How to pair a replacement earbud (any TWS brand)

A replacement bud arrives knowing nothing about your other one. They are two independent Bluetooth devices that have to be introduced to each other before either will talk to your phone as a pair. Almost every “the new bud doesn’t work” message turns out to be this step, not a faulty part.

The general method (works on most brands)

The exact button presses vary, but the sequence almost never does:

1. Forget the old pairing on your phone. Bluetooth settings → find the earbuds → Forget/Unpair. Skipping this is the most common reason the rest fails: the phone keeps trying to reconnect to a pairing that no longer exists.
2. Put both buds in the case and leave the lid open. Make sure both are actually charging — a bud that never charged cannot pair.
3. Reset the pair.Usually: hold the case button (or both buds’ touch areas) for 10–15 seconds until the LED flashes a different colour, often red-and-white or red-and-blue alternating. That flash is the signal the reset worked.
4. Let them find each other. Close the lid, wait about ten seconds, open it again. The two buds pair to each other first — one becomes primary — before either advertises to your phone.
5. Pair to the phone last. Only now open Bluetooth settings and connect.

If only one bud plays

That is the classic symptom of step 4 not completing: the phone connected to one bud directly instead of to the pair. Forget the device again and repeat, making sure you see the reset flash before closing the lid.

When it genuinely will not pair

Replacement buds are model-specific. A bud from a different model — even the same brand — generally will not pair, because the firmware handshake is tied to the model. Check the model number printed inside the case lid against the part you ordered. If they match and it still fails after two clean attempts, that is worth reporting rather than retrying indefinitely.

Browse replacement buds and charging cases by brand, or read our guide on replacing a lost earbud.