Picture of the JBL Charge 3 IPX7 certified portable Bluetooth speaker, powered on and paired. Power button is glowing blue and highlighted.

JBL Charge 3 Bluetooth Connection Setup

This post shows how to setup a Bluetooth connection between the JBL Charge 3 speaker and a Bluetooth source device like a tablet or phone.

JBL Charge 3 Bluetooth Connection Setup, Step by Step

With your JBL Charge 3 powered off (power button is dark), run through this routine to set up a Bluetooth connection between it and your device. We’re using an iPad Air tablet in this example.

1. Bring Up the Home Screen on your Bluetooth 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 iPad Home screen as shown next.

Picture of an iPad Air -Home- screen, with the -Settings- app highlighted by an arrow.
iPad Air -Home- Screen with the -Settings- app highlighted.

3. Bring up the Settings App to Continue with JBL Charge 3 Bluetooth Connection Setup

Tap the Settings app icon.

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

4. Go to Bluetooth Settings

Our 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 connected this speaker with this tablet before. See this as shown in this list of previously paired Bluetooth devices, shown next.

Screenshot of an iPad Air, showing previously paired Bluetooth devices list. Note that there's no JBL Charge 3 speaker now.
An iPad Air, showing previously paired Bluetooth devices list. Note that there’s no JBL Charge 3 speaker now.

5. Turn On your JBL Charge 3 BT Speaker

Turn on the speaker by quickly pressing its Power button. See this pointed at by the green arrow in the next picture.

Picture of the JBL Charge 3 Bluetooth speaker, powered off. Showing the -Power- button highlighted.
JBL Charge 3 Bluetooth speaker, powered off. Showing the -Power- button highlighted.

The speaker then powers up.

But since our tablet does not know about this speaker, the JBL Charge 3 will not form a Bluetooth connection with it automatically. The light that comes on in the Power switch denotes this not-paired state by glowing solid white, as shown next.

Picture of the speaker powered On, not paired. Showing the glowing white power button highlighted.
The speaker powered On, not paired. Showing the glowing white power button highlighted.

6. Put your Speaker into Discovery Mode to Continue with JBL Charge 3 Bluetooth Connection Setup

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

Picture of the speaker's -Bluetooth- discovery mode button highlighted.
Showing the speaker’s -Bluetooth- discovery mode button highlighted.

When you press the Bluetooth discovery mode button, the JBL makes a repeating single pluck guitar note sound a few to several times. Also, the Power button changes from a solid white glow to flashing blue. See this next.

Picture of the speaker in Bluetooth discovery mode. The -Power- button is flashing blue and highlighted.
The speaker in Bluetooth discovery mode. The -Power- button is flashing blue and highlighted.




7. Find your JBL Charge 3 on your Bluetooth Source Device

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

Screenshot of an iPad Air -Bluetooth Settings- screen, showing JBL Charge 3 speaker discovered but not paired.
An iPad Air -Bluetooth Settings- screen, showing JBL Charge 3 speaker discovered but not paired.

8. Make a Bluetooth Connection with your JBL Charge 3 

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

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

Screenshot of the iPad Air, showing the speaker paired with it.
Showing the speaker paired with our iPad Air tablet.

Note that the JBL Charge 3 now shows as connected, as pointed at by the Blue arrows in the last picture.  The Bluetooth connection has now been established.

9. Done with JBL Charge 3 Bluetooth Connection Setup !

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.

Other Posts About the JBL Charge 3 Portable Speaker

  1. Pairing JBL Charge 3 with Google Home Instructions
  2. Finding JBL Charge 3 Firmware Version
  3. JBL Charge 3 Picture Gallery for this Wireless Bluetooth Speaker
  4. JBL Charge 3 Buttons Guide, What Each Button Does
  5. Specs for the JBL Charge 3 Power Bank Speaker




References for JBL Charge 3 Bluetooth Connection Setup

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

Revision History

  • 2020-11-18: First published.
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