XB21” there.

Related Posts to How to Make Sony SRS XB21 Discoverable

    1. How to Make Sony SRS XB01 Discoverable
    2. Making the Sony SRS X11 Speaker Discoverable
    3. How to Make Sony SRS XB43 Discoverable
    4. Sony SRS XB13 Speaker, How to Make it Discoverable
    5. How to Make Sony SRS XB10 Discoverable

Other Posts About the Sony SRS XB21

    1. Sony SRS XB21 Factory Reset Instructions
    2. Sony SRS XB21 Pairing Instructions
    3. How to Tell if Sony SRS XB21 is Charging
    4. How to Connect Sony SRS XB21 to iPhone
    5. Checking the Battery in the Sony SRS XB21 Speaker

References for How to Make Sony SRS XB21 Discoverable

    1. Sony SRS XB21 Speaker Product Page at Sony.com

Revision History

    • 2021-09-24: First published.