Picture of the JBL Charge 3 portable Bluetooth speaker, original box, side 1.

JBL Charge 3 Pairing Instructions

This post gives JBL Charge 3 pairing instructions, showing how to pair the speaker with typical Bluetooth devices. E.g. These include the iPhone, iPod Touch, and the iPad line of Apple phones and tablets.

JBL Charge 3 Pairing Instructions, Step by Step

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

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

Firstly, 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 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 Pairing

Thirdly, 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 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.

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 Bluetooth Speaker

Turn on the JBL Charge 3 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 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.

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 Pairing

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.

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 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.

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 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.

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. Pair with your JBL Charge 3 Portable Speaker

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.

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.

9. Done with JBL Charge 3 Pairing !

And 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 to JBL Charge 3 Pairing

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    5. Sony SRS XB10 Google Assistant Pairing Instructions

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 Charging Instructions, How to Recharge
    5. Pairing Victor Reader Trek with JBL Charge 3, How To

References for these JBL Charge 3 Pairing Instructions 

    1. Harman Audio JBL Charge 3 Waterproof Speaker on harmanaudio.com

Revision History

    • 2022-12-02: Updated links.
    • 2020-11-16: First published.