Even though the PS5 is all the rage these days — truly passionate gaming enthusiasts are spending plenty of time with their PS4; especially if their budget can’t allow for the purchase of the newest console just yet.
Indeed, you can have more than enough fun with a PlayStation 4 over any weekend with your buddies. There’s nothing quite like playing the games with stunning graphics — though the atmospheric soundtracks containing deep bass are just as crucial for the experience.
And that’s all without even mentioning the shouts and screams of all the other gamers you’re playing within any given online session.
The experience would be even better if you were to connect a set of Bluetooth headphones or speakers to your PS4. But what happens if you’ve got Bluetooth headphones already — but your PS4 doesn’t support them?
Unfortunately, the fact of the matter is — most generic Bluetooth headsets aren’t compatible with the PS4. The manufacturer has made sure that only very specific products (including their own) can work with the gaming console.
Not to worry, though — we’ve got ways of connecting sound systems and headsets that run via Bluetooth to your PS4; even if they’re unsupported!
Bluetooth Headphones for PS4
Now, if you haven’t bought a pair of Bluetooth headphones for your PS4 just yet — that’s a good thing! It means that you can choose a pair that’s compatible with your gaming console.
Make sure you check if the headphones work with the PS4 out of the box; that will save you a ton of trouble in terms of connectivity.
Apart from that, there are other factors that you should keep in mind — such as the material that they’re made of, their shape, the earcups, etc.
Connecting Bluetooth Headphones and PS4
Provided that you get a pair of headphones that work with your PS4 right out of the box, the procedure for connecting the two is fairly simple.
There are only a few steps that you need to take:
- Go to the menu titled “Settings” in your PS4
- Then, enter the “Device” section
- Choose the “Bluetooth Devices” part
- Take your Bluetooth headphones
- Turn on their Pairing feature or the similar equivalent
- Wait a couple of seconds. Soon enough, the two should connect automatically; or, if you’re doing this for the first time, you should see your headset on the PS4 screen. All it will take is another press of a button — and you’ll be connected!
If your headphones aren’t supported by the PS4, you will get a notification along the lines of “No Profile Supported”.
Don’t worry, though — we’ve got solutions for that as well!
Why are there unsupported Bluetooth headphones for PS4?
If you’re reading this, you’ve arrived at a conundrum — namely, you’ve laid down your hard-earned money for a pair of Bluetooth headphones; only to find that they’re not usable with your PS4. Why is that, though?
When it comes to gaming consoles, PS4 is one of the all-time greats; the PlayStation brand shares the throne of the world’s most popular gaming console with Microsoft’s Xbox.
Bearing that in mind — it’s no wonder that they’re able to dictate the hardware standards for their own product, instead of making it compatible with everything on the market.
As for Bluetooth headphones — without becoming too technical about this, it’s worth noting that there are different stereo profiles upon which Bluetooth headphones function. The A2DP is the most widely used one — though there are others, such as HSP.
You’ve probably guessed it by now — Sony has opted for their PlayStation console to be compatible with the HSP Bluetooth profile, rather than the A2DP.
Because of that, a large number of non-Sony Bluetooth headphones simply don’t work with PlayStation 4 due to a lack of support for A2DP.
That’s a bummer, seeing as a majority of contemporary Bluetooth headphones run on A2DP. But just because PS4 doesn’t support your headphones out of the box, it doesn’t mean that you won’t be able to use them!
There’s no reason to get nervous because we’ve got a couple of methods of making the two work together right here.
Method 1: Using an audio cable
The good news is — if you want to use the first method for connecting unsupported Bluetooth headphones to a PS4; you’ve probably got everything you need already!
A majority of Bluetooth headsets also have an audio cable; one that contains a built-in microphone for conversations. So, check out the box of your Bluetooth headphones.
If they don’t contain this, consider moving onto the second method — unless you want to buy new headphones. And if you’re willing to do the latter, just get a pair that works with PS4 without additional steps!
However, if you do find the audio cable — you will be ready to make use of this particular method!
- Turn on your Bluetooth headphones
- Connect your PS4 controller and the audio cable
- Go to the “Settings” part of your PS4
- Find the “Devices” option
- Choose “Bluetooth devices”
- Select your headset
- Next, pick the “Output device” option
- There will be an option to choose the headset that’s connected with your PS4 controller — choose this.
- Make sure that the “Output to headphones” option is set to “All Audio”.
Voila! You’re all set now.
And while you’re in this part of the settings, you can also raise the volume up and down; though you can probably do the same using your Bluetooth headphones themselves, so there’s no need to enter this menu just for that.
Method 2: Bluetooth Adapter Dongles
Now, you may not have an audio cable that can be connected with your controller — or you simply don’t want to use one.
