Bowers & Wilkins Formation Flex User manual

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www.bowerswilkins.com
Welcome to Bowers & Wilkins and Formation Flex.
Thank you for choosing Formation. When John Bowers rst established Bowers
& Wilkins he did so in the belief that imaginative design, innovative engineering
and advanced technology were keys that could unlock the enjoyment of audio
in the home. That belief continues to inspire every product we design and in
Formation has found its most advanced expression yet.
Formation Flex is a network connected, wireless active speaker that provides
extremely high performance reproduction of Formation audio streams. Formation
Flex is primarily intended to be congured and controlled using the Bowers &
Wilkins Home app. The app is available for both iOS and Android devices. Some
commonly used control functions are also available via touch buttons on the
Formation Flex top panel. It is only possible to install and congure a Formation
Flex using the Bowers & Wilkins Home app.
Formation Flex will enable you to:
• Listen to audio from streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, and Roon.
• Listen to network stored audio les.
• Listen to audio over Bluetooth from appropriately enabled Bluetooth
source devices.
• Listen to audio from devices such as turntables (via a phono preamp) and
CD players that are connected to a Bowers & Wilkins Formation Audio.
• Listen to audio, such as Internet Radio, from Airplay or Bluetooth
compatible services and apps.
• Listen to audio playing anywhere in your home on any Formation device
connected to your home network.
The Bowers & Wilkins Home app is required to connect your Formation Flex
to your home network and also to establish a connection with other Formation
products in your home. The Bowers & Wilkins Home app also provides some
control and conguration functions during use. Before you begin your Formation
Flex installation please download and install the Bowers & Wilkins Home app on
your iOS or Android device. The Bowers & Wilkins Home app requires iOS V11.4
or later, or Android V8.1 or later. Bluetooth, and WiFi services must be enabled
on your iOS or Android device. You will also need to know your WiFi network
password.
Note: Location Services must be enabled on Android devices during the
Formation setup process. This is because Formation products use a low power
form of Bluetooth (BT-LE) for service communication which on Android devices is
only switched on when Location Services are enabled. Bowers & Wilkins do not
use any location services data for marketing purposes.

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1. Formation Flex Carton Contents
Formation Flex
Mains power cable set appropriate for your territory
Document pack
2. Installing Your Formation Flex
Formation Flex can be used in a range of situations
— as a single mono speaker, as a compact stereo
pair, or as rear surround speakers in a 5.1 home
theatre setup.
When used as a stereo pair, your Formation Flex
should be at least 1m (3ft) apart and a similar
distance from the listening area. If the speakers
are positioned too close together, the stereo
reproduction may lack scale; if they are too far
apart, the stereo focus may be weak. There is no
need to angle your Formation Flex inwards towards
the listening area however doing so may tighten
the stereo focus. Diagram 1 illustrates basic
speaker positioning.
When used as rear speakers in a 5.1 home theatre
conguration, your Formation Flex should be placed
as close to 120 degrees from the front centre
speaker as possible, as shown in Diagram 2.
Your Formation Flex speaker requires a mains power
supply to operate so must be located within reach of
a mains socket. If your Formation Flex speaker is to
use a wired connection to your home network it will
need to be located within reach of an appropriate
network (Ethernet) cable.
If you decide to place your Formation Flex on a
shelf, ensure that the shelf is easily able to support
the weight.
Like the vast majority of speakers, your Formation
Flex radiates sound energy not only forward but
also to the side and rear. Consequently, if your
Formation Flex is positioned close to room
boundaries, or particularly in a corner, bass may
become over emphasised. If you nd that bass
from your Formation Flex is too prominent, moving
it to an alternative position may be benecial,
however you can also adjust the bass level via
the Bowers & Wilkins Home app Settings menu.
Diagram 1
Stereo positioning
Diagram 2
Home theatre positioning
1 metre
120º

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Connections
In addition to a mains power socket your
Formation Flex speaker carries an Ethernet socket
for connection to a router should a wired network
connection be preferred to wireless (WiFi).
Note: The USB socket located on the Formation
Flex rear panel is intended for service and
diagnostic use only. It cannot be used for any
other purpose.
