How To Connect JBL Earbuds To Laptop? – Complete Guide

Wondering how to connect JBL earbuds to laptop?

If you’ve just got your JBL earbuds and are eager to connect them to your laptop and listen to music or play games, below, we will teach you all you must know.

The first thing you must do is find the Bluetooth settings. Since that will vary depending on your operating system, the step-by-step procedure will also change!

Using a phone’s Bluetooth connection is already common, but perhaps you have never used your laptop’s Bluetooth.

In that case, the guide below will help you, no matter your operating system!

How To Connect JBL Earbuds To Laptop – Ultimate Guide

How to connect JBL Bluetooth earbuds to laptop? The precise method will change depending on the operating system of your laptop.

Although the most popular OS is Windows, and many people also use MacOS, we must consider other systems too.

For example, many folks love Linux because of its endless possibilities. Students that only require very basic hardware often choose a Chromebook. 

So if you are looking for the ultimate guide on connecting JBL earbuds to a computer, here it is!

Put Your Bluetooth Earbuds Into Pairing Mode

Before we proceed to how you can connect your Bluetooth earbuds to any operating system, we must verify how the pairing mode works.

Every time you connect your Bluetooth JBL earbuds to a device for the first time, you must activate pairing mode.

After the gadget is paired to the device, they can connect quickly.

Here is how the pairing mode works:

1. Find the Bluetooth button on your earbuds
2. Press it for 3 seconds
3. A light will start flashing

The next steps of the pairing process will depend on the operating system you are trying to connect.

Remember to check below the precise method for each system.

Method #1: Connect A Bluetooth JBL Earbud To Windows

We are living in a transition phase between Windows 10 and 11. Fortunately, though, Bluetooth settings are still the same in Windows 11.

Before that, however, you must ensure your laptop has the latest Bluetooth driver.

We advise that because Windows Bluetooth can be a bit wacky when it is not up to date.

Here is how you can check and update on Windows 10/11:

1. Type “device manager” on the research box of the taskbar
2. Open the device manager
3. Find the Bluetooth tab and click the “>” you see
4. Right button click on “Bluetooth device (device name)“
5. Click on “Update driver” if available

Next, it is time to connect your favorite Bluetooth JBL earbud to your Windows laptop:

1. Put your earbuds into pairing mode
2. Type “Bluetooth” in the Windows search bar
3. Click on it
4. Activate Bluetooth
5. Wait for a few seconds 
6. The earbuds will pair with Windows

Audio Doesn’t Come Out Through Earbuds

A common issue is when you pair your Bluetooth earbuds correctly, but the audio doesn’t come through them.

Sometimes, the audio will be muted or coming through the laptop’s speakers.

Solving that is simple. All you have to do is: 

1. Hover over to the right corner of the taskbar 
2. Click the sound icon
3. Click the “^” to see all available devices 
4. Select your earbuds 

Note: Sometimes, a Bluetooth device will show up as two different audio outputs in Windows. You must test each and use the one with the better audio performance.

Method #2: Connect A Bluetooth JBL Earbud To MacOS X

Now, it is time we teach you how to connect your favorite Bluetooth JBL earbuds to your MacBook. With macOS, there is no need to rush and update drivers. 

MacOS is much more polished than Windows, so the chances of something going wrong when connecting your earbuds are close to zero.

You must first put your Bluetooth earbud into pairing mode, as we already taught.

Then follow the steps:

1. On your Mac, go to System Preferences 
2. Choose Bluetooth
3. Click “Turn Bluetooth On” 
4. All nearby devices are displayed under Devices
5. Connect the Bluetooth earphones you want to use

After you pair for the first time, the connection will always be automatic.

Troubleshoot When the Connection Is Faulty

It’s not common for Bluetooth not to work on a Mac, but it can be quite frustrating when it does.

Check the battery. If it is low, the device will struggle to connect. The Bluetooth icon in the menu bar will warn you about this.

If Bluetooth is unavailable on your Mac, try deleting the property list files. Sometimes they can get corrupted and affect the connection of Bluetooth devices silently.

To remove .plist files:

1. Use the Finder’s Go menu to choose Go to Folder.
2. Simply enter /Library/Preferences and hit the Go button.
3. Look for a file called com.apple.Bluetooth.plist and remove it.
4. Select Go > Go to Folder from the Go menu again.
5. Go to ~/Library/Preferences/ByHost and enter it.
6. You need to get rid of a file called com.apple.Bluetooth.xxx.plist.

Your Mac has to be turned off and left that way for approximately a minute.

After turning it on, fresh .plist files will be produced automatically, which would presumably address the Bluetooth unavailability problem on MacBook.

Tip: Before connecting Bluetooth gadgets to your Mac, make sure it's disconnected from phones or other devices

Method #3: Connect A Bluetooth JBL Earbud To ChromeOS

It is important to notice that not all Chromebooks are capable of Bluetooth connectivity. 

Suppose you are buying a Bluetooth JBL earbud to use with your Chromebook.

Then, you must check your Chromebook’s connectivity technologies available. 

Doing that is simple:

1. Navigate to the bottom right corner of the screen
2. Click on the time to open up Quick Settings
3. You should see the Bluetooth icon appear in the menu

Once you have your Bluetooth JBL earbuds in your hands, do the following:

1. Put earbuds into pairing mode
2. Find the Bluetooth icon on the Chromebook
3. Click it
4. The icon should turn from gray to blue
5. Select your earbuds

You will know if your device is connected when listed under Paired devices.

Problems With Bluetooth Earbuds On ChromeOS

ChromeOS is very similar to Android, so fixing anything on it is pretty straightforward.

If your Bluetooth earbud is not connecting to your Chromebook, do the following:

1. Turn off Bluetooth on both devices
2. Turn Bluetooth on your JBL earbuds
3. Turn Bluetooth on your Chromebook

That must help if your Chromebook is, in fact, capable of connecting to earbuds.

However, a few Chromebooks are not capable of connecting to earbuds. Even though they feature Bluetooth, such connectivity is limited to a few devices.

Note: Check its datasheet to ensure your Chromebook can connect to wireless earbuds.

Method #4: Connect Bluetooth JBL Earbuds To Ubuntu

Ubuntu is the most popular Linux distro. Thus, that is the Linux distro we are tackling in this article. 

If you want to connect your powerful Bluetooth JBL earbuds to your Ubuntu laptop, here is how to do it:

1. Put your earbuds into pairing mode
2. Open the Activities overview and start typing Bluetooth
3. Click Bluetooth to open the panel
4. Set the switch at the top to on
5. The earbud will pair immediately

Bluetooth Not Working On Ubuntu

Installing “Bluez” is the typical approach to activate Bluetooth on your device. Ubuntu’s preferred Bluetooth protocol software is called “Bluez.”

It is probable that Bluez is not reacting correctly or is just out of date if Bluetooth is malfunctioning on your device.

The command to remove Bluez is:

• $ sudo apt-get delete bluez

After the package has been removed, we may reinstall it using the command:

•  $ sudo apt install bluez.

Note: There are countless Linux distros, and many of them are for advanced users. If you want a Linux distro that is easy to connect to your JBL earbuds, then Ubuntu is the best choice!

What We Learned

How To Connect JBL Earbuds To Laptop?

After reading the guide above, you can connect your Bluetooth JBL earbuds to any laptop without much effort. Plus, you can fix issues if they show up.