JBL Portable

I’m a truck driver and I use my speakers all the time . I stopped using them before the update because they would go in and out . I just updated and I do see improvement on the sync, before the speakers would go out and come back on but would not be in sync with the picture. That problem looks like it is fixed. The problem now is they still go in and out , I use them with my iPad and I really love the speakers. I hope the developers can get this together and as the updates come out I will give my opinion on them . Also note they do not stay synced when you play them together. One will drop out and one will play on and off.I give two stars for the small update. Update august 5 . I will give five stars now because I haven’t had any problems with the connection for the last month. The app is working fine at this time.

The JBL app is… well it’s available for the JBL speakers. I was going to give it 2 stars, but they recently added the option the adjust the EQ on the speaker. I suppose I’m a little sour because I used to use the Ultimate ears app with the MegaBoom speaker. With that app you could turn on and off the speaker (which was super handy if you were laying in bed and wanted to crank some music in the moment, you didn’t have to get up and find the speaker, or if you didn’t know where the speaker was 😆) it never lost Bluetooth connection, never had to find it in my phone Bluetooth settings. If other Ultimate Ears speakers were on, you’d simply “drag” the speakers into your profile and they’d instantly start playing what you were playing… good for party’s. I understand you can do this with the JBL speakers as well (I own 3) With that though, the JBL speakers are WAY better (in my opinion) than the Ultimate Ears speakers, but the JBL app isn’t very good… it often doesn’t find the speaker that I’m currently playing from, and same for other speakers that are awaiting to be linked together… I almost never use the JBL app, I just run my speakers manually (which works really well) If anyone from JBL reads this… AWESOME speakers, but the app needs work when compared to others.

So I’ve had the speaker for about 2 years now and it by far is one of the best speakers I’ve ever used. But the only reason I’m giving it 4 stars instead of 5 is because it’s had a bunch of problems with charging, EVEN after I replaced the battery a couple days later it started doing the exact same thing it was doing before I replaced it. Now it’s working perfectly fine all the sudden and it’s only staying “charged” on the 1 out of 5 of the dots for charging and that’s what it was doing before I replaced it and I go on this app and it says it’s that low. Idk I take super good care of it always have and it’s still took a weird turn and idk if two years would be long enough for it to have anything happen to it but who knows. Please help idk if it needs an update but if so please send that haha. Thank you that’s my review. Send me a new JBL charge 4 or upgrade me to a charge 5 or trade mine in and upgrade me to the charge 5 and I’ll raise my rating but idk if it’s that worth the extra stars.

This is a very streamlined app but for the most part does what you need it to do. I gave it 4 stars because I am using it with the boombox 3 and it’s EQ is only 3 band. For the price of the boombox 3 JBL should have at least a 5 band EQ and the ability to save presets. Tribit has this on there stormbox and i think it is a 9 band EQ. EQ and volume is smooth, something that the JBL Pro Audio app LACKS terribly. Although this has a premium feel there are other companies out there that have apps that are more functional like Tribit. I prefer the JBL boombox over the Tribit stormbox but the app is better on the Tribit. The sound of the Stormbox is not to far behind the boombox 3 and if money’s a factor people will pick the Tribit. Just something for JBL to think about when the next update their app and I need to pay attention to all the hungry companies out there that are at the hills so they realize they need to be on top of things because they’re going to lose business to other companies if they do not.

After reading through the reviews, there is a guy down the thread that explained how JBL support helped correct the issue. Don’t follow the on-screen instructions completely. Only connect a single speaker via Bluetooth to your device. Then use the app to link up other speakers via partyboost (connect feature). Once they are finished linking together via the connect app (REMEMBER ONLY ONE SPEAKER IS TO BE CONNECTED THROUGH BLUETOOTH), the sound issues will disappear. I have had nothing except for flawless crystal clear sound while streaming ever since! Thank you to that guy for posting the solution. I was going insane and was furious before that. Good luck whoever takes the time to read this.

