iPhone stuck in "headphones" mode

I'm having the same problem, but I'd like to warn people about my experience. My 16g 3g iPhone was doing this, and it got to where I couldn't get it to work properly at all. Rebooting, cleaning the jack, etc. Nothing would work. I even tried a q-tip and alcohol... DON'T do that, because it triggers a liquid sensor in the iPhone, and the genius bar will think you got it wet.

I took mine to the genius bar and had a good experience. I just told him what i had done trying to fix the problem. They switched my phone out for a new one, and one week later, the new one is doing it too! Very frustrating.

I have not noticed a heat issue. Certainly not one I would say is consistent with the problem I'm having. My old phone never did it no matter how hot it got, until recently it had never done it. Then it started doing it all the time. Almost overnight. This replacement phone is already doing it, but it seems to come back quickly. YouTube videos seem to kick it into headphone mode about ten or fifteen seconds into the movie.

This is really frustrating.

As far as I know since I have this problem for over 4 months and have done everything mentioned in this thread to solve the problem, it doesn't seem to be a software related problem. If it were a software problem all iphones under the same firmware would have this problem.
Therefore one would assume that since it’s a hardware problem by replacing the headphone jack flexible circuit the problem would be fixed.
Unfortunately, even though I replaced the headphone jack part of my iphone 3G with a new one, the problem is still there. My next move is to replace the motherboard when I have the chance to do it.
Those of you whose iphone is still under warranty do your best to have it replaced with a new one!

While hardware has to be involved, software may have a contributing role --- or software could be modified so that headphone jack could be disabled at will. It is doubtful that it is purely hardware, as numerous posters have reported that their recently replaced iPhones start doing the same thing very shortly after they are acquired.

Note to moderator: This thread is still marked as "answered" which it most definitely is not. Please modify.

In my case I can prove that it is heat related for example usually happens after a long phone call or playing games for a period of time. I can tell the Iphone will go to "HEADPHONE" mode simply be feeling how warm the back of the Iphone is and yes putting in the fridge to lower the temp cures the problem. The problem was more evident when the phone was in a soft cover and less evident in winter. I have one of the first 3G phones and of course it is out of warranty. Apple need to have a close look at this problem because the current remedy of plugging and unplugging doesnt work and rebooting or turning off the phone sometimes works as no heat is generated. What is the answer? water cooled cases!!

I have the same problem with my 3g 8g.
My phone is out of warranty so I asked around at a couple of forums and the majority of people said it was lint or something in the jack, so I tried cleaning it with air,q-tips alcohol,and then finally contact cleaner. still nothing worked at least not permanently. So I disassembled it and replaced the entire flex cable and jack (real fun).
powered it up and as soon as it builds a little heat it thinks the headphones are in again. what a p.o.s i'm over it.
Still cant believe they wont admit there is a problem.

I did a little experiment to check out the heat issue. Check this out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om4CNEPd4G0

This is what worked for me. Roll up a strip of paper so it just fits in the jack and stick it in there. Then twist the paper so it tries to unroll inside the jack and pushes on the inside walls of the jack.

Message was edited by: Walter77

Thanks Keith, very good video, I saw it and felt totally identified with it.

I urge some Apple tech to watch it. There are now reports of this all over the Internet. Some even state that replacement phones from Apple have the same problem, it's a shame! Apple should take care or at least have a look at it and conclude if its their fault or no, or provide some software fix for it (a simple "disable headphone" would at least provide some workaround)

Keith, I do have exactly the same problem with my phone, even after headphone jack/flex replacement, so the heat issue seems to be on the mainboard. I had it with OS 3.0.x and now with 3.1.x.

So as others have said, it's not the battery, and it's not the iphone headphone jack itself. I now have both of mine replaced and still have the problem.

Something is amiss somewhere. I can say I had this problem when I had 3.0 installed, but it's really bad now under 3.1.2

The "q-tip/air/cleaning" solution is a joke, that might work for someone with that situation, but it's certainly not the case for many of us. Apple please help!

Keith,

Nice demo. How long do you get normal function without the additional heat you added to speed up the demonstration?

My experiment tonight, at the suggestion of my Apple expert callback, involved putting my phone back to basic 3.1.2 without any additional apps. While at first it seemed better, after 45 minutes on the phone (hand to ear) it went spontaneously to headphone mode. 60 seconds in the freezer, and we were back to normal. Got another 20 minutes, then back to headphones. 60 second freezer treatment restored normal function of phone for another 12 minutes, when phone reverted to headphone mode again.

At that point, I terminated the experiment, as it is obvious that it is not Apps, or a corrupted backup, that is the problem. It's the heat, baby, though I don't know if there is a direct hardware switch that flips to headphone mode, or if it is software mediated. Apple knows, and I wish they would fix it.

One more note: because of the way this thread originated, we're still getting some of the lint/recently plugged in headphones crowd, like Walter above. Should we open a new thread, titled like " iPhone spontaneously switches to headphone mode" so that crowd can get their answer (clean your jack) and we can work on ours?

Will contact my "expert" this weekend with latest results, and suggest Apple read these, and watch your video.

Guys,

I've done the cold test in my phone and it worked for a short period of time, but a could repeat it twice. I'm sure the cold temperature can fix the iphone stuck in the "headphone" mode, but it does not last forever when it reach a certain temperature it gets stuck again.

I wonder if this phone has been desinged to work only in places like Greenland or Alaska. It is hilarious to do not say tragic

I do not understand why Apple does not fix the problem.
Either the problem is really serious and irreversible or Apple simply does not care about its costumer

Message was edited by: cborge14

I too have done many a test with my 3G and determined it is a heat issue. Interestingly enough, when I called support, the tech referenced that this is a problem and had viewed several forum posts and suggested I go to an Apple Store to have it looked at. Unfortunately I don't have a local store so I am out of luck. I will continue to watch this thread in hopes that an answer becomes apparent. I too am out of warranty but believe Apple should issue a recall or make good with replacements. Perhaps a software upgrade could solve the problem, but I doubt it. It is becoming a serious problem when on a business call it randomly goes to headphone mode and the caller can't hear me and I can't hear them.

Well for me it seems to be a heat issue. If I use my Iphone extensively and the back is warm to the touch it will go into headphone mode. If I then leave it for a few minutes, the lockscreen will flash on and that means its back in normal speaker mode. With it charging, it doesn't seem to flash on and it seems to take longer to get out of headphone mode, but I expect that is because charging heats it somewhat. I will try the freezer trick when I get home.

Well the freezer trick seems to be working for me. At home if I using the iPhone extensively it will automatically go into headphone mode, and 1 minute in the freezer will pop it right out.

FYI, I've replaced my battery, my headphone jack assembly and cable and the entire front screen assembly, which only leaves the mainboard as the problem. So, aparrently, the heat is coming off the main board and causing the issue.