Power to the JBL Link 10

A couple of months ago I bought a JBL Link 10 "smart speaker". It worked fine with a couple of niggles:

• Every few days, it would mute itself. You could tell it was still alive by the way the lights flashed for the appropriated length of time when you asked Google something. A full power cycle was needed to get it to speak again
• If I unplugged it to use it as a "radio" in the bathroom, it shut down after 15-30 minutes

I finally got a clue when it it was providing the sound for a YouTube video over Bluetooth and it muted itself while I was "watching". This coincided with the sound of my central heating system shutting down for the night. 

So I suspected a power surge issue. Looking at the back of the speaker, I noticed that the battery indicator had just one flashing light rather than the 5 available. Now, JBL don't supply a mains charger, but they do supply a micro-USB cable which I didn't have a convenient socket for. What I did have was a Nokia charger for one of their small dumb phones that had the correct connector so I used that and it worked. Sort of.  There wasn't enough power to ever raise the charge above one flashing LED.

Next, I replaced the Nokia charger with a USB lead to a 10,000maH power brick and left it overnight. In the morning, the power brick was flat and the JBL charge indicator was at three flashing LEDs.  Encouraged by this I connected a mains-powered source of USB and within an hour, the JBL was fully charged.

The speaker still self-mutes occasionally but it's only about once a month now.  So the moral of the story is that the JBL Link 10 is quite "thirsty".  Check the power connection you give it - it's best to chose one that has a track record for charging larger devices quickly.