This is a rating for the app, not the speakers. But I admit, It’s hard to know where the problem exists, is it the app or the speakers? However, after reading a large number of other reviews, it appears that there are problems using the app with many of the various speaker types that it supports. I have two Pulse 3 speakers and it is almost impossible to get them working in stereo mode. There is nothing about setting this up in the printed manual that comes with the speakers so I assume it is limited to setup via the app. Also I can sometimes get one of the speakers set up to adjust the display but never so that I can adjust the other without without disconnecting both from Bluetooth first. When I go to the Bluetooth setup on my iPhone to disconnect, I find two instances of one of the two speakers listed. What is with that? I would like to have four of these speakers, two for each channel but that is probably too much to expect.

JBL will continue rebranding and renaming partyboost, or as I like to call it “JBL FM”. The app offers no ability to link serialized speakers and instead broadcasts it to all JBL speakers nearby and creates a sort of tug of war for power over who’s Bluetooth signal YOUR speakers will start playing. I own two JBL charge 5. I kid you not, your JBL speakers will start playing someone else’s music in party mode and there is no way to tell the firmware not to do this. Completely useless. Partyboost doesn’t work with even the slightest interference, like other Bluetooth signals, a slight breeze, or somebody humming too closely to your music. Such a big disappointment that the app doesn’t allow you any control over Partyboost linking or EQ while in Partyboost. Please add the functionality to pair speakers in Partyboost just to each other, so that they play MY music in stereo and not everyone else’s. Product is fundamentally flawed if this feature is not added.

This speaker is very impressive in the size of the sound it gives out. I think it shows its depth, when it is task with outdoor duties. The bass that it gives out is convincing and believable, The mids and highs are balanced. You can adjust the sound further by getting the JBL app which provides an eq feature. The price is not bad for what it does. It’s build quality is well designed and practical. It also has very good battery life for long listening sessions. Bluetooth connectivity only, waterproof and various colors selection makes this a very good buy for anyone looking for a great sounding portable speaker.

Pros: when this app is (was) working, it makes playing more than one portable speaker easier than trying to manage them through Apple Music. Cons: when attempting to update the firmware as prompted, both JBL Flip 6s abruptly started blasting the most horrendous, harshest, literally ear piercing noise while I was sitting about two feet away from both of them! That noise was so loud and so bad that I had to overcome my instinct to cover my ears with my hands to try and hard shut down the speakers. That took a couple of minutes simply to get both speakers turned off and the stop the hellacious noise. The volume control was not working, I was in panicked shock. No exaggeration here - we are talking literally hearing damaging harshness at a dangerous volume. I wish I had a way to convey how bad this actually was. Perhaps to help illustrate, my dogs literally fled the floor of the house that I was on yelping and whining, cowered for another 20 minutes and avoided that room for several days. Intelligent animals! For the past 6 weeks since, I have been afraid to attempt another firmware update, but perhaps fortunately - it will not progress. After multiple, multiple attempts the update seems stuck on 0%. Recap. Aside from the cons above and the fact that I absolutely cannot recommend this app, everything‘s great!

Thanks for ruining my listening experience with the latest firmware update, taking something that worked perfectly and breaking it. The audio cuts in and out constantly now. And you CAN’T use stereo mode unless you use THIS useless, bloatware app. Before you could just turn your speakers on and select partymode and they’d be in stereo. Now when you do that without the use of this app, you have both speakers in mono. I love the sound quality of these speakers but the hassle of being forced to use a separate app just to listen in true stereo mode is extremely annoying. Fix this with another firmware update or give us a way to roll back to previous firmware versions. This app is totally useless otherwise because you can’t use the EQ in partyboost, so why create an inconvenience to your customers of having to use this app just to put your speakers in stereo mode? Very poorly thought out.

