iPhone stuck in "headphones" mode

I think it's only a matter of dust and Static electricity.
keep your device's input clean.

I'm stuck in Panic mode. Nothing seems to work. It's 2AM and I am trying to think who would carry compressed air and be open at this time of night.

There is a new firmware from Apple (3.1.2). Can anyone update to this firmware and see if problem is fixed?

Thanks

My first gen iPhone has just started to do the same...did you find an answer?

My phone (which I've only had for 2 weeks) keeps going in and out of headphone mode. I've tried every suggestion that I could find online and nothing worked for longer than a couple minutes/hours. The new firmware update didn't fix it either.

I'm just going to take it to the genius bar.

This is a huge disappointment. Apple, look at all of these people with the same problem? How about you do something about it rather than make us buy a brand new iPhone if it's out of warranty? This is ridiculous.

I bought an iPhone 3G 8GB like a year ago... it started the headphone problem... tried all the possible fixes, blow the jack, reset, compressed air, cotton, just the freezer worked, so its really a heat problem... Went to Genius Bar, got another phone for $199, as mine was out of warranty... and voila... worked for a month, and again, the headphone issue is back!!

Either I'm out of luck, or its something that I do wrong, or a song or an app that I load...

The weird is, my mom has a 3G 16GB, with the same apps, songs, and configs that I have in mine... and her phone works fine!
Why does it happens only on the 8GB? Here I go to the Genius Bar once again... sad, such a great phone, but so many annoying problems.

This doesn't just happen with the 8GB. It is across the board (happened with my 16GB). Still not solution apparently. I also had to get an out of warranty replacement but Apple kindly replaced it for nothing (apparently the Genius's have this authority).

I'll chime in to say I am having the same problem with a 3G 16gig unit. At random times, it jumps from regular phone mode into headphone mode (without the headphones being anywhere nearby). I've tried to fix it by plugging headphones in and out repeatedly, but to no avail. I end up restarting/rebooting the phone which sometimes works. I was not aware heat may be an issue; I will try cooling it down the next time it happens.

I am pretty ticked off by the whole thing, as this is quite a pain when it happens and I am on a call. I have to quickly go to speakerphone, which is often poor quality and I don't blame the caller on the other end from asking me to turn that off.

I hope Apple listens and offers some kind of fix. My phone is almost a year old, so I guess I better get to the Genius Bar and insist on a replacement 😟

There still is no known fix for this problem. All the tricks suggested on this and other threads are temporary fixes at best. Get your phone replacement soonest (preferably under warranty). If it is out of warranty, gently pressure the Genius to use his/her authority/discretion to still provide a free replacement (mine was replaced free of charge even though it was out of warranty).

Hi

Same thing here. I tried all solutions posted on this forum (aircan, repatedly remove/reinsert plug, ipod, reset, restart, restore..etc). None of them could make the "Ringer (Headphone)" mode away, or when it did, is will come back later.

The phone is unusable this way. Apple should come upfront and resolve this issue.

I believe that sometimes it´s just debris that can be fixed with aircan or headphone insert/remove, but some other harder problem is also present, that seems to be heat+software related, and is keeping all of use stuck on this mode.

If Apple can´t fix it, it should at least acknoledge the problem and provide some software switch to disable the headphones.

Regards.

The problem is heat related, but at a level below that which activates the heat warning screen. A few seconds in the freezer, applying the back of the phone to a cold window, etc. cycle you back to ringer. Many of the proposed solutions here are merely other ways of cooling (blowing, sucking, alcohol, even the heat sink of plugging in the earphones). Certainly, the headphone switch can get stuck, often due to lint, when the headphones have been inserted then removed, but the spontaneous switch from ringer to headphones mode by iPhones that haven't seen a plug put into the jack in months IS NOT A LINT PROBLEM.

Clearly, a fix is needed, whether a software disconnect of the headphone jack, fix of the code controlling this problem, better heatsink, whatever. I call on Apple to acknowledge the problem, and if they don't currently have a fix, at least promise one.

Just got off the phone after an Apple expert callback ---- they say they haven't heard of this problem!!! Over 24,000 looks at this topic, and no one has called or no Genius has pushed this up the line? Come on Apple, help us out.

I can attest that my problem revolves around heat. I can go on youtube, start watching a video and half-way through the phone automatically goes into headphones mode; the back of the phone is noticeably warm. If I take a coolpak and hold it to the back of the phone, it will go back into regular "ringer" mode and the sound comes back on.

I have done this several times and produced the same result.

My phone is less than a year old. I suspect the battery is getting too hot with use. I am going to try some different charge levels to see if the problem gets worse or better if the battery is at 100% or 20%.

My initial tests were done at 50% battery life.

Same happens to me and, each time, at the end of long phone calls.
I agree, the problem is heating related.
I cant help but would be nice to figure out if this problem started to happen with some firmware version.

Could be a software bug or something else 🙂