How to Connect Bose Smart Speaker to Wifi

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To really use a Bose smart speaker to its fullest capabilities, you need to have it connected to your wifi. Still, how exactly do you go about doing that? 

If you just can’t seem to figure out how to connect your Bose Smart Speakers, don’t worry. We’ve got you covered. Below we will first walk you through how to connect to wifi in the initial setup of your speakers, then we will take a look at each major Bose Smart Speaker and break down how to connect them to wifi. 

Begin the Setup Process

This is perhaps the simplest way to connect your Bose smart speakers to wifi. If you found this article because you were just about to try and set up your new Bose smart speaker, you’re in luck. Below we have broken down the steps you need to take if you want to connect your Bose speaker in initial setup.

  • Download the Bose App and create an account: The app plays a pivotal role in connecting your smart speaker to the wifi. You’ll also want it to experience all of the features of your speaker anyway. 
  • Plug in your speaker within range of your wifi: You really want to make sure that you set up your speaker in range of the wifi you want it connected to if you wish to connect in the initial setup and save yourself the trouble of doing it later. If you run the setup before you’re near your wifi, you will have to skip the step where you find the wifi.
  • Scan for speakers in the Bose app: You simply need to tap the plus sign in the bose app. This will bring you to a screen where you can pick which type of smart device you’d like to add. Go to speakers. It should automatically scan and pick up your new smart speaker.
  • Follow the prompts in setup on the app: Now all you’ve got to do is follow the prompts and connect to your wifi when it comes up. If your wifi doesn’t show up on the network selection page, try unplugging your router for 30 seconds then plugging it back. Hopefully it will pop back up once the networks refresh. 

It’s as simple and easy as that. Now let’s move on and talk about what you can do if you need to reconnect to the wifi manually, in case you had set up your smart speaker in the past already. 

Connect Bose Smart Speakers to Wifi

There are really two more major ways to connect your smart speakers. One is the more typical way people do it when they’ve recently changed networks and reconnect. The other is an alternative way you can use if the former doesn’t work for you. 

There are three major ways to connect your Bose smart speakers to wifi. The first is to follow the prompts in initial setup. The second is to update your network settings through the app. Finally, the last method is to connect your speaker directly.

Below we’ve broken down the steps necessary to adjust your network settings and reconnect your Bose Smart speaker to the wifi:

  • Go into setup mode: To get into setup mode you simply need to hold down the play button and put your hand over the aux until for about 5 seconds. With some there will be a countdown on the screen. Lights on the speaker should indicate you have successfully entered setup mode. 
  • Find your speaker’s network in wifi settings: Open up your networks on your smart phone and look for the network with the name of your speaker. Connect to it. 
  • Go into the app and follow the prompts: Once you’re connected you can just jump into the app and follow the prompts. Eventually you will get to a network selection screen where you can pick your wifi.  

Additional Steps

If the above method didn’t work, this is another similar approach that might. We will skim over the steps that are the same as the previous approach and focus on the ones that are different. 

Follow each of these steps to alternatively connect your Bose Smart Speaker to wifi:  

  • Go into setup mode: You do this the same way as the previous method. 
  • Connect a device to your Bose network: This is almost the same as the previous method where you connected your mobile device to the network through its network settings. The difference with this one is you can also do it on your computer and the network you select should be the one that starts with Bose instead of the normal network. 
  • Now connect directly through the app: Now the Bose app on your smart device should prompt you to connect directly to the speaker. 

This approach usually works if the first doesn’t. If it still won’t connect, then you likely have a problem. In the next section we’ll briefly review some things you may want to troubleshoot. 

Why is My Bose Not Connecting to Wifi? 

So what if you’ve followed all of the steps, but you still aren’t able to connect your Bose smart speaker to wifi? Why is it still not connecting?

The reason your Bose is not connecting to the wifi could come from several sources. It could be that your smart device with the Bose app on it isn’t connected because it has cellular wifi assist activated. It could be that you need to reset your wifi because it’s the real source of the problem. Or it could just be that your speaker is defective or needs to have a factory reset. 

You’ll want to go through a process of elimination, testing each possibility. Start with the simplest solution–resetting the router–then check to see if your phone’s wifi assist is activated. Finally, if all else has failed you should perform a factory reset of the speaker itself. 

How Do You Connect Bose Smart Speakers to Wifi?

You really have multiple options for connecting your Bose Smart speakers to wifi. You can do it in the initial setup, adjust your network through the app or connect directly to the speaker itself with your computer or smart device. 

Either way the process should be fairly short and painless. Good luck!

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