Raise your hand if this has happened to you: You’re listening to music on your Bluetooth headphones at home and you get up for a snack — only to lose your connection somewhere between your home office and kitchen. This is an all-too-common experience, though it inadvertently doubles as a real-life test of Bluetooth range.

Prior to 2016, most consumer Bluetooth connections topped out at a range of around 30 feet (10 meters) — probably not enough to cover an entire park or backyard, or the floor plan of a large house. But the launch of Bluetooth 5.0 changed the game, nearly doubling Bluetooth’s range. The latest iteration, Bluetooth 5.4, makes for an even more stable connection at the outermost edges of that range.

Of course, the Bluetooth range of a speaker or headphones usually can’t be pinned down to a precise measurement, as it varies depending on interference from objects, walls, passersby, and even electromagnetic fields. Let’s take a look at why this is the case, and what your best options are for optimal range.

How far does Bluetooth reach?

Bluetooth is a relatively short-range wireless technology used to connect Bluetooth-compatible devices. It’s not meant to connect two Bluetooth devices across great distances. Rather, it’s most often used to connect peripheral devices (headphones, speakers, keyboards, etc.) to phones, tablets, or laptops.

With that said, recent advancements in Bluetooth technology have significantly expanded the range of a Bluetooth connection. Generally speaking, devices outfitted with Bluetooth version 5.0 and higher can maintain a connection over a relatively vast range of up to 800 feet under ideal conditions.

A newer iteration, Bluetooth 5.4, was launched in 2023 but is currently available on only a few devices, such as Sonos Ace.

What impacts Bluetooth range?

Bluetooth devices use ultra-high frequency (UHF) radio waves to communicate with each other. These radio waves enable easy device pairing without using the internet, but they can also fall victim to various types of interference.

Physical barriers/obstructions

A Bluetooth signal doesn’t have much trouble passing through most solid objects, though some solids are friendlier to Bluetooth than others.

Dense materials (e.g. brick and concrete) and materials with high electrical conductivity (e.g. metal and tinted glass) can be harder for Bluetooth radio waves to pass through. It’s much easier for Bluetooth waves to pass through non-conductive, low-density materials like plastic, wood, glass, and drywall.

Competing signals or frequencies

Bluetooth devices operate in the 2.4 GHz frequency band — the same band used by a host of other wireless devices including WiFi networks, cordless phones, and microwaves. As you might imagine, the 2.4 GHz band can get pretty crowded, especially in areas where an especially high number of devices are being used simultaneously, like hospitals and busy city streets. In these places, you may experience some additional limitations in the range of your Bluetooth signal.

The good news? Bluetooth has evolved to (at least partially) overcome these limitations. Bluetooth 5.3 rolled out a new approach to channel classification, which is the process by which a Bluetooth device evaluates the quality of the radio channels available to it, then chooses the best channel to use for transmission.

In previous versions of channel classification, only the central device (e.g. the phone or the laptop) performed channel classification. But in Bluetooth 5.3 and higher, both the central device and the peripheral device (e.g. your headphones) perform channel classification, resulting in a channel selection that’s optimal for both devices and not just one.

Bluetooth 5.0 and higher can also sniff out and squash any frequency impedances that happen at the edges of the 2.4 GHz band — one reason why the music you listen to on Sonos Ace sounds crystal-clear compared to what you’ve come to expect from earlier Bluetooth versions.

Battery life

The lower the battery on your Bluetooth device, the lower its ability to transmit signals over long distances. So, be sure to keep your device optimally charged, and prioritize battery life when shopping for a new pair of headphones.

Updates in Bluetooth 5.3 and 5.4 have resulted in more efficient power consumption and battery life. Sonos Ace, which uses Bluetooth 5.4, has up to 30 hours of battery life with Active Noise Cancellation enabled — and up to three hours of playback with just a three-minute charge.

Weather

Have you ever noticed that your Bluetooth range shrinks during a rainstorm? This has to do with water, another substance that can seriously interfere with a Bluetooth signal. There’s more water in the air during a storm, or during particularly humid weather, so your Bluetooth range may suffer in such conditions.

With that said, your Bluetooth speaker should still function just fine in most weather conditions. That’s why we’ve built our portable speakers, like the fully waterproof Sonos Roam 2, with the elements in mind.

Product quality

Low-grade materials can also lead to a low-grade connection. For example, a cheap battery that can’t hold its charge will lead to a persistently weak signal. And a cheap plastic casing can easily crack open, allowing water and other signal-blocking elements to seep in.

But it’s not just materials; it’s design, as well. A lot of engineering goes into the best Bluetooth products, enabling them to withstand the elements and stay out of their own way. This is the case with Sonos Roam 2, which is rated IP67 waterproof and dustproof for optimal performance even when you’re outdoors.

Use WiFi for the best audio quality

Bluetooth technology has a lot to recommend. It’s portable, enables fast and easy connections, and newer versions boast a pretty astounding range. Bluetooth also works in places where it can be difficult to get a WiFi connection, such as the middle of a park or on a long run with headphones. A small class of Bluetooth headphones can even support lossless audio, which was previously thought to be unattainable with a Bluetooth connection.

But! If you want continuous sound in your living space with audiophile-level quality, Bluetooth isn’t the best answer. A premium home audio system with a WiFi connection can offer higher bandwidth and data transfer rates than Bluetooth, enabling high-resolution audio playback without compression. WiFi also has a more extensive and reliable range than Bluetooth and better supports multi-room audio setups, which gives you more flexibility in positioning wireless speakers throughout your home.

Sonos portables and headphones bring Bluetooth to life

It used to be that using Bluetooth meant prioritizing convenience and portability over sound quality. While you’ll still get the absolute best sound quality from a WiFi system, Sonos portables and headphones bring Bluetooth closer to the hi-fi realm than ever before. With portable speakers like Move 2 and Roam 2, you’ll get amazing acoustics and exceptional clarity no matter which room (or field, or beach, or hiking trail) you listen in.