How to Get a Jawbone Jambox to Connect to a Windows 8 Computer

When I tried to connect my Jambox to my Windows 8 machine, at first it didn’t recognize it at all. Then it recognized it as a phone device and asked for a passcode (but wouldn’t let me enter the passcode that Jambox suggests, which is “0000”). I tried connecting the device again and again, in various ways, but had no luck. I looked up some solutions online, but they were fairly complicated and I am of the opinion that there is usually a simple solution out there if you look hard enough. I decided to go back to first principles and shut everything off, and then turn everything back on, one by one. This is what finally worked.

First, make sure nothing else is connected to your Jambox, such as your phone or mp3 player. If anything else is connected, first disconnect it, then continue with these instructions.

Turn your Jambox off. Then, turn your computer’s bluetooth connection off. Then turn your computer’s bluetooth connection back on again. Turn your Jambox back on and set it to search for devices to pair with. Then search for new bluetooth devices.

By doing this, I was finally able to connect the Jambox without resorting to any complicated fiddling. I think that this is one of those problems that is not actually a problem. It just requires both devices (the computer and the Jambox) to be both ready and “clean” before the connection will work. If you are having trouble connecting your Jambox to your computer, I recommend trying this first before seeking out more complicated solutions.

If the above doesn’t work, maybe try turning your computer’s bluetooth off, then turning your computer off, then turning your Jambox off. Then restart your computer, turn your bluetooth back on, and turn the Jambox on. My guess is that should work in most cases.

Please report back on your success or lack thereof in the comments.


Note also that if you pause what you are listening to for a certain amount of time, you may lose your connection with your Jambox. In that case, just turn the Jambox off and on again and it should sort itself out.