How to connect your headphones to your TV

There are a number of solid reasons why you might want to connect headphones to your TV.

Perhaps you work in a household with competing schedules, or you have an active gamer whose constant sound effects are driving you mad. Whatever your noise-related issue may be, learning to connect your headphones to your TV is a super simple way to give yourself and the people you live with some much-needed peace.

Using Bluetooth to connect headphones to your TV

For many people, the easiest and most obvious way to connect headphones to a TV is by using Bluetooth. In this scenario, you would follow the device directions to put the headphones in pairing mode and then confirm the connection in your TV settings under Bluetooth Devices. If your TV isn’t Bluetooth-enabled, fear not. There are still some options for you.

The first alternative is to purchase a Bluetooth transmitter. The smallest of these devices connects to your TV via a 3.5-millimeter jack, then broadcasts the audio to your headphones via their Bluetooth connection. The transmitters can also be found with USB plug-in connections.

Another option for using Bluetooth is to pair the headphones via the set-top box or whatever streaming device is bringing the programing to the screen. In this scenario, you would simply go to Settings on your Apple TV, Roku, or Amazon Fire TV device and link your headphones using Bluetooth.

• For a Roku, you would sync the app on your phone, connect the phone to the same WiFi as your TV, and then connect the headphones to the phone’s Bluetooth.

how to sync a Roku app to your phone and connect headphones.
Credit: screenshot / apple

How to pair headphones to TV using an Amazon Fire device.
Credit: mashable composite: screenshot

Investing in wireless headphones

Though Bluetooth connections may be convenient for some, the best and most reliable way to connect your headphones to a TV may be to invest in a quality pair of wireless headphones or earbuds.

These headphones come with their own base station that can connect to the TV and broadcast via a radio frequency. Another major perk of wireless headphones is since you’re not tethered to the TV you can walk around the house a bit without losing audio. The distance you can move while still being able to successfully pick up sound from your TV depends on which wireless headphones you purchase, but you likely won’t need to go far.

Connecting via gaming consoles

If you’re a gamer who wants to connect your headphones to the TV using your console, you unfortunately don’t have many options. PlayStation connects to some Bluetooth headphones, but not all. (You can learn more about connecting wireless headphones to your PS4 here.) And Xbox doesn’t allow for any Bluetooth.

For both of these devices, you may find you need to plug headphones or a headset in the old-fashioned way, using a 3.5-millimeter jack, which is oftentimes found on a controller.

Once you’re connected, though, you’re free to play or watch away, no matter who else may be in the house.