How to Pair Sony XB 20 with iPhone

An iPhone with a Sony SRS XB20 speaker.

This post shows how to pair the Sony XB 20 Extra Bass Bluetooth speaker with an iPhone, or other iOS or iPadOS based device.

How to Pair Sony XB 20 with iPhone, Step by Step

With your XB 20 switched OFF (power button is dark), run through these directions to pair it to your iPhone mobile device. We use an iPad Air computer for this demo, since we do not have an iPhone in shop right now. But the procedure is pretty much identical.

1. Go to the Home Screen on your Device

Firstly, press the Home button to bring up the smart device’s Home screen.

2. Find the Settings App

We found ours on the second page of the Home screen, as shown next.

iOS Home Screen with Settings App Highlighted

3. Bring up the Settings App

Thirdly, tap the Settings app icon.

The smart device then shows the first page of its settings, as shown in the next step.

4. Go to the Bluetooth Settings Page to Continue with How to Pair Sony XB 20 with iPhone

Our Bluetooth Settings screen displays as follows. Note that our Bluetooth is running here. But since our XB 20 is currently shut OFF (is not in Bluetooth pairing mode), it does not show up in the BT devices list. Also, we don’t see it since we’ve never paired this speaker with our iOS device before.

5. Turn On your XB 20

Turn on the speaker by quickly pressing its Power button. See this, pointed at by the green arrow, in the next picture.

The Sony XB 20 Power button.

The speaker then powers up, and its status lamp glows green, as seen in the next picture.

The Power lamp glowing.

Also, the Bluetooth lamp will blink in some pattern to indicate that the XB 20 is ready to receive a pairing request, as we see in the next picture.

The Bluetooth Status lamp glowing.

If it blinks evenly, then it’s passively waiting for a Bluetooth connection request to come in.

But if it flashes in a pulse-pulse-pause, pulse-pulse-pause pattern , then it’s broadcasting its pairing information over Bluetooth so other devices can find it. I.e. The speaker is in pairing mode in this case.

Moreover, since our test iPhone like device does not know about this speaker, the XB 20 will not pair with it automatically.

6. Put the XB 20 into Discovery Mode

Now, to see the 20 on your iPhone, place it into Bluetooth pairing mode if it’s not in that mode already. To do that, press the Bluetooth button, and release when the unit beeps, and the Bluetooth lamp begins its pulse-pulse-pause, pulse-pulse-pause flashing pattern.

Find the Power button as shown above, pointed at by the green arrow.

7. Find the Speaker on your Mobile Device to Continue with How to Pair Sony XB 20 with iPhone

See the screen shot next. We found our XB 20, as we point out with the green arrow.

The iPhone Bluetooth Settings page, showing a Sony XB 20 as Discovered.

8. Pair with your XB 20

Tap the listed speaker in the discovered devices list.

Your mobile device then pairs with the XB 20.

I.e. The the mobile device’s Bluetooth Settings screen might then change to look something like the following. Note the now-paired Sony XB 20 entry, as pointed at by the green arrows in the next screenshot.

The iPhone Bluetooth Settings page, showing a Sony XB 20 as Connected.