Picture of the JBL Flip 4 portable Bluetooth speaker, showing logo side, horizontal view.

JBL Flip 4 Buttons

The JBL Flip 4 speaker has several buttons and lamps across its top.  The power button lights up in different colors to show Bluetooth speaker status.  Here, we explore the JBL Flip 4 buttons, show you where they are on the speaker, what each button does, and when to press them.

JBL Flip 4 Buttons: How to Use Each One

Bluetooth Discovery Mode (Pairing) Button

There are two rows of buttons on this speaker, and in the first row of four buttons, each one has a unique shape.  First, we have the  Bluetooth discovery mode button first, near the left side of the speaker, as pointed at by the green arrow in the next picture.  Note its squiggly shape.

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.

Picture of the -Bluetooth- button on the JBL Flip 4.
The -Bluetooth- button on the JBL Flip 4.

The Volume Down and Volume Up Buttons

The JBL Flip 4 also features volume controls.  Near the center of the speaker and in the same row as the Bluetooth discovery mode button, the buttons in the shapes of the minus and plus symbols, when pressed, lower and raise the output volume of the speaker by reducing or increasing the volume setting on the paired source Bluetooth device.  See the volume buttons, circled in yellow in the next picture.

With the speaker 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 the volume controls have no effect when the speaker is not paired.  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.

Picture of the -Volume UP- and -Volume DOWN- buttons.
The -Volume UP- and -Volume DOWN- buttons.

Play Pause Button

The Play / Pause button is shaped like a right-pointing arrow and is found near the right side of the JBL Flip 4 speaker, as pointed at by the green arrow we drew in, in the next picture.

Picture of the -Play Pause- button.
The -Play Pause- button.

How to Stop and Start Playback

Press this to pause audio play.  Press again to resume audio play.

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 this speaker is currently paired.  So, you won’t miss any content 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 Raise 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 Back and Fourth in a Playlist

Finally, you can skip forward to the next song, or back to the previous song in a playlist with the Play-Pause button on the speaker. As the song plays, do the following…

      • 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.
      • To move back and play the previous song again from the beginning, quickly press and release the Play-Pause button three times.  When you do that, your source BT device jumps back one song from the current one in the current playlist, and plays that song from the beginning.

 

JBL Flip 4 Buttons: The Power Button

The Power button not only switches the unit on and off, but also contains a multi-colored light to indicate speaker status when it is turned on.





The power button flashes blue when the speaker has not yet been paired, and is in Bluetooth discovery mode.  It glows solid blue when the 4 is currently paired successfully with a Bluetooth source device. See this blue glow in the next picture.

Picture of the -Power- button glowing blue.
The -Power- button glowing blue.

The Power button glows solid white when the speaker awaits a pairing request from a source Bluetooth device.   See this button glowing white in the next picture.

Picture of top of the JBL Flip 4, which is powered ON.
Top view of the powered ON JBL Flip 4.

The JBL Connect Button

Use the Connect button to connect two or more JBL Connect compatible speakers together, in party mode”. When paired in this way, that they all play the same audio content.  Similar to speakers in Amazon’s multi room music groups, all speakers participating in Connect+ play the same audio at the same time.

You press this button on each Bluetooth speaker you wish to add to the Connect+ group.

Picture of the -Connect- button.
The -Connect- button.

The picture above shows the speaker not participating in Connect+, because the Connect+ button is dark.  However, the Connect+ button lights up when you connect the speaker to the Connect+ group.

JBL Flip 4 Buttons: Combinations and Codes

To access these functions, you press two buttons at the same time, as described next.

All Lights On Test Mode

Entering the All Lights ON mode briefly lights all lamps on the speaker’s control panel, and then powers down the unit after two seconds.  Note though that here, the speaker makes no falling guitar sound when it shuts off.  But during this test, all the lights on the panel light up as shown next, including the battery gauge, the Bluetooth and Power buttons.

Picture of all lights glowing.
All lights glowing.

To enter this mode, press and hold the Bluetooth and Volume UP buttons that are highlighted in the next picture, for around ten seconds, until you see the lights all come on.

Picture of the -Volume UP- and -Bluetooth- buttons on the JBL Flip 4.
The -Volume UP- and -Bluetooth- buttons on the JBL Flip 4.

Once you enter All Lights ON, the lights remain lit for about two seconds before they all turn off.  Then, the speaker returns to normal working condition once the lights go out.  Doing this is one way to forcibly shut down the speaker should pressing the Power button fail to power it OFF.





Low Frequency Mode Button Combination

Many JBL speakers, including the Flip 4, come with low frequency mode, which by default, is turned ON.  This adds a bit of extra treble and lots of extra bass to the audio output, like switching on the Loudness control on vintage stereo systems.

Picture of the -Bluetooth- and -Volume DOWN- buttons.
The -Bluetooth- and -Volume DOWN- buttons.

You can turn this extreme bass mode off by pressing and holding in the Volume Down (-) and Bluetooth buttons for about ten seconds, until the Power and Bluetooth buttons light up white, as shown in the next picture.  Find these buttons near the top of the speaker, as circled in the picture above.

Picture of the -Volume Down- and -Bluetooth- buttons pressed, and all Lights turning ON briefly as a result.
The -Volume Down- and -Bluetooth- buttons pressed, and all Lights turning ON briefly as a result.

To turn low frequency mode back on, then again, press and hold the Volume Down and Bluetooth buttons in until both the Power and Connect buttons light up again.  Release the buttons when you see that.  Then, shortly later, when the buttons return to their prior states, low frequency mode is ON once again.

Reset Button Combination

You can reset the JBL Flip 4 to factory default settings and state by pressing the Volume UP and Play / Pause buttons at the same time and holding them in until the hard reset occurs.  See these buttons circled in yellow in the next picture.

You may wish to reset the speaker to correct any erratic or strange behaviors you see from it such as failing to pair, sound distortion, failure to power off when you press the power button, and so on.  Note that resetting seems to invalidate any saved connection information to this speaker on your source Bluetooth devices.  So you’ll have to forget those connections and re pair the speaker after a reset in order to play your audio content through it once again.

Picture of the -Volume UP- and -Play-Pause- buttons.
The -Volume UP- and -Play-Pause- buttons.

Service Mode Button Combination

When in this (sometimes called ‘weird’) mode, the JBL Flip 4 does not power on unless you connect the external USB power source.  And then, it powers up without you pressing the Power button.  Further, you cannot turn it off in this mode unless you disconnect the external power source. And then, it powers off without pressing the Power button.

Also, none of the buttons seem to work in this mode.  The speaker won’t pair with any devices or other speakers. So as mentioned, the Power button does not switch it off.

To turn on this mode on the JBL Flip 4, press the Connect and Volume UP buttons at the same time, until the speaker powers OFF, usually takes ten seconds or so.  Find these buttons pointed out in the next picture. Note that you can enter this mode as long as the speaker is ON. Indeed it does not matter whether it’s connected to external power or not.





But once you activate this Service Only mode on the speaker, then to turn off this mode, you must connect USB power. Why?  Because the speaker won’t come on without external power. Thus you can’t change modes without powering up the unit.  Therefore with the speaker Power button glowing, you press and hold the Connect and Volume UP button combination for ten seconds or so, until the unit powers off.  The normal speaker operation returns.

Other Posts About the JBL Flip 4

    1. Reset Instructions
    2. Review of the JBL Flip 4
    3. Specs, Specifications
    4. Pairing Instructions
    5. Low Frequency Mode Explained

References

    1. Official JBL Flip 4 Product Page at JBL.com