Problems with Klipsch The Three

[Christian Gaudet]

I just got my Klipsch the three speaker. The lights on the top as well as the buttons are not working. I'm hoping there is something I can do to fix it, rather than sending it back. Any suggestions?

[KMNYC]

Hi, this was posted in a previous thread. Not sure if it actually worked for that person.

 

 

Posted April 9

  On 3/15/2019 at 7:42 PM, TBird1961 said:

I just took my new The Three out of the box and when I plug into a power source and connect my ipod with the aux cable I get nothing, no sound, and the source leds at the top of the speaker do not light up. The switch on the back is set to "line" and not "phono"

 

Reading the manual to setup bluetooth also directs you to "select source" but I have no leds lighting up?

 

Does this speaker need to have the battery charged before play? (its plugged into a power outlet)

How long does charging take?

I feel like I am missing something?

 

The wifi led at the back panel does light up green, but that is the only indication that this speaker is receiving power.

 

I'll point out that The Three does not have a battery to charge.

 

I'd recommend making sure The Three is updated to the latest firmware.

https://www.klipsch.com/firmware

If you can configure WiFi on The Three, you can use the Klipsch app or the Play-Fi app under the About menu item to confirm that The Three has the latest firmware (currently MCU: 4.020).

 

On my Three the WiFi light on top is always lit when the power switch is on, but I mainly use mine for Play-Fi and I have the wireless configured. I'll also mention that The Three is fairly smart about inputs (for better or worse), if there is no signal on a particular input, it may not allow you to select that input. So, if you don't have WiFi configured and it sees no signal on the other inputs, it's possible nothing would light up - but I believe it's always possible to select Bluetooth as an input, so you can configure it. I'd confirm that your aux cable is working for your iPod. I'd also make sure something is playing on your iPod and then try to turn the input selection knob.

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[Christian Gaudet]

I updated it and it did not change anything. Thanks for trying

[CraigG]

Which model of The Three is it? The original The Three (with Play-Fi) or The Three with Google Assistant?

 

The manuals for each have instructions for doing a Factory Reset. I'd try that.

 

Are there any LED lights on the back of the unit? Do they light up?

 

If it's an original The Three, install the Klipsch Stream app on your phone/tablet and see if the app sees the speaker. I'm not familiar with The Three with Google Assistant, but I believe it  uses the Google Home app to set it up.

 

If it's an original The Three, try connecting an audio source to the line in RCA jacks.

 

Edited June 24, 2019 by CraigG

[Christian Gaudet]

Its the three with Play-Fi. I tried doing the factory reset. The problem is that I'm not sure if it even worked because the reset requires you to hold down one of the buttons on top. Since the buttons are not working i'm not sure if it even worked.

 

Yes there is a light on the back that lights up.

 

I'm able to use the bluetooth and the Play-fi, just not able to use any buttons. I haven't tried using the rca jacks yet. 

[JamesBond]

I have the exact same issue, with the "original" The Three: no LEDs on the top. The remote seems to work and I was able to connect it to Wi-Fi via the Klipsch Stream app. Have any of you been able to make it work eventually? Appreciate your feedback. 

[Pieter]

Klipsch app work fine as long as app is open. The moment I open any other app then Klipsch disconnect and stop playing. So while using Klipsch I cannot use my mobile for anything else. 

 

When I go back to Klipsch it reconnect and then start playing the track which was playing from the start not from where it stopped. 

Edited April 19, 2020 by Pieter
Typo

[Hien]

Great topic,

 

Hello,

 

My problem is more serious, The wifi light doesn't light up at all. Once i first power up, nothing happens even the light function on the top. When i pressed the selection button, all the light flashing (white color) then flashing one time at wifi, USB and Phono then all turn off. 

 

I used this speaker for 3- 4 month and now i can't make it work. I try with all other cable connection but none of them work. factory reset also doesn't help. My Iphone bluetooth can't detect this speaker any more.

