Picture of the iOS Bluetooth Found Devices list, showing our Google Home Mini speaker, that is named Office Speaker, circled.

How to Put Google Home Mini in Pairing Mode

Google Home Mini can now also work as a Bluetooth Speaker due to firmware and Home app updates back in 2017.  So in this post, we show how to put the Google Home Mini in pairing mode so your streaming smart devices can find and connect to it.

How to Put Google Home Mini in Pairing Mode, Step by Step

1. Connect All Devices to the internet

First, make sure that both your tablet or phone, and your Google Home Mini are online and connected to the internet.

2. Turn Bluetooth ON

Next, enable Bluetooth on the source device that you’re pairing with the Google Home Mini.  In our case, we’re pairing from an iPad Air.

Then, and assure that you see the “Now discoverable as” message, as shown next.

Picture of the iPad Bluetooth Discovery Mode Screen, showing that Bluetooth is ON.
iPad Bluetooth Discovery Mode Screen, showing Bluetooth is ON.

3. Next, on the Tablet, Run the Google Home App

On our iPad, this app appears on the third home page, as pictured next.

Picture of the Google Home App entry, as shown on the iOS home screen.
Google Home App entry, as shown on the iOS home screen.

That app’s Home screen then displays, as pictured next.

Picture of the Google Home app displaying its home screen, with the hamburger menu control highlighted.
The Google Home app displaying its home screen, with the hamburger menu control highlighted.

4. Then, tap the Hamburger Item to Continue Forward with How to Put Google Home Mini in Pairing Mode

Then, find the hamburger menu control near the top left corner of the Google Home app home screen. This brings up the main menu window, as shown next.

Picture of the Google Home app, showing the Home screen with Devices menu item highlighted.
Google Home App 2017, showing the Home screen with Devices menu item highlighted.




5. Tap the   Devices   Menu Item

This brings up the list of Home devices that the app knows about, as shown next.

Picture of the Google Home Mini showing in the Devices list, with its Device Menu location highlighted.
The Google Home Mini showing in the Devices list, with its Device Menu location highlighted.

6. Tap the Hamburger Menu Link for the Mini Speaker you’re Pairing

Find the control menu (hamburger) item pointed at by the purple arrow in the last picture. The hamburger menu opens, as shown in the next picture.

Picture of the -Settings- menu item circled.
The -Settings- menu item circled.

7. Tap the   Settings   Item

in the hamburger menu as displayed in the previous picture, with the purple circle around it. You then see the Device Settings screen for the specific Google Home Mini speaker device displayed on the previous screen, whose specific setting options are shown on the screen shown next. In our case, that device is named   Office Speaker.

Note that we’ve scrolled down to the Device Settings section on this screen to find the Paired Bluetooth Devices option, as circled in the next picture.

Picture of the -Device Settings- screen with the -Paired Bluetooth Devices- option highlighted.
The -Device Settings- screen with the -Paired Bluetooth Devices- option highlighted.

8. Tap the   Paired Bluetooth Devices   Item to Continue with How to Put Google Home Mini in Pairing Mode

The Paired Bluetooth Devices screen then appears as we see next, where we could select a Bluetooth device from a list of devices that we’ve previously paired with, had we ever paired with any before. Since we have not, the screen is almost entirely blank.

Picture of the -Paired Bluetooth Devices- screen with the -Enable Pairing Mode- link highlighted.
The -Paired Bluetooth Devices- screen with the -Enable Pairing Mode- link highlighted.




9. Tap the   Enable Pairing Mode   Link

This puts the Google Home device we’re working with into pairing mode. That is, it will now show up when other in-range devices scan for Bluetooth Devices. Confirmation of this is shown by a black bar momentarily appearing at the bottom of the Paired Bluetooth Devices screen, as shown next.

Picture of the -Paired Bluetooth Devices- screen, showing the -Ready To Pair- message highlighted.
The -Paired Bluetooth Devices- screen, showing the -Ready To Pair- message highlighted.

10. Go to the   Bluetooth Settings   Screen

Find   Bluetooth Settings   somewhere in the   Settings   app on your phone or tablet.

On our iPad Air, we hit the home button, tapped the Settings app, and then tapped Bluetooth on the left side of the screen, to reveal the following screen.

Picture of the iOS Bluetooth Found Devices list, showing our Google Home Mini speaker, that is named Office Speaker, circled.
iOS Bluetooth Found Devices list, showing our Google Home Mini speaker, that is named Office Speaker, circled.

11. Next, Tap the Desired Device in this List

Now once you put the Google Home Mini in pairing mode, you’ll usually want to then connect to it as well. So for completeness, we include that step here.

Then, if all goes well, the Google Home Mini plays a short burst of musical chords, and pairing then occurs.

Picture of the iOS Bluetooth Found Devices list, showing Google Home Mini Office Speaker, successfully paired.
iOS Bluetooth Found Devices list, showing Google Home Mini Office Speaker, successfully paired.

12. Done with How to Put Google Home Mini in Pairing Mode

At this point, all your tablet’s generated sounds would play on your Google Home Mini smart speaker. Pairing is complete.

Other Posts About the Google Home Mini 

    1. Google Home Mini Change WiFi Instructions
    2. How to Reset Google Home Mini
    3. How to Install Google Home Mini

References for How to Put Google Home Mini in Pairing Mode

    1. The Google Assistant Official Page

Revision History

    • 2023-02-23: Originally published.