I bought my first Flip 5 and absolutely LOVE it, so I bought a second because the literature said that the two could be paired for stereo playback. I was so excited to get the second today, pair them both, following the instructions provided. Both paired ans I sat down with one on each side, excited for the stereo experience. BTW, prior to this , I updated the firmware for both speakers, as advised by the app. Went to play and enjoyed maybe three seconds of stereo playback followed by one speaker going off, then the other, then both, then both back on, lather, since repeat. I hoped it would settle and get better but it didn’t. So stereo playback doesn’t work and it was the whole point of buying a second speaker. Please fix this so I can update my review because if this were to work as advertised, I’d be a very happy customer and would change this review to 100% positive.

Love the sound, portability and fun in the water. Only hiccup is when connecting the 2 Charge 5s. It’s a crapshoot as to which method will work. First - press pwr then when Bluetooth blinks on the speaker you have seconds to connect from phone. Then open JBL app and wait for the connect the 2nd spkr and choose stereo…wait for it, wait for it, wait for it…. 80% of the time it connects. The other 20% I have to turn both speakers off and restart the JBL app and try again. I have never been able to connect both speakers using the button on top of the speaker. Yes I have the latest updates.

First, the JBL Flip 5 speakers are amazing. The app, not so great. When using my two speakers in stereo they sound great playing through my iPad. I have updated the software in both speakers but the connection through the app seems glitchy. One speaker will stop, then the other, then they both come back on, then both go out. I’m still working to determine why there is an issue. When using the standard Bluetooth connection (no app) I have no problem, except the sound is mono through each speaker, thus, I don’t think this is a Bluetooth issue. I love JBL so I hope to find a remedy. If I do figure out the cause of my problem, I’ll try to up date my rating and note the fix.

Update: works great! The system works most of the time, but often takes quite a bit of time to get booted up. Some of the time I have to turn off, and on the speakers. Some of the time I have to restart the software. Sometimes there is interference from other things the phone is doing which causes distortion. I wish there was a great way to do stereo by Bluetooth on my phone, but I have not found it yet. This is as good as I’ve found so far.

So i had bought 1 jbl charge 5 i loved how it sounded it wouldn’t crackle or anything it sounded how it was supposed to so I bought another jbl charge 5 i connected them i could only go a few minutes without one of them stop working or they both were trying to cut out from each other and made a Static noise and it kept happening even when i turned them off then back on i even deleted the app then redownload it again and it still kept happening after 30 minutes messing with it I finally got somewhat a solid connection then it happened Again so this needs to be fixed there great speaker’s but if yall fixed this app there are no complaints and it would be a 100% a good review

Edit. Jan 2020. This app will still not reliably and consistently allow two speakers (mine are identical) to play in stereo. A basic requirement. If your intent is to purchase a pair of JBL speakers to play in a stereo pair, please look elsewhere. I’ve had my speakers for over 18 months now and it hasn’t been fixed. End of edit. I bought two Charge 4s to listen in a stereo pair. Getting them to do that is nigh impossible. The app has been like this for a year now and nobody at Harman seems to want to fix it. Just read the reviews in chronological order - recent first. My advice would be to stay away from JBL’s speakers, nifty-looking though they are until they fix the app. Maybe it can’t be fixed. Maybe they have no devs. Who knows but the ability of two speakers to be able to play in stereo is a basic feature. FIX IT!

Latest version of IOS and iPadOS 17. No problem on IOS setting up the party boost or stereo function between my two Xtreme 3 units and my iPhone. Quite straightforward. However, the iPad app is another matter. Simply impossible to activate party boost or its stereo option. I have reset the speakers, reset the Bluetooth connection on the main speaker. But that speaker will not shift into party boost or stereo mode despite the JBL app indicating it’s on. When pressing the infinity button on the main speaker, nothing. The secondary speaker quickly responds when I press its infinity button. But no sound comes out of the either speaker. There is a software bug in the JBL app’s iPadOS version preventing the connection between the 2 speakers. Please someone fix this. In turn I’ll change the rating to 5*****

I love how you can update the software of JBL speakers with this app and choose to put the speakers in both party or stereo mode. I wish JBL would add the feature for the Charge 3 and XTreme 2 to be able to go back to the previous track like their JBL Partybox series. I also want them to add a Feedback tone to indicate low battery so visually impaired people know when their speakers need to be charge. The last feature I would like to see is to have the sounds come out of both speakers instead of the left side only when making or receiving phone calls on the Charge 3.

