The JBL Clip 3 splashproof speaker features several buttons and one lamp across its front, top, and side. The status lamp lights up in two different colors and flashing patterns to show Bluetooth speaker status. In this JBL Clip 3 buttons guide, we explain all buttons on the speaker. We show you where they are on the speaker, what each button does when pressed, and when to press them to perform various actions.
JBL Clip 3 Buttons Guide: Button Functions, Descriptions, and Locations
Bluetooth Discovery Mode Button
There are two groups of buttons on the JBL Clip 3. In the group of two buttons on the side of the speaker, we have all round buttons. First, we have the Bluetooth discovery mode button, as pointed at by the green arrow in the next picture. Note the squiggly Bluetooth logo imprinted on the button.
With this wireless speaker powered on, press this button to place this Bluetooth speaker into discovery mode. When in discovery mode, the speaker transmits its name and other connection information over the Bluetooth airwaves. This allows other nearby Bluetooth devices to discover it and connect to it.
The Power Button
The Power button switches the JBL Clip 3 on and off. Note that there is a separate multi colored status lamp, on the top of the speaker, under the clip, that shows speaker status when the speaker is powered on.
Volume Down and Up Buttons
The JBL Clip 3 also features volume controls, located on the front of the speaker, in the second group of buttons. The buttons in the shapes of the minus and plus symbols, when pressed, lower and raise the output volume of the JBL Clip 3 by reducing or increasing the volume setting on the paired source Bluetooth device. See the volume buttons, pointed at by the green arrows in the next picture.
With the JBL Clip 3 paired and playing, press the minus shaped button to decrease audio output level from the speaker. Press the plus shaped button to increase audio output.
Note that these controls have no effect when the speaker is unpaired. Also, the volume setting may change from paired device to paired device. That is, each paired device remembers its own volume setting. So you may have to readjust the sound output when you unpair the speaker from one Bluetooth device and pair it to another.
The Play-Pause Button
The Play / Pause button is shaped like a right-pointing arrow and is found in the front center of the JBL Clip 3 speaker, near the top, as pointed at by the green arrow we drew in, in the next picture.
How to Stop and Restart Music Playback
Press this to pause play. Press again to resume audio.
Note that this is not a mute button. That is, pausing playback in this way suspends sound playback on the source Bluetooth device to which the JBL Clip 3 is currently paired. So, you won’t miss any program material when you pause the speaker, as the source device (your phone, tablet, or computer) remembers where the content was paused. So it resumes playback at that spot when you press the play pause button again.
How to Bring Up a Voice Assistant
When paired with an Apple device, press and hold the Play / Pause button to get Siri’s attention. Note that Siri must be enabled on the source device (phone, tablet) for this feature to work.
Move Ahead in a Playlist with the Play / Pause Button
Finally, you can skip forward to the next song in a playlist with the Play-Pause button on the Clip 3. As the song plays, do the following…
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- To advance to the next song, quickly press and release the Play-Pause button twice. Upon doing that, your source device advances to the next song in the current playlist.
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JBL Clip 3 Button Combinations
All Lights On Test Mode
Entering the All Lights ON mode lights both the white and red LEDs in the speaker’s status light on the top, as shown next.
To enter this mode, press and hold the Bluetooth and Play-Pause buttons that are highlighted in the next pictures, for around ten seconds, until you see the lights all come on.
Once you enter All Lights ON, the status continues glowing a pink-white color until you exit this mode. Then, the speaker returns to normal working condition once the light resumes its normal pattern.
To exit this mode, just press an hold the Bluetooth and Play-Pause buttons again, for roughly ten seconds, until you see the light return to its previous pattern. Note that exiting this mode does not turn the speaker off; it just restores it to normal operation but keep the unit ON.
JBL Clip 3 Lights, Lamps
The Speaker Status Light
JBL Clip 3 Blinking White Light
The status lamp slowly flashes white when the speaker has not yet been paired, and is in Bluetooth discovery mode.
It rapidly flashes white when the speaker is in Bluetooth discovery mode.
JBL Clip 3 Solid White Light
It glows solid white when the JBL Clip 3 is currently paired successfully with a Bluetooth source device. See this white glow in the next picture.
JBL Clip 3 Solid Red Light
Finally, the status lamp glows red when the JBL Clip 3 is charging. With an energized power cord inserted, this lamp lights solid red regardless of whether the JBL Clip 3 is powered on or off.
If the JBL Clip 3 was powered down during charging, then the red lamp goes off when charging finishes.
But if it was powered up, then the status lamp returns to the state it was in prior to the start of speaker charging.
Solid Pink Light
The status lamp glows a solid whitish pink when the speaker is in All Lights On mode.
JBL Clip 3 Blinking Red Light
The status light flashes red when the speaker is running on battery power, and the battery is almost dead. The blinking red lamp reminds you to recharge the speaker as soon as practical.
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References for JBL Clip 3 Buttons Guide
Revision History
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- 2022-10-13: Revised the tags list.
- 2020-09-21: Added the All Lights ON test mode button combination.
- 2020-04-20: Added more tags.
- 2019-04-13: Added tags and tweaked the targeting.
- 2018-07-11: First published.