Samsung Galaxy S21 Bluetooth issues can certainly put you in a bind — giving you headaches when you want to connect, minus the wires. Even worse, there are more ways this particular issue can cause problems, such as:
- Bluetooth dropped calls
- Bluetooth devices not pairing
- Bluetooth devices not found
- Inaudible Bluetooth phone calls
For some users, these Galaxy S21 Series Bluetooth issues can easily be fixed through Android Auto settings and turning off wireless sync. However, solving this problem may require other methods like rebooting and toggling with system settings.
Before such an issue turns your day upside down, take a breather. Let our detailed guide below, containing 12 quick fixes, help you overcome your S21 Bluetooth problems in as fast as 15 minutes.
How to Fix Bluetooth Connectivity Issues on Samsung Galaxy S21, S21+, or S21 Ultra
It’s best you observe a top-down approach here. Meaning, you need to do a solution first and go down one fix at a time so you can easily eliminate the possible root cause more efficiently.
1. Reboot the phone.
| Difficulty Level | Easy |
| Estimated Completion Time | 30 seconds |
| Number of Steps | 3 |
Rebooting your phone will initiate a soft reset that will not delete any of your phone’s data. This fixes minor issues by shutting down all active processes and applications and booting your phone back up in a refreshed state
The steps to reboot the phone are as follows:
- Press and hold the Power button.
- Tap Restart from the power menu.
- Wait until the device is fully rebooted.
Once done, this method should be a step closer to solving the Bluetooth issues on your Galaxy S21. Otherwise, move on to the next solution.
2. Toggle Bluetooth off/on.
| Difficulty Level | Easy |
| Estimated Completion Time | 5 seconds |
| Number of Steps | 3 |
Simply turning Bluetooth off and on is a quick way for you to reset its connection. This will allow Bluetooth to correct previously present errors or glitches.
Below are the steps to toggle Bluetooth off and on:
- Swide down from the notification bar.
- Tap the Bluetooth icon to turn it off.
- Tap the Bluetooth icon again to turn it on.
Once enabled, check if this method solved the Galaxy S21 Bluetooth issues by testing the connection with a paired device. If it didn’t, move along and try the next method.
3. Toggle airplane mode on/off.
| Difficulty Level | Easy |
| Estimated Completion Time | 5 seconds |
| Number of Steps | 3 |
Airplane mode disables all of your phone’s network connectivity, including Bluetooth. You can turn this mode on and off quickly to reset all of your network connections and fix simple connectivity issues.
Here’s how you can toggle Airplane mode on and off:
- Swide down from the notification bar.
- Tap the airplane symbol to turn it on.
- Click the airplane symbol again to turn it off.
4. Unpair and re-pair your Bluetooth devices.
| Difficulty Level | Moderately Easy |
| Estimated Completion Time | 20 seconds |
| Number of Steps | 8 |
If your paired devices are causing Bluetooth connection issues on Galaxy S21, you can fix this by removing the device from your Bluetooth settings and renewing the pairing afterward.
Follow these steps to unpair and re-pair any Bluetooth device on Galaxy S21:
- Open Settings.
- Tap Connections.
- Tap Bluetooth.
- Toggle Bluetooth on if you haven’t already.
- Tap the gear icon beside the device.
- Tap Unpair to remove.
- Scan for available devices.
Note: Make sure the device you want to pair with your Samsung Galaxy S21 is discoverable.
- Choose and pair with the device again.
The paired devices should work using the newly established Bluetooth connection. If not, try the next solution.
5. Pair with another device.
| Difficulty Level | Moderately Easy |
| Estimated Completion Time | 15 seconds |
| Number of Steps | 6 |
Sometimes, the problem may lie with the Bluetooth device you are connecting your phone with. In this case, You need to pair with another device to determine the root cause of the Galaxy S21 Bluetooth issue.
Here’s how to pair with another device:
- Open Settings.
- Tap Connections.
- Click Bluetooth.
- Toggle Bluetooth on if you haven’t already.
- Scan for available devices.
Note: Make sure the device you want to pair with your Samsung Galaxy S21 is discoverable.
- Pair with the new device.
If you established a successful Bluetooth connection, that means the original Bluetooth device was faulty and should be replaced. If not, your device has an issue and you should use another troubleshooting method.
6. Reset network settings.
| Difficulty Level | Moderately Easy |
| Estimated Completion Time | 25 seconds |
| Number of Steps | 6 |
Have you made prior changes to your network settings before encountering the Bluetooth connectivity issue? If yes, it might have triggered an error on your phone’s network configurations.
Performing a network reset, which reverts all existing network settings (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, mobile data, etc.) back to the default configuration, would be your solution.
Here are the steps for resetting the network settings:
- Open Settings.
- Tap General Management.
- Click Reset and Reset Network Settings.
- Tap Reset Settings.
- Input your passcode when asked.
- Tap Reset to finalize.
7. Clear Bluetooth cache.
| Difficulty Level | Easy |
| Estimated Completion Time | 15 seconds |
| Number of Steps | 5 |
Applications and programs on your device will store temporary files and settings data on the cache. However, the data stored in the cache will sometimes become corrupted and lead to a malfunction which causes Bluetooth issues on Galaxy S21.
Preventing this is actually straightforward. All you need to do is clear the stored data in the cache regularly.
The steps to clear the Bluetooth cache data are listed below:
- Open Settings.
- Tap Apps.
- Scroll down and tap Bluetooth.
- Click Storage.
- Tap Clear Cache.