Switch On and Off
With all connections made, and the Bowers &
Wilkins Home app installed on your mobile device,
your Formation Flex speaker is ready to be setup.
Your Formation Flex has no mains power switch and,
following a short start-up routine, will be operational
as soon as it is connected to mains power. It will
play an audio prompt when its startup routine is
complete.
When a Formation Flex that has not been previously
used is rst switched on it will automatically enter
setup mode to enable its connection to your home
network and to any other available Formation
devices. Setup mode is indicated by a slow amber
pulse illumination of the Form touch button .
The Formation Flex will also appear in the Bowers
& Wilkins Home app as available for set up, either
on the initial app page, or after selecting ‘Add
Formation product’ from the app Settings page.
Your Formation Flex manages its operational state
and power consumption entirely automatically and
will switch to a power saving mode after twenty
minutes of inactivity. There is no need ever to switch
off your Formation Flex, however should you wish
to do so, simply disconnected it from mains power.
Your Formation Flex will retain its settings without
mains power.
You can restart a Formation Flex speaker by a short
press and release of the reset button located on
its rear panel. Pressing the button will switch the
Formation Flex off and on again. All settings will be
retained when your Formation Flex restarts. You can
also restart your Formation Flex via the Bowers &
Wilkins Home app Settings page.
If you wish to to reset your Formation Flex to its
default settings, press and hold the reset button for
ve seconds. On restart, your Formation Flex will
enter setup mode. All settings will be deleted when
your Formation Flex resets. You can also reset your
Formation Flex via the Bowers & Wilkins Home app
Settings menu.
Network Setup
• With your Formation Flex in setup mode, with
its Form button illumination pulsing slowly
amber, launch the Bowers & Wilkins Home app
on your iOS or Android device. The app will guide
you with prompts though the setup process.
Note: Formation Flex employs a Bluetooth
connection to the device running the Bowers
& Wilkins Home app during the setup process.
Bluetooth signals have a relatively short range
and can be interrupted by room boundaries, so
we recommend that your Formation Flex and
Bowers & Wilkins Home app device remain in
close proximity during the setup process.
• The Bowers & Wilkins Home app will rst search
for Formation products in setup mode and display
a screen inviting the selection of one. Tap to select
your Formation Flex. If you have already set up
a Formation product and are adding an additional
one, select ‘Add Formation product’ from the app
Settings menu.
• The Bowers & Wilkins Home app will next invite
you to name the “Space” in which your Formation
Flex is to be used. A list of default Space
names is provided but you can also create your
own. When you have selected, or created, a space
name, the app will ask you to touch the Form
button on the top of your Formation Flex to
conrm the selection.
• If a wireless network connection for your
Formation Flex is to be used, the next setup
stage will connect your Formation Flex to your
home WiFi network. The app will ask you to
conrm the correct WiFi network and ask you to
input its password. Alternatively, if your Formation
Flex is connected to your network router using
an Ethernet cable, this stage of the setup process
will be bypassed.
Note: If you already have other Formation
products connected to your WiFi network,
Formation Flex setup will not require you to
input the WiFi password.
Diagram 3
Formation Flex connection panel
• With WiFi network conguration, and Space
selection complete, your Formation Flex is
ready for use. Your Formation Flex will play an
audio prompt to conrm successful set up.
Bluetooth Setup
You can connect your Formation Flex to a Bluetooth
enabled audio source device, such as a smartphone,
to play audio over Bluetooth. Your Formation Flex
must rst be “paired” with the Bluetooth audio
source device.
Once you have completed the Formation Flex
network setup, open the Bowers & Wilkins Home
app Settings page, and select the Formation Space
that you wish to pair a Bluetooth device with. Next
select ‘+ Pair a new device’ from the Bluetooth
menu and follow the app instructions to complete
pairing. Your Formation Flex will play an audio
prompt when pairing is complete and its Space will
become available to the paired Bluetooth device for
audio playback.
Note: Up to eight Bluetooth devices can be
simultaneously paired with each Formation
space, however devices will not connect and
play to paired spaces automatically.

