Alexa Echo Dot 3 alongside a JBL Charge 4 Bluetooth speaker.

How to Connect JBL Charge 4 to Alexa

Shows how to connect the JBL Charge 4 with Alexa smart devices. These include the Echo, Dot, Input, Show, and Spot models. Now this connecting happens right between the JBL Charge 4 and Alexa. So you need not turn BT on in the mobile device you’re using to set this up.

How to Connect JBL Charge 4 to Alexa: Step by Step

With your speaker OFF (power button is dark), run through this routine to pair it to your Alexa device. We use an iPad Air 2 tablet here to set up this BT connection.

1. Find the Alexa App on your Mobile Device

We find the Alexa app on an iPad Air 2 as seen in the next picture. In this demo, the app is on the third home screen page.

Screenshot of an iOS home page, showing the Alexa app icon.
An iOS home page, showing the Alexa app icon.

2. Run the Alexa App

The app then displays its  Home   screen as shown in the next screenshot.

Screenshot of the Alexa app Home page, showing the main menu button.
The Alexa app Home screen, showing the main menu button.

3. Tap the Hamburger Control

Find the hamburger item in the top left corner of the screen.

This brings up the Alexa app’s main menu.

Picture of the main menu, showing the Settings option.
The main menu, showing the -Settings- option.

4. Tap the Settings Option on the App’s Main Menu to Continue with How to Connect JBL Charge 4 to Alexa

We point at the  Settings  item with the green arrow in the last screenshot.





This brings up the  Settings  screen.

Picture of the -Settings- page, showing the -Device Settings- option.
The -Settings- page, showing the -Device Settings- option.

5, Tap the  Device Settings  Option

This brings up the  All Devices   screen, where all of your connected Amazon Alexa enabled devices appear in a list.

Screenshot of the -All Devices- page in the app, showing an Echo Dot 3rd Gen speaker in the list.
The -All Devices- page in the app, showing an Echo Dot 3rd Gen speaker in the list.

6. Tap the Alexa Device you Wish to Connect

For this demo, we chose the  Thomas’s Echo Dot 3rd Gen  Alexa speaker. But pairing works similarly with all the other Bluetooth Alexa speaker models.

Anyway, touching the speaker to pair then takes you to the device-specific settings screen.

Screenshot of the -Device Settings- page for the Echo Dot 3rd Gen Alexa speaker, showing the -Bluetooth Devices- option.
The -Device Settings- screen for the Echo Dot 3rd Gen Alexa speaker, showing the -Bluetooth Devices- option.

7. Tap the  Bluetooth Devices  Item to Continue with How to Connect JBL Charge 4 to Alexa

Find the Bluetooth Devices option pointed at by the   green   arrow in the last screenshot.

This brings up the  Bluetooth Settings   screen.

Screenshot of the Alexa app displaying the -Bluetooth Settings- page, showing the -Pair a New Device- button bar.
The Alexa app displaying the -Bluetooth Settings- page, showing the -Pair a New Device- button bar.

At this point, your Alexa app is ready to begin a BT scan by your chosen Alexa speaker. We picked our Alexa Dot 3 in the last step. So, that Dot will be the one that scans when we press the blue   Pair a New Device   bar.

BUT WAIT A MINUTE!  Don’t press that bar just yet.  We must turn on the JBL Charge 4 speaker first, and then put it in Bluetooth discovery mode.  But if your Charge is ON and ready to pair, then skip the next step. Move on to step 9 below.





8. Turn On your JBL Charge 4

Put down your mobile device for a second, and turn on the 4 by quickly pressing its  Power  button. See this button circled in the next picture.

Picture of the top of the JBL Charge 4, showing the dark -Power- button.
Top view of the JBL Charge 4, showing the dark -Power- button.

The speaker then powers up.

But since our Alexa Dot 3 has never connected with this speaker prior, it has no connection information for it.  Thus the JBL Charge 4 will not yet connect with this Alexa automatically.

Picture of the dark -Bluetooth- button. This means that the JBL Charge 4 has no connection currently.
The dark -Bluetooth- button. This means that the JBL Charge 4 has no connection currently.

9. Put your JBL Charge 4 into Pairing Mode

Now, to allow an Alexa smart speaker to find the Charge, place your speaker into BT discovery mode. E.g. Press and release in the the Bluetooth button on the speaker.  Find this button in the last picture, pointed at by the green arrow.

Then, the JBL speaker makes a plucking guitar note sound. Also, the   Bluetooth  button starts flashing white.

10. Now Go Back to the Alexa App to Continue with How to Connect JBL Charge 4 to Alexa

The screen with the blue  Pair a New Device  button should still be there.

Screenshot of the -Bluetooth Settings- page, again showing the -Pair a New Device- button bar.
The -Bluetooth Settings- page, again showing the -Pair a New Device- button bar.

11. Touch the  Pair a New Device  Button

This starts your Alexa speaker scanning for nearby Bluetooth devices that are in BT discovery mode. Since your JBL Charge 4 is itself now in discovery mode, the Dot should find it.  Our BT speaker is indeed close enough for the Gen 3 Dot to pick up.

Thus, after a short time, you should get something like the screen we got.

Screenshot of the app displaying the -Bluetooth Setup- page, showing that it found the JBL Charge 4 speaker.
The app displaying the -Bluetooth Setup- page, showing that it found the JBL Charge 4 speaker.

In our demo, the Alexa app, through our 3rd generation Dot, found our JBL speaker, named   Tom’s Charge 4.





12. Find your JBL Charge 4 in the Discovered Devices List

Our scan found one device, which is the JBL Charge 4.

13. Finally, Connect your Alexa with the JBL Charge 4

Connect with the JBL 4 by touching that speaker entry on the  Bluetooth Setup  screen.

Alexa then connects with this BT speaker.

Shortly thereafter, the app again displays the  Bluetooth Settings  screen, that now shows the JBL Charge 4 connected.

Screenshot of the -Bluetooth Settings- page, showing the connected -Tom's Charge 4-  speaker.
The -Bluetooth Settings- page, showing the connected -Tom’s Charge 4-  speaker.

 

Also, the JBL Charge 4 plays the   Speaker Connected   rising guitar sound. Note also that the Bluetooth symbol and speaker name text turns blue as well. This means that you now have a successful pairing. And the blue speaker name text shows you which speaker in the Previously Paired Bluetooth Devices list has the connection.

The JBL Charge 4 speaker’s   Bluetooth   button now glows solid white. This means that a successful connection is now working.

Picture of the steadily glowing -Bluetooth- button. This means that the JBL Charge 4 to Alexa connect operation is complete.
The steadily glowing -Bluetooth- button, This means that the JBL Charge 4 to Alexa connect operation is complete.

14. Done with How to Connect JBL Charge 4 to Alexa

We have now successfully connected our JBL Charge 4  with our Alexa Echo Dot 3 speaker. So now, we may ask Alexa to play music on this Dot, and she’ll stream it to the BT speaker. Thus, that music will play on the very “big sounding” JBL portable speaker instead of the Echo. This speaker offers a louder, fuller sound than your run-of-the-mill Alexa speakers.  So linking these devices has definite sound advantages.

Other Posts About the JBL Charge 4

    1. Hard Reset Instructions
    2. JBL Charge 4 Change Name Procedure
    3. Charger Adapter Specs
    4. Finding the Installed Firmware Version

References for How to Connect JBL Charge 4 to Alexa

    1. JBL Charge 4 Official Product Page
    2. The Official Alexa Home Page