Bluetooth connections are two-way. You can connect your Android phone to a third-party device, and you can connect a third-party device to your phone. It’s all good and fairly simple. However, it can get a little confusing when you have more than one Android phone in the house.For example, there are two people in my family who both have Pixel 7 Pro Telephone. So when I connect my phone to the device, the device may show two different Pixel 7 Pro phones. Which one do I choose?
This isn’t a deal-breaker. Even if you try to connect to the wrong phone, you can always start over and connect to another phone. But wait…how do you know which is the “other” phone if both phones have the same bluetooth name? You may not know.
Let’s fix this simple problem so you can simplify your Bluetooth connection.
Require
All you need is an Android phone. It doesn’t matter what phone you have or what version of Android you use. Unless you bought your phone a few years ago, chances are you’re running at least version 10 or 11 of the OS, so the process should be the same or similar. I’ll be demonstrating on a Pixel 7 running Android 13.
return: How to enable UWB on Android (and why you should)
Let’s rename our phones, shall we?
How to Change the Bluetooth Name of an Android Device
Open your app drawer, search for the Settings icon, and tap to launch the app.
In the Settings app, tap Connected Devices near the top.
Navigate to the connected devices settings option in Android 13. Image: Jack Warren
On the Connected Devices page, tap Connection Preferences at the bottom.
You’ll find the Bluetooth name option in the connection preferences. Image: Jack Warren
On the Connections Preferences page, click Bluetooth at the top, then click the device name in the window that appears.
Default name for Pixel 7 Pro. Image: Jack Warren
In the popup that appears, give your device a name and click Rename.
Some Advice on Renaming Your Phone
I’m a bit paranoid about my privacy. Therefore, I will not give my phone my full name. Why? When you’re out in public, you never know if someone is trying to hack your device via Bluetooth. Because of this, I’m not going to make it easier for someone to target me by giving my phone my name. Instead, I’ll give my phones some random name or number to prevent anyone from knowing which phone is mine. I’ll know which phone the name belongs to, but no one else. I even change the name from time to time.
But that’s all there is to renaming your Android phone to simplify Bluetooth connectivity. Use this feature sparingly and it will serve you well.
