Headphone jack not working? Here are 5 possible fixes
This post will guide you through five fixes that will, hopefully, solve the problem you are experiencing. Without any further delay, let’s get started.
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1. Make sure your headphones aren’t broken
The first step is an obvious one. It’s quite possible that there’s actually nothing wrong with the headphone jack and that the headphones are the problem. You can check this out quickly just by plugging them into another device. This doesn’t necessarily have to be a smartphone. A laptop, TV, or any other device that has the 3.5 mm jack on board will do.
If you can’t hear any audio when using your headphones with a different device, you have uncovered the problem. Just replace your headphones and you’re good to go. In case they do work with a different device, something else is to blame, which means you have to try out one of the other fixes listed below.
It’s also recommended that you plug a different pair of headphones into your smartphone to see if they work. Although it’s rare, there’s still a chance that they might not be compatible with your smartphone for some reason, but will work with various other devices.
2. Check to see if the smartphone is connected to a different device via Bluetooth
If your smartphone is paired with wireless headphones, a speaker, or any other device via Bluetooth, it’s possible that the headphone jack is disabled. Normally, when you plug in your headphones the smartphone should recognize them and everything should work as intended regardless of the Bluetooth settings. However, this isn’t necessarily always the case.
It’s a quick and easy fix as all you have to do is open up the setting menu on your device, find the Bluetooth option, and check to see if it’s on and the smartphone is paired with one of the other devices you have in your house. If it is, just turn it off, plug in your headphones, and see if it solves the problem. If they still don’t work, you should just move on to the next solution on this list.
3. Clean the headphone jack
As you can imagine, a lot of dust, as well as lint, can make its way into the headphone jack over time. This just might be the reason for the problem, as the dirt can actually block the connection between the headphones and the jack.
The first thing you should do is simply take a look into the jack to see just how dirty it really is. A flashlight might come in handy with this. The next step is to try and clean it and hope that it will solve the issue. There are a lot of different ways to do this, some of which work better than others. One of them is simply to blow into the headphone jack, which should take care of at least some of the dust and lint that’s found inside. You can also use a can of compressed air if you have one nearby.
A great option is also to use a cotton swab. Push it into the jack and swirl it around a little bit to get the dust and lint out. Be very careful when you do this, as the last thing you want to do is cause any more damage to the device. You can also damp the cotton swab with rubbing alcohol, but just make sure you don’t use too much of it.
After you’re done, look into the headphone jack again to see just how much dust and lint were you able to get out. If things look better, plug in your headphones to check if everything works as it should now.
4. Check audio settings and restart device
There’s also a chance the problem isn’t with the jack or the headphones you’re using but has to do with the audio settings of the device. If this is the case, you’ll be able to sort it out in no time. Just open up the audio settings on your device and check the volume level as well as any others settings that might mute the sound.
Normally, there aren’t a lot of settings like these on a smartphone, so you should find the problem more or less right away. If there is one, that is.
If everything seems to be in order, there’s another simple fix you can try which is restarting your device. This can sometimes solve loads of different smartphone related problems and takes less than a minute to do. Just press and hold the power button, select the restart option, wait for the device to turn back on again, and then check to see if the problem still persists.