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Diagram 4
Space congurations
3. Using Your Formation Flex
The Basics
You can use your Formation Flex to play audio from
streaming services such as Spotify, Apple Music,
and Tidal, from the Roon music library service and
from internet radio via an appropriate iRadio app.
If you have further Formation devices connected
to your network, a Formation Audio for example,
conventional audio sources connected to it will also
be available through your Formation Flex.
Spaces
Spaces are a core concept of the Formation product
family. A Formation “space” is a room or a specic
area in your home in which you listen to music.
Each space can include different combinations of
Formation products. The possible congurations are
displayed in the Diagram 4.
Playing Audio
The Bowers & Wilkins Home app enables you to
select and play any available audio source or stream.
However, in much the same way that conventional
audio source playback requires initiation through
a play command, Formation streams must be rst
initiated through their own gateway app: the Spotify
app for example, or a music library app such as
Roon. Each gateway or library app will list your
Formation Flex space as an available playback
device using Airplay, Bluetooth or in the case of
Spotify, Spotify Connect.
Once audio streams are playing on the Formation
network they can be selected via the Bowers &
Wilkins Home app or via the Formation Flex top
panel Form touch button . Touching the Form
button will cycle though the available streams and
sources.
Formation Flex Top Panel Controls
Your Formation Flex has touch buttons on its top
panel that provide play/pause control, volume
adjustment and source/stream selection.
• Touching the Play/Pause will alternately
stop and restart audio playback.
Note: Play/pause will only operate if the stream
source has play and pause functions that can
be accessed through Bluetooth or network
connections.
• Touching volume up or down will adjust
the local volume of any network stream or local
source. Pressing and holding the and
buttons will continuously increase or
decrease volume.
• Touching the Form button will cycle through
and play the active streams and sources available
to the Formation Flex.
Form Button illumination
TV Space configurations
Formation Bar (3.0)
Formation Audio Formation Flex
Formation Wedge
Formation Wedge + Formation Audio
Formation Wedge + Formation Bass
Formation Wedge + Formation Audio + Formation Bass
Formation Bar + Formation Bass (3.1)
Music Space configurations
Formation Bar + Formation Flex (5.0)
Formation Bar + Formation Bass + Formation Flex (5.1)
Formation Flex + Formation Audio
Formation Flex + Formation Bass
Formation Flex + Formation Audio + Formation Bass
Formation Duo
Formation Duo + Formation Audio
Formation Duo + Formation Bass
Formation Duo + Formation Audio + Formation Bass
Formation Flex (stereo pair)
Formation Flex (stereo pair) + Formation Audio
Formation Flex (stereo pair) + Formation Bass
Formation Flex (stereo pair) + Formation Audio + Formation Bass

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The Formation Flex Form button illumination
changes to indicate a variety of operational states.
The illuminations are displayed in Diagram 5.
4. The Bowers & Wilkins Home App
With your Formation Flex congured and connected
to your network, the Bowers & Wilkins Home app
will open to its Home screen where the Formation
Flex space and any other available Formation spaces
will be listed.
Tap on a Formation Space to select from any
available streams or inputs. If there are no streams
available, open a streaming app, Spotify for example,
and select an item to play, then select the Formation
Space from the list of available playback devices.
Now, when you return to the Bowers & Wilkins
Home app, the Spotify stream will be listed on the
Formation Flex Space page.
The Bowers & Wilkins Home app Home page has
a Settings icon in the top right corner. Tap the
icon to open the app Settings menu. The Settings
menu provides options to congure and reset your
Formation devices and re-name your Formation
Spaces. App and Formation device rmware updates
are also initiated from the Settings menu.
Finding Your Way Around the
Bowers & Wilkins Home App
The Bowers & Wilkins Home app will search for
available Formation Spaces when opened then
display its Home page with the Spaces listed.
Beneath each Space the app will display its current
activity. Tapping on an active Space will open a “now
playing” screen that enables volume and play/pause
control.
The ‘now playing’ screen also provides an ‘Available
Spaces’ option that enables the stream playing in
the selected Space to be transferred to another
Space or played in multiple Spaces. The ‘Available
Spaces’ screen also provides the opportunity to
control volume, both globally across all Spaces, or in
individual Spaces.
