How to Pair JBL Charge 3 with iOS Devices

This post shows JBL Charge 3 how to pair with iOS devices, including the iPhone, iPod Touch, and the iPad line of Apple phones and tablets.

JBL Charge 3 How to Pair with iOS Devices, iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch

First, with your JBL Charge 3 powered off (power button is dark), run through this routine to pair it to your iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch iOS mobile device. We’re using an iPad Air tablet in this demo.

1. Find your Way to the Home Screen on your iOS Device

Press the Home button to uncover the mobile iOS device’s Home screen.

2. Find the Settings App

We found ours on the second page of the iOS home screen on our iPad Air running iOS 11.3.1, as shown next.

3. Bring up the Settings App

Next, tap the Settings app icon.

The iOS device then displays the first page of its settings, as shown in the next step.

4. Go to Bluetooth Settings

Our Bluetooth settings screen displays as follows. Note that our Bluetooth is enabled here. But since JBL Charge 3 speaker is currently powered OFF, it does not show up in the Bluetooth devices list. Also, we don’t see it since we’ve never paired our Charge 3 with the iPad Air before. See this as shown in this list of previously paired Bluetooth devices, shown next.

5. Turn On your JBL Charge 3 Bluetooth Speaker

Then turn on the JBL Charge 3 by quickly pressing its Power button. See this pointed at by the green arrow in the next picture.

The speaker then powers up.

But since our iPad does not know about this speaker, the Charge 3 will not pair with it automatically. The light that comes on in the power switch denotes this not-paired state by glowing solid white, as shown next.

6. Put your JBL Bluetooth Speaker into Discovery Mode

Now, to see your JBL Charge 3 speaker on your iOS device, place the speaker into Bluetooth discovery mode. To do that, press and release the Bluetooth button, as shown in the next picture.

When you press the Bluetooth Discovery Mode button, the speaker 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.

7. Find your JBL Charge 3 on your iOS iPad, iPod, or iPhone Device

See the screen shot next. We found our Bluetooth speaker, as pointed at by the blue arrow, as shown next.

8. Pair with your JBL Charge 3 Portable Speaker

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

Your iOS device then pairs with the Charge 3 (“JBL Charge 3” in this demo). The iOS device’s Bluetooth Settings screen then changes to look something like the following.

Note that the JBL Charge 3 now shows as connected, as pointed at by the Blue arrows in the last picture.

9. Done!

Finally, we have now successfully paired our JBL Charge 3 portable speaker with our iPad iOS device.  This procedure also works when pairing with Apple iPhone and iPod devices, although the screen faces may differ slightly on the iPhone.

Related Posts

1. How to Pair JBL Flip 2 Bluetooth Speaker with iOS Devices, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch
2. Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 2 Pairing Instructions
3. How to Pair JBL Flip 4 Bluetooth Speaker with iOS Devices
4. Pairing JBL Flip 3 Bluetooth Speaker

Other Posts About the JBL Charge 3 Power Bank BT Speaker

1. Pairing JBL Charge 3 with Google Home Instructions
2. JBL Charge 3 Low Frequency Mode, How to Switch It
3. How to Run JBL Charge 3 Firmware Check
4. JBL Charge 3 Speaker Review, Features, Specs
5. Updating Firmware on JBL Charge 3, How To

References

1. JBL Charge 3 Portable Bluetooth Speaker, on Amazon.com
2. Harman Audio JBL Charge 3 Waterproof Speaker on harmanaudio.com

Revision History

• 2020-04-21: Added tags.
• 2019-04-12: Removed ad code.  Tweaked key phrase targeting.  Shortened post URL.
• 2018-07-10: First published.