Front right view of the JBL Charge 5 Bluetooth speaker.

How to Reset a JBL Charge 5

Explains how to reset a JBL Charge 5. First, turn the speaker on.  Next, wait for it to finish booting. Then press and release the Volume UP and Play-Pause buttons at the same time.  Then wait for the unit to shut down.  At this point, resetting is complete. So the next time you turn it on, it comes up in pairing mode, and is ready to connect.  We detail this routine next.

How to Reset a JBL Charge 5: Step by Step Details

Resetting puts the speaker back into its default factory state. Plus, it purges any earlier paired Bluetooth devices from memory. So, this stops the Charge 5 from connecting to any devices after reset. Also, you should reset to get the Charge 5 ready for sale or re gifting.

1. Turn on the Charge 5

Press and release the Power button.  It should light up solid white right away.

Top view of the JBL Charge 5, showing the -Power- button when the speaker is OFF.
The JBL Charge 5, top view, showing the -Power- button when the speaker is OFF.

Find the Power button, pointed at by the green arrow in the last picture above.

Then, the Power button comes on, as shown next. Here, since we’ve paired the speaker with Bluetooth devices before this, it does not enter Bluetooth discovery mode by itself. We know that because the Bluetooth button remains OFF, rather than blinking white.  Note the dark Bluetooth button, to the right of the glowing Power button in the next picture.

Picture of the -Power- button glowing.
The -Power- button glowing.

2. Wait for the Power Up Sound

The speaker makes a rising electric guitar strum sound when it powers up. Then it is ready for reset once this sound finishes.

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

See the next picture to find the UP Volume and Play-Pause buttons.

Picture of the -Volume Up- and -Play-Pause- buttons.
The -Volume Up- and -Play-Pause- buttons.

The speaker then enters reset, as shown in the next picture. Note that both the Power and Bluetooth buttons and the egg shaped ring  that surrounds them.  All of these light up for a couple seconds during reset.  I.e. The ring and both buttons glow gray-white.

Picture of all the lights glowing.
All lights glowing.

Then after a short pause, the JBL Charge 5 turns off. All lights go off, and it makes the power-down guitar sound.

The next picture shows the speaker powered down.  All buttons are dark.

Picture of the top front of the JBL Charge 5.
Top front view of the JBL Charge 5.

4. Check that the Reset of the JBL Charge 5 Did Happen

Next, power on the 5 again, as we did in step 1 above.  In short, press and release the Power button.

Now this time, after reset, the 5 instantly comes up in Bluetooth discovery mode, as shown next. We did not need to press the Bluetooth button first.  Note that the Bluetooth button blinks to let you know that the 5 has entered Bluetooth discovery mode. When this button blinks or is dark, the 5 is not currently in a pairing session. Indeed, we expect it not to pair to anything after a reset.

Picture of the -Power- and -Bluetooth- buttons glowing.
The -Power- and -Bluetooth- buttons aglow.

5. Done with How to Reset a JBL Charge 5 !

The JBL Charge 5 reset is now complete. Thus you may now pack it up for sale, or pair it again with your favorite Bluetooth devices.

Now the Charge 5 will no longer automatically pair with any device after reset. So you need to forget the previously paired JBL Charge 5 in your source device settings.  Once you do that, then you may manually pair the 5 with that device again. Then, any time that both speaker and that device are in range, auto pairing happens once more.

Other JBL Charge 5 Posts

    1. How to Know If JBL Charge 5 Is Fully Charged
    2. How Many Watts Is JBL Charge 5
    3. How to Run a JBL Charge 5 Update
    4. Bass Mode Explained

References for How to Reset a JBL Charge 5

    1. Official JBL Charge 5 Support Page
    2. Where to Buy the JBL Charge 5