The Bowers & Wilkins Home app Settings page is
opened by tapping on the settings icon. The initial
Settings menu lists each space and the number of
Formation devices present in each one.
Tapping on a Space listed in the Settings menu
provides access to its Space and Formation device
settings. Tap the Space name to access the Space
settings and tap the device name to access the
device settings. The device settings available will
depend on the device in question.
Note: If the Settings icon on the Bowers & Wilkins
Home app displays a yellow dot this indicates
that a Formation rmware update is available.
The rmware update process is initiated from
the Settings menu. You should always aim to
keep the Bowers & Wilkins Home app and your
Formation devices up to date with the latest
version and rmware. Not only will this help
ensure the most reliable performance, it will
ensure that you benet from new Formation
features.
5. Formation Music Streams and Sources
Using Spotify
Use your phone, tablet or computer as a remote
control for Spotify. Go to spotify.com/connect to
learn how.
The Spotify Software is subject to third party licenses
found here: https://www.spotify.com/connect/third-
party-licenses.
Using Airplay
Airplay enables audio apps on Apple mobile,
laptop or desktop devices to stream material over
a network to Airplay compatible speakers such as
Formation Flex. Airplay enabled apps will display the
Airplay icon.
To use Airplay, open the audio app you wish to use
and select the music you wish to play. Tap on the
Airplay icon to display a list of available devices
followed by the Formation Space you wish to use.
Note: It is possible to stream audio via Airplay
on multiple devices simultaneously, however the
playback quality and synchronisation may then
depend on the capabilities of your home network.
If you wish to play material simultaneously in
more than one Formation space, synchronization
can be greatly improved by selecting multiple
spaces through the Bowers & Wilkins Home app.
Using Roon
Roon is a feature rich music library and playback
app that compiles all the music les available to your
network and makes them easily available to play
across all your Formation Spaces and any other
Roon enabled audio devices. Roon is available for
mobile, laptop or desktop devices.
When you open Roon it will display your complete
audio library together with its metadata and artwork
along with all the Formation Spaces and any other
available network audio devices. Simply select the
music you wish to play and Formation space in
which you want to hear it.
Note: It is possible to stream audio from Roon
on multiple devices simultaneously, however
the playback quality and synchronisation and
may then depend on the capabilities of your
home network. If you wish to play material
simultaneously in more than one Formation
space, synchronization can be greatly improved
by selecting multiple spaces through the Bowers
& Wilkins Home app.
Using Bluetooth
Bluetooth enables audio apps on mobile, laptop or
desktop devices to stream material over a wireless
connection to compatible hardware such as the
Formation Flex. Bluetooth enabled audio apps will
display the Airplay icon.
To use Bluetooth, ensure that the required Formation
Space is selected in your device Bluetooth settings
menu, open the audio app you wish to use and
select the music you wish to play. Tap on the
playback devices icon to display a list of those
available followed by Formation Space you wish to
use.
6. Cleaning
Should your Formation Flex need cleaning you
can wipe its top surface with a clean, lint-free cloth
and brush its grille with a soft brush. If you wish to
use any cleaning uid, apply it onto the cleaning
cloth and not directly onto the Formation Flex.
Test a small area rst, as some cleaning products
may damage some of the surfaces. Avoid products
that are abrasive, or contain acid, alkali or anti-
bacterial agents.
7. Support
Should you require further help or advice regarding
your Formation Flex please visit the Formation
support site here www.bowerswilkins.com/support.
Environmental Information
This product complies with international directives,
including but not limited to the Restriction of
Hazardous Substances (RoHS) in electrical and
electronic equipment, the Registration, Evaluation,
Authorisation and restriction of Chemicals (REACH)
and the disposal of Waste Electrical and Electronic
Equipment (WEEE). Consult your local waste
disposal authority for guidance on how properly to
recycle or dispose of this product.
Diagram 5
Form button illuminations
Indicator Operational state
Flashing white Start-up in progress
Pulsing amber Ready for setup
Flashing amber Firmware update in progress
Pulsing white Audio pull in progress
Pulsing red Error - contact support
Solid red Error - contact support
Flashing red Factory reset in progress