How to Pair Sony XB 23 to iPhone

An iPhone with a Sony SRS XB23 speaker.

This post shows how to pair the Sony XB 23 Extra Bass wireless speaker with an iPhone, or other iOS or iPadOS based device.

How to Pair Sony XB 23 to iPhone, Step by Step

With your XB 23 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 picture.

iPhone 12 Pro Max -Settings- page, showing the -Bluetooth- option.

4. Go to the Bluetooth Settings Page to Continue with How to Pair Sony XB 23 to iPhone

Tap the Bluetooth item on the Settings page, as we show with the green arrow in the last picture.

Our Bluetooth Settings screen displays as follows. Note that our Bluetooth is running here. But since our XB 23 is currently shut OFF (is not in Bluetooth pairing mode), it does not show up in the BT devices list.

The iPhone 12 Pro Max -Bluetooth Settings- page.

Also, we don’t see it since we’ve never paired this speaker with our iOS device before.

5. Turn On your Sony XB 23

Turn on the XB 23 by quickly pressing its Power button. See this, pointed at by the green arrow, in the next picture.

The -Power- button.

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

Sony XB 23 -Power- lamp glowing green.

Also, the Bluetooth lamp will blink in some pattern to indicate that the XB 23 is ready to receive a Bluetooth pairing request, as we see in the next picture.

The Sony XB 23 -Bluetooth Status- lamp glowing blue.

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 does not know about this speaker, the XB 23 will not pair with it automatically.

6. Put the Speaker into BT Discovery Mode

Now, to see this speaker 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.

Sony XB 23 -Pairing- button.

Find the Bluetooth button as shown in the last picture, pointed at by the yellow arrow.

7. Find the Speaker on your Mobile Device to Continue with How to Pair Sony XB 23 to iPhone

See the screen shot next. We found our XB 23, as we point out with the green arrow.

The iPhone Bluetooth Settings page, showing the speaker as Discovered.

8. Pair with your XB 23

Tap the listed speaker in the discovered devices list.

Your mobile device then pairs with the XB 23.

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 23 entry, as pointed at by the green arrow in the next screenshot.

The iPhone Bluetooth Settings screen, showing a Sony XB 23 as Connected.