# How to increase Bluetooth range? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 10, 2016, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-increase-bluetooth-range/745729 "2016-02-10T17:55:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HotDogWater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/35a633/32.png) [@HotDogWater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HotDogWater)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-increase-bluetooth-range/745729/1 "2016-02-10T17:55:31Z")
I received a cool knit hat for Christmas, with little Bluetooth speakers built in. I paired it with my phone, and listen to Pandora with it. The problem is the usable range from phone to hat is really short. I mean like inches. If I put my phone in my pants pocket (where my phone normally lives), the sound cuts in and our like a CD skipping. If I carry the phone in my hands, I need to keep my hands at chest level to not interrupt the sound. I have taken to walking around carrying the phone in my sweatshirt hood. The audio works fine like that, but the phone tends to fall out and hit the ground if I move around too much. I don’t think it’s a phone sending problem, because I also have a small Bluetooth speaker that I use when working on my motorcycle. I can walk about 15 feet away from the speaker, with my phone in my pocket, before the sound cuts out. Is there any way to improve the range of the Bluetooth hat? I try to keep it fully charged, but that does not seem to make a difference. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-increase-bluetooth-range/745729/2 "2016-02-10T18:02:56Z")
I don’t have any helpful suggestions, but are you sure the problem isn’t with your phone? 15 feet sounds awfully short. I have three phones equipped with Bluetooth (two iPhones and an Android) and they all have a range of about 35 feet. I can connect with speakers through a wall and in another room. ---
**Author:** ![HotDogWater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/35a633/32.png) [@HotDogWater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HotDogWater)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-increase-bluetooth-range/745729/3 "2016-02-10T18:20:58Z")
Thanks, I’ll check out the speaker range a little more accurately and report back. I was just guessing at the 15 feet, I was more comparing a range of inches with the hat to a longer range with the speaker. ---
**Author:** ![3130](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/ccd318/32.png) [@3130](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3130)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-increase-bluetooth-range/745729/4 "2016-02-10T18:26:48Z")
I have found that re-pairing the device often works for increasing range. Not sure why it is, but I have had a pair of earbuds and a pair of headphones that needed to be re-paired once in awhile. Same sort of thing as OP was happening. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2016, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-increase-bluetooth-range/745729/5 "2016-02-10T22:52:57Z")
Bluetooth is, by design, a short-range protocol. But it should be measured in feet, not inches. The likely culprit is the hat, not your phone. I would try pairing the hat with someone else’s phone to see if the same problem happens. Once I was having my car fixed and while I was in the customer lounge, my phone rang. When I answered it I couldn’t hear anything and realized that it was because they had my car turned on in the repair bay so the Bluetooth was on. That was at _least_ 30 feet away. ---
**Author:** ![HotDogWater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/35a633/32.png) [@HotDogWater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HotDogWater)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2016, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-increase-bluetooth-range/745729/6 "2016-02-11T15:26:51Z")
I measured the distance of the connection between the phone and the other speaker last night…it’s at least 30 feet, through walls, just as **cochrane** and **CookingWithGas** claimed the range should be. I also measured the phone with my car’s Bluetooth, and that stayed connected a good 30 feet through empty parking lot. So I don’t think it’s the phone’s fault. So I will now try repairing the hat with my phone, and/or pairing the hat with a friends phone. Will update on that soon. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2016, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-increase-bluetooth-range/745729/7 "2016-02-11T22:05:35Z")
Sounds like a crappy Bluetooth in the hat. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2016, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-increase-bluetooth-range/745729/8 "2016-02-12T03:06:29Z")
> [@HotDogWater](#): > > So I will now try repairing the hat with my phone… Had to read that three times before I realized you meant “re-pairing”.