How To Connect Sony WH-1000XM5 Headphones?

How To Connect Sony WH-1000XM5? The Sony WH-1000XM5 are currently the best-value wireless noise-canceling headphones on the market. This year’s What Hi-Fi? Award winners deliver class-leading sound performance, a raft of features, and an excellent build quality.

Learn how to connect them to your Android, iOS, Windows, or Mac device. We’ll cover how to put the headphones in pairing mode (opening the case if they’re new, or long-pressing the power/pairing button if they’re already paired). Then we’ll guide you through the Bluetooth settings process.

Features Of Connect Sony WH 1000XM5 Headphones

• WH-1000XM5 are Bluetooth(r) headphones with support for the latest Bluetooth 5.2 specification, which allows you to pair and use two devices at the same time. This is useful for, for example, pausing music playing on your laptop to answer an incoming phone call without having to remove the headphones and repair them.

• They also feature Sony’s high-bitrate LDAC codec, which improves sound quality over the standard Bluetooth 4.2 AAC codec. You can choose to enable it from the Settings menu or configure the Headphones Connect app to prefer LDAC over AAC (though it will still default to the lower bitrate).

• Another new feature is Adaptive Sound Control, which learns your daily routine and adjusts ambient sound settings to suit your environment. For example, if you listen while walking to work the headphones will automatically switch to a more relaxed level of noise cancellation than if you were sitting in your home.

• A nice touch is that the headphones will automatically pause the audio source when you take them off, thanks to a proximity sensor inside one of the ear cups. And when you put them back on, they’ll resume playback with no button presses required – and will automatically power off after 15 minutes of inactivity to conserve battery life.

• They come with a collapsible carrying case, a 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable (for listening in passive mode), and a USB charging cable. The packaging is made from what Sony describes as ‘Original Blended Material,’ which it says is a mix of bamboo, sugarcane fibers, and post-consumer recycled paper.

1. Turn on the headphones

The WH-1000XM5s come with a carrying case, headphone cable (approx. 1.2m) and USB charging cable. You can connect the headphones to your iPhone, Android device, computer, and more. The process for each is a little different, but it’s generally straightforward

You can use the Sony | Headphones Connect app to adjust settings on your headset, including multipoint connection, Quick Access controls, and Ambient Sound mode. The app also lets you customize the EQ settings on each headphone, making it easy to tailor your listening experience.

Once you’ve established a Bluetooth connection with one of your devices, you can switch between the two to play music from the same source. To do this, open the Sony | Headphones Connect app on your smartphone and touch Settings – Device connection – Bluetooth. Select the device you want to change to and uncheck Call audio if you want to connect this device for songs or videos, or Media audio if you want it for phone calls.

The WH-1000XM5s have exceptional noise cancellation and deliver a powerful, crisp, and detailed sound that doesn’t sacrifice transparency for bass depth. They come into their own on complex tracks like Billie Eilish’s Bad Guy, where the drums have a good sense of drive and weight, and Eilish’s deliberate stop/start vocal sounds very natural and impressive.

2. Press and hold the power button for 5 seconds

The WH-1000XM5 is the latest pair of premium wireless noise-canceling headphones from Sony. But don’t worry, if you can’t afford to stretch your budget to the new pair, the older XM4s still offer many of the same benefits at a slightly more affordable price point. And if you ever find yourself in a situation where you need to wire the headphones – perhaps because they’re running out of battery or aren’t quite as comfortable to wear over long periods – the Sonys can easily be connected via their standard 3.5mm jack.

Putting the earbuds into pairing mode is as simple as opening the charging case if they’re new or pressing and holding the power/pairing button for five seconds if they are already paired to another device. If your phone supports Fast Pair, you may get a pop-up notification indicating the earbuds are ready to connect, with no need for manual intervention. You can also connect a single pair of Sony headphones to multiple devices at the same time – handy for listening to music on your laptop while taking calls on your phone, or vice versa.

3. Open the Bluetooth settings on your device

If the earbuds aren’t already in pairing mode, press and hold the power/pairing button for about 5 seconds. Once the LED indicator flashes blue, they’re ready to connect to your device.

You can connect the WH-1000XM5 to almost any Bluetooth-compatible device, including laptop computers. You’ll need to make sure your device is compatible with the earbuds and has the latest drivers installed. You can check this in your settings or the Action Center. You’ll also need to ensure that Bluetooth is turned on.

To open the Bluetooth settings on a Windows PC, click the Start icon and select Settings. Then, select Bluetooth & other devices. You can also use the search bar in the taskbar to quickly find this setting. Click the toggle to turn on Bluetooth. Once your device is in discovery mode, it should appear in the list of Bluetooth devices.

On a Mac, open System Preferences and select Bluetooth. You can also open the Apple menu and select Bluetooth. Then, click the WH-1000XM5 in the list of devices to connect it. You’ll get a notification that the headphones have connected, as well as an update on the battery percentage.

If you don’t want to go through this manual process, you can use the Fast Pair feature on iOS and Android. This automatically detects the earbuds when they’re in their charging case and connects them to your device with no need for manual setup or app installation.

4. Look for WH-1000XM5

The WH-1000XM5 headphones are one of the most comfortable sets on the market. The large earcups engulf your ears and create an acoustic seal, blocking out external noise while you listen to music or take calls. The ear cups are also collapsible, so you can easily fold them away into their soft carrying case and slip them into your bag. They also feature intuitive touch control settings – push the button on the left side to switch from Noise Cancelling mode to Ambient Sound, for example.

The headphones come with Bluetooth 5.2 support and a DSEE Extreme engine to (they claim) upscale compressed music to near hi-res quality. They can be paired with two devices simultaneously, making it easy to switch between your laptop and phone when you get a call without having to unpair the headphones, repair your connection, and then pair them again.

They also carry over some of the features from the XM4s like “speak to chat,” which allows you to hold your hand over the right ear cup to temporarily halt music and boost ambient sound so you can hear what’s going on around you.

Conclusion

The WH-1000XM5 are among the best wireless headphones you can buy today. But at their current price point they’re entering a crowded market with Bose, Apple and Sennheiser breathing down Sony’s neck.