Bluetooth technology progressed substantially over the years and devices relying on Bluetooth are a bigger and bigger part of our lives. However, there are still some problems that some users never encounter and some struggle with on a daily basis. The annoying Bluetooth pairing requests coming from neighbors’ Apple TV boxes or someone accidentally connecting and playing music on your set of speakers — it gets tiring fast. We have a few suggestions on how to stop Bluetooth pairing devices.
Table of contents:
- Turn off Bluetooth\device when not in use
- Keep the device paired with other devices you own
- Pair and block the device
- Use advanced options to prevent Bluetooth connection
How to block Bluetooth pairing request
1. Turn off Bluetooth\device when not in use
The simplest way to deal with annoying pairing requests is to simply turn off Bluetooth or the device in question when not used. Sadly, never iterations of Android don’t have the option to disable discoverability when Bluetooth is in use.
In regards to Bluetooth speakers, they won’t be discoverable if you turn them off or disable pairing if the option is available. Also, since Bluetooth has a limited range, you can move them away to the furthest point and prevent neighbors from connecting.
2. Keep the device paired with other devices you own
Some devices support connections from multiple sources but that’s not the case for all. If you swiftly connect your phone to a Bluetooth speaker, others won’t be able to kick you and connect themselves.
So, make sure that, if your Bluetooth speaker is ON, it’s because you’re going to use it. We understand that some of you prefer it to be ON all the time, but if you have a nuisance of a neighbor, it’s best to keep it either OFF or connected to your phone/computer at all times.
3. Pair and block the device
To eliminate annoying pairing requests on your phone, the best thing to do is to block them. When your Bluetooth is ON and you get a pairing request, you can navigate to Advanced Bluetooth settings and block pairing requests from there.
If you don’t see that option, you can pair and then forget the device or Unpair again. You can unpair Bluetooth devices on Android with these steps:
- Open Settings.
- Select Connections and open Bluetooth.
- Enable Bluetooth.
- On the list of paired devices, tap on the Settings icon next to the device you want to unpair.
- Tap Unpair. On some phones, you’ll see Forget instead of Unpair.
This is sometimes tricky and many users report that this won’t work for them as they still keep getting pairing requests. In that case, you can try and rename your Android. This helped some users.
Here’s how to rename your Android phone:
- Open Settings.
- Select About phone.
- Tap Edit to edit the phone’s name.
- Change the phone’s name and check if the pairing requests keep coming.
Alternatively, you can reset network settings by following the detailed explanation in our article.
4. Use advanced options to prevent Bluetooth connection
Some smart speakers, earbuds, and other Bluetooth audio devices come with companion apps that offer connectivity settings. You can check in Settings if there’s an option to limit discoverability.
If you don’t have such advanced options, make sure to reset the device to factory settings. The procedure usually includes holding the power button for some time or pressing a dedicated reset button, but a user manual should provide you with concrete instructions. After you reset the device, the pairing requests should stop.
That should do it. We can only hope that some of these instructions helped you but, if the issue keeps reappearing, you can contact the owner of the device that keeps sending pairing requests. You have something to work with if you own the device and not much if you can’t access it.
Thank you for reading and tell us if you have any other tips to stop Bluetooth pairing requests. You can do that in the comments section below.
Editor’s note: This article was initially published in February 2022. We made sure to revamp it for freshness and accuracy.
