Here, we offer JBL Xtreme software update instructions for this awesome sounding power bank Bluetooth speaker. This update can take up to thirty minutes depending on the speed of your internet connection. Plus, you cannot easily undo it. I.e. You won’t be able to downgrade to the earlier software version once you complete this firmware upgrade. So, be sure that you truly wish to upgrade, and have considered all its likely gotchas before proceeding.
We were unable to update our JBL Xtreme firmware when we bought this speaker at the time of this writing. Why? Because the software there was already at the current version. So, we borrowed some pictures below from the firmware updates we did on our JBL Charge 3 speaker. We used pictures of the Xtreme speaker where we could though.
The software update processes are similar for both speakers, and if or when we receive an actual software update notification for our Xtreme, we’ll update these photos to show the actual update in progress.
You’ll need and internet connection, a Bluetooth enabled mobile or desktop computer device, and the JBL Connect app, as well as the JBL Xtreme speaker itself.
So, get your mobile device connected to the internet and install the Connect app if you haven’t already.
Connect your Xtreme to AC power. Why? Because we don’t want the battery inside going dead during the software update. This mishap could leave corrupted firmware in the unit’s memory, and thus, render it useless and not repairable.
Then, pair your phone or tablet with the Xtreme JBL speaker.
You are now ready to begin the software updating process on that JBL Bluetooth speaker.
We found ours on the fourth home page in our Apple iPad Air, as shown next.
The app takes a few seconds to show you some nifty animations when you first start it. But then it finds your paired JBL Xtreme speaker and shows you its status screen, as shown next.
Note the explanation point inside the orange circle in the top right corner of the speaker’s picture, as pointed at by the dark green arrow. This means that there are important messages about this speaker pending for you to read and act upon.
Note that if there are no current messages or software updates available for this particular JBL speaker, then you will see no explanation point. Also note that the above picture, while it applies to the Charge 3 speaker, is like what you’d see with the JBL Xtreme.
Tapping the Important Messages (!) circle brings up the first IMPORTANT NOTICE screen about the available software upgrade, as shown next.
This screen gives details about the available software update. In this case, it tells us that we need this upgrade to enable JBL Connect+ functionality on our Xtreme speaker. Specifically, this software upgrade enhances the speaker operation by allowing it to connect into a group of up to a hundred JBL Connect+ compatible wireless speakers, such that they all stream the same content. You would do this when you wish to blanket a large area with music for dancing for example.
This page warns us that this particular speaker software cannot be undone, and that once done, this upgrade is permanent in the JBL Xtreme. It also says that after this upgrade, the speaker will no longer be able to connect with other Xtreme Bluetooth speakers that are running older versions of the firmware. You will also lose connectivity with older speakers such as the JBL Flip 3, JBL Pulse 2, JBL Xtreme, JBL Boost, and Cinema 5B450.
Another left flick brings up the JBL Xtreme software upgrade confirmation prompt screen, as shown next.
This prompt again warns us that we won’t be able to fall back to the old software version once this upgrade finishes. It then asks us to decide whether to install the new firmware or to cancel this operation. We’re going ahead, in the next step.
Touching the INSTALL button brings up the Upgrade Speaker screen as shown next.
This page tells us to connect our Xtreme speaker to AC power if we’ve not done so already (You would have already done this if you were following the instructions in the preliminaries section above).
We connected our Xtreme to an AC outlet in the preliminary update steps above, via the included power adapter and cable, as shown in the next picture.
Next, go back to the JBL Connect app running on your mobile device, and tap the OK button. See this button in the last screenshot picture above.
The JBL Xtreme software update then starts, with the download of the firmware upgrade file from the internet, through your mobile device, to the speaker via the Bluetooth connection, as shown in the next screenshots.
Copying the upgrade file from the internet to the speaker is the slowest part of the firmware upgrade process. But as shown in these screenshots, the JBL Connect app shows you a progress pie-chart picture, that gradually becomes more orange as the software file transfer continues.
This was probably around fourteen minutes into the update at this point in the process.
The next screenshot shows the upgrade file transfer at 65.7 percent complete.
The next screen shows that the software file transfer to the speaker has finished (100 percent done). The pie chart is completely orange now.
Once the app copies the upgrade file to the JBL Xtreme speaker, you get the Upgrade Successful screen, as shown next.
But note that the speaker is still upgrading to the new software for nearly a minute after you first see this green and white screen. Thus, this screen warns that our speaker will restart automatically after it installs the upgrade. It then asks us not to unplug the speaker while it runs the software update process.
Watch the power light on the speaker, as shown next.
Eventually it will go dark, as shown next, pointed at by the green arrow.
The speaker may or may not turn itself back on again after the upgrade. Ours did not. So if, like ours, yours did not, then go ahead with the next step (Step 10). But if yours did come back online though, then skip ahead to Step 11.
Press the dark Power button to turn the speaker on again. It should again pair with your mobile device where you’re running the JBL Connect app. The Power button turns solid blue with your speaker has successfully paired again with your tablet or phone, as shown next.
With your Xtreme successfully paired to the JBL Connect app again, press the green Done button as shown in the last screenshot above.
The app then displays the JBL Xtreme speaker status screen once again. However, this time, note that there’s no longer the orange circled explanation point (!), as shown next. This means that the software update was successful, and that the speaker is now running the current software version.
You’re now successfully updated the software to the current version in your JBL Xtreme Bluetooth speaker. Enjoy the enhancements !
The upgrades for 2018 and beyond are installed as described in this post.
The Connect+ update refers to a version of the JBL speaker software released in the 2017-2018 timeframe, that enables Connect+ functions on later model JBL Bluetooth speakers. This software enables connecting multiple speakers together so that they all play the same program, like the multi-room music feature on the Alexa and Google Home smart speakers. You install this software just as you do any other firmware version, as described earlier in this post.
When you update a JBL speaker via the Connect app, the app automatically downloads the latest software to your mobile device. Then, it transfers it to the speaker. So you needn’t download the upgrade file yourself.
Each time you run the Connect app on a mobile device to which a JBL speaker is paired, the app automatically checks to see if the connected speaker has the latest software available. If it does not, it will prompt you to perform the update, just as we did in this post.
Current and later versions of JBL Bluetooth speaker software support Connect Plus functionality. So, updating your speaker to the latest software, as discussed above, automatically enables the Connect+ feature if your speaker is compatible. Thus, to get Connect+ on speakers for which it has been released, just follow our procedure above for firmware upgrading.
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