Left front view of the JBL Flip 5 Bluetooth speaker.

How to Pair JBL Speaker to iPhone

This post demonstrates how to pair a JBL speaker to iPhone and iPhone like smart devices like tablets, Android phones, and computers.

How to Pair JBL Speaker to iPhone, Step by Step

We’ll run this illustration with a JBL Flip 4 speaker. But other JBL Bluetooth speakers work roughly the same way. So, with your speaker powered off (power button is dark), run through this routine to pair it to your iPhone as follows.  We’re using an iPad Air tablet for this demo since we do not have an iPhone to get screenshots from.  But again, the setup pages are about the same. So, the routine is virtually the same.

1. Bring Up the   Home   Screen on your iPhone

Press the   Home   button to reveal the Home  screen.

2. Find the  Settings  App

We found ours on the second page of the iOS home screen as shown next.

Picture of an iPhone Home screen showing the Settings app.
iPhone Home screen showing the Settings app.

3. Bring up the   Settings   App

Tap the  Settings  app icon.

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





4. Go to the  Bluetooth Settings    Page to Continue with How to Pair JBL Speaker to iPhone

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

Screenshot of the previously paired Bluetooth devices list. Note that the JBL speaker we're going to connect does not appear here yet.
The previously paired Bluetooth devices list. Note that the JBL speaker we’re going to connect does not appear here yet.

5. Turn On your JBL Speaker

You turn on most JBL speakers by quickly pressing its   Power   button. See this circled in green for our example, in the next picture.

Picture of a JBL speaker turned OFF, showing its -Power- button.
A JBL speaker turned OFF, showing its -Power- button.

The speaker then boots up.

But since the iPhone would not know about this speaker, the connecting will not happen automatically. The light that comes on in the power switch denotes this not-paired state by glowing solid white, as shown next.

Picture of our speaker, powered ON but not paired.
Our speaker, powered ON but not paired.

6. Start up Pairing Mode

Now, to see your JBL speaker on your iPhone, place it  into Bluetooth discovery mode (a.k.a. Pairing Mode). To do that, press and release the Bluetooth button, as shown in the next picture.

Picture of the -Bluetooth- button.
The -Bluetooth- button.

When you press the   Bluetooth Discovery Mode   button, the JBL speaker makes a repeating single pluck guitar note sound several times.





Also, on our Flip 4 speaker, the  Power   button changes from a solid white glow to flashing blue. See this next.

Picture of a JBL speaker in Bluetooth discovery mode. Showing the -Power- button, blinking.
A JBL speaker in Bluetooth discovery mode. Showing the -Power- button, flashing.

7. Find the Speaker on your Phone to Continue with How to Pair JBL Speaker to iPhone

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

Screenshot of the Bluetooth Settings screen, showing a JBL speaker discovered but not paired yet.
iPhone like Bluetooth Settings screen, showing a JBL speaker discovered but not paired yet.

8. Next, Pair with your JBL Speaker

Tap the listed speaker in the  Other Devices section of the   Bluetooth Devices    list.

Your iPhone then pairs with the speaker (“Tom’s Flip 4” in this example). The iPhone’s    Bluetooth Settings    screen then changes to look something like the following.

Screenshot of a JBL speaker showing as connected.
A JBL speaker showing as connected.

9. Done with How to Pair JBL Speaker to iPhone !

You have now successfully paired your JBL wireless speaker with an iPhone. You can now play music through the speaker.  And on some models including the Flip 4, you can also make calls on your phone, and hear them all through this  speaker.

Related Posts to How to Pair JBL Speaker to iPhone

    1. How to Pair UE Speaker with iPhone
    2. How to Pair JBL Flip 2 with iOS
    3. Pairing JBL Go 2 with iPhone
    4. How to Pair Wonderboom Speaker with iPhone
    5. Pairing JBL Flip 3 with an iPhone

Other Posts About the Typical JBL Speaker

    1. How to Connect to Alexa
    2. Button Functions
    3. How to Charge Quickly
    4. Bluetooth Pairing Instructions
    5. How to Reset JBL Speaker

References for How to Pair JBL Speaker to iPhone

    1. JBL Speaker Official Product Page at JBL.com
    2. iPhone Official Product Page at Apple.com

Revision History

    • 2021-09-04: Updated the internal links list.
    • 2020-12-04: First published.