I have a couple of JBL portable speakers and haven’t had much trouble previously with the app and partyboost (both on the app and using the button). First, I turn the speaker on then open the app and my phone recognizes the speaker and connects also making the connection sound but for some reason the app takes soooo long to connect to it and sometimes it says that it could locate anything?! —This definitely needs to get looked at and fixed asap, please & thank you! 🙏🏽 Second, partyboost is acting up. Both speakers will connect when I use the partyboost button on each speaker but I go ahead to play some music and shortly after a few minutes or sooner they start to cut out or disconnect from each other. Once they act up I can’t pause my music nor control the volume or anything until I reset them by turning them off then back on. Not sure if this happens more on higher volume but that usually when I’ll experience it for sure over 60% volume or higher. —Please take a look at this issue and fix asap, thank you. 🙏🏽

Purchased these after liking my friends boombox 1. Not realizing that the multi connect feature & party boost work , thought it was just a re-naming to sound cooler. The boombox 1 doesn’t need the app to multi connect. I cannot pair my 2’s together unless the device providing the music has the app & you pair them up on the app. Which is limiting using other phones/devices (w/o the app) & connection to my TV. My TV can only sync to the 1st boombox. Was hopeful my (smart) TV could download the app but it doesn’t seem to be available? JBL should reconsider forcing us to use the app to pair the boomboxes together. They changed the multi connect feature that worked just fine, better actually than the party boost.

Everytime I try to connect my speakers to the app, whether they are new or my usual speakers, it always loads and loads and never takes me to the configuaration page. Instead of seeing the battery indicator and even the equalizer option, and others, it seems that it doesn't detect any speaker. After 20 seconds of waiting, it gives this prompt saying: "GO TO YOUR BLUETOOTH SETTINGS, TAP (name of speaker) FROM, THE DEVICE LIST, THEN COME BACK TO THE JBL PORTABLE APP". I have tried this several times. I even restarted, reconnected, and even have RESET my speakers, even my phone, but they never worked. How are we able to see the battery level, the partyboost option, or even the equalizer and stuff like before? JBL, what can we do with this? Thank You.

It’s unbelievable! The lack of ethics about consumers + product of the people behind this app. I don’t want to attack them or be an AH to them…. But geeez this used to be a great application until they started to mess with it. First their JBL speakers aren’t cheap and they work decently judging from my own experience some might have errors like any wireless device, but I have to say it software is very important for any device to at least work… when developers/engineers don’t keep or try to better their software things start falling apart unfortunately just like this. I feel very disappointed that they have broken the app to a point that isn’t even connecting to do the basic things! Hope that they pay attention to the people who buy JBL and start working on this app.

Initially, I experienced an issue reported by others with two Flip 5s. When trying to pair, there was constant static/disconnect rendering them unusable. JBL responded that only one speaker can be connected to your phone’s Bluetooth and the other connects through the app to the other speaker. I can listen with party boost or stereo modes easily. The one issue is that once I set up which mode I want, I cannot open the app and easily change between the modes. It wants you to reconnect the speakers, essentially start over. However, overall an easy way to party boost/stereo your speakers.

For the longest time this app was basically useless but they finally added eq support, and even though it is very basic (only bass, mid, treble) it is still a big improvement and and actually makes the speaker sound a lot better. Rating it 4 stars though because this update took so long to come out. I am really glad that they are updating this app though because when I first bought my speaker this app had like 2.5 stars lol and it was honestly horrible, but now, hey they are actually putting good work into it :) Thank you JBL.