 

[Xiaofeng]

Total solution, see the following steps:

 1. install Klipsch Stream app on your cellphone

2. Turn on the Three, it doesn't matter if it works in any mode

3. Run the App, set up Play-Fi Device, you will notice the "Wifi setup" light on the behind of the Three starts to flash

4. Probably the App will ask you to update the firmware:

     4a. Download the firmware and unzip it

     4b. Prepare a empty stick formatted with fat32 (Very important, not exfat and ntfs format), copy the unzipped file into it

     4c. Follow the instruction "how to install firmware"

5. When firmware updated, run the APP, then the Three will be found and added, you will see the light of wifi lighting up

6 Enjoy it!

Edited June 17, 2020 by Xiaofeng

[Ri_]

I recently bought a brand new, open-box Klipsch The Three (original) off a store on Ebay and also my control panel (dials, buttons, leds) were not working, but the remote did work. I have a fix for this issue! (Warning: this is pretty easy but it does involves disassembling the speaker, so proceed with caution)

I submitted a ticket to Klipsch, but I did not get a reply. I was thinking of returning the speaker and purchasing another one from a different store. I contacted that store over the phone  asked about making sure that I would get a working one without this issue or see whether I could exchange if it also had this issue. I described that I had purchased one, but it was not fully working for me due to the above described issue.

 

He said that it's rare, but he has also seen this before, and in that case he was able to just unscrew the back panel and disconnect and reconnect the cable from the control panel to the main board to get the controls working again; sometimes it becomes loose during shipping and handling.

 

First I unplugged the speaker from power, then I unscrewed the 10 screws around the outer perimeter on the back panel, then I used a flathead screwdriver to gently pry the panel from the speaker and then slowly and carefully and slowly pulled it away from the speaker, paying attention to the wires connected on the inside to the main board/back panel. Do not pull the board away more than ~2 inches to avoid breaking any of the wires on the main board and best to have something sturdy on your desk to lean the main board against. Once I did this, I saw that there was a cable coming from the area control panel (it's wider than most of the other cables) that was not connected to anything, it must have shaken completely loose in shipping. There was a connector with I think around 12 pins that was the same size as the cable on the main board near the side where the control panel is, so I used a pair of pliers to get hold of the cable and then by hand I reattached the cable to that header on the board. I sealed the back panel back together to the speaker, reattached the screws. I connected the speaker to power, turned on the power switch on top and I was able to see the input selector LED light up and the controls work fine now.

 

(I want to give credit to Ron Cocco at The Sound Seller in Marinette WI, whom I ended up not needing to make a purchase from, but was very professional and friendly over the phone and provided the information so that I could fix this issue)

Note: while this is its own issue, without the control panel and LEDs working, you can't perform a factory reset and while firmware updates can still work, you won't see a confirmation on the Wi-Fi LED when the firmware update is done.

[HG@SIN]

Having the same issue with Klipsch The Three unit. It was working days before & this morning, no LED light on top (I'm not sure about the green wifi light at the back).

Has anyone found a solution besides opening the back panel?

[6madhatter9]

I just opened a brand new one and nothing is working.  This is really disappointing.  It's hard to believe this thing is so poorly made.  Did anyone find a solution besides opening it as the last guy said?  I am trying the firmware but can't see the lights.

[Greg P]

I got one last week and returned it as it was dead on arrival.  I bought one from a different dealer and it just arrived today.  Same thing; dead on arrival.  This is so discouraging that it has completely ruined my day.  I did so much research on Klipsch units mostly by watching Youtube reviews and concluded this is exactly what I was looking for.   I never thought to Google Klipsch Three II DOA beforehand. 

[HattieAnn]

I was given The Three as a gift. It turned on. I hooked my turntable analog. It played for 5 minutes and sounded great. The Klipsch turned off and turntable repaired with the TV. I haven’t been able to get it back on. I even bought another power cable. That didn’t work either. I tried to reset so many times. The gifter who lives on the other side of the country is irritated with me. He sent me the reset instructions several time. Ugh. What can I do next besides taking it apart???