8. Update the software.
| Difficulty Level | Moderate |
| Estimated Completion Time | 20 – 40 minutes |
| Number of Steps | 5 |
Software issues can result in your phone’s applications and features malfunctioning. For this reason, phone manufacturers will regularly throw you a lifeline in the form of a software update.
All you have to do is download and install the update directly on your phone, and you’re good to go.
Here are the steps for updating the system software:
- Open Settings
- Scroll down/click Software Update.
- Tap Download and Install.
- Tap Install Now after the download is complete.
- Wait until the installation is completed.
9. Perform a hard reset or factory reset.
| Difficulty Level | Moderate |
| Estimated Completion Time | 10 – 15 minutes |
| Number of Steps | 12 |
Unlike a simple reboot or soft reset, a factory reset will completely wipe your phone’s data. This fixes any error caused by any malware or virus that got into your device by deleting them — along with your data.
Once completed, your phone will return to its previous state just after being manufactured. As such, it’s crucial to create a data backup beforehand to retrieve important files such as photos, videos, music, etc.
Perform a factory reset using the steps below:
- Press/hold the Power button.
- Tap Power Off
- Plug a USB cable into the phone and connect to a PC.
- Press/hold the Power and Volume Up simultaneously.
- Keep holding until Recovery Mode boots up.
- Use Volume Down to highlight Wipe data/factory reset.
- Press Power to select.
- Select Factory data reset by tapping on the Volume Down key.
- Press Power to confirm.
- Wait until it says data wipe complete on the bottom of the screen.
- Press Power on the highlighted Reboot system now to confirm.
- Wait for the device to fully boot up.
With this, you’ve done all the possible troubleshooting methods you can perform on your Galaxy S21 device.
If you’re still experiencing connection issues, move on to the following solutions that involve troubleshooting the other Bluetooth device instead.
10. Set Bluetooth devices to “Discoverable.”
| Difficulty Level | Moderate |
| Estimated Completion Time | 10 – 20 seconds |
| Number of Steps | Depends on the device |
An easy-to-miss detail when using a Bluetooth device is the “Discoverable” option. While this security feature is meant to protect your device, it also prevents it from being scanned by your Galaxy S21 resulting in no connection.
For the Bluetooth device to be detected, you must manually make it “Discoverable.”
1. On a Different Smartphone
- Go to the Bluetooth settings.
- Toggle Discoverable on.
2. On a Windows PC
- Type Bluetooth on the search bar.
- Click Bluetooth and other device settings.
- Scroll down and tap More Bluetooth settings.
- Tick the box beside Allow Bluetooth devices to find this PC.
- Tap Apply and OK.
11. Remove other connections.
| Difficulty Level | Easy |
| Estimated Completion Time | 10 – 15 seconds |
| Number of Steps | Depends on the device |
Using a Bluetooth device paired with multiple gadgets can cause it to connect to the wrong target instead.
For example, if you have a Bluetooth earbud paired to your Galaxy S21, unpair it on other devices to make sure it only connects to your phone whenever you use it.
1. On a Different Smartphone
- Go to the Bluetooth settings.
- Tap the Bluetooth device.
- Click Unpair.
2. On a Windows PC
- Type Bluetooth on the search bar.
- Tap Bluetooth and other devices settings.
- Click the 3-dot key beside the Bluetooth device.
- Click Remove device.
12. Update Bluetooth driver.
| Difficulty Level | Moderate |
| Estimated Completion Time | 1 – 5 minutes |
| Number of Steps | 6 |
Are you trying to establish a Bluetooth connection between a computer and your phone? In this case, your PC must have an up-to-date Bluetooth driver.
If your PC uses an old driver incompatible with your phone, it won’t be able to connect at all. Update the driver on your computer to make sure they can connect without any problem.
Here are the steps in updating the Bluetooth driver on Windows:
- Right-click on the Start key.
- Click Device Manager.
- Double-Click Bluetooth to see a list of all drivers.
- Right-click on any driver.
- Click Update driver.
- Click Search automatically for drivers.
- Install an updated driver if available.
- Repeat until all drivers are updated.
If you have the best drivers installed already, run Troubleshoot settings to fix any Bluetooth issues.
Here’s how to run troubleshooting settings to fix Bluetooth on Windows:
- Type Troubleshoot settings in the desktop search bar.
- Click Troubleshoot settings from the results.
- Click Other troubleshooters.
- Scroll down and click Run beside Bluetooth.
- Wait for it to detect and fix the problem.
What to do if the Galaxy S21 still doesn’t connect via Bluetooth?
If the Samsung Galaxy S21 Bluetooth issues persist after trying out the solutions presented above, the next course of action for you should be to reach out to Samsung Support.
Doing this will provide you with expert assistance. You can also set up an appointment with any Samsung Service Center near you for a technical consultation.
FAQs about S21 Bluetooth Issues
Some of the common reasons that cause Bluetooth to not work on Galaxy S21 are as follows:
•Minor bug or glitch with Bluetooth or your phone.
•Network configuration error.
•Outdated system software.
•The Bluetooth device isn’t “Discoverable.”
•Devices are outside of Bluetooth range.
Bluetooth headphones’ sound delay is due to interruptions to the sound frequency that is being sent and received between the Bluetooth device and your phone, an issue more common in devices that use older versions of Bluetooth.
Paired devices should be near each other as Bluetooth is a short-range connectivity technology. In the case of Bluetooth 5.0, it has a range of about 240 meters. Note that physical obstacles such as walls may also slow the pairing process.
Bluetooth has backward compatibility. Any device with Bluetooth version 5.0 can connect with another device with version 4.0 and lower. However, devices using older versions of Bluetooth may not be compatible with higher versions.
