The battery life on the JBL Go tiny Bluetooth speaker we discuss in terms of either how long the speaker will play after a full charge, before going dead again. Or, how long the battery will last before a battery replacement is necessary.
JBL Go Battery Life Per Charge
How long should the battery last? The built in lithium ion battery lasts up to five (5) hours per full charge. Note that this time varies depending on how loud you play the speaker, the temperature of the unit, and the type of audio you’re listening to.
JBL Go Battery Life Before Replacement
How Many Full Charges Should the Battery Take ?
The JBL Go battery should provide at least 500 charge-discharge cycles before it loses much ability to hold power. But if you take care not to store the unit in other than typical room temperatures, and you avoid leaving the speaker in the dead state or leaving the charger connected for days or weeks on end, you’ll likely get many more cycles than this.
Signs of a Bad Battery
The JBL Go 1 Takes Too Long to Charge
Using the charging cable that comes with the speaker, the battery should fully charge in around two and a half (2.5) hours. It make take longer if your charger adapter provides less than 2.5 watts (5 volts at 0.5 amps). But if the battery takes longer than four (4) hours to fully charge, it may be going bad.
The JBL Go Doesn’t Play as Long as it Should
You may also notice that your speaker doesn’t play as long as it did before running down from a full charge to a completely dead state. This is another sign of a battery that is nearing the end of life.
The JBL Go Distorts or Shuts Off at Higher Volumes
When you raise the volume, particularly on music that has lots of bass, you may hear crackling or other distortion. Or, the speaker may cut out or power down when a deep bass drum thump occurs in the music. This could mean that the battery, even when fully charged, can no longer provide sufficient current for the speaker drivers to play these sounds. Again, this may indicate a need to replace the battery.
The Status Light Gives Wrong Readings
The lamp on the front of the Go may show that the speaker has full, or nearly full charge during recharging. But yet, the unit goes dead within minutes of reading the indicator. This is a common symptom when lithium ion battery life is fading.
How to Get the Most Battery Life on the JBL Go
Exercise the battery ! That is, charge it all the way, and discharge it all the way. The power management system in this speaker appears robust and well protects the battery from over charging or completely draining, as both of these extremes are very hard on lithium ion batteries in the Go.
However, we suggest that you do not leave the speaker connected to the charger once the battery gauge shows that it is fully charged. Also, when the battery does run out of power, do not leave it in this deadened state for very long. We recommend that you recharge your speaker as soon as possible, as these batteries hate being dead. A dead battery for too long often results in a ruined battery.
Conclusion
Replacing the battery in the JBL Go usually fixes the above mentioned issues. However, only replace with a battery of similar type — preferably the same make and part number as the original.
Finally, you can often avoid ever having to replace the battery due to shortened battery life, by keeping your speaker battery charged, but exercised as well. This provides the most deep charge-discharge cycles from it in our experience.
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References for JBL Go Battery Life
Revision Diary
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- 2022-09-04: First published.