Nothing is more frustrating than when your Bluetooth speaker keeps turning off in the middle of your favorite song or podcast. It can be a real pain when trying to listen to a long playlist.
We’ve all been there before. The experience would make you want to scream into your pillow, especially when the automatic turning-off behavior of your Bluetooth speaker ruins your jam session.
Hopefully, the solutions you’ll find in this article don’t involve throwing your speaker out the window. But before we get to the solutions, here’s why your Bluetooth speaker automatically turns off.
Your portable Bluetooth speaker will keep turning off because there’s no operation or playback for over 15 minutes. The automatic turning off is activated by the auto-standby or auto power-off feature that saves power consumption when the Bluetooth speaker isn’t in use. Other reasons could be connection interferences, overheating or weak batteries of long-use Bluetooth speakers.
On the lighter side, your Bluetooth speaker is just too smart for its own good. It wants to save power after realizing a certain amount of inactivity.
Let’s delve into these causes further with solutions to avert any such incidence. With video walkthroughs, you can’t fall behind.
What Causes Bluetooth Speaker To Turn Off Automatically
The common causes of the constant turning off of Bluetooth speakers can be summarized as auto-power off, auto-standby, connection issues, overheating, weak/dead batteries, and firmware issues.
Aside from these, other reasons are rare cases that you’ll find:
Enabled Auto-standby Feature
One feature that has become increasingly common in many Bluetooth speakers is the auto standby feature. This feature allows the speaker to automatically turn off after a period of inactivity, usually around 15-30 minutes.
The auto standby feature serves two purposes. First, it helps conserve battery life, especially in battery-powered speakers. The speaker can last longer on a single charge by turning off when not in use.
Second, it helps save energy and reduce electricity bills when using mains-powered speakers.
Moreover, the auto standby feature is also convenient for users who forget to turn off their Bluetooth speakers after use. It ensures that the speaker is not left on unnecessarily, which can lead to wasted battery life and increased energy costs.
However, if this feature is enabled, it may cause your speaker to turn off unexpectedly. While the feature is useful, sometimes it can turn off the Bluetooth speaker too quickly, ruining your listening experience.
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Enabled Auto Power Function
Bluetooth speakers are great until they keep turning off without warning, leaving you stranded in a silent abyss. It’s like they’re saying, “Sorry, I can’t handle your tunes anymore. Time for a nap.”
You can experience this behavior in Bluetooth speakers with an auto-power function that turns off when not connected to a device. Like the auto-standby feature, it is designed to save battery life and prevent overheating by automatically shutting off the Bluetooth speaker after a certain period of inactivity.
However, it can be frustrating when the Bluetooth speaker turns off unexpectedly if you’re listening to music.
With this automatic power-off function, the power can turn off after 15 minutes, even when the audio input level is low. And that reminds me of a story.
One time, I was at a pool party, and we were all jamming out to some tunes on a Bluetooth speaker. Suddenly, the music stopped, and we all stared at the speaker in confusion. After a few seconds, we realized it had turned off due to inactivity.
We all laughed and joked that the speaker needed some coffee or an electric shock to stay awake. From then on, we made sure to keep the speaker in use or disable the auto power-off feature so we could keep the party going.
So, the next time your Bluetooth speaker takes a snooze mid-song, don’t worry – it’s just a power nap :). Just give it a little wake-up call, and you’ll be back to your music in no time.
Bluetooth Signal Interference
Other Bluetooth-enabled devices can interfere with your Bluetooth speaker’s signal, resulting in an unexpected shutdown. Other nearby Bluetooth devices, such as mobile phones, laptops, or other speakers, could be the source of this interference.
When your Bluetooth speaker’s signal is obstructed or interfered with by a different device or object, the connection with its host device is hampered. This can be experienced if you put it next to metal objects or other electronic equipment that emits electromagnetic radiation or if there are too many Bluetooth devices nearby.
For instance, if your Bluetooth speaker is positioned close to a Wi-Fi router or microwave oven, the signals from these devices may interfere with the Bluetooth signal, resulting in the speaker turning off or losing connectivity.
As a result of losing connection with its host device, the Bluetooth speaker can go silent, so you should check for these Bluetooth interferences.
