Picture of an Echo Dot 4 clock speaker alongside a JBL Clip 3 BT speaker.

How to Hard Reset JBL Clip 3

Here, we go over how to hard reset the JBL Clip 3 Bluetooth speaker to return it to its default settings.  Hard resetting restores this speaker to its hard default state. Plus, it clears any prior paired BT devices from its memory. Erasing these stops the Clip 3 from pairing to any nearby Bluetooth devices after hard reset. Also, you would do this to get the unit ready for sale or re gifting, or to stop it from connecting with devices you no longer wish it to pair with.

How to Hard Reset a JBL Clip 3, Step by Step

1. Turn on the Speaker

Press and hold the Power button until the status lamp lights up and the guitar strum sound plays.

Picture of the JBL Clip 3 Bluetooth Speaker, showing its -Power- button.
JBL Clip 3 Bluetooth Speaker, showing its -Power- button.

First, find the Power button, as we see in the last picture above.

Then, the status light comes on, as the next picture shows.

Top view picture of the speaker, showing the status lamp glowing white.
Top view of the speaker, showing the status lamp glowing white.

2. Wait for the Power Up Guitar Sound

The speaker makes a rising electric guitar strum sound when it boots. Then, the 3 is ready for hard reset after this sound ends.

Now the speaker may or may not pair with a device. That depends on whether there are any in-range Bluetooth devices that know about this Clip.  However, whether paired or not, the hard reset works the same way, as follows.





3. Press the Volume UP and Play-Pause Buttons Together

Find the Play / Pause and UP Volume buttons.  The Play / Pause button is in the middle, and the Volume UP button is on the right, as circled in the next picture.

Picture of a JBL Clip 3 Bluetooth speaker reset button combination suggestion. -Play-Pause- and -Volume UP- buttons circled.
The speaker reset button combination. -Play-Pause- and -Volume UP- buttons circled.

The speaker then enters its hard reset routine.

Next, after a short pause, the Clip 3 turns off. The status lamp goes dark, and the speaker makes the power-down guitar sound.

See how the speaker status lamp changes during hard reset in the following pictures.

Top view picture of the speaker, showing Status lamp glowing.
Top view of the speaker, showing the Status lamp glowing.

Finally, the status lamp goes out (dark), as highlighted in the next picture.

Picture of the speaker turned OFF. Showing the dark status lamp.
The speaker turned OFF. Showing the dark status lamp.

4. Check that The Hard Reset of the JBL Clip 3 Did Indeed Work

Next, power on the Clip 3 again, as we did in step 1 above.

Note that after a hard reset, our speaker comes up in pairing / discovery mode.  The status lamp fast flashes white to tell us this, and you should now be able to see the speaker in a BT source device when connecting to it.

5. Done with How to Hard Reset JBL Clip 3 !

The hard reset is now done. So you may now sell or gift it, or pair the speaker again with your favorite Bluetooth devices.

After reset, the speaker no longer automatically pairs with any previously connected device that is in range and in pairing mode. Thus, to restore automatic Bluetooth pairing, you have to first manually pair the Clip 3 with a device. Finally, after that, any time that both speaker and that device have Bluetooth turned on, pairing would automatically take place once more.

Other Posts About the JBL Clip 3 

    1. Pairing Victor Reader Trek with JBL Clip 3
    2. How to Connect JBL Clip 3 to iPhone
    3. How to Pair JBL Clip 3 with Google Home
    4. JBL Clip 3 Picture Gallery
    5. How to Pair JBL Clip 3

Related Posts to How to Hard Reset JBL Clip 3 

    1. How to Hard Reset Google Home Speaker
    2. How to Hard Reset JBL Flip 5
    3. Hard Resetting the Sony SRS XG500 Boombox
    4. How to Hard Reset JBL Charge 3
    5. How to Hard Reset an iPod Touch

References for How to Hard Reset JBL Clip 3

    1. JBL Clip 3 Official Product Page at JBL.com

Revision History

    • 2022-09-20: First published.