JBL Connect app showing the current speaker firmware version for the JBL Charge 5 on its -Settings- page.
Here are our JBL Charge 5 software update instructions. First, this routine can take up to thirteen minutes to wrap up. How long it will take depends on several factors. These include the speed of your WiFi connection and media device, and other details. Moreover, you can’t reverse once you update. Thus you won’t be able to return to the prior software once you finish this upgrade. So, be sure that you indeed want the update before proceeding.
You’ll need the following…
So, connect this device to the internet and install the JBL Connect app if you haven’t already.
Connect your Charge 5 to AC power. Why? Because we don’t want its battery going dead as the speaker processes the update. In fact, a dying battery could corrupt the software in the speaker’s memory, and therefore, brick the speaker. So this could render it useless and not fixable.
So, to be safe, plug the speaker into external power. Use the included USB-C cable, as we see in the next picture.
Finally, connect the other end of the USB-C cord into a strong enough AC adapter. Then plug that adapter into a working AC outlet.
Next, pair your mobile device with the Charge 5.
You are now ready to begin updating the software on the speaker.
We found ours on the fourth home page in the Apple iPad Air 2, as shown next.
The app takes a few seconds to show you some pretty animations when you first start it.
But then it finds your paired JBL Charge 5 BT speaker and shows you its status screen, as pictured next.
Note the Update button at the bottom left center of this page, as pointed at by the green arrow. The presence of this button means that a software update is pending for this speaker.
Also, if this button does not appear, then your speaker already has the latest version of the onboard software. But since the speaker we have indeed has an update, we shall proceed.
Touching the Update button brings up the screen about the available software upgrade, as shown next.
This screen gives details about the available software update. In our case here, it suggests the Charge 5 upgrade to version 0.7.4.0.
Touching the Upgrade bar may bring up the Plug Speaker In screen. This could happen if you haven’t connected your speaker to AC power yet. It might also happen if the Charge 5 does not have enough power to complete the upgrade. Otherwise, the update process starts.
If the app prompts you, then attach your speaker to power now, as described at the top of this post. Then, follow the instructions on that screen to proceed with the update.
The update then starts. The Connect app displays a progress screen as shown next, to let you know how far along the upgrade is.
We’re probably about a minute into the upgrade at this point in the process.
Once the app copies the upgrade file to the Charge 5, you get the Restarting screen, as shown next.
But note that the speaker is still installing the new software for a little time after this screen appears. In fact, this screen warns us that our speaker will restart. It furthermore asks us not to unplug the speaker while it’s running the upgrade. Keep your speaker close to the mobile device running the app while the speaker upgrades.
The speaker may or may not turn itself back on again. Ours did. But if yours did not, then go ahead with the next step (Step 7). But if yours did come back online though, then skip Step 7 and pick up with Step 8.
Press the Power button, shown in the last picture to turn the unit on again. The speaker should again pair with your mobile device where you’re running the JBL Connect app.
Then the Power and Bluetooth buttons turn solid white as your speaker successfully pairs again.
Meanwhile, back in the Connect App, the Upgrade Successful appears. This happens once the app gets confirmation from the speaker, as we show next.
With your speaker successfully paired to the JBL Connect app again, press the orange Let’s Party button. The green arrow points to this button in the last screenshot.
The app then displays the JBL Charge 5 status screen once again. But this time, note that there’s no longer the orange Upgrade button, as shown next. This means that the software update succeeded and that the speaker is now running the current software version.
You’ve now successfully updated the onboard software in the JBL Charge 5 to the current version.
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