JBL Charge 3 Bluetooth Not Working

JBL Charge 3 portable rechargeable speaker. Showing its left end. This Bluetooth speaker is powered on and paired.

When the JBL Charge 3 Bluetooth is not working, this likely means one or more things.

JBL Charge 3 Bluetooth Not Working: Short Fixes

1. The button contacts are dirty. So clean them.
2. Your charger cord is defective. Thus get a new one.
3. The battery is faulty. So replace it.
4. The speaker and the device you want to pair are too far from each other. Therefore bring them closer together.
5. Your JBL Charge 3 is faulty. So get a new speaker.
6. Your Charge 3 may be in Service Mode. Exit this mode.

Next, we explore each of these issues in depth.

JBL Charge 3 Bluetooth Not Working: Reasons Why with Details

The Button Contacts are Dirty

The button contacts may have sand, dirt, or other debris in them. To repair this, take the 5 apart. Then blow, brush, or polish the button contacts.

The Charger or Cable is Faulty

When the battery does not charge properly, the speaker may not work at all. Or if it does work, it does so erratically. It may power up but yet the buttons do not work.

To resolve this, swap in a working charger for the suspected bad one. The Charge 3 should then boot up once more.

The Battery is Bad

The inside no longer recharges due to age, excessive charging, or heavy use. This can also cause the same behaviors as you see when the charger is faulty. Those being that Bluetooth does not work on the Charge 3.

Thus to resolve this, replace the battery.

The Devices are Too Far Apart

The Charge 3 and the device you want to pair it with are too far away from each other. This can prevent Bluetooth reception.

So move them closer, to within a few feet of one another. Then try again.

The Charge 3 Has Serious Damage

This speaker contains very delicate electronics. So nearby power surges and lightning can destroy these circuits. Then with defective parts, the Charge 3 can exhibit any number of performance problems, including the Bluetooth not working.

So unless you have skills at repairing these units yourself, your best bet is simply to get a new speaker.

The Service Mode May Be Active

Symptoms of Service Mode Active

Now since the Charge 3 has a Service Mode, you may have inadvertently activated it. The Bluetooth normally does not work in this mode. The unit will not enter discovery mode. Nor will it pair when a device it knows about is in range. Nor will it power UP without the charger, and also, it will not power down with the charger. The cure for this is to take the speaker out of service mode.

First, a symptom of active Service Mode, is that the 5 does not power ON unless you connect a charger. Thus, it will not run on its battery. Moreover, when you connect the charger, the 5 powers ON right away, without pressing the Power button.

Also, you cannot turn off the JBL Charge 3 while Service Mode is active, unless you disconnect the charger. And then, it powers off without pressing the Power button. So when Service Mode is in effect, the Power button appears to not work. Nor does any other button, including the Bluetooth button.

Indeed none of the buttons seem to work in Service Mode, except for the ones that exit this mode. So the Charge 3 won’t pair with any devices while in this mode. Plus, you cannot start Bluetooth discovery mode for pairing the Charge 3 to devices.

How to Enter Service Mode

This is what you may have done by accident. To turn on Service Mode, power up the 5 first. And then press the Bluetooth and Volume UP buttons at the same time. Hold them in until the Charge 3 powers OFF. This usually takes ten seconds or so.

Note that you can enter this mode as long as the Charge 3 is ON. Furthermore, it doesn’t matter whether the charger is present or not. Also, these buttons are very close to (beside) each other. So some users may find it easy to press them both by accident. But remember that once in this mode, you won’t be able to exit it without the charger.

Top view of the JBL Charge 3. Showing the -Connect- and -Volume UP- buttons.

How to Exit Service Mode

Now you can restore normal Bluetooth operation by deactivating this mode. But note that when in Service Mode, then to switch it back off, you must connect the charger again. Why? Because the Charge 3 won’t power up without it. But you can’t change modes without switching on the 5 first. Thus, you need the AC adapter to make this fix.

1. So, connect your JBL Charge 3 to AC power. It then comes ON.
2. Then, with the Charge 3 Power button glowing, press the Pairing and Volume UP button combo. Hold this in for ten seconds or so, until the unit powers off.
3. Then, normal speaker operation returns.

Finally, at this point, Bluetooth should work again the next time you use the Charge 3.