When a Galaxy S23+ will not pair with a pair of earbuds, a watch, or the car, treat the accessory and its pairing record as the suspects before you blame the phone. The S23+ shares Bluetooth 5.3 with the S23 and S23 Ultra, and that radio rarely fails by itself. The failures that keep coming up are a pairing that has gone stale after a firmware update, a second device quietly holding the connection, a low battery in an accessory or its case, and an old car head unit. Rebuild the pairing from both ends first, then clear the Bluetooth app cache; a network reset is the last resort.
Differential
Likely causes of “Samsung Galaxy S23+ will not pair or stay connected over Bluetooth”, and how to tell them apart
- 1
A pairing record that no longer matches
What separates it The accessory is listed, the phone says Connecting, and then it fails with Couldn't connect
How to confirm Unpair on the S23+, delete the phone from the accessory's own list too, and pair again with the accessory in pairing mode
- 2
A watch, tablet or laptop is holding the accessory
What separates it Your earbuds play on another device while the S23+ shows them as connected
How to confirm Turn Bluetooth off on the other devices for a minute and reconnect from the S23+
- 3
A low battery in the accessory or its case
What separates it The sound cuts in and out and clears after a charge
How to confirm Charge both earbuds and their case to full and test close to the phone
- 4
A car head unit with outdated software
What separates it Calls hold but music stutters, or the phone connects and then disconnects after a minute
How to confirm Delete the phone in the car and the car on the phone, then ask the dealer about a head unit update
- 5
A damaged Bluetooth app cache
What separates it No accessory pairs and one that worked yesterday is gone
How to confirm Settings, Apps, Show system apps, Bluetooth, Storage, Clear cache, then restart the phone
Before you touch a setting
Record this first — changing settings destroys the evidence
- The accessory's make, model and firmware version shown in its own app
- Whether it fails at the first pairing or drops after pairing
- Whether a second phone pairs with the same accessory without trouble
- The One UI version and security patch date
Try in this order
0 of 6 completedUnpair on both sides
ReversibleOpen Settings, Connections, Bluetooth, tap the gear beside the accessory and choose Unpair. Then remove the phone from the accessory's own list so both ends start clean.
Put the accessory into pairing mode on purpose
ReversibleHold the button on the earbuds case or the speaker until its light flashes, then pair from the phone. A device that is already connected elsewhere will not show as available.
Charge everything
ReversibleCharge the earbuds, the case and the phone, and test within one meter before you try the car or a longer distance.
Clear the Bluetooth app cache
ReversibleSettings, Apps, three dots, Show system apps, Bluetooth, Storage, Clear cache. Restart afterwards.
Update the phone and the accessory
ReversibleRun Software update on the S23+ and update the accessory in its own app; several dropout cases end with firmware.
Reset network settings as a last step
Reset / data riskSettings, General management, Reset, Reset network settings. It removes every pairing along with saved Wi-Fi networks, so expect to set accessories up again.
Model-specific
What is true of this model and not of its siblings
- Where this model is different
- The S23+ has the same Bluetooth 5.3 radio as its siblings but a 4,700 mAh battery, so Bluetooth is not restricted by power saving as readily as on the 3,900 mAh S23.
- Galaxy accessories
- A Galaxy Watch or Galaxy Buds reconnects through the Galaxy Wearable app, which also installs their firmware.
Stop boundary
When this stops being a self-service repair
- !If no accessory will pair even after Reset network settings, book a Samsung hardware check
- !If one accessory fails on every phone you try, take it to its maker
- !If only the car fails, the dealer or the car maker is the right call
Evidence ledger
Sources behind this answer
Exact questions
Common questions
Which Bluetooth version does the Galaxy S23+ have?+
Bluetooth 5.3, the same radio as the S23 and S23 Ultra.
Why does my car drop the S23+ after a minute?+
Old head unit software or a stale pairing are the usual causes. Delete both ends and check for an update.
How do I reconnect my Galaxy Watch?+
Open the Galaxy Wearable app, pick the watch and reconnect; restart both devices if it still refuses.
Does a network reset remove my paired devices?+
Yes, along with saved Wi-Fi networks, so keep passwords handy.