Front View of the JBL Go 3 Bluetooth Speaker.

How to Connect JBL Go 3 to iPhone

This post shows how to connect JBL Go 3 to iPhone phones. Start with your speaker OFF (dark front panel LED). Then, follow these directions to pair your Go 3 Bluetooth speaker to an iPhone. To clarify, we’re running an iPad Air tablet for this exercise.  But the pairing details are about the same for the iPhone, though the various screens may appear a bit different on the iPhone.

Connect JBL Go 3 to iPhone Instructions

1. Visit the Home Screen on your iPhone

Firstly, press the Home button to get to the  Home   page.  See our Home screen as pictured next.

2. Find the iOS Settings App

We found ours on the second page of the Home screen on our iPad Air tablet.

Picture of an iPad Home screen, with the Settings app highlighted by an arrow.
iPad Home Screen with Settings App Highlighted.

3. Bring up the Settings App

Thirdly, tap the Settings app icon.

The iPhone then displays the first page of its Settings screen, that looks like the next screenshot

Screenshot of the iOS 11 Settings screen on iPad Air, with Bluetooth turned ON screen showing, and the Bluetooth item highlighted. 
iOS Settings screen on iPad Air, with Bluetooth turned ON screen showing, and the Bluetooth item highlighted.

4. Go to the Bluetooth Settings  Page

Tap the Bluetooth item, as pointed at by the dark green arrow in the last screenshot above.

Our Bluetooth Settings screen the appears as follows. Note that we switched our Bluetooth ON here on the IOS tablet. But since the Go Three speaker is now OFF, it does not show in either the My Devices or Other Devices lists on the phone yet,  Why?  Because we’ve never connected it with this device before now.  Plus, the speaker is not yet sending out its connection info. See this situation, as shown next.

Screenshot of the iOS iPad Air, showing previously paired Bluetooth devices list.
iPad Air tablet showing previously paired Bluetooth devices list.

Note in this picture that we find no JBL Go 3 listed yet.





5. Turn On your JBL Go 3 Bluetooth Speaker

Turn on the unit by quickly pressing its Power button. See this button, as we point out in the next picture.

Right Side View of the JBL Go 3 Speaker, Showing the -Power- Button Highlighted.
Right Side View of the JBL Go 3 Speaker, Showing the -Power- Button Highlighted.

The speaker then comes on.

But since an iPhone does not know about this speaker, the Go 3 will not wirelessly connect with it by itself. The light that comes alive on the side of the speaker, shows this not-paired state by slow or fast blinking white as seen next.

Right side view of the JBL Go 3 speaker, showing the -Status- lamp glowing.
Right side view of the JBL Go 3 speaker, showing the -Status- lamp glowing.

6. Put your Go 3 into Bluetooth Pairing Mode

Now, to see your Go Three speaker on your iPhone, enter the start up the speaker’s Bluetooth discovery mode. For that, press and release the Bluetooth button on the speaker, as circled in the next photo.

Right side panel of the JBL Go 3 speaker, showing the -Bluetooth- button highlighted.
Right side panel of the JBL Go 3 speaker, showing the -Bluetooth- button highlighted.

When you press the Discovery Mode button, the speaker makes a repeating single pluck guitar note sound several times. Plus, the status lamp changes from a solid or slow flashing white to a fast blinking white.

7. Find your JBL Go 3 on your iPhone

See the picture next. We found ours, as pointed out in green in the next picture.

iPadOS Bluetooth Settings page, showing the JBL Go 3 speaker, discovered but not paired.
iPadOS Bluetooth Settings page, showing the JBL Go 3 speaker, discovered but not paired.

8. Connect with your Go 3 Wireless Speaker

Tap the listed speaker in the Other Devices section of the Bluetooth devices list, shown above.

Your iPhone then connects with the Go 3 JBL (appears as “JBL Go 3” in this demo).

The Bluetooth Settings screen then changes to look something like the following.

The iPadOS -Bluetooth Settings- page, showing the JBL Go 3 speaker as connected.
The iPadOS -Bluetooth Settings- page, showing the JBL Go 3 speaker as connected.

Note that the Go 3 speaker now shows as connected, as shown in the last picture.

9. Done with How to Connect JBL Go 3 to iPhone !

We have now successfully connected the JBL Go 3 Bluetooth speaker with an iPhone, or at least, an iOS device like it.  Thus, audio media output from your phone should now play on this wireless speaker, which presumably, is what you want.  Enjoy!

Other Posts About the JBL Go 3 BT Speaker

  1. How to Adjust Volume on JBL Go 3 Mini Speaker
  2. Finding JBL Go 3 Firmware Version
  3. How to Check JBL Go 3 Battery Life
  4. JBL Go 3 Volume Control Explained
  5. How to Know if JBL Go 3 Speaker is Fully Charged

Related Posts to How to Connect JBL Go 3 to iPhone

  1. How to Connect JBL Go 2 to iPhone
  2. Connecting an iPhone to JBL Bluetooth Speaker
  3. How to Connect iPhone to JBL Flip 4
  4. Connecting an iPhone to a JBL Go 2 Speaker
  5. How to Connect a Wonderboom Speaker to an iPhone

References for How to Connect JBL Go 3 to iPhone

  1. JBL Go 3 Mini BT Speaker Product Page on JBL.com
  2. Apple iPhone Official Product Page at apple.com

Revision History

  • 2021-08-01: First published.