iPhone stuck in "headphones" mode

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).

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.

i had the same problem, but nothing was working. Strange, but I opened an app like facebook and plugged in and out the headphones and it worked. Who knows, that may have had nothing to do with it, but my problem is solved. thought i should post it.

I had the same problem (may still have) but I have found a possible fix which seems to be sticking.. I have a custom ringtone from garage band. I noticed some time back that the only way out of the headphones mode was go into settings/sounds/ringtone and change to a standard tone. Headphones mode stopped right there. So i deleted all custom ringtones 3 days ago. And hey presto it seems to be sticking. Maybe even if you dont have a custom ringtone - try changing the ringtone and immediately hitting the volume switch. Bizarre but seems to work....

For me the issue first surfaced on a vacation in south Florida by we Minnesotans.

Only after my 8GB 3G iPhone heats up does it lock in the Headphones Mode.

(Tested using a _processor intensive_ 15" long YouTube Video & also MLB.TV while out in the sun.)

*Two minutes in the freezer unlocks my iPhone back to the normal ringer mode.*

Overheated = Locked In Headphones Mode -> ->

Freezer -> ->

Cooled = Back to Normal.

Hopefully a software fix will be offered by Apple.

I had this problem with my original iPhone 3G 16GB model. I had purchased this on the day it was released in 2008. Right around the 3.0 firmware, this problem started happening to me, just like it seems to have started happening for many other people here. I had confirmed that it was 100% heat related. Running an app, even Google Maps for a while would cause the phone to switch to headphones without ever plugging headphones into it. If I held it in front of my A/C vent in my car for a few minutes, it would switch back to normal. I could literally repeat this 100% of the time.

I had Applecare on my iPhone 3G and finally got around to bringing it in to my local Apple Store. The person who inspected it stated he had never heard of this problem (like every Apple employee that people have talked to about it so far... does Apple have a database of these problems???). He noted that there were some cracks in the plastic around the headphone jack and dock which I hadn't even noticed. He said they were replacing phones for this known defect and it was covered since it was under warranty. He suggested that although it was being replaced for this problem, whatever was causing the heat related headphone issue would be fixed by getting a new phone. Unfortunately they didn't have any in stock and would have to get one in. Luckily this was a Saturday and they had it in the following Monday so I didn't have to wait very long.

I went in and get the new phone. They swapped the SIM card and I had a brand new blank 16GB iPhone 3G. I got home and restored it from my last backup on my Macbook Pro, synced all of my apps, photos, music, etc. I was very happy as I ran some games that were pretty stressful on the phone for a very long time and the audio never switched to headphones. I thought everything was working well.

About a month or two later, I went to receive a phone call when I felt my iPhone vibrating in my pocket and it was silent. I thought it was just a bad connection, but then I hit the volume control and it said headphones again!!! Arghhhh...

I just got back from the Apple Store. I explained the whole story to the Apple Genius. He said it sounded a lot like something wrong with my backup that caused the problem to carry over to the new phone. I would buy this, except that it didn't have the problem for a month or two after I started using the replacement phone. Regardless, he suggested resetting it to factory defaults while I was there. I agreed because I had just backed it up. He said to try using it without restoring anything for a while and see if the problem still existed. I told him I could reproduce it in less than 5 minutes if it was still going to happen. He agreed to let my try after he restored it. So, after the restore, I had a fresh iPhone 3G with 3.1.3. I went into Google Maps while in the store with it still plugged into the store's Macbook Pro from the restore. I just browsed around the maps for a few minutes and bam, back to headphone mode... I showed him this and he agreed that it didn't appear to be anything with the software. He agreed to replace it for me since it was under Applecare. He said it was quite an odd problem that he hadn't seen before and the chances of it happening twice seemed crazy, but whatever...

So now I am on my second replacement. I am going to KEEP replacing it if it keeps happening. Hopefully the phone I have now will not have this heat/headphone issue, but if it does, it's going back again and Apple can figure this out after I have replaced 3 phones for the same issue.

