Jones qualified for the 2016 Indian Open with a 4–2 victory over Yu Delu and narrowly beat Liam Highfield 4–3 in the first round to reach the last 32 of a ranking event for the first time, where he lost 4–1 to Peter Ebdon. He got to the second round in three of the four Home Nations tournaments, but was knocked out each time. He finished the year outside the top 64, but immediately regained his professional status with a victory in event two of Q-School. Wins over Simon Bedford, Peter Delaney, Declan Brennan, Hao Hu and Alex Davies ensured Jones would be back on the tour for the next two seasons.