Firmware Issues
Bluetooth speakers, like other electronic devices, require software to run. Firmware issues can cause the speaker to turn off, either to protect itself or because it is malfunctioning. If this is the cause of the issue, updating the firmware may solve the problem.
In addition, if Bluetooth speaker firmware becomes corrupted, outdated, or incompatible with the hardware components of the speaker, it can result in shutdowns or other performance issues.
For example, a firmware update can cause some Bose SoundTouch speakers to stop working, and this is known by the company such that they provide you a guide on how to fix it.
Similarly, in 2020, JBL had to release a firmware update to fix a bug that caused some of their portable Bluetooth speakers to power off randomly.
These incidents highlight the possibility of firmware bugs causing Bluetooth speakers to turn off automatically due to malfunctioning.
Overheating
Overheating is another reason why a Bluetooth speaker can turn off by itself. This safety feature prevents the speaker from damaging itself due to high temperatures.
Overheating can be caused by using your speaker for long periods or placing it in direct sunlight. When a speaker gets too hot, the circuitry can malfunction, or the battery can become damaged.
In addition, if your Bluetooth speaker is placed on a surface that doesn’t dissipate heat well, like a blanket or a soft surface, it can exacerbate the overheating issue.
Some Bluetooth speakers have built-in temperature sensors that will shut off the device when it reaches a certain temperature threshold to prevent damage. You should check whether your Bluetooth speaker is overheated.
It’s, therefore, important to keep your Bluetooth speaker in a well-ventilated area and avoid exposing it to direct sunlight or extreme temperatures to prevent overheating.
Related ==> Why Does My Bluetooth Speaker Turn On By Itself?
Weak/Dead Battery
When the battery level of your Bluetooth speaker drops below a certain threshold, the speaker may shut down to conserve power. This can happen even if the speaker is plugged in for charging, as some speakers require a certain charge level to remain powered on.
If a Bluetooth speaker has a low battery and is used continuously for several hours without charging, it may turn off due to insufficient power.
For example, the popular JBL Flip 5 Bluetooth speaker has a battery life of up to 12 hours, but this can vary depending on usage and volume level.
If your Bluetooth speaker is used at a high volume or for extended periods, the battery may drain more quickly and cause the speaker to turn off unexpectedly.
In other cases, users encounter the automatic turning-off behavior of Bluetooth speakers after they’ve used it for a long time (mostly over 2 years) without changing the battery. So you don’t want to rule out this cause if you’ve never changed your batteries after long years of usage.
Pushing more juice into a weak/dead battery can also cause overheating and stress on the electrochemical system of the battery. This, in turn, could trigger a malfunction of the Bluetooth speaker circuit, which could be the automatic turning off.
How To Stop Bluetooth Speakers From Turning Off Automatically
While it can be annoying when you experience the constant turning off Bluetooth speaker during use, it’s not beyond fixing. Solving overheating and firmware issues don’t really require much.
Overheating: Ensure a well-ventilated area and avoid exposure to direct sunlight or heat sources to resolve the cause. The radical thing to do is turn the Bluetooth speaker off and let it cool down before using it again.
Firmware Issues: If your Bluetooth speaker turns off due to firmware issues, check for any updates available. You can usually update the firmware by connecting the Bluetooth speaker to a computer and using the manufacturer’s software.
If the cause is none of the above, you can try out some of the following solutions.
Turn off Auto-Standby
While this can help conserve battery life and energy, it can also be inconvenient if the Bluetooth speaker keeps turning off in slight inactivity when using it for extended periods. You can turn off this feature on the Bluetooth speaker.
Since you can turn off this feature differently depending on the brand, below is a general guide to finding where your auto-standby function is.
Check product user manual: Look for the user manual or online documentation for your specific speaker model, as the process for disabling auto-standby can vary depending on the manufacturer.
Check the settings: Some speakers may have a specific setting in the Bluetooth or power settings to disable auto-standby. Check the settings menu on your speaker to see if this option is available.
Use a companion app: Some speakers have a companion app that allows you to adjust various settings, including auto-standby. Check the app for any options to disable this feature.
Contact customer support: If you are still having trouble disabling auto-standby, contact the manufacturer’s customer support team for assistance.