I'd like very much to get the next iPhone that comes out, but my recent experiences with my iPhone 3G are making me reconsider. At least I will always be sure to get Applecare with the phone.

One interesting side note that I wasn't aware of: The Apple Genius also indicated that my Applecare warranty would be up in another 70 or so days which I was already aware of. He said that I could actually extend it for another year after that. I thought Applecare was a one time thing, but apparently it isn't, at least not for the iPhone. I told him I would probably be getting the next iPhone if it would be out in time and replace this one, but it's good to know it was an option.

I am going to try and cross post this to all the threads I can find related to this problem that are not archived to try and get the message out to Apple. This is clearly a problem but I'm unsure why it is affecting certain people only. My wife has an 8GB iPhone 3G that I bought on the same day as the original 16G, and that has no issues at all. I've asked her several times and she never has that problem.

I wanted to throw a few things out there that are specific to my use of the iPhone 3G that might help narrow down any possible trigger, if there is one. I sync this to both a Macbook Pro and a PC running Windows 7. On the PC I have a universal dock. I use a Belkin FM tuner in my car that specifically only supports the iPod touch and other iPod models, but works with the iPhone except for the warning that it isn't supported and the iPhone suggests switching on airplane mode to prevent interference. I have about 3 pages of apps, over a thousand photos, a few hundred songs, some TV shows, MobileMe email... I use alarms on the clock, I use the camera, I rarely use text messaging at all... I don't have many contacts in my phone...

I can't think of much else. Hopefully if there is some common thread, throwing these things out there will help other people speak up and possibly narrow down what causes this to happen to the hardware (if anything). It might just be defective hardware, who knows. I hope Apple figures it out and actively tries to fix this problem instead of ignoring it or discounting that it is happening to far too few people to be a real problem. How could it happen to me twice with two different phones? It's happened on 66% of my iPhones I have owned. That seems like a lot to me.

I believe this problem is a bit more complicated than just dust or heat. My phone exhibits all the problems here but sometimes they are separate and sometimes combined.:

1) if the phone gets slightly warm (not even hot), it will put itself in Ringer (headphones) mode. By cooling it in front of an air vent it will switch back to "Ringer" mode. It can and has gone into headphone mode in the middle of a call, but basically, any significant cpu/memory activity can trigger this problem

2) Even though the headphone jack is clean, it will occasionally put itself in Ringer (headphone) mode, even when cool (lying on the desk with no activity). Usually, plugging and unplugging a headset jack will clear this (unless it is hot - see #1 above).

3) The problem seems also related to the iPod application. Sometimes, the phone will become confused and actually play the currently selected iPod tune through the speakers, even though it is stuck in headphone mode (without any headphones attached). I am beginning to believe there is some problem with the iPod logic, as I can usually correct this by opening the iPod app and changing selections or pausing the current selection (there doesnt seem to be a way to "Stop" an iPod selection i.e. eliminate the "Now Playing" status in the app).

It seems that issues #1, #2 and #3 can occur individually, or in any combination. I believe that while lint or dust "Can" cause issues, the problem is more complex. Those that are using air or vacuum etc. may be inadvertantly cooling the MB down enough to "fix" the problem (if it was really a heat not a dust issue). I don't believe most problems are "dust" as the problem can exhibit itself while lying on a cool desk, with no other activity.

It is interesting to me that Apple seems to be ambivalent about this problem even though it is all over a number of boards, including the Apple forum.

We should have an official response from Apple on this.. My efforts at the Genius bar have been ineffectual, with suggestions by Apple to reboot or restore the phone.. Based on the experience of many others, this does not seem to cure the problem either.

Paul O.
Cary, NC

iPhone 3g
version 3.1.3

Thanks Delkow.
I got my iPhone 4 damp earlier today and it was locked in headphone mode. None of the other suggestions worked but I did one long suck of air through the headphone socket and it instantly solved the problem.
Brilliant - thanks again!