If that’s the case, you can simply opt to buy a Bluetooth adapter dongle. Now, if you’re not already familiar with this type of tech — you may not know what these are.
In essence, we’re talking about a Bluetooth-compatible mini sound card — one that has a USB dongle, meaning that you can insert it into one of your USB slots found on the PS4 console.
It’s a genius way to handle Bluetooth headphones; basically, your PS4 doesn’t even “know” that it’s connecting to Bluetooth headphones. It registers this USB-connected dongle as a USB headset.
Then, the dongle takes the audio signals from the console via USB and transmits them to your Bluetooth headphones. The reason such a method can work in the first place is because Sony decided to support USB headsets, making it possible to create this kind of workaround.
So, how does this actually work?
- Put the USB adapter in your PS4’s USB port
- Turn on the headphones
- Go to the Settings of the PS4
- Choose Device options
- Once you reach Audio Devices, choose “USB headset” as your preferred output. Remember, this will be your Bluetooth headphones, but the console registers them as USB due to the adapter.
That’s all you need to do! Though, make sure that you buy a quality USB adapter for your Bluetooth headphones. These days, there are plenty of those that are extremely low-quality and will result in a hectic and disrupted signal.
Also, the cheapest ones aren’t likely to work with all brands of Bluetooth headphones.
Seeing as even the most expensive USB adapters of this sort are quite cheap, we recommend putting in a couple of extra bucks and investing in a premium option; that way, you won’t have to worry about Bluetooth connectivity with your PS4 ever again.
FAQ for Bluetooth headphones and PS4
As you can see, achieving this kind of connection does mean a bit of fiddling; which means that there are plenty of potential complications that may arise.
There’s no need to worry, though — we’ll address all of them in our frequently asked questions section!
Do I need to buy gaming headphones?
Many people aren’t sure of whether they need a separate pair of Bluetooth headphones for gaming. If you’ve already bought a pair of such headphones for your phones — can’t you just use those for the PS4 as well, and minimize your investment?
Well, using the methods above — yes. But dedicated gaming headphones bring a lot to the table. For instance, they allow you to have the best atmospheric surround sound; while also being specifically made to be comfortable for longer wearing times.
Can I connect Bluetooth headphones to my PS4?
Pretty much, yes. There are a lot of Bluetooth headphones that are compatible with the PS4 — especially those manufactured by Sony. However, bear in mind that these need to be on the HSP Bluetooth audio profile if you want them to be compatible right out of the box.
Otherwise, you can just get a pair of headphones that work via the A2DP profile and connect them to your PS4 using some of the methods that we’ve outlined above.
Are AirPods compatible with PS4?
Many people use AirPods as their default wireless headphones of choice. Considering that, it’s no wonder that you may want to simply connect these and use them with your gaming console as well. However, unfortunately — they don’t work with PlayStation 4, at least not natively.
However, the Bluetooth adapter method still works flawlessly with these; there’s no audio cable with them, so you can’t use the other method.
But keep in mind that the USB adapter dongle is not a bad investment, seeing as you can use it with all kinds of other headphones, not solely your AirPods.
Can I connect my PS4 with Beats?
Unfortunately, Beats are also not compatible with your PS4 — at least not initially. But if you use the dongle that we’ve mentioned above, you can connect them without too much difficulty.
How to Connect an Unsupported Bluetooth Speaker To PS4
Sometimes, the speaker from your TV just isn’t enough. You want to give your PS4 some extra audio juice — but it’s just not happening, because there’s no support for Bluetooth speakers natively built into the PS4.
There’s no reason to worry, though — there are a couple of different ways you can do this!
Method 1: Optical Audio Cables
The first method for connecting an unsupported Bluetooth speaker to the PS4 is via an optical audio cable.
Just bear in mind that this option doesn’t work with the PS4 Slim, because that PS4 variant doesn’t contain a port for optical audio cables; if you have such a PS4, you should look towards our other methods.
Also, there’s a chance that your speaker doesn’t contain an optical port for the cable. In that case, getting an optical adapter should do the trick; this adapter enables you to connect your optical cable via old analog stereo ports found on most speakers.
If you can and want to perform this connection, you will need to:
- Purchase the optical audio cable. If you’re unsure of what these cables look like, ask the salesperson to help you out. Alternatively, look for cables that have a tiny middle jack surrounded by a plastic mouth in a hexagonal shape. You can find these on Amazon, or in your local retail store’s tech department.
- Plug the audio cable into the optical port of your speakers. If you have a speaker set, you will probably be able to find the port on the main speaker unit; the port is likely to be in the back.
- Take the other end of the cable, and plug it into the optical port on your PS4.
