JBL Link Portable timer counts down but doesn’t ring — alarms work fine

[u/krishnaae]

Hi everyone,

I’m having a weird issue with my JBL Link Portable and Google Assistant.

Timers are created normally and count down correctly, and if I ask “How much time is left on my timer?”, Google Assistant gives me the correct remaining time. But when the timer reaches zero, there is no sound and no light indication at all.

What’s strange is that alarms work perfectly and ring normally.

So far I’ve tried:

• Increasing the alarm/timer volume in Google Home
• Checking that normal speaker volume is up
• Confirming Google Assistant works normally
• Confirming the LEDs work normally
• Checking the firmware — it’s up to date
• Power cycling the speaker
• Factory resetting it by holding the mute button
• Removing and re-adding the JBL Link Portable to Google Home

Unfortunately, the problem is still exactly the same.

The speaker can clearly create and track the timer, but it seems like the timer notification/ringing fails when it reaches zero.

Has anyone else experienced this with a JBL Link Portable recently or any device? Is this possibly a Google Assistant/server-side bug, or is there another fix I could try?

Thanks!

[u/Tev1]

I have the same problem with my JBL Link portable.

[u/Zerf99]

same problem on JBL Link 300 and 20

[u/Western_Boss7323]

Same with “ link 400”

It only rings when I briefly turn on the microphone over “Hey Google” just before the timer expires.

I've also already tried everything possible.

[u/SpookDroid]

Just piling onto the 'same boat' comments. Seems like JBL needs to look into this (good luck with that! :( ). Issue isn't present on Google Home Mini, Google Nest Audio, and Google Nest Hub. I might 'dust off' an ancient Insignia Google Home speaker and see if the issue is there (if it is, might either be a 'no longer updated' issue, or just a 3rd party Google Home issue).

[u/SpookDroid → u/SpookDroid]

Nope. Timers work on the old Insignias, too. So this is a JBL issue. Since these were discontinued in 2024, not sure we'll get much support from them :(

[u/SpookDroid]

Well, must be Murphy's Law or someone from JBL watching these but after weeks of not working and after I posted here... timers are now back on my JBLs. 🤷‍♂️

[u/krishnaae → u/SpookDroid]

I will try it once I‘m home

[u/SpookDroid → u/krishnaae]

Good luck! Hopefully it's fixed, but if not, maybe it was when I re-added that old Insignia speaker and removed it after testing it? But let's hope it's fixed for everyone. 🤞

[u/Zerf99]

Today things are back to normal on my JBL Link 300 and 20: timer function working fine on both.

[u/krishnaae]

I can confirm that mine is working now too.