The above guide can help you turn off the auto-standby feature to enjoy uninterrupted music playback on your Bluetooth speaker without the inconvenience.
Below is what turning off auto-standby looks like in fixing this issue.
If yours is not an auto-standby issue, then try the auto-power off.
Related ==> Why Won’t My Bluetooth Speaker Turn Off?
Turn Off Auto Power-off Function
You can turn off this function either on the Bluetooth speaker itself or through computer Bluetooth settings depending on the host device you’re using to play the music. In either case, the following approach can help you solve it.
Play continuous audio: Some Bluetooth speakers have a built-in sensor that detects audio playback, so it automatically turns off speakers when there is no audio signal. To avoid this, play continuous audio, such as a white noise track, to keep the speaker active.
As an example, the JBL Charge 5 Bluetooth speaker has an auto power-off feature that turns off the speaker after 20 minutes of inactivity. To turn off this feature, press and hold the power and Bluetooth buttons on the speaker simultaneously for 5 seconds until you hear a chime.
Completing the action disables the auto power-off feature, and the speaker will not turn off automatically even after 20 minutes of inactivity.
On the Windows system, disabling the “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power” on the Bluetooth settings can fix the issue if you’re hosting the Bluetooth speaker on a computer. The below videos walk you through how to disable it.
Reset Bluetooth Speaker
Sometimes just resetting your Bluetooth speaker can halt it from turning off automatically. Resetting restarts the product into factory settings and clears your paired device history.
Suppose the cause of frequent turning off is a result of a bug or disconnection and reconnection to several paired devices that the Bluetooth speaker has in its memory. In that case, the constant turning-off issue could be resolved by deleting these stored connections.
Hence after resetting, your Bluetooth device can connect to your recently paired devices without interference from other devices that were in its memory.
However, you reset a Bluetooth speaker varies from brand to brand. While some brands of Bluetooth speaker has a reset button, others require pressing a combination of buttons.
Here’s a general guide on how to go about it.
Locate the reset button: Look for a small pinhole or a reset button on the Bluetooth speaker. The location of the reset button may vary depending on the make and model of your speaker.
Then straighten a paperclip or use a similar tool to press the reset button inside the pinhole. Press and hold the reset button for several seconds until the LED indicators on the speaker start flashing rapidly.
After that, release the reset button and wait for the speaker to turn off. Turn on the speaker and try pairing it with your device again.
Resetting with a combination of keys: Brands that reset Bluetooth speakers by simultaneously pressing multiple keys have different button combinations. Referring to your manufacturer’s manual for your speaker brand will be easy.
Below is a video walkthrough example for resetting a JBL Bluetooth speaker by pressing multiple keys simultaneously for some period.
If your issue is not resolved at this point, it’s time to look at replacing your battery, especially if you’ve had this Bluetooth speaker for a long time.
Replace Battery
Replacing the batteries of your Bluetooth speaker, especially if you’ve never changed your batteries after long use, could be the simplest thing to do to solve the problem.
Most Bluetooth speakers are designed to be airtight such that you can’t get to the location of the battery by unscrewing a couple of screws. However, it’s a no-brainer to remove the batteries of most of these speakers with the proper guide.
In the attached video, you’ll find a detailed guide on replacing your Bluetooth speaker battery. It’s straightforward to follow that you can’t sweat it.
By this point, you should have your Bluetooth speaker behaving normally. If not, you should contact your manufacturer for a replacement.
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In Summary: Key Learning Points
I know this all sounds like a lot of work, but having a functioning Bluetooth speaker is worth it. Consider all the jams you can rock out to once you’ve solved this problem.
In summary, the key to keeping your Bluetooth speaker on is a combination of preventative measures and troubleshooting skills. So, charge up that battery, keep your speaker cool, and make sure your firmware is up-to-date.
And if all else fails, just remember – sometimes you just gotta turn off the auto-standby or auto power-off feature, reset the Bluetooth speaker and replace your weak/dead battery if you’ve used the Bluetooth speaker for a long time.
There you have it! Did any of the solutions work for you? Let me know what was the cause of your case and how the fix helped you.
Until then, stay blessed!