How to make your wired headphones wireless and Bluetooth-capable

The 3.5mm headphones jack is hard to find on most modern phones these days, making people who have wired headphones a little wary of updating their daily carry. The good news is with a little help from a Bluetooth transmitter and receiver, you can make any paired of wired headphones work with a Bluetooth compatible device.

Products used in this guide

• Bluetooth Transmitter and Reciever: TaoTronics Bluetooth 5.0 Transmitter and Receiver ($30 at Amazon)

What type of Bluetooth transmitter you need

It really comes down to your headphones. Some transmitters have a 3.5mm jack attached to them, meaning you have to be able to plug the transmitter into your headphones. This is possible with quite a few over-ear headphones that let you swap out the cord.

If you have a pair of headphones that don't allow you to remove the cable, you'll need a transmitter that allows you to plug your headphone into the transmitter.

The TaoTronics Bluetooth 5.0 Transmitter and Receiver allows you to do both, making it work with any set of wired headphones you have!

How to pair your wired headphones using a Bluetooth transmitter

Depending on which transmitter you are using, and what devices you're trying to pair, this process will be slightly different. Make sure to check your user manual for the transmitter you have to ensure you know what to do.

1. Plug your headphones into the transmitter.
2. Make sure the Bluetooth transmitter is turned on.
3. Open the Bluetooth menu on the device you want to pair your headphones with.
4. Select the Bluetooth transmitter from the Bluetooth options. The name will vary based on your transmitter.

This is the basic process for making any pair of wired headphones work with any Bluetooth capable device you have. Enjoy your sound!

Our top equipment picks

Turned wired into wireless

TaoTronics Bluetooth 5.0 Transmitter and Receiver

Our favorite for portability, the TaoTronics transmitter has aptX low latency that can pair with two separate devices. It's always on — even while charging — and the built-in battery if good for up to 10 hours of use on a charge.

Since this does both, you can use the TaoTronics Bluetooth 5.0 Transmitter and Receiver to send audio from non-Bluetooth capable devices to a pair of Bluetooth headphones as well (like a Nintendo Switch) making it extra useful!

If you’re still attached to a favorite pair of wired headphones and you want to use them with a wireless Bluetooth device, the 1Mii MiiLink ML100 is the best Bluetooth headphone adapter (aka Bluetooth receiver) for most people. It provides a steady wireless connection, its design is small but intuitive, and it has a long battery life.

This adapter has more features, more power, and a better microphone than our top pick. But the higher price may be worth it for only the serious audio fan.

This adapter provides a stable wireless connection, and it offers good battery life and a decent microphone. Unlike similarly priced competitors, it has no major flaws.

Many adapters don’t let you use the remote/mic on your headphone cable, so intuitive controls and a decent microphone are important.

Pairing each device with a phone and computer, we tested signal reliability, ease of use, sound quality, battery life, and output power.

We looked for small, battery-powered Bluetooth audio receivers with built-in microphones that use Bluetooth version 5.0 or better.

The 1Mii MiiLink ML100 is a simple, affordable option for using wired headphones with wireless devices, such as smartphones that lack a headphone jack. The ML100 paired easily with our iPhone XR and MacBook Pro laptop. Its Bluetooth range and reliability were solid, it had the best-sounding microphone in its price range (though our upgrade pick sounds much better), and we got 13 hours of battery life in our tests.

The ML100 has an intuitive button layout, and it was the only adapter in its price range to include a physical on/off switch, which makes connecting and disconnecting from devices a bit easier.

This low-priced adapter has modest power output, measuring 27.7 milliwatts (mW) into 32 ohms. It should be able to drive most headphones to a satisfying volume level, but if you own higher-end, audiophile-oriented headphones that need more power, you should look at our upgrade pick.

Upgrade pick

Qudelix-5K

More amp power, more features

This adapter has more features, more power, and a better microphone than our top pick. But the higher price may be worth it for only the serious audio fan.

Buying Options

$95

Drop

If your headphones require more amplifier power to drive them to a satisfying volume level, or you want the ability to customize the adapter’s performance and user experience through an app, the Qudelix-5K is an excellent upgrade.

As you’d hope for an adapter that’s many times the price of our top pick, the Qudelix-5K provides a big step up in features. It has both balanced and unbalanced headphone jacks, it supports higher-quality Bluetooth codecs like aptX HD and LDAC, and it adds a 24-bit/96-kilohertz USB-C digital-to-analog converter (DAC). Plus, the mobile app for iOS and Android provides a lot of feedback and customization options that you won’t get in any entry-level adapter.

The Qudelix-5K provided the most reliable Bluetooth connection in its price range, and we got between 11.5 and 15.25 hours of battery life in our tests, depending on which performance mode we used.

It has a lot more power than the ML100: We measured between 80 and 254 mW into 32 ohms, depending on the headphone output. The Qudelix-5K also has a more natural-sounding microphone. However, these improvements may not be worth the big jump in price for the more casual listener.