The JBL Go 3 model has a few buttons on the top and sides. Plus, there’s one lamp on the right side, and one port on the left side. The lamp lights in two colors and flashing patterns to show speaker pairing and battery charge status. In this guide, we explain all buttons on the speaker. We show where they are on the unit, describe what each button does when you press it. We also discuss when to depress them to perform various tasks. And then we explain the status lamp as well as the input port below.
JBL Go 3 Buttons: Button Functions, Descriptions, and Where to Find Them
The Power Button
First off, the Power button switches the speaker ON and OFF. Note that there is status lamp on the right side. This shows unit status with its multiple colors. When ON, this lamp glows or flashes, depending on pairing or battery recharge state.

Bluetooth Discovery Pairing Mode Button
Then, we have the Bluetooth discovery mode button. Note the squiggly Bluetooth logo embossed on the button.
Then press the Bluetooth button to place it into discovery / pairing mode. When in pairing mode, the speaker sends out its name and other connection info on the Bluetooth airwaves. This allows nearby Bluetooth devices to find and then connect.

JBL Go 3 Buttons: Volume UP and DOWN Buttons
The speaker has volume controls too. Find these across the top buttons panel. The buttons in the shapes of the minus and plus symbols, when pressed, lower and raise the volume. See the volume buttons, pointed out by the yellow arrows, in the next picture.

The Play Pause Button
The Play / Pause button looks like a right-pointing arrow. It is the last button in the middle of the top buttons panel.

Stop and Start Music Playback with the Play / Pause Button
Press Play / Pause to stop audio play. Press that same button again to resume play.
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 Go 3. 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.
JBL Go 3 Buttons: The Reset Button Combination
Pressing the Bluetooth and Volume UP buttons together with the speaker turned on triggers a hard reset. See our How to Reset JBL Go 3 Bluetooth Speaker for further details on how to use this button combination.

The Status Lamp
This LED light is dark when the unit is OFF and not charging. With the power ON, the status lamp slowly flashes white when no connection is active. It rapidly flashes white when the speaker is in Bluetooth discovery mode. The lamp glows solid white when a connection is in progress with a Bluetooth source device. See this white glow in the next picture.

Next, the status lamp glows steady red when charging. With an energized USB-C power cord inserted, this lamp lights red no matter if the unit is ON or OFF.

If you power down the unit during charging, then the red lamp remains on until charging completes. It then goes out once recharging finishes.
Also, this lamp blinks red when the battery is critically low, while playing.

But if it is running, then the status lamp returns to the state it was in prior to charging. It would be either blinking or glowing steady white.
JBL Go 3 Buttons: The USB-C Power Input Port
We find the lone USB-C power input / charging port on the left side. This female plug is where your AC or car charger cord connects, to recharge.

Note that this model has no JBL Connect+ or PartyBoost button. Further, the JBL Connect app does not recognize this speaker.
Other Posts About the JBL Go 3
- Low Frequency Mode Explained
- The Battery Indicator Discussed
- How to Turn On JBL Go 3 Bass Mode
- Solving the Not Charging Problem
- How to Tell if JBL Go 3 is Fully Charged