Why Is One Side Of My Wireless Earbuds Not Working?

You charge your earbuds up overnight, thinking you’re going to have a great morning listening to your favorite jams on the bus ride to school or on the drive into work.

You get up, go about your morning routine, pop your earbuds in, and head out the door.

But, to your surprise and utter dismay, one of the earbuds isn’t working!

You start to panic.

Is something broken? Did you not charge them correctly? Is there a software glitch? What is the matter with your earbuds? You ask yourself, “Why won’t both of my JLab earbuds connect?” Then, you Google it.

Or, at least, that’s what I did when my JLab Go Air earbuds started acting up.

It was always just the right earbud that would not emit any sound.

The left earbud sounded just fine.

Like you, I panicked, then my panic turned to a need to fix the problem.

And, thankfully, I found that I was far from being the only person to experience this problem.

Actually, what I learned is that this is a really common problem with Bluetooth wireless earbuds.

It isn’t exclusive to one model or even one brand. It’s more universal than that.

And it is usually easy to remedy. Usually.

See, JLab are particularly good earbuds for those of us who have to stick to a moderate budget.

They offer superb sound quality without all the frills.

Troubleshooting JLab earbuds will vary by model, and I’ll be using the Go Air as my example.

It might help to look at your owner’s manual for specific troubleshooting instructions for your model.

Anyway, with that being said, here are some reasons why only one side of your wireless earbuds aren’t working – and what you can do about it.

One side of your wireless earbuds may not be working because your first time setting the earbuds up might not have run properly. Other reasons include a bug (which requires a manual reset), needing to be reconnected to your other device using Bluetooth and actually having damage to the hardware.

So, why might these be the cause of your problems? How can you tell if there is physical damage?

How are you supposed to go about troubleshooting this issue?

Read on to learn more about how to tackle one side of your wireless earbuds not working.

Why won’t both of my Bluetooth earbuds connect?

There are usually four main reasons why both earbuds are not connecting.

If one of them fails to play any audio, this could be the result of an incorrect initial run-through of the set-up process, a bug in the software, a lost Bluetooth connection, or actual damage to the interior electrical components.

Let’s run through these potential causes in more depth and go over how to remedy each one.

Incorrect First-Time Set-Up

Are you new to the world of JLab Bluetooth earbuds? If so, you might be wondering “How do I turn on both JLab earbuds?”

That’s a common question. (If you do not have an owner’s manual for the GO Air, I recommend you download it here.)

You need to:

Pull the tab out.
Remove the earbuds by pulling up or from the side.
One earbud will blink blue and white to indicate that it is ready to be paired with your host device.
Go into your device’s Bluetooth settings and select your earbuds. You should hear a voice prompt saying that you’re connected, which is further indicated by solid white lights.

Don’t see those solid white lights? The setup process might not be complete.

You will need to power your earbuds down and back on again to retry this process.

Getting Your Earbuds to Automatically Connect

You will want to make sure that your earbuds are ready for automatic connection with your host device.

Here’s how you can accomplish this:

Make sure your earbuds are powered off. When they are, press and hold down on them to turn them on,. Do this for 3-5 seconds.
Your earbuds should now light up. You will see a solid white light on your left earbud, and the one on the right should flash white.

This means that you are in pairing mode.

Pairing Your Earbuds With Bluetooth

Now, you are ready to pair your Bluetooth earbuds with your host device. To do this, you will have to:

Go into your device’s Settings.
Select Bluetooth.
Scroll through the list of devices until you see the name of your earbuds. (For example, “JLab GO Air” will show up if you’re using the JLab GO Air earbuds.)
Select them; you should hear “Bluetooth connected” when the pairing is successful.

Manually Resetting Your Earbuds

If one earbud still isn’t working, you might be experiencing a bug in your software.

If this is the case, resetting your earbuds might be the solution. Here’s how to do it:

Go into your device’s Settings, then go to Bluetooth.
Find your earbuds’ name, tap on it, and click “Forget”.
Place your earbuds in their charging case with the lid left open.
Tap one earbud four times. A blue light should blink four times before becoming solid blue.
Repeat the previous step with your other earbud.
Take your earbuds out of the case, keeping them about two inches apart. Your left earbud should be flashing white while the right earbud should be blinking blue and white.

Just bear in mind that colors can vary based on your make and model.

Reconnecting With Bluetooth

Now that your earbuds are ready to be re-paired with your device, all you have to do is go into your Bluetooth settings and let it discover your earbuds.

Make sure you have your earbuds and device next to each other, a few inches apart.

Bluetooth must be enabled on your device for this to work.

Once you see the name pop up, tap on it to pair.

How To Tell If There Is Internal Damage

If absolutely nothing has worked, you could be looking at some internal damage.

This can happen due to drops, being crushed, exposure to temperature extremes, water damage, or being cleaned and put back in the case while still damp.

If this is indeed the case, you will need to contact JLab’s customer services to figure out what your next step should be.

The two-year warranty JLab puts on their earbuds will cover manufacturing defects, and your earbuds could fall under this category.

You will need to issue a return with JLab if you are still within the warranty period, and the whole process of getting a replacement could take three weeks.

How long do JLab Go Air earbuds last?

These earbuds should last you at least several years, if not longer. Take care of them.

Clean them regularly. Avoid accidents as best you can.

If you can do that, then you should have earbuds that will get you through a few really good years of use.

Closing Thoughts

There are a few reasons why one of your earbuds might not be working properly.

This is usually an easy issue to troubleshoot, but in rare instances, there is irreversible damage causing failure to play sound.

Try the troubleshooting methods I mentioned above and see if one of them helps restore sound to your earbud.

Why Is One Side Of My Wireless Earbuds Not Working?