I upgrade the battery life on the JBL Encore Essential (and why you may not want to do the same)

I did not intend to make a video for this but I had a camera on hand and decided to record. I did not put much effort into the filming process and unfortunately some steps were missed.

After doing this video I decided to try and add two cells and place them in the compartment with the mainboard. It worked exceptionally well. Here is a link to a photo of the end result on reddit:

Here are the supplies I got from amazon (NOT affiliate links):

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[studio]

Thanks for illustrating the opening. Was a piece of cake. I purchased one of the higher capacity batteries, so didn’t need to do all the welding/etc stuff. Thanks again!

[trexvieme]

sir thanks for making this video..this is my" what if" main problem about the battery when JBL battery go older.. thanks, probs solved.

[sonny]

you can replace the original 18650 by 21700 cells if there is enough space, this should significantly increase the runtime.

[elyad]

Very cool video, that is a nice noticeable increase in overal life, I bought 2 regular non essential encores they should arrive on Monday, they advertise it to last 5 to 10 hours depending on the volume and music. I am currently reading how some people only get 3 hours with 50% volume and lights off on the regular encore. Very disappointing battery times, wish i was as technical with welding like you, might have to return the speakers if it is that bad, and wait for a future release that did not get sacrificed on purpose just so the other models would see no more uses

[JBLdestroyer]

bro the encore essential have the same pack with flip 5, 6

[gunshots]

Thatd be good on the jbl partybox on the go cause hss the smallest battery of all.

Hello I read all the comments about the upgrade you have done.. Of course the video is old but from what I saw there are several new questions that have been answered so I will do one too.. I saw in a comment that if we put 4 batteries of 10A and specifically these (LG INR18650 MJ1 3500mah 10A) will there be no problem? amps wise.. Are these batteries correct for the upgrade? or does it need more amperes?

[TenFoldNow]

wow i would really like to do this but do not have the skills to spot weld, besides im worried about breaking the warranty doing this. I really wish JBL didnt compromise on battery life like this tho

[jsalmont]

Heya. Awesome video, and totally agreed, a battery upgrade kicks these into a new class. What's the largest battery one could reasonably fit into this box? Any recommendations for cells and configuration? Much appreciate the run down, especially the walk through on equipment required and links for purchase! Cheers.

[DexterDavidDexterSD]

Amazing! Is there enough space there to fit two 21700 li ion cells? I would like to use two 6000 mah li ion cells for a total of 12000 mah

[raphaelglossarium]

Hello there,
I just did something similar to what you did in the video
But istead I replaced the two original batteries with 6 cells in parallel (3.7 v) and welded to the BMS
everything seemed alright, I measured the voltage which gave me ~4V (not fully charged), but then the amp SUDDENLY cuts off and shuts down. This happen whenever I try to crank the volume up (just a little bit and it cuts off). I replaced with another original battery and its working normally. But something is wrong in the custom battery I made, but I just can't figure out. Voltage seems ok in all points of the pack, including on the BMS minus and plus poles. What could be wrong? I'd really appreciate your help

[Wilddone]

So is this just a brick when the battery dies???
Only works with AC adapter after battery dies?

Just bought one yesterday….might just take it back for a refund

[MegaMaxism]

2x jbl essential in stereo mode plus I got mine 2x JBL flip 6 stereo 3D.

[georgerusu]

is the battery connected with a JST 4-pin plug? can a Y splitter be used for two or three battery packs?...can someone help with exact information about the connectors on the board?

[charlschuck]

Thanks for sharing so I’m your official regular battery usage, how many hour max or aprox you would be able to run on the original batteries in hours or minutes? I had pb100 but that one had like 4 batteries but a higher voltage anyways it lasted me 6-1/2 hours Running max volume w bassboost 1 but I was noticing many say they don’t like it cause it’s less hours bu many don’t even say exactly hour many hours they do end up running the speaker for, this will consume more power than a 2”-4” drivers as it’s amp it’s consuming less watts . I love the bass of the party boxes

[CrashPCcz]

Heya. How about using four cells instead of two?

[nybiggs]

Double posting with your reddit post. Quick question for those of us who aren't comfortable doing circuit level repairs with welding and soldering, is this a viable solution? Can I buy an official replacement battery, and then splice all the wires together with the original battery pack? This would mean there would be an original BMS on each battery pack though. Would that cause any problems? If so, how would you go about fixing this? I imagine you could break the wrap, desolder the BMS and thermistors, and then rewrap just the batteries, which kind of defeats the purpose.

[wandesonluis]

Hello, how are you? I plan to upgrade the battery in my JBL Encore Essential and connect 2 batteries in parallel. I have Battery GSP-1S2P-F5A with a capacity of 6800mAh. Ideally, I would use a Y-cable (insert), but unfortunately, I couldn't find one. How would the electrical setup be to connect the 2 batteries in parallel? Each battery has 4 wires (red/white/yellow/black). Would simply joining the matching wires into a single connector suffice? Or would I need to disassemble the batteries and solder them onto a single connector? If possible, I would appreciate a more detailed video on the subject.

[mariot.]

I have bought a battery bank, 30 000 mAh at 3, 7V with fast charging

+ orginal encore, , , I have listened at 80% volum with lights for 16h and it didn't die

Do battery bank....🎉

[seemadj]

How to reset jbl encore essential because after update from jbl party box app battery backup is just 3 hour at 40-50 volume?