The JBL Flip 6 has several buttons and lights across its top and side panels. The Power button lights solid when the speaker is ON. Also the Bluetooth button glows or flashes to denote current pairing status. Plus, an oval ring around these buttons lights up during reset or changes in speaker operational mode. So here, we explain the JBL Flip 6 buttons. We further show where to find them, with pictures. Then we give some button codes and combinations, and describe when to press them.
JBL Flip 6 Buttons: Details About Each One
The Power Button
There are two rows of buttons on the JBL Flip 6. In the first row of two buttons, each button is a round depression. The first of these is the Power button.
Pressing this button turns the speaker ON and OFF. Plus, this button glows when the unit is running. Plus it can blink during firmware updates. Finally, it goes dark when the speaker is OFF.
The Bluetooth Button
Next in this row of buttons, we have the Bluetooth pairing mode button. Note its squiggly shape.
With the Flip 6 running, press this button to place it into discovery mode. When in this mode, this button rapidly flashes white. Also the speaker broadcasts its name and other connection information. So this allows other nearby devices to find it and connect to it.
JBL Flip 6 Buttons: The Volume Down and Up Buttons
The JBL Flip 6 volume controls are near the center of the speaker, in the second row of buttons. These controls look like minus and plus symbols. And when you press them, lower and raise volume. They do this by reducing or increasing the volume on the paired source device.
With the JBL Flip 6 paired and playing, press the minus button to decrease audio output level. Or press the plus button to increase volume.
Note that the volume controls have no effect without pairing the speaker.
Also, the volume setting may change from paired device to paired device. That is, each device remembers its own volume setting. So you may have to readjust volume when you pair to another device.
The Play-Pause Button
The Play / Pause button looks like a left-pointing arrow. So find it closest the left side of the speaker.
Use Play / Pause to Stop and Resume Music Playback
Press this to pause audio play. Then press again to resume audio play. Note that this is not a mute button however. That is, pausing playback in this way actually stops playback on the source device. So, you won’t miss any content when you pause the speaker. Why? Because as the source device remembers where the content left off. So it resumes playback at that spot.
When paired with an Apple device, press and hold the Play / Pause button to get Siri’s attention. Note that you must enable Siri on the device 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. 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. Then 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 this button three times. Then the source device jumps back one song from the current one in the current playlist. Finally it plays that song from the beginning.
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The Party Boost (Infinity) Button
Use the Party Boost button to connect two or more JBL Party Boost compatible speakers together, in “party mode”. When you link them in this way, they all play the same audio. Similar to speakers in Amazon’s multi room music groups. So all speakers in a PartyBoost group play the same audio at the same time.
You press this button on each Bluetooth speaker to add to the party group. This button looks like an infinity symbol.
JBL Flip 6 Buttons: Combinations and Codes
All Lights On Mode
Entering the All Lights ON mode appears to power down the speaker, since it makes the falling guitar sound. It also clears the Bluetooth source devices from memory. This means that you’ll have to re-pair the speaker to the device(s) you want when you activate this mode.
When this mode is active, the Power and Bluetooth buttons light, along with the oval ring around those buttons. And, these lights stay on until you power down the Flip 6.
To Turn On All Lights ON Mode
To enter this mode, press the Play-Pause and Volume DOWN buttons. Hold in for around ten seconds. Then release them when the lights on the control panel go dark.
To Turn Off All Lights ON Mode
To get out of this All Lights ON mode, you have two options.
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- You can press the PartyBoost button twice with about a second between each press. This enters PartyBoost mode. Then this also takes it back out of that mode. And it turns off All Lights On mode in the process.
- Or you can reset the 6 by pressing the Play-Pause and Volume UP buttons. Hold them in until the 6 powers down. At this point, reset is complete. And so, the next time you boot the speaker, the panel lamps will go back to their original states. Thus All Lights ON mode will be inactive once more.
Reset Button Combination, Combo
You can reset the JBL Flip 6 by pressing the Volume UP and Play / Pause buttons. Hold them in until the lights go dark.
Service Only Mode Button Combination, Combo
When in this (sometimes called ‘weird’) mode, the JBL Flip 6 does not power on unless you connect the charger. And then, it powers up without you pressing the Power button. Further, you cannot turn it off unless you disconnect the charger. And then, it powers off without pressing the Power button.
Also, none of the buttons seem to work when the speaker is in this mode. E.g. You can’t activate pairing mode. So it won’t pair with any devices.
To Activate Service Only Mode
To turn on this mode on the 6, press the Bluetooth and Play-Pause buttons at the same time. Hold them in until the speaker powers OFF. This takes ten seconds or so. Note that you can enter this mode as long as the speaker is ON. Also it doesn’t matter whether you connect the charger or not.
To Deactivate Service Only Mode
But once you activate Service Only, then to turn it off, connect the charger. Why? Because the unit won’t come on without external power. And, you can’t change modes without powering it up first.
So, with the Flip 6 on the charger, and the Power button glowing, press the Bluetooth and Play-Pause button combination. Then hold that in for ten seconds or so, until the unit powers off. The normal speaker operation returns thereafter. Afterwards, you can disconnect the charger and turn on the Flip 6 and play it as normal.
Firmware Version Voice Announcement
When the Flip 6 is running, you can hear what firmware version it is currently hosting. Press the Volume DOWN and Party Connect buttons.
Hold them in until you hear a female voice announce the firmware version in a sequence of four digits. For instance, when we did this, our speaker said, “0 5 2 0”.
Force Abort
Sometimes the speaker may enter a “hosed” state where none of the buttons respond. So you can make it abort whatever it’s doing, and shut down.
To force abort the speaker, press the Power and Play-Pause buttons. Then hold them in until the speaker shuts off. Then try powering on the speaker once more. Finally the locked-up symptoms will likely disappear.