Picture of the JBL Charge 4 wireless speaker, top view, showing the oval button ring glowing.

Charge 4 Hard Reset

These Charge 4 hard reset instructions show how to hard reset the Charge 4 Bluetooth speaker from JBL.  Resetting puts the unit back into its default factory state. Plus, it wipes any earlier paired Bluetooth devices from memory, and so, stops the speaker from pairing to any nearby Bluetooth devices after the reset. Also, hard reset it to get the Charge 4 ready for sale or re gifting.

Charge 4 Hard Reset, Step by Step

1. Turn on the Charge 4

Press and release the Power button.  It should light up solid white right away.

Picture of the Charge 4 -Power- button.
The Charge 4 top view, showing the -Power- button.

Find the Power button, as we point out with the green arrow in the last picture above.

Then, the Power button comes on, as shown next. Here, since we’ve paired the speaker with Bluetooth devices before this, it does not enter Bluetooth discovery mode by itself. We know that because the Bluetooth button remains OFF, rather than blinking white.  Note the dark Bluetooth button, to the right of the glowing Power button in the next picture.

Picture of the glowing -Power- button.
The glowing -Power- button.

2. Wait for the Power Up Sound

The Charge 4 makes a rising electric guitar strum sound when it powers up, and is ready for factory resetting once this sound finishes.

3. Press the Volume UP and Bluetooth Buttons Together

See the next picture to find the Bluetooth and UP Volume buttons.

Picture of the -Bluetooth- and -Volume Up- buttons.
The -Bluetooth- and -Volume Up- buttons.

The Charge 4 then enters hard reset, as shown in the next picture. Note that both the Power and Bluetooth buttons and the egg shaped ring  that surrounds them.  All of these light up for a couple seconds during hard reset.  I.e. The ring and both buttons glow gray-white.

Picture of the -Bluetooth- and -Power- buttons along with the enclosing oval ring lit up.
Top view of the -Bluetooth- and -Power- buttons along with the enclosing oval ring lit up.

Then after a short pause, the Charge 4 turns off. All lights go off, and it makes the power-down guitar sound.





The next picture shows the Charge 4, powered down.  All buttons are dark.

Picture of the buttons panel.
The buttons panel.

4. Check that your Charge 4 Did Indeed Hard Reset

Next, power on the Charge 4 again, as we did in step 1 above.  In short, press and release the Power button.

Now this time, after hard reset, the 4 instantly comes up in Bluetooth discovery mode, as we see next. We did not have to press the Bluetooth button first.  Note that the Bluetooth button blinks to let you know that the speaker has entered Bluetooth discovery mode. When this button blinks or is dark, the speaker is not currently paired. Indeed, we expect it not to pair to anything after a hard reset.

Picture of the -Bluetooth- button blinking.
The -Bluetooth- button blinking.

5. Done!

The Charge 4 hard reset is now done. Thus you may now pack it up for sale, or pair it again with your favorite Bluetooth devices.

Since, as noted prior, the Charge 4 will no longer automatically pair with any previously paired, in range Bluetooth device in Bluetooth pairing mode, you’ll need to forget the previously paired Charge 4 listed in the Bluetooth devices section of your source device settings.  Once you do that, then manually pair the Charge 4 with that device again if you wish. Then after that, any time that both speaker and that device have Bluetooth turned on, pairing with automatically take place once more.

Other Posts About the Charge 4

    1. How to Pair the Charge 4
    2. How to Restart the Charge 4

Related Posts to Charge 4 Hard Reset

    1. UE Wonderboom Hard Reset Routine
    2. Sony SRS XB12 Hard Reset
    3. Sony SRS XB10 Hard Reset
    4. Netgear Extender Hard Reset
    5. Logitech Wonderboom Hard Reset

References for Charge 4 Hard Reset

    1. The Charge 4 Official Home Page at JBL.com

Revision History

    • 2021-08-23: First published.