This little speaker rocks! The noise level and clarity is amazing! This is louder and sounds better than my buddies $350 BOSE speaker. And it’s virtually indestructible: water, sand, drops, all are protected from. Dropped it in the pool, and it really does float too! Great for parties and beach days, and the sound quality is what I would expect from a great company like JBL. Very happy w/ my purchase, and will possibly get another Flip 5 just for the dual speaker option. Coolest speaker in the game.

I’m give the app a one star for a big reason. If you think you can download this app one two different Apple devices and have the ability to switch from one device to another. You can’t. My very expensive JBL portable speaker will no let me do this. Once you correct you JBL speaker to an apple device like an iPhone. Your speaker will not connect to another iPhone or iPad. Even if you Bluetooth is turned completely off one the device you were previously connected to. I have tried deleting the app on both and starting over. Nine times out of ten. That doesn’t even work. FIX THIS PROBLEM or I will never ever buy another Car that has JBL or personal sound system made by JBL.

It’s free and it gets you the latest firmware, which is basically the bare minimum you should expect from a device support app. It will not improve your experience with your speakers. I’ve tried with multiple set ups to manage stereo and party mode using the app, and it consistently causes one or more connected devices to cut out or distorts the audio. Save yourself the hassle and frustration- download it when you get your JBL speaker, update firmware, then delete it until you want to check for firmware updates again. JBL and HK should be ashamed to have their brands associated with the app, and it’s ridiculous to claim that it enables you to do anything other than firmware updates.

Sadly it seems the new Partyboost line has less to offer in exchange for a USB type, C plug. No microphone for voice control or phone calls, no backward compatibility with the connect line previous to it, and sadly no battery percentage displayed in my notification center. How do they expect you to go into the proprietary app to check your battery level and it’s still does not show you a true percentage only a four segment battery status bar. All this and still manage to charge more for a product that offers less than the model before.

I have a JBL Charge 4 and this app allows me next to update my firmware and NOTHING more. I want to turn off the power save feature that kicks in when the speaker detects a few moments of silence. I cannot use my speaker for watching movies because everytime there is a quiet part in the movie the speaker cuts off and then I miss several seconds of dialogue or whatever waiting for it to power up again. Such a disappointment I cannot turn that ‘feature’ off using this app. I am selling my speaker to find one that works simply across a variety of sound situations.

This is an incredibly useful application, when it decides to function. I follow the simple instruction of connecting my phone to Bluetooth as stated in the steps. It constantly gets stuck in a state of buffering. I am currently attempting to adjust the Treble/Bass and have been waiting for over 20 minutes. Despite many trouble shooting attempts, this issue occurs anytime you use the application.

I got my Flip 6 last year and downloaded the app so I could control the bass, but after a few months, it kept saying couldn't find the device, and I have to delete the device from my Bluetooth then reconnect it. I use my speaker for multiple occasions, like get-togethers, studying, or just cleaning around the house, and I would like to control the bass and be able to look at the battery power. To be honest, having to delete the device and reconnect it to my Bluetooth, then reconnect it on the app, just isn't worth the time or effort. If I wasn't having these problems, I would definitely give this app 5 stars.

The app was working fine until I updated my iPhone to iOS 16. It’s no longer picking up my xtreme 3 in the app. I’ve tried restarting the phone/speaker, reinstalling the app and forgetting the speaker. It’s just not recognizing the speaker anymore. Also, I’ve looked up online that there is a new update for the xtreme 3 with EQ settings, I have yet to see the update. It says speaker is already up to date. The new firmware should be 0.1.8.8. I hope this can be fixed soon!

