Google Home Mini smart speaker with a JBL Flip 3 Bluetooth speaker.
This post shows how to connect Google Home Mini to Bluetooth speakers. Here, we show how to do this using JBL ‘s Flip 3 portable Bluetooth speaker. Since this connecting happens between the Flip 3 and Google Mini speakers directly, you need not activate Bluetooth On in the mobile device you’re using to establish this connection.
With your JBL Flip 3 powered off (power button is dark), run through this routine to connect it to your Google Home Mini smart speaker. We’re using an iPad Air tablet to create this Bluetooth connection. The routine is similar for the other Google smart speaker products mentioned above, as all of them can connect to Bluetooth speakers wirelessly.
Now, to the procedure.
We found the Home app on our iOS iPad Air as seen in the next screenshot. In our case, this program is on the third home screen page, called out by the purple arrow.
The app then shows its Home screen as depicted in the next screenshot.
Find the hamburger item near the top left screen corner. This is pointed at by the purple arrow in the previous picture.
This brings up the Google Home app’s main menu, as highlighted in the next screenshot. It’s the white rectangle on the left side of the screen.
The Devices option is pointed at by the arrow in the last photo.
This brings up the Devices screen, as seen in the next picture.
From there, pick which Google Home smart speaker device you want to connect with the JBL Flip 3 Bluetooth speaker. We scrolled down a little on this screen to bring our Google Home Mini speaker into view, named Office Speaker.
Find that menu control near the top right corner of each speaker card, as seen in the last photograph.
This brings up the selected speaker’s control menu, as shown next.
We circled the Settings menu item in purple in the last screenshot.
Tapping Settings takes you to the device-specific settings screen for the Google Home Mini speaker chosen, as seen next.
Scroll through the Device Settings screen, until you get to the Default Speaker item. We’ve highlighted this option with a blue arrow in the next picture.
This brings up the Choose a Default Speaker for Music and Audio screen, as shown next.
At this point, you’re ready to start a Bluetooth scan by your Google Home Mini speaker. Remember now that you’ve selected the Home speaker to connect with in step 5 above. So, that particular Google Mini speaker will be the one that scans for in-range Bluetooth speakers to connect with, like the JBL Flip 3.
But don’t press the Pair Bluetooth Speaker item button in the last screenshot just yet. We must first power up your Flip 3 speaker and put it into pairing discovery mode.
Put down your tablet / phone for a moment.
Then, turn on the JBL Flip 3 by quickly pressing its Power button. See this button encircled in green, in the next photo.
The speaker then powers ON.
But since our Google Home Mini does not know about this speaker yet, the Flip 3 will not pair with it instantly. Thus, the light that comes on in the power switch denotes this not-paired state by glowing white, as we show in the next shot.
Note that your Flip 3 Bluetooth speaker may flashing blue if you’ve never paired it with a device since its last hard reset. In that case, skip the next step (Step 10) and continue with Step 11.
Now, to allow the Google Home Mini speaker to find your Flip 3, place that speaker into Bluetooth discovery mode. For that, quickly press and release the Bluetooth button, that we point out in the next picture.
When you press the Bluetooth Discovery Mode button, the Flip 3 makes a repeating single pluck guitar note sound several times. Also, the power button changes from a solid white glow to flashing blue. See this next.
The screen with the blue Pair Bluetooth Speaker option should still show, as ours dd in the next screenshot.
This starts your Google Home speaker scanning for any nearby Bluetooth devices that are themselves in Bluetooth discovery mode. Since your Flip 3 is now in Bluetooth discovery mode, your Google Home Mini should find it.
The next screenshot shows the Bluetooth scanning in progress.
After a brief pause, your Google Home Mini should find the JBL Flip 3, and list it as we see next.
In our demo, the Google Home Mini speaker found our JBL Flip 3, named Tom’s Flip 3. See this entry near the top of the previous screenshot. It’s the one with the little blue ball on its left side with a check mark inside.
If Google Home found more than one Bluetooth speaker, then tap the one you want. That blue check mark then appears beside the speaker you picked.
Now our scan found the JBL Flip 3, named Tom’s Flip 3. Just one device. So ours was selected by default.
Touching Done causes our Google Home Mini speaker to then connect wirelessly with the Flip 3 (“Tom’s Flip 3” in this demo).
The Google Home app then took us back to its Choose a Default Speaker for Music and Video screen, as shown next.
At that time,, the JBL Flip 3 makes the Speaker Paired sound (the three rising guitar sounds). Note the blue check mark to the left of the new default speaker in the last screenshot.
The JBL Flip 3 speaker is now connected with our Google Home Mini. It’s power button glows solid blue. This means that a successful Bluetooth connection is working, as seen next.
We now may ask Google Home Mini to play music or other audio content. Then that audio now plays on this small but bassy JBL Flip 3 wireless speaker.
Note though, that only the media you request actually plays through your Bluetooth speaker. The Google Assistant however, still speaks from the Google Home Mini smart speaker. Also, speak directly to your Google Home, and not to the JBL Flip 3, when making voice requests.
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