How to Connect Sony SRS XG500 to iPhone

The Sony SRS XG500 speaker with an iPhone.

This post shows how to connect a Sony SRS XG500 boombox speaker to an iPhone. Doing so gives you a much bigger, and clearly better sound when you stream music from the iPhone to speakers like this one.

How to Connect Sony SRS XG500 to iPhone: Step by Step

With your 500 switched OFF (power button is dark), run through this routine to connect it to your iPhone mobile device. For this demo, we use an iPhone 12 Pro Max.

1. Go to the Home Screen on your Device

Firstly, press and release the side button (right edge of the phone) and enter your passcode or Face Id to bring up the Home screen.

2. Find the Settings App

Next, flip through the Home screen pages until you find the Settings app. We found ours on the second page of the Home screen, as shown next.

The iPhone -Home- screen, showing the -Settings- app icon.

3. Bring up the Settings App

Thirdly, tap the Settings app icon.

The smart device then shows the first page of its settings.

The iPhone -Settings- page showing the -Bluetooth- option.

4. Go to the Bluetooth Option to Continue with How to Connect Sony SRS XG500 to iPhone

Tap the Bluetooth item on the Settings page.

Then you get the Bluetooth Settings screen.

The iPhone -Bluetooth Settings- page.

Note that our Bluetooth is running here. But since our test XG500 speaker 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 this iPhone before.

5. Turn On your Speaker

Turn on the 500 by quickly pressing its Power button.

The -Power- button on the Sony SRS XG500.

The speaker then powers up, and its status lamp glows green.

The -Power- lamp glowing green.

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

The blue glowing Bluetooth lamp.

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

But if it blinks in a pulse-pulse-pause, pulse-pulse-pause pattern (double flashing), 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, this Sony SRS XG500 boombox will not pair with it automatically.

6. Put the XG500 into Pairing 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 Pairing button. Then release it when the unit beeps and speaks that it’s in pairing mode. Also, the Bluetooth Status lamp begins its rapid or pulse-pulse-pause, pulse-pulse-pause flashing pattern, as we see in the last picture.

Find the Pairing button on the top button panel, second button from the left.

The -Bluetooth Pairing- button.