I understand other people are having issues with the flip 5, that’s unfortunate. Although, for me, the base, mid, and treble all work wonderfully! If you turn up the bass, you obv get more bass, you turn up the mid, you can hear the song better, and the treble makes the song way more clear and detailed, (better if speaker is low volume too). I recommend turning everything up because everything will be noticeably louder and that’s the point of the speaker I’d assume, max bass, mid, & treble. In conclusion, I think it’s imperative that you get this app if you want to get the most out of your flip 6. TL:DR: Most definitely get this app if you have a JBL Flip 6, works wonders with the EQ of the speaker.

I bought two JBL Charge 4's to pair in stereo. While it's simple enough to pair the speakers in stereo, they will not stay in stereo. Anytime I pause the music, or the music is interupted by a notification, the stereo pairing is stopped and it goes back to party mode. This is annoying. Additionally, I have a couple of JBL Flips, and if I'm running all four speakers in party mode, one or more of the speakers often intermittently lose connection. This happens even if all four speakers are in the same room and all are close to the phone. This is such a bummer because running the speakers sound so great when the app works, which unfortunately is infrequent.

I love my new JBL Charge 5. It is way better than my old Charge 3 which finally broke after 6 years. The app works well with the speaker. I love the equalizer. But with that, can you guys offer a dark mode on the app? I use the app a lot with my speaker and it’s usually at night so sometimes it irritates my eyes. Besides that, my experience has been 10/10.

An updated review, after the recent update, all issues with the compatibility with the Pulse 4 have been fixed. The app now has deeper options for customizing the Lightshow patterns and now an option to turn off the lights all together. Very glad these issues were addressed and improved beyond their initial problems. Love the speakers, love the app controls

I recently purchased 2 Flip 5 speakers with hopes to connect the 2 in stereo on my golf cart. Well as instructed downloaded this App and that’s where the issues began. Had difficulty syncing the two speakers They worked great individually with or without this App). When the speakers did Sync the music cut in and out.. I finally gave up and decided to call JBL, both times I got no where with them.. they barely spoke English. I then tried syncing the 2 speaking without the aid of the App and that did the trick, I deleted this App until they fix the bugs in it. I wrote JBL, like another person who wrote a review commented... hope they listen to there customers.

I love my new JBL Flip 5. It works very well, has powerful sound, great battery life, among other things. What I can’t get around is how little Can be done with the app. After downloading it, I had to unpair my speaker and reconnect it just for the app to find my device. After reconnecting, I could do nothing with the app. I downloaded it thinking I would be able to adjust the speaker sound with an equalizer but there were no adjusters to toggle. The only thing I can do with the app is update my firmware when there’s a new patch or use PartyBoost to connect to other speakers, which I don’t have.

Wow. I got this as a Christmas gift from my husband and fell in love with the depth of sound and how easy it is to connect to and use, but as good as the speaker is, is how bad the app is. First, why doesn’t the app show you if the speaker is charging or what percentage the battery is at? Next, what good is the app if it doesn’t allow for (at the very least) volume control? It’s also missing the ability to view or change any other settings like source, skip tract, fast forward, rewind, disconnect and power on/off. Basically the speaker is good but the app is worthless. Next time I’m getting a Bose or Beats.

It’s a great app! Don’t get me wrong! But whenever I go to the app to change my equalizer settings on my JBL flip 6 it has me disconnect and forget my device and then reconnect it just so I can access the app and I feel like you guys need to fix something in your apps where we don’t have to do this every time. I shouldn’t have to go through all those extra steps just to change a setting on my speaker when the entire time of had this app and speaker it has not messed up for me like once up until recently.

I own the jbl 300 and jbl charge five. Completely satisfied. The sound quality and battery life is excellent. Went boating and dropped the charge five in the lake three separate times-floated and still going strong. The app for the charge five is nice with battery life and eq adjustments. Planning on getting another charge five and link them. The charge five is a lot louder than I expected.

