How to Connect JBL Xtreme with iPhone

This post illustrates how to connect JBL Xtreme with iPhone, a reasonably simple process once you know how to get to the various iOS screens. With your speaker shut off (Power button dark), run through this routine to pair your Xtreme to an iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch iOS based device. We’re using an iPad Air tablet in this demo. However, pairing is nearly the same for all the other iOS devices, although the screen arrangements may be somewhat different depending on the unit you’re using.

How to Connect JBL Xtreme with iPhone, Step by Step

1. Visit the Home Screen on iOS Devices like the iPhone

Press the Home button to show the Home screen. See our Home screen as pictured next. We demonstrate with an iPad Air here since screen objects are a blt larger and photograph more clearly than on the iPhone. But connecting an iPhone to a JBL Bluetooth speaker is virtually the same as on an iPad. So we’re confident that these instructions done with an iPad will be just as accurate and helpful as they would be if we’d used an iPhone.

2. Find the iPhone Settings App

We found ours on the second page of the Home screen.

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

3. Bring up the Settings App

Tap the Settings app icon.

The iPhone then draws the first page of its Settings screen, as shown in the next picture.

Screenshot of the iOS Settings screen, with Bluetooth turned ON screen showing, and the Bluetooth item highlighted. — iOS Settings screen with Bluetooth turned ON screen showing, and the Bluetooth item highlighted.

4. Go to the Bluetooth Settings Page to Continue with How to Connect JBL Xtreme with iPhone

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

Our Bluetooth Settings screen then comes up as we show in the next picture. Note that our Bluetooth is switched ON. But since our JBL Xtreme speaker is currently OFF, it does not appear in either the My Devices or Other Devices lists just yet. How come? Because we’ve never paired it with this mobile device before. And besides, the speaker is not yet broadcasting its connection information, as it is OFF. See this, as shown next.

Screenshot of an iOS mobile device, showing previously paired Bluetooth devices list. Note that there's no JBL Xtreme speaker now. — iOS mobile device, showing previously paired Bluetooth devices list. Note that there’s no JBL Xtreme speaker here.

5. Turn On your Xtreme Speaker

Turn on this speaker by gently but rapidly depressing its Power button. See the Power button on this speaker pointed at by the green arrow in the next picture.

Picture of the JBL Xtreme speaker powered OFF, showing its dark Power button highlighted. — JBL Xtreme speaker powered OFF, showing its dark Power button highlighted.

The speaker then comes to life.

But since the iPhone you’re connecting probably does not know about this speaker, the Xtreme will not pair with it by itself. The light that brightens in the Power switch advertises this not-paired situation by glowing either solid white or blinking blue, as shown next.

Picture of the JBL Xtreme Bluetooth speaker powered on, with its blue blinking Power button highlighted. — JBL Xtreme Bluetooth speaker powered on, with its blue blinking Power button highlighted.

6. Put your JBL Bluetooth Speaker into Discovery Mode

Now, to see your JBL Xtreme speaker on your iPhone, enter the speaker into Bluetooth Discovery mode. To do that, depress and release the Bluetooth button on the speaker, as highlighted in the next picture. It’s the raised switch on the left top portion of the Xtreme JBL, in the shape of the Bluetooth logo.

Picture of the JBL Extreme speaker top view, with the Bluetooth button highlighted. — JBL Extreme speaker top view, with the Bluetooth button highlighted.

When you depress this button, the speaker plays a single repeating guitar pluck sound a few times. Plus, the Power button goes from a solid white glow to flashing blue. See this in the previous photo.

To make simpler the following screenshots, we’ve removed from our mobile device some of the Bluetooth devices not needed to make the points in this exercise.

7. Find your JBL Xtreme on your iPhone to Continue with How to Connect JBL Xtreme with iPhone

See the screenshot next. We found ours, as pointed at by the green arrow, as seen next.

Screenshot of an iOS Bluetooth Settings page, showing the JBL Xtreme speaker discovered and highlighted. — iOS Bluetooth Settings page, showing the JBL Xtreme speaker discovered and highlighted.

8. Pair iPhone with your Xtreme Portable Speaker

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

Your iPhone then pairs with the Xtreme (appears as “JBL Xtreme” in this demo). The Bluetooth Settings screen then changes to display something like the following.

Screenshot from an iOS mobile device, displaying its Bluetooth Settings page, showing a JBL Xtreme speaker paired, connected, and circled. — iOS mobile device, displaying its Bluetooth Settings page, showing a JBL Xtreme speaker paired, connected, and circled.

Note that the Xtreme JBL speaker now shows as connected, as seen inside the green oval in the previous screenshot.

9. Done with How to Connect JBL Xtreme with iPhone !

We have now successfully paired our JBL Xtreme Bluetooth speaker with our mobile iOS device. Hopefully, your experience connecting it to your iPhone went as smoothly.

References for How to Connect JBL Xtreme to iPhone

Revision History

2020-04-07: Added tags.
2019-05-03: Tuned the targeting for ‘How to Connect JBL Xtreme with iPhone’, and added tags.
2019-01-20: First published.