Guide: Pairing a Replacement WF-1000XM5 earbud with your Case

There have a few posts on Reddit asking how to pair a replacement WF-1000XM5 earbud the case. So here is a guide on how to do it.

DISCLAIMER: If the replacement earbud is on a different firmware than your earbud, this pairing procedure might not work. If the earbuds do pair, they should be on the same firmware. But, a WF-1000XM4 user was able to pair earbuds on different firmwares, but was not able to update them using the app afterwards. 

1. Reset each earbud individually inside the case. Use the steps from the Help Guide.
2. Open the case and insert both earbuds into the case, keep the lid open.
3. The LED should flash 3 times in orange, pause, then flash 3 times again. 
4. Press and hold the button on the back of the case for 15 seconds. 
5. When the LED flashes 3 times in orange, release the button within 5 seconds. 
6. The LED should flash 4 times in green to indicate that the new earbud is paired to the case. 

If the LED does not flash green, repeat the procedure from step #3. Hopefully a second attempt should pair the new earbud to the case. 

If at this point it is still not working, then the replacement earbud might be on a different firmware than your old one. As far as I know, only Sony can pair earbuds that are on different firmware versions.

I hope this guide is clear and helps anyone needing to pair a new earbud. If anything, drop any questions in the comments below.

If one is in the market for a Sony WF-1000XM5, there are some discounts right now on Amazon

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