The JBL Flip 5 waterproof mono speaker features several buttons and lamps across its top and side panels. The Power button lights solid when the speaker is ON. and the Bluetooth button glows or flashes to indicate current pairing status. Plus, an oval ring around these buttons lights up during reset or changes in speaker operational mode. So here, the JBL Flip 5 buttons are explained. We show you where they are on the speaker, discuss their meanings and functions, give some button codes and combinations, and we describe when to press them.
JBL Flip 5 Buttons Explained
The Power Button
There are two rows of buttons on the JBL Flip 5, and in the first row of two buttons, each button is a round depression as shown next.
Bluetooth Discovery, Pairing Mode Button
Next in this row of buttons, we have the Bluetooth pairing mode button, 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, this button rapidly flashes white, and 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.
JBL Flip 5 Buttons Explained: Volume Down and Up Buttons
The JBL Flip 5 volume controls are near the center of the speaker, in the second row of buttons. These controls are is in the shapes of the minus and plus symbols. And when pressed, they 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, pointed at by the green arrows in the next picture.
With the JBL Flip 5 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.
The Play-Pause Button
The Play / Pause button is shaped like a left-pointing arrow and is found closest the left side of the speaker, as pointed at by the green arrow we drew in, in the next picture.
How to Pause and Resume 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 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.
The PartyBoost Button
Use the PartyBoost 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. This button is shaped like an infinity symbol, as shown in the next picture, pointed at by the green arrow.
JBL Flip 5 Buttons Combinations and Codes Explained
All Lights On Mode
Entering the All Lights ON mode appears to power down the speaker, since it makes the falling guitar sound. But all the lights on the buttons panel light up as shown next, including the battery gauge, the Bluetooth and Power buttons, and the oval ring around those buttons.
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 hear the speaker power down and see the lights on the control panel all light up.
Once you enter All Lights ON, then to turn off this mode, you press and hold the Power button, pointed out in the next picture, for twelve seconds or so, until all lights go out. Note that the speaker makes no power-down sound here.
Low Frequency Mode Button Combination
Many JBL speaker models 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.
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 shown in the picture above.
To turn low frequency mode back on, again, press and hold the Volume Down and Bluetooth buttons in until the Power and Bluetooth buttons light up again. Release the buttons when you see that. Then, when the buttons return to their prior states, low frequency mode is ON once again.
Reset Button Combination, Combo
You can reset the JBL Flip 5 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 highlighted by the green arrows in the next picture.
Service Only Mode Button Combination, Combo
When in this (sometimes called ‘weird’) mode, the JBL Flip 5 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 when the speaker is in this state. E.g. You can’t activate discovery mode. So the speaker won’t pair with any devices or other speakers. Furthermore, as mentioned, the Power button does not switch it off.
To turn on this mode on the JBL Flip 5, press the Bluetooth and Volume UP buttons at the same time, until the speaker powers OFF. This 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, and it doesn’t matter whether it’s connected to external power or not.
But once you activate Service Only, then to turn off this mode, you must connect USB power. Why? Because the speaker won’t come on without external power, and you can’t change modes without the unit being powered UP.
So, with the speaker Power button glowing, you press and hold the Bluetooth and Volume UP button combination for ten seconds or so, until the unit powers off. The normal speaker operation returns thereafter.
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Revision History
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- 2020-07-23: First published.