Pairing JBL headphones is very easy, but sometimes it is difficult to find clear and simple instructions on just how to do it – and honestly, though I do dearly love the company, JBL’s own “quick start guides,” with many of the instructions in pictures-only format on JBL headphones bluetooth pairing, are sometimes no help at all!
So I thought it would be helpful to write out the basic procedure in clear, simple steps, to make sure you can pair your JBL headphones to your phone, PC or other device with no problems or frustration.
How To Pair JBL Headphones
In this article we are going to talk about three things:
- How to Pair JBL Headphones for the First Time – Automatic Pairing
- How to Manually Pair JBL Headphones
- How to Connect JBL Headphones to Multiple Devices – Multipoint Pairing
In each section I will write out the few basic steps in the most clear and complete way possible, to make accomplishing these tasks as easy as it can be.
Don’t worry – I know that what may seem simple to some people can be frustrating, even intimidating, to many others!
After these instructions on how to pair your JBL headphones to your PC, phone, tablet or whatever kind of device you’re using, I will also talk about how to find and set the Bluetooth wireless settings on the four most popular devices:
- How to Find Your JBL Headphones on an Android Phone/Tablet
- How to Find Your JBL Headphones on an Apple Phone
- How to Find Your JBL Headphones on a Windows PC
- How to Find Your JBL Headphones on Apple MacBook PC

How to Automatically Pair your JBL Headphones – First Time Connection
Pairing JBL Headphones for the First Time
- Make sure your JBL headphones are fully charged
- Turn your JBL headphones on – if they haven’t been paired before, they will automatically enter pairing mode
- Go to your device’s (smartphone, PC, tablet, etc) Bluetooth settings
- Make sure the device’s Bluetooth mode is switched on
- Locate the name of your JBL headphones on the list and activate them
Really, that’s it! You are now connected and ready to use your JBL headphones for music, movies, videos, phone calls, meetings, audio books or anything else.
If you aren’t sure how to find or use your device’s Bluetooth settings, click on one of the following links and you’ll be taken to detailed instructions further down in this article.
- How To Pair JBL Headphones to an Android Phone/Tablet
- How To Pair JBL Headphones to an Apple Phone
- How To Pair JBL Headphones to a Windows PC
- How To Pair JBL Headphones to an Apple MacBook PC
How to Manually Pair Your JBL Headphones
How to put JBL headphones in pairing mode
There are various times and reasons why you might need to manually pair your JBL headphones, including:
- If your pairing connection was lost or disconnected
- If you are having trouble with connection, sound or other issues
- Your JBL headphones were paired to another device, and now you want to pair them to a different one
Luckily this too is a straightforward procedure, and by following these steps can be done in no time:
- Make sure your JBL headphones are fully charged
- Turn your JBL headphones on and enter manual pairing mode
- Locate the Bluetooth button (usually at the bottom of the right earcup)
- Hold the Bluetooth button down for 5 seconds until you see the LED light rapidly flashing blue
- Go to your device’s (smartphone, PC, tablet, etc) Bluetooth settings
- Make sure the device’s Bluetooth mode is switched on
- Locate the name of your JBL headphones on the list and activate them

How to Pair JBL Headphones to a Second Device (Multipoint Pairing)
If you want to use more than one device, most newer JBL headphones will allow you to connect to at least two devices at once, and have a cool and useful way of determining which device you’ll actually hear:
- If music, or any audio, is playing on one device, it will come through the headphones
- If you pause the audio, and begin playing something on the second device, the headphones will automatically switch to that device and you will hear that audio
- If there is a phone call on either device, it will always take priority, and any audio playing on either device will be automatically paused
Pretty slick, isn’t it? And pairing to that second device is nearly as easy as the initial pairing:
- Make sure your JBL headphones are fully charged
- Turn your JBL headphones on – since they’ve already been paired to the first device (see above if they haven’t) you will need to enter Bluetooth pairing mode manually for the second device
- Locate the Bluetooth button (usually at the bottom of the right earcup)
- Hold the Bluetooth button down for 5 seconds until you see the LED light rapidly flashing blue
- Go to the second device’s (smartphone, PC, tablet, etc) Bluetooth settings
- Make sure the device’s Bluetooth mode is switched on
- Locate the name of your JBL headphones on the list and activate them
- Go back to the first device’s Bluetooth settings and make sure the JBL headphones are still activated there too
Your JBL headphones are now paired to both devices, and the automatic smart switching and priority play we talked about above should work perfectly. If it doesn’t, or if you seem to have lost the pairing connection to one or both of the devices, you may need to go through manual pairing again.
How To Find and Set Bluetooth Settings on Your Device
How to Find and Connect Your JBL Headphones on an Android Phone/Tablet
- Swipe down from the top of your screen
- Find the Bluetooth icon and press and hold it until the Bluetooth page opens
- Make sure Bluetooth is turned on
- Make sure your JBL headphones are in Pairing Mode (see sections above)
- Tap on the name of your JBL headphones
- If you do not see your JBL headphones listed, you may have to press one of the following (depending on your device):
- Connect New Device
- Refresh
- Enter any required passwords or pin codes
- Click Yes or Confirm for any ensuing pop-ups
How to Find and Connect Your JBL Headphones on an Apple Phone
- On your iPhone go to Settings, and then to Bluetooth
- Turn Bluetooth on
- Make sure your JBL headphones are in Pairing Mode (see sections above)
- Tap on the name of your JBL headphones
- Enter any required passwords or pin codes
- Click Yes or Confirm for any ensuing pop-ups
How to Find and Connect Your JBL Headphones on a Windows PC
- Go to Settings, and then to Devices
- Turn Bluetooth on
- Make sure your JBL headphones are in Pairing Mode (see sections above)
- Click on “Add Bluetooth or other device”
- Select your JBL headphones from the pop-up list and click on Connect
- Enter any required passwords or pin codes
- Click Yes or Confirm for any ensuing pop-ups
How to Find and Connect Your JBL Headphones on an Apple MacBook PC
- Go to the Apple menu, then System Preferences, and then Bluetooth
- Make sure your JBL headphones are in Pairing Mode (see sections above)
- Select your JBL headphones and click on Connect
- Enter any required passwords or pin codes
- Click Yes or Confirm for any ensuing pop-ups
Not everyone uses Windows or Macs, remember the backend that your company relies on to stay in business is either on Linux or BSD based servers.
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