JBL Earbuds Only One Side Working? (6 Best Ways To Fix!)

JBL earbuds only one side working, and you’re worried? Well, this is not a cause for concern!

The JBL earbuds are a high-end audio output device, but issues may suddenly arise even with the best products on the market.

There are a bunch of possibilities as to why only one of your JBL earbuds is working, and in this guide, we’ll identify the exact culprit and resolve it quickly!

If one of your JBL earbuds is not working, verify that the problematic unit is charged and centralize the audio balance setting.

Additionally, you might need to forget and reconnect the earbuds or perform a factory restoration.

Let’s first unwrap the causes of this issue!

Why JBL Wireless Earbuds Only One Side Working?

There are quite a few reasons why only one of your JBL earbuds is working, and to identify the culprit, we must reveal all the causes.

So, we’ve prepared a complete list with all possibilities:

One side of the JBL earbuds is not charged.
The audio balance setting is misconfigured.
An ongoing Bluetooth connectivity problem.
The left earbud is not synced with the right.
A software-related problem with the earbuds.

That’s pretty much everything that can cause one of your JBL earbuds not to work, so let’s get into the troubleshooting…

JBL Earbuds Only One Side Working – Quick Solutions

Tip: We recommend following the solutions in order!

1. Verify Both Earbuds Are Charged

Well, one of the obvious reasons why only one of your JBL earbuds is working is because the other bud was not charged properly.

If you didn’t position the earbud correctly within your JBL capsule on the last charging session, the faulty earbud might have been left without a battery.

The JBL earbuds have a small ring LED on the top of each bud that starts flashing in white if charging whenever inside the capsule.

So, put both earbuds into the case, and observe whether the white ring will start pulsating on the faulty JBL earbud. If not, your earbud is not charging.

This could be due to clogged charging contacts! So, let’s keep reading…

2. Clean the JBL Buds/Case Contacts

Note: Skip this step if your JBL earbud is charging but not working when connected!

According to the previous step, if you’ve identified that one of your JBL earbuds is not charging when inside the case, this explains why it’s not working.

In that situation, cleaning would be the only adequate solution to the problem, so we’ve prepared some quick instructions to do it safely.

Here’s how to clean the JBL earbuds/case charging contacts:

Acquire 2–3 ear sticks and rubbing alcohol.
Dip one of the earsticks into a drop of alcohol.
Reach within the case, and clean the contacts.
Verify that there is no earwax or dust built up.
Also, clean the contacts on your JBL earbuds.
Use a soft cloth to completely dry everything.
Leave the case with the lid open for 3 minutes.
When ready, insert your JBL earbuds and test.

If your JBL earbuds are charging, there should be a slowly pulsating white LED light on each earbud, indicating that the device is charging successfully.

Note: Charging your JBL earbuds from 0% to 100% takes about 1 hour!

3. Adjust the Device’s Audio Balance

The “Audio Balance” is a setting that controls the loudness of your left and right JBL earbuds separately from your source device’s settings.

This option is particularly helpful for users with hearing defects to balance their output, so they can hear the audio output equally in both ears.

Well, for users with no hearing defects, if misconfigured, this option can make one of your JBL earbuds quieter than the other, or entirely muted.

So, if your JBL earbuds one side not working, follow the instructions!

How to Adjust Audio Balance on Android?

First, go to “Settings” on your Android phone.
Then, locate and enter the “Accessibility” tab.
Press on the “Audio and On-Screen Text” tab.
Locate the “Audio Balance” option in the menu.
Drag the slider to center it exactly in the middle.

How to Adjust Audio Balance on iOS Apple?

From the main screen, open the “Settings” app.
Go down, to locate and enter “Accessibility”.
Then, scroll down to locate the “Balance” slider.
Drag the slider to center it exactly in the middle.
The balance value should be set to exactly 0.00.

This will center the audio output on both your JBL earbuds and the sound should be equal.

So go ahead and test whether the previously non-working earbud is now outputting audible sound.

If not, continue reading…

4. Forget and Reconnect the Earbuds

Another common reason why JBL earbuds one side not working is because only one side of them has paired to your Bluetooth device.

This primarily happens when one of your JBL buds is not charged at the time of pairing, so forgetting and reconnecting the JBL earbuds must help.

This means that you would have to pair your JBL earbuds with your source device again after you’re ready, but refreshing the connection may fix the issue.

Here’s how to forget and reconnect JBL earbuds to Android or iOS:

First, go to the Settings of your Android or iOS.
Find and enter in the Bluetooth discovery pane.
Locate the JBL earbuds saved Bluetooth profile.
On iOS, tap the “i” icon and “Forget this Device.”
On Android, press the cogwheel and “FORGET.”
Well, this will ultimately unpair your JBL earbuds.

When you’re ready, go ahead and pair your JBL earbuds after verifying that both of them are fully charged.

If one side of your JBL earbuds is still muted and not working, continue reading!

5. Re-Sync the Left/Right JBL Earbuds

Some JBL earbuds have a slightly different working principle than other earbuds, so, likely, one of them is not working because they are not synced.

What essentially happens is that with some JBL models, only one of the earbuds connects to your device, while the other connects to the other earbud.

Typically, the right JBL earbud is the “master” and the left is the “slave” where the left connects to the right and the right to your unit.

So, if the right is “connected” to your Bluetooth device, but the left is not synced with the right, this will make your left earbud not-working.

So, here’s how to sync them quickly and efficiently:

Put both JBL earbuds in the case and close the lid.
This will ultimately turn OFF both your JBL earbuds.
Take the earbuds out, and grab the left JBL earbud.
Press the button on the left earbud to power it “ON.”
While on, quickly tap the button 3 consecutive times.
The earbud will start flashing in blue and white color.
So, repeat the same steps with the right JBL earbud.

This will sync both earbuds to one another, and when you’re ready, pair them with your device to test whether both are not working.

If not, perhaps there is a system-related issue with the buds.

Let’s learn how to fix it!

6. Reset your JBL Earbuds to Defaults

If nothing helped, and JBL Bluetooth earbuds only one side working, perhaps factory resetting the device will resolve the issue.

This will forget the Bluetooth profile of your earbuds from your source device, but will reset their system to default, and hopefully resolve your problem quickly.

Here’s how to factory reset JBL earbuds easily:

First, put both your earbuds within the capsule.
Then, find the button on your right JBL earbud.
Quickly, tap this button two consecutive times.
On the 3rd press, hold the button for 5–7 seconds.
This should factory reset both your JBL earbuds.

To factory reset some JBL earbud models, you will need to locate the Volume Up and Volume Down buttons and hold them together for about 20 seconds.

However, once your earbuds are factory reset, pair them with your Bluetooth device and test whether they would now both work.

If not, the non-working JBL earbud might be defective so we recommend seeking professional assistance.

We advise checking your warranty or contacting the local merchant for replacement.

Quick Recap

Hence, if JBL earbuds only one side working, verify that the problematic bud is charged, adjust the audio balance setting, and re-sync the earbuds.

Additionally, you may need to perform a factory reset on your earbuds and re-pair them.

Finn Wheatley

Finn Wheatley, a Master’s graduate in Computer Science from UCL, London, honed his skills at small data science consultancies. There, he helped large corporations enhance their data capabilities by deploying cutting-edge machine learning analytics and resolving technical hurdles.