Pair 12-speed Wireless Di2 Shifters
Building a 12-speed bike using Shimano's hydraulic disc shift levers is a lot easier than it used to be. You connect the derailleurs and battery using EW-SD300 wires.
Then, you pair your wireless shift levers: DURA-ACE ST-R9270, Ultegra ST-R8170, 105 ST-R7170, or the GRX ST-RX825.
There are three ways to pair the wireless levers.
- Method 1 works by connecting both shift levers to the battery, as well as the rear derailleur (not 105 Di2).
- Method 2 pairs the levers using the SM-PCE02 tool and E-Tube Project V5/Professional.
- Method 3 involves scanning the QR code on the lever using the mobile app.
The third method is by far the easiest, and that's what I'll describe on this page. I'll also briefly describe method 1 further down this page. This can be useful if your shift levers will not pair via the app, for any reason.
Note that pairing is not possible when the bike is charging. If you have the charger connected to the rear derailleur, make sure it is disconnected before you start.
Pair using E-Tube Cyclist mobile app
If you haven't already, download E-Tube Cyclist - Shimano's mobile app.
Make sure Bluetooth is enabled on your phone, and start E-Tube Cyclist.
It'll look something like this:
Now, press-and-hold the button on the rear derailleur for 0.5 - 2 seconds, and the LED will start flashing blue. This means the bike is now in Bluetooth connection mode - for about 30 seconds.
If you have previously connected to this bike using the mobile app, simply tap the bike when it shows 'detected', and E-Tube will connect to the bike.
Is this your first time using E-Tube Cyclist? Then all you need to do is "Register bike or power meter" to add your bicycle to the app.
Once you have successfully connected to the bike, you'll see the customize page screen.
Tap "Add wireless switch", and E-Tube will show you the list of paired switches and shift levers. None are paired at this time, so the list is empty.
Next, tap the QR code symbol next to any of the "Add switch" boxes. The app will now switch on the camera and ask you to scan the QR code on the lever.
First I paired the right lever.
And then the left lever.
The order in which you pair the levers does not really matter, by the way.
That's it. Both levers are now paired.
Now... you may want to customise the lever buttons. For example, you can set both hood buttons to shift the rear derailleur. Also, if you have connected satellite shifters to the levers, you'll have to enable those.
To do this, open the customize tab and tap the shift levers. You can now change the button assignments, and add satellite shifters. E-Tube Cyclist will ask you to press a button on each shift lever, to make sure they're active and awake.
I have the SW-RS801-T satellite switches installed on this bike, so let's enable those.
Tap the "Satellite shifter" button, and then check the boxes for each shift lever that has a satellite shifter connected to it. These satellite shifters are "dumb" devices, and the bike cannot detect them on its own.
As you can see, the satellite shifters have now appeared on the shift lever details page. You can assign any function to the satellite shifters, but having them shift the rear derailleurs makes the most sense.
When you click "Apply" to save your settings, it'll once again ask you to press a button on your shift levers.
That's it! Your levers are all set up!
When you're done with the mobile app, make sure you tap that "disconnect" button. The bike won't respond to shift commands until you disconnect.
If video is more your thing, here's me running through the process on Shimano's Wilier:
Pair shift levers by wire
In some cases, your shift levers just won't pair. Usually, this can be resolved by pairing them using EW-SD300 wires. You'll need three of these.
How do you ask? Well, you simply connect both shift levers to the battery. Then, connect the rear derailleur to the battery as well.
With both levers and the rear derailleur connected to the battery, locate the button on the rear derailleur and press it for 5 to 8 seconds. The LED will then switch from yellow to blue. The system is now pairing.
A blinking green LED then indicates that pairing was successful, and you should now be able to use the levers.
Does your LED turn red? Then something went wrong. Make sure that all wires are connected, and really plugged in well. Also, double-check that you're using the shift levers top ports. The bottom ports are for satellite shifters only.
Note that you can only pair successfully with both shifters connected. Attempting to pair with just one of them connected will likely fail.
Help. My 12-speed shift lever won't pair
Sometimes Ultegra or Dura-Ace levers won't pair. You can try all you want, but nothing works.
What you're running into here is most likely a bug in the unit's firmware. Shimano released updated firmware for both Ultegra and Dura-Ace levers at the time of release, but a lot of units shipped with the flawed firmware.
Most of the affected levers are left-hand-side shifters, but it is by no means exclusive to that side or shifter. Also, if the shift lever's serial number fifth-character-from-the-right is an 'X' or a 'Y', yours is likely one of the affected models. The serial number is printed just above the QR code.
So what do you do, if your shifters won't pair?
Install the firmware update. That's it. Install the update, and they should pair just fine.
Updating the wireless shifter firmware requires a wired connection between the shifter and the rest of the Di2 system, or the SM-PCE02. How to explain the wireless shifters is explained in my update wireless shifters guide.
Done! Go ride that bike!
If you've made it all this way, that probably means the pairing was successful. Your bike should now be fully functional. Want to know how to unpair your shift levers? Then read my guide on unpairing wireless Di2 shifters.
Having problems? Feel free to leave a comment below, or send me an email - I'll help you any way I can.
Looking for more information on building a Di2 bike? the site's installation guides section is a good place to start.
