Why Does My JBL Flip 5 Keep Cutting Out: Possible Causes and Fixes

Like many other users of the portable Bluetooth speaker, you may be wondering why does my JBL Flip 5 keep cutting out?

This is a rather common problem with the JBL Flip range of speakers, especially the Flip 5 Bluetooth speaker.

As you will learn below, several things can cause your Bluetooth speaker to stutter.

To correct choppy audio on your Flip 5, ensure that the speaker is charged, look for and remove possible interferences, or update its firmware. In extreme cases, you may need to hard reset the device to resolve the problem.

This guide will help you understand why your Flip 5 speaker is cutting out now and then for easier diagnosis.

The guide also includes the steps you need to take to fix the audio stuttering issue on your JBL Flip 5 speaker.

Why Does My JBL Flip 5 Keep Cutting Out?

A number of things can cause audio on Flip 5 to cut out now and then. If you are experiencing this problem, here are a few things that may be causing the problem:

1. Low Battery

As the battery on your J Flip 5 gets too low, you may start to experience choppy sounds or even interruptions

2. Apps Open in the Background

Do you have too many applications open in the background of your phone or computer?

Well, they may be interfering with the app you are using to play music or even the Bluetooth connection between your device and the Flip 5 speaker.

3. Signal Interference

Other devices may be interfering with the Bluetooth connection between your device and the Flip 5 speaker.

Such devices include microwaves, fluorescent lights, Wi-Fi routers, and baby monitors. Solid objects like walls may also block the signal causing the speaker to cut out.

4. Previously Paired Devices in Range

If a previously paired device happens to be in the range of the speaker, the speaker may attempt to connect to it.

By so doing, it loses connection to the currently paired device momentarily, causing it to cut out.

5. Outdated/ Corrupted Firmware

Running the Flip 5 on outdated or bugged software may also cause the speaker to cut out every now and then.

The solution here is to update or reinstall the firmware, as elaborated below

How to Fix Audio Stuttering on The JBL Flip 5 

Since you don’t know what exactly is afflicting your speaker, you should try out a few methods to troubleshoot and fix the problem. 

For instance, you could start by closing the applications running in the background of the connected device.

Secondly, you need to ensure that the connected device is within the recommended range for the speaker.

If these don’t seem to be the problem, here are some of the methods that have been proven to solve this issue:

Solution #1: Charge Your JBL Flip 5

This may sound like an easy fix, but J Flip 5 speakers have been known to cut out due to a low battery.

Sound interruptions every few seconds could be a sign that your battery is running low.

The charge indicator on the JBL Flip 5 speaker is situated in between the Power button and the Bluetooth Button—a straight line that glows blue when the battery is fully charged.

Simply press the Volume up or down buttons to activate the charge indicator on your J Flip.

The light on this bar fades away, starting from the right-hand side, as the battery continued to discharge.

If the battery level is low, simply plug the speaker into a power outlet using the supplied USB cable and let it charge.

Solution #2: Find and Eliminate Possible Bluetooth Interference

If the device is charged, but still cutting out, check whether something is interfering with the Bluetooth connection.

Check to see whether the speaker is placed near signal-emitting devices like microwaves, Wi-Fi routers, and baby monitors.

If so, move the speaker or the interfering device and then reconnect the speaker to see if the problem has been resolved.

If not, remove any objects that may be blocking the signal between the speaker and your paired device.

Finally, check whether any of the previously-paired devices are in the same room as the speaker.

If so, ensure that their Bluetooth is Off to prevent them from interfering with the current connection.

Solution #3:  Update the JBL Flip 5 Firmware

If you are still wondering why your JBL flip 5 speakers keeps cutting out, chances are that the above solutions didn’t fix the problem.

In this case, you need to update the firmware on your speaker to fix possible glitches that may be causing it to cut out.

You can easily update your JBL Flip 5 Firmware from your Android or iOS device, using the following steps:

Step #1: Install the JBL Portable App

Launch the Google Play store on your Android phone or the App Store on iOS and search for JBL Portable.

Next, you need to install this application on your phone.

Step #2: Pair the JBL Flip 5 Speaker to Your Phone

Now you need to pair your speaker to the phone before proceeding any further.

To do this:

1. Press the Power button on your speaker to turn it on
2. Press the Bluetooth button to set the speaker into the pairing mode
3. Launch the Settings app on your phone, find Bluetooth Settings, turn Bluetooth On  and scan for new devices 
4. Once located, tap on the JBL Flip 5 speaker on your phone to pair it with the phone

Note: The speaker and phone need to be close for the speaker to be discovered

Step #3: Launch the JBL Portable Application and Search for Updates

Once you have paired the speaker to your phone via Bluetooth, launch the JBL Portable app you installed in step #1 above.

The app should automatically start searching for an update for the connected speaker.

Note: Your phone needs to be connected to the internet for this to work

If an update is found, the app will display it alongside the name of the connected speaker.

Step #4: Install the New JBL Flip 5 Update

If a new version of the firmware is available, you will see a Software update available message displayed by the app.

Just tap the Download button adjacent to this message. This should display the new version number as well as available improvements. Tap on Update to start the process.

If the firmware is up to date, the app will not display the Update button.

In this case, you should try a different solution to fix the JBL Flip 5 that keeps cutting out the issue.

Now allow the update enough time to complete—takes about 40 minutes.

Note: The speaker will turn on and off repeatedly while being updated.

Step #5: Finalize the Process

Once the installation is completed, tap on the Lets Party button and check whether the problem had been fixed.

Solution #4: Hard Reset the JBL Flip 5

If the speaker is still cutting out after you have tried all the above solutions, you should try to factory reset it.

To hard reset the JBL Flip 5 speaker:

1. Press the Power button to turn the speaker On
2. Press the Volume + and Play buttons on the speaker simultaneously and hold them until the speaker goes off

You can now power the speaker back up and connect it to your device.

Bottom Line

Still wondering why does my JBL Flip 5 keep cutting out? A considerable number of J Flip users have reported this issue, which may be caused by several things.

Just ensure that the battery is charged, the speaker is close enough to the paired device, and eliminate possible interferences in the immediate environment.

In rare cases, you may need to update the JBL Flip 5 firmware or hard reset the speaker to fix the problem.