How to Make Sony XB 23 Discoverable

Sony SRS XB23 speaker, the front top view.

To pair your Sony XB 23 Extra Bass wireless speaker with a Bluetooth device for the first time, or to refresh old linkage info in that device, you must understand how to start up discovery mode on this wireless speaker. Now in this mode, the speaker sends out its name and current connection information over Bluetooth, so that nearby devices can find and join with it. Once connected, the source device can stream audio to the speaker, which apparently is something that so many like to do. So in this post, we show you how to make the Sony XB 23 discoverable, to let you link it with phones, tablets, computers, and smart speakers.

How to Make Sony XB 23 Discoverable, Step by Step Guide

1. Turn On the XB 23

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

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

Sony XB 23 -Power- button.

The speaker then starts up.

The -Power- lamp glowing green.

2. Press and Hold the Pairing Button for a Half Second or So

Secondly, to get the speaker into discovery mode, you press and release the Bluetooth Pairing button. E.g. See the location of this button in the next picture. You needn’t press it for long for the action to register.

The -Pairing- button.

The speaker then announces “Bluetooth pairing…” in a female voice. Then, the unit is now discoverable by other devices.

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

Now if the speaker is not working well and will not go into discovery mode, you can try resetting it and see if that solves the problem. We describe that process in our How to Reset Sony XB 23 Wireless Speaker post.

3. Done with How to Make Sony XB 23 Discoverable

iPadOS -Bluetooth Settings- page, showing the Sony XB 23 as Discovered, but not Connected.

Finally, while the Bluetooth Status lamp is fast blinking, you should see the XB 23 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-XB23” there.