Most JBL Bluetooth speakers, including the Xtreme, offer portable operation via an internal battery. And when that battery goes dead, you can recharge them via an AC or car adapter. To facilitate recharging this speaker, the Xtreme comes with a 19 volt AC power adapter. Sometimes though, you may notice that the JBL Xtreme experiences charging problems when you connect the adapter to power, and then to the speaker. And for these times, we discuss some solutions to this next.
How to Tell that the JBL Xtreme Has Charging Problems
Among the ways you can tell this, is by looking at the battery status gauge on the front lower portion of the unit. Now this meter starts blinking red during play to let you know that the battery is running very low on juice. And the flashing does not stop, even when you plug in the charger. It should change at this point though, to blinking white, which indicates that the speaker is getting some power from the supply. But if it continues red, then recharging is not occurring.
You can also feel the AC adapter’s side panel ten or fifteen minutes into the charge cycle. The speaker itself heats slightly as well during correctly charging operation. But if you feel no warmth, then again, your JBL Xtreme probably does have charging problems.
Then too, the battery gauge normally shows recharging progress. I.e. as the unit recharges, more and more of the lamps light up white. But if you don’t see more lights coming on after a couple hours during recharging, then chances are, the recharging process is not working as it should.
Thus when you notice these sorts of charging problems, you’ll want to find out what’s wrong and how to solve them. So in this post, we offer reasons why the speaker may not recharge. Then we give possible fixes.
JBL Xtreme Charging Problems, Reasons and Fixes
AS we said above, it’s normal that the battery level gauge blinks red when the battery is about dead. But this meter should turn to a flashing white when you attach the speaker to the charger, and the charger to a suitable power outlet, and battery recharging begins.
Normally though, this meter only displays white lights. The number of these lamps glowing tells you how full the battery is. It can appear as follows.
Or, if the speaker is OFF when charging starts, and you don’t turn it ON during charging, then once recharging finishes, all lights in this gauge go dark. See this in the next picture.
If the gauge does not change to white when you plug the charger into the speaker, then several things might cause this. We list these below thus.
1.The Power Outlet May Be Dead
The Problem
The AC or car adapter for the JBL Xtreme may not output any power because it is not receiving any to begin with. This can happen due to a defective AC or car circuit, tripped breaker, blown fuse, faulty wiring, power failure, and the like.
The Fix
Check that your receptacle has power by plugging in a lamp or other device. Set circuit breakers back to ON if tripped, and if the outlet has a light switch that controls it, then be sure that that switch is also in the ON position.
2. The Adapter is Broken
The Problem
JBL Xtreme charging problems can also occur because the AC or car adapter is providing SOME but not FULL charging current to completely recharge the speaker, even though its getting the correct power input. Now as the unit ages, its output energy can decrease over time. So the adapter might not deliver the correct amount presently. When this happens, you may see the gauge turn to a flashing white light, but not gradually advance toward full charge. Or it may advance, but do so more slowly than usual. Please note that this speaker needs 3 amps at 19 volts from the adapter to fully recharge in the specified time of 3.5 hours. But charging speed may not go as fast as we expect if the charger does not deliver on these requirements.
The Fix
The solution is to replace the power adapter, preferably one that delivers the 19 volts at 3 amps (57 watts). We advise that you order a replacement directly from JBL for fastest yet safest charging.
3. The Battery in the Xtreme is Faulty
The Problem
As lithium ion batteries age, they lose their ability to fully charge, and the characteristics of the charging current they draw changes as they get older. Normally, as a battery recharges, it draws less and less current as it fills. But in the case of cell failure, it may draw too many or too few amps, thus confusing the charging circuits into behaving like no charging is occurring. So the gauge shows that charging is not happening.
The Fix
To address this, replace the battery. But keep in mind that you can’t easily get the old one out of the speaker. Indeed, changing the battery means that you must take the unit apart, and this is a delicate exercise.
Also note that doing this likely breaks the water resistant seal. So the Xtreme will no longer be safe to use, should you expose it to water.
Breaking this seal may well change the sound quality too. So get someone to change the old battery who knows how to pick the right replacement. They should also have the skills and supplies to restore the seal to as it was, as they reassemble the speaker. A good battery should fit well inside and provide 3.6 volts and at least 10,000 mAh (37 watt-hours). But we suggest using only JBL certified batteries for this speaker.
4. The Speaker Might be Defective when the JBL Xtreme Experiences Charging Problems
The Problem
Even if you have the proper power supply, with a functioning battery in the speaker, the charging current that actually gets to the battery may be too low or too high. This can happen when the battery management circuits inside the Xtreme break down. Note that these systems monitor battery status, and shut down the charging current when they deem the battery full.
But when they break, the battery might get no power at all. Thus, it never recharges. Again, in this case, the battery gauge might never stop flashing, even with the charger attached. You may also see that the speaker doesn’t last as long per charge before going dead, if it lasts at all, until you connect the charger. Or it might not play any amount of time from the battery.
The Fix
The best answer here, is simply to get a new JBL Xtreme. Why? Because the electronic parts in this model are quite small. So unless you can confidently replace the system board(s) yourself, or know someone who will do it for you, just buy another speaker to save a bunch of aggravation.
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References for JBL Xtreme Charging Problems
Revision History
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- 2023-02-08: First posted.