Bluetooth range is one of those things that’s easy to misunderstand. Manufacturers toss "10 meters" or "15 meters" into the specs and the customer imagines the signal will pass through three concrete walls and a refrigerator as if nothing were in the way. It won’t. Physics is physics, and our Bluetooth chips don’t have supernatural powers either — even though Jasse has tried.
Official range and reality
Valco devices use Bluetooth 5.0 or 5.3 version depending on the model. The theoretical range is about 10–15 meters. In practice, this means:
- Same room, clear line of sight: 10–15 meters works without issues. You can walk across the living room without dropouts.
- One light partition wall: Usually still just fine. A drywall wall is not a problem.
- Two walls or more: This is where dropouts start. A concrete wall is practically a fortress for Bluetooth.
- Metal and water: These kill the signal effectively. Refrigerators, radiators, aquariums — all act as obstacles.
So if you walk to the kitchen with your headphones on to grab a beer and there are two concrete walls and a refrigerator along the way, the signal will likely cut out. Take your phone with you. That’s just how it is.
Why does the connection drop?
If the range feels exceptionally short — say, under five meters in the same room — the problem isn’t the range itself. Check these:
- Other Bluetooth devices: If your phone is connected at the same time to a smartwatch, another set of headphones, and a car, the Bluetooth chip is working overtime. Disconnect unnecessary connections.
- Wi‑Fi interference: Bluetooth and 2.4 GHz Wi‑Fi compete for the same frequency band. A router right next to the phone can cause interference.
- Phone in pocket: Your body attenuates the signal surprisingly much. Phone in the back pocket and headphones on = the signal goes through you. The front pocket is better.
- Outdated firmware: Update both the headphones’ firmware and the phone’s Bluetooth drivers.
- Multipoint connection: If your headphones try to connect to two devices simultaneously, it can reduce range and cause dropouts. Try disconnecting the other device.
How to get the best range
- Keep your phone or computer on the same side of your body as the headphones
- Remove unnecessary Bluetooth pairings from your phone
- Don’t leave your phone inside a metal case or on top of a refrigerator
- Update the headphones’ firmware with the Valco app
- If you use a computer, make sure its Bluetooth antenna isn’t under the desk behind a metal frame
If that doesn’t help
If the range is under a couple of meters even in an unobstructed space, it may be a device fault. In that case:
- Reset the headphones (for over-ear headphones: plug in the AUX cable and unplug it)
- Remove the pairing from the phone completely and pair again
- Test with another phone — if the problem repeats, the fault is in the headphones
If nothing works, send us a message at info@valco.fi with your order number. Our service in Kajaani will get it sorted. We can’t stretch Bluetooth range beyond the laws of physics, but we will make sure the device works as it should.