Getting these things to work with each other in stereo or party mode is ridiculously difficult. Much of the time I can’t even get it to work. Some of the time I can get it to work by either just using the buttons on the speakers or by using the app or trying to force it in my Bluetooth connection on my phone. The real problem for me is a completely unreliable as far as that goes. Otherwise I like the sound and I really wish it was easy and reliable to get them to work with each other. I now own four of these and I am disappointed I bought them.

The Portable app is a joke. You cant adjust the equalizer when there is more than one speaker connected. In stereo mode you can’t adjust the balance or play one speaker at a time to determine left or right. Or again using the equalizer is unavailable. You can’t check battery life on both speakers. It just shows the life on the main speaker. No way to read the slave speaker battery life except on the speaker itself. This app is pretty much useless. I have two Charge 5 speakers that I use. Speakers sound great but the app is something to be desired. 👎

It doesn’t always recognize the new speaker, it did at first…. but it is not a true stereo(by the instructions) and it fails to provide all that it is promised. I bought the speaker because it was “Made in the 🇺🇸 USA”, but after all: there are competitors out there that are truly reliable and deliver on the promises they DO make. I hope for an update to the application: the product is great within itself!

I tried connecting the app to the speaker (I have a JBL Charge4) and followed all suggested instructions presented to me as I could not connect it. So I give it only one star. Any app that doesn’t work on my iPad deserves no stars at all. Why give good rating to a product I can’t use? I wish I could connect it because I had this speaker long time before and worked pretty good on my iPad then I lost the speaker and uninstalled the app. I got the speaker again by buying a new one and now the app doesn’t connect to the speaker. So some update you did that messed up that for me.

First I love my jbl extreme. That being said. This app I just updated says you can control speaker from app. That’s a lie. The only think I can do is change the play button into hey Siri or play next track. Also since I updated. The app looks just the same. Nothing different but the preview screen shows the app looking different. What is up with that? Also can you guys please put an alarm clock option in the app? I’m a heavy sleeper and would like my speaker to be an alarm. If megaboom can do it…why can’t jbl have the same thing???

I have been using the latest version of this app for 2 weeks, for several hours at a time. The speakers haven’t cut out once, but the sound will sometimes fade out then come back in. I use the app with 2 JBL Flip 5s. The previous version of this app did not work as the software for the features would regularly crash, making the app essentially useless. This software version doesn’t crash, but still has an issue of sound fading out, then back in. A major improvement in the software of the app, but it still has a flaw. JBL makes great sounding speakers. JBL improves the sound of their speakers over time. If the app were solid, then more people would be enthusiastic about connecting their speakers together for a party.

I had a speaker from another company. The battery died and wouldn't recharge. I bought this JBL on a whim and I like the tone and it is loud enough for my needs... its pretty loud for such a small package. At first use I did not like the tone and was sure I made a mistake in purchasing it until I cut out the MIDS. It sounds just right without the mids. I max the bass and treble and it sounds righteous. So far so good. I'll see what the future holds...

I notice that the stereo setting drops off after a few minutes. It helps to leave the app open with my phone unlocked, but it still reverts to mono/party mode eventually. When I reopen the app, it takes a few seconds to a few minutes to find the speakers again, even though it’s still playing. Terrible experience- why have stereo mode if it only works for a few minutes at a time? And why does the connection have such a short memory?

I made the mistake to upgrade. After I cannot longer use the speaker connected with a 3.5mm cable since it’s extremely annoying to talk. Once the other party stop talking for a few seconds ( around 3 sec) and start talking I cannot hear the first words. They added a “clever” eco mode so will silent the audio if the level under a threshold. It is starting with a delay that makes the conversation impossible. Can easy test listening some music and lower de volume from the phone. On lower levels the JBL will stop playing. Really. It is that bad. Contacted them some months ago. Did not helped. Device not under warranty. Well, they should not release new firmware, untested that will break the speaker. I see all the new JBL speakers are Bluetooth only. But the Bluetooth quality is poor compared to a cable connection. Why should I purchase JBL? No thanks.