Firmware updates
and your Mac
Sony headphones get new firmware from time to time. A Mac can play through them and show which version they run, but the update itself comes from your phone.
Short answer
No, you can't update Sony headphone firmware from a Mac. Sony delivers firmware updates through its phone app, Sony | Sound Connect (formerly Sony | Headphones Connect), on iPhone or Android. We haven't found a Sony firmware updater for macOS, and Sony's guides describe only the phone app.
- To update: install Sony | Sound Connect on a phone, connect the headphones to it and follow the app.
- To check your version on a Mac: Open Sound Connect shows it under My Device → About These Headphones. It doesn't update firmware.
How Sony firmware updates work
The phone app downloads the new firmware and sends it to the headphones over Bluetooth. Sony makes the app for iPhone and Android only; the App Store lists it for iPhone, with no Mac version. So even if you mostly use your headphones with a MacBook, you need a phone for updates.
By model
MDR-1000X
The MDR-1000X isn't supported by Sony's phone app, and we found no update route for it.
WH-1000XM2 and WH-1000XM3
Sony's guides for the XM2 and XM3 list updating the headphones' software among the phone app's features.
WH-1000XM4 and WH-1000XM5
On the XM4 and XM5, the app downloads the update to your phone and then transfers it to the headphones. Keep them connected to the phone and close by until the app says it's done.
WH-1000XM6 and WH-1000XX
The XM6 and WH-1000XX update through Sound Connect, which can also install updates automatically. With automatic updates on, the headphones install a downloaded update by themselves, around night time, when they're switched off and have more than 20% battery.
Check your firmware version on a Mac
- Connect your headphones to the Mac and open Open Sound Connect.
- Open My Device (⌘1) and scroll to About These Headphones.
- Read Firmware. Choose Refresh, or press ⌘R, to read it again after an update.
The Activity page (⌘7) also lists what the headphones reported, which is useful when you report an issue.
Updating without your own phone
If you only use the headphones with a Mac, you can borrow an iPhone or Android phone for the update:
- Install Sony | Sound Connect on the phone.
- Pair the headphones with it. They remember up to eight devices, so your Mac stays paired.
- Run the update in the app and wait for it to finish.
- Connect the headphones to your Mac again from System Settings → Bluetooth or Control Center. If they won't reconnect, pair them again.
App updates are something else
Updating Open Sound Connect updates the app on your Mac, not the headphones. From version 2.2.0, the direct download updates itself: once a day it looks for a new version, and Open Sound Connect → Check for Updates… checks on demand; it shows what's new, then downloads, verifies and installs the update and restarts. Versions 2.1.0 and older open the download page instead. The Mac App Store version, coming soon, will update through the App Store. What changed in each version is in the changelog.
After a firmware update
Open Sound Connect reads the headphones' list of settings each time it connects, so it shows the options the headphones report after the update, as far as the app knows them. If the app doesn't find the headphones afterwards, see headphones connected but not detected. How Sony headphone control works on a Mac explains what the app reads.
Common
questions
Can I run Sony | Sound Connect on my Mac?
Not as a Mac app. The App Store lists it for iPhone only, and Sony hasn't announced a Mac version.
Can the MDR-1000X be updated at all?
We found no way. Sony's phone app doesn't support it, and a reply in Sony's community forum says there are no firmware updates for it, though Sony hasn't said so on its own pages.
Does Open Sound Connect need a particular firmware version?
No minimum is set. The app reads what the headphones report when it connects and shows only the settings they list.