- Turn the PS4 on and check if the speaker works.
Method 2: Audio Extractors
Audio extractors represent another way to connect a speaker to your PS4. These contain two HDMI ports found on opposite sides, along with other output ports for audio — RCA, 3.5mm, or optical cables are supported.
Many tech stores have them, but you can also buy them online. Keep in mind that audio extractors are probably not the most ideal method for achieving this type of connection, seeing as they provide a subpar level of audio quality compared to other methods.
If you want to use these devices to connect your speaker to a PS4, make sure you:
- Buy the right kind of audio extractor: its output (for instance, RCA) has to perfectly match the input on your speakers
- Get an audio cable that will be able to connect your speakers to the extractor — with the right kind of output and input ends.
- Get another HDMI cable — you have the one that connects your TV to the PS4, but you’ll need another one for the audio extractor and the TV.
- Plug your audio extractor into the PS4 using the HDMI cable; it will go into the PS4’s HDMI slot, found on the back of the console and on the left side. The other end of the HDMI cable goes into the “Audio In” slot on the audio extractor.
- Plug your audio extractor into your TV, using another HDMI cable. This one goes between the Audio Out slot on the audio extractor to the HDMI port on the TV.
- Use the audio cable to connect the speakers and the TV. The audio output from the audio extractor will be connected to the audio input from the speakers using this cable.
- Finally, turn the PS4 on — you will immediately be able to notice whether this worked because you’ll be able to hear the music from the PS4 menu from the speakers in a couple of moments.
Connecting Wireless Speakers
If you want to connect your speaker to PS4 wirelessly — you will find that Sony does not support this kind of Bluetooth connection either. However, your speaker setup can be hardwired to ensure a stable connection.
There are USB transmitters that may work for Bluetooth speakers as well, but bear in mind that the range of compatibility for these is far smaller compared to Bluetooth headphones; as a result, you might be better off using a cable.
Plus, this is a more universal solution — because every single Bluetooth speaker out there has a 3.5 mm jack that’s usually used for headphone access. So, if you want to use this cable method, you need to:
- Buy the 3.5mm cable for the speakers
- Attach your PS4 controller to the speakers. You achieve this by taking the 3.5 aux cable and plugging it into the controller’s headphone jack. After that, you can easily attach the other end to the 3.5 jack of your Bluetooth speaker.
- Turn on the PS4 console
- Sign into your profile, and go to the Settings menu. It’s found on the scrollable menu and is marked with a briefcase-ish icon. Select it by pressing X.
- Scroll down the menu that has just opened up and find the “Devices” segment. It should be somewhere halfway to the end of the Settings menu.
- Go to “Audio Devices”, this option is found near the beginning of the Devices menu.
- Select the Audio Devices option.
- Go to the Controlled Headset option on the screen’s right side
- Choose the “Output to Headphones” setting, and switch it to “All Audio”. This sets the audio of the PS4 to use the headphones connected to your controller as the output; only this time, your Bluetooth speaker will be the one connected to the controller.
After this, all you need to do is simply turn on the Bluetooth speakers — and you’re good to go!
Just bear in mind that the audio connection is going through the controller; meaning that disconnecting the controller will revert the audio to the TV speakers.
Why won’t PS4 support Bluetooth audio?
As you can see, the support for Bluetooth audio is pretty limited on the PS2, due to the decision to withhold native support for A2DP signals. However, there seems to be an actual reason for this.
Compared to the HSP signal, the A2DP has a bigger lag — up to 200ms. When it comes to gaming, audio lag is less acceptable, which is probably why Sony decided to opt for HSP in search of a better user experience.
Can you connect PS5 to Bluetooth speakers?
You may be wondering if the situation regarding Bluetooth support is any different on the PS5. Unfortunately, that’s not the case.
However, while the range of audio Bluetooth compatibility isn’t any better on the newer console — you can still use the same workarounds to achieve connectivity.
There are PS5 USB dongles that can be plugged into the PS5 just like with its predecessor; achieving pretty much the same effect in terms of Bluetooth connections with audio devices.
Does the PS4 contain audio output jacks?
As you might have noticed yourself, there are no audio output jacks on the PS4. This is because they were deemed unnecessary by the designers at Sony.
And this choice is not that strange, considering the fact that this console connects to your TV via HDMI; the kind of cable that can transmit both audio and video signals simultaneously.
Conclusion
You have probably noticed by now — the situation regarding unsupported Bluetooth devices and the PS4 is not ideal.
However, that doesn’t mean that it’s impossible to achieve the connection that you want with your wireless headphones and speakers.
Sure, it will take some fiddling; but at least you have a wide variety of methods available to you; making sure that at least something is bound to work in the end.
