The battery life on the JBL Charge 5 Bluetooth speaker we discuss in terms of either how long the speaker will play after a full charge, before running dead. Or, we may want to know how long the battery will last before battery replacement becomes necessary.
JBL Charge 5 Battery Life Per Charge
How long should the battery last? The built in lithium ion battery lasts up to twenty (20) hours per full charge. Note that this time varies depending on how loud you play the speaker, the ambient temperature around the speaker, and the type of audio you’re listening to. Charging external devices like phones and tablets with this speaker also shortens its battery life.
JBL Charge 5 Battery Life Before Replacement
How Many Full Charges Should the Battery Take ?
The JBL Charge 5 battery should provide at least 500 charge-discharge cycles before it loses much ability to hold power. But if you take care not to store the unit in extremely hot or cold temperatures, and you avoid leaving the speaker in the dead state or leaving the charger connected for days or weeks on end, you’ll likely get many more cycles than this.
Signs of a Bad Battery
The JBL Charge 5 Takes Too Long to Charge
Using the USB-C cable that comes with the speaker, or a higher power model, the battery should fully charge in under four (4) hours. It make take longer if your charger adapter provides less than fifteen watts (5 volts at 3 amps). But if your cable and charger are hefty enough, and yet the battery takes longer than five (5) hours to fully charge, it may be going bad.
The JBL Charge 5 Doesn’t Play as Long as it Should
You may also notice that your speaker doesn’t play as long as it did before running down from a full charge to a completely dead state. This is another sign of a battery that is nearing the end of its useful life.
The JBL Charge 5 Distorts or Shuts Off at Higher Volumes
When you raise the volume, particularly on music that has lots of bass, you may hear crackling or other distortion. Or, the speaker may cut out or power down when a deep bass drum thump occurs in the music. This could mean that the battery, even when fully charged, can no longer provide sufficient current for the speaker drivers to play these sounds. Again, this may indicate a need to replace the battery.
The Battery Gauge Gives Wrong Readings
The gauge may show that the speaker has full, or nearly full charge. But yet, it goes dead within minutes of reading the indicator. This is a common symptom when useable battery life is fading.
How to Get the Most Battery Life on the JBL Charge 5
Exercise the battery ! That is, charge it all the way, and discharge it all the way. The power management system in this speaker appears robust and well protects the battery from over charging or completely draining, as both of these extremes are very hard on lithium ion batteries in the JBL Charge 5.
However, we suggest that you do not leave the speaker connected to the charger once the battery gauge shows that it is fully charged. Also, when the battery does run out of power, do not leave it in this deadened state for very long. We recommend that you recharge your speaker as soon as possible, as these batteries hate being dead. A dead battery for too long often results in a ruined battery.
Conclusion
Replacing the battery in the JBL Charge 5 usually fixes the above mentioned issues. However, only replace with a battery of similar type — preferably the same make and part number as the original.
Finally, you can often avoid ever having to replace the battery due to shortened battery life, by keeping your Charge 5 charged, and you exercise it as well. This provides the most deep charge-discharge cycles from it in our experience.
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References
Revision History
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- 2022-09-04: First published.