iPhone stuck in "headphones" mode

A really simple fix for all those stuck in headphones mode.

I haven't read all the posts in this forum but the ones I did simply didn't help me, so I had a play and found the solution!

1) Put in your iPhone headphones.

2) Begin playing a travk in the iPod section, your should hear it playing through the headphones.

3) Turn your phone off whilst the track is playing.

4) After your phone is completely switched off, remove the headphones and turn back on your phone.

5) Your phone is back in ringer mode!

Or should be, hope this helps.

HI Guys,

Had this issue this morning and tried the headphone jack in and out, the vaccum cleaner, blowing and sucking, restore to factory etc etc.

Finally what worked was a long blast of canned air into the jack which also made it very cold. So not sure if it is the air blast dislodging an object or the temperature thing but it worked.

I tried inserting the headphones (iphone earbuds, Beats head phones, etc.) over 15 times and that didn't really work at all.

This is what worked for me:

-I had someone call me on my iphone and I put them on speaker phone.

-We talked for about 30 minutes

-Then I hung up with them still on speaker phone mode

-the phone went back to normal!

I think it might be a combination of moisture getting into the phone somehow, the earphone jack getting out of aligment or something and the software going crazy.

But after trying the earphone plugging and unplugging, re-setting the phone and trying to blow air through the phone to clean out any lint/debris, having someone call me and talking is what finally did the trick.

Good luck everyone.

Tried reboot and unplugging and replugging headphones. Did not work. Tried pluging it into charger. No joy.

However remembered that this began after I was using the phone in the rain earlier today so tried hairdryyer. BAM. Back in business.

iPhone 4 stuck in headphone mode after getting wet, solved with Freeze Spray that's used to troubleshoot heat intermittent electronic components. Gave inside of headphone jack very quick shot of Freeze, which is like canned air plus super cold, and it fixed immediately. I'm guessing residual water was shorting the headphone plug sensor inside the jack, and the freeze spray either dried the water instantly, blew it out, or both.

Thanks for all the recommendations to everyone. After 2 days of doing research for my non-jailbroken, non-water damaged iPod touch 4G, I tried every suggestion in this thread and others and YouTube without resolve. My issues began after the iOS 6.0.1 update. I do get sound from the device while in settings>sounds>ringtone>volume toggle or ringtone selection, but not for Text Tone, Mail, Alerts, lock sounds, keyboard clicks, or music. I was able to randomly activate the sound after cleaning the headphone jack a few times, and sounds randomly began working after some hard reboots, but the problem returned after connecting the plug for charging. The following methods did not work for me:

• sucking the jack, with vaccuum and mouth.
• blowing the jack, with hairdryer cool air, compressed air, and by mouth.
• cleaning the jack with precision electronic cleaner and dental bristle pick (perfect fit BTW)
• refrigerator/freezer method
• 50+ insertion and removal of the headphones, wiggle front back, side to side,
• 20+ hard reboots, including 10+ via russellsimpson79's method, changing volume level method.
• 2 full restores
• bluetooth on/off
• adjusting volume levels

I finally caved in and called Apple tech support 855-278-7301. Apparently this is a known software issue and can be fixed for $70. While Apple offers a 1 yr warranty on hardware, they only offer a 30 day warranty on software if you have not purchased the extended warranty. The "stuck" in headphone mode issue can be fixed 99% of the time per the support technician. They have you open iTunes, connect your iPod via USB, and remotely access your laptop/PC for the repair. I gathered as much information from the technicial as possible, but declined the repair @ $70 to continue searching for the software fix online. I will update if I find the fix.

*In conclusion, there is a known software issue and a 99% effective fix. Hopefully Apple will address this with the next iOS update or you can pay $70.

Same happened to me.... tried the air dryer for 20 seconds on hot an it did not work.... also moved the volume up and down while doing that and also did not work.... finally I got a q-tip and remove the extra cottom from the tip and inserted in the headphone area twisting for a few times, and THEN it worked... went back to ringer mode right away... BTW... my phone fell in the snow for 3 seconds....

Hey, y'all! This is simple and worked for me with this problem. Go to Settings then Sounds then scroll down to Lock Sounds and Keyboard Clicks and toggle both to OFF. Then reboot the phone and when it comes back up, go back and toggle both ON again. Check that it has worked by touching your volume button on the left side of phone: you should see the ringer symbol show on the face with "Ringer" above it without the ("Headphones"). Also you will hear clicks again. Voila! You would not believe how many things I tried and YouTubes I watched (some ridiculous) before I found this... :)

I tried literally everything and the last thing i did was:

1) Take a qtip

2) Rip off a bit of the cotton part on one side

3) Put that side into the headphones place.

4) move it around for a bit and pull it out.

5) sound should be back, i did this with the screen unlock.

I've recently had the same problem and i have to say, i was freaking out, but as soon as i read this i knew i would fix it. I got a Q-tip and tore off alot of the cotton until there wasnt much left. I then made sure it was tight and cleaned out my headphones dock, next thing i knew, my speakers were working again!

I drop my iPhone 4 into a fishing pond releasing a fish today. It was only 8 in of water but i quickly pulled it out and everything worked except it was stuck in headset mode.

I fixed it by blowing compress air from a can with a straw that came with it. You can buy it at any store that sells PCs. 4 bucks.

Worked immediately:)

BTW, i did have a defender case that slowed down the water from going in.

After trying everything mentioned in this thread, the one thing that finally worked for me was shooting canned air into the headphone slot. I shot bursts (1 sec), about a dozen times with music playing... so I could tell if it was working. The music finally came on, but then stopped. I kept shooting air until the music stayed on with out needing to spray any more.

I had this problem today and solved the issue with cleaning out the headphone socket with some alcohol wipes and tweezers.

I got a lot of dirt and grime out but this the "headphone" setting was still on.

I then got a metal hair clip and moved it in and out quickly over the "ridge" inside the headphone socket whilst clicking the side mute button on and off. I did this for about twenty seconds And now it's working fine.

Hope this helps!

The only thing that worked for me was I called my iPhone from my home phone. When I answered I could not hear anything from iPhone so I plugged my headphones in and then pulled them out. Then my iPhone fixed itself.

Tried all the physical fixes, but nothing worked. I suspect there are multiple reasons for the phone to get stuck in headphones mode, so different solutions for different causes. I'm convinced mine is a software problem, but I haven't pinpointed the trigger yet. However, I have (temporarily) solved the problem the same way each of the three times it happened. It's six steps: 1: start a song 2: plug in headphones 3: call your phone from another line 4: answer the call 5: unplug the headphones 6: end the call. Voila! Lots of trial and error that I hope someone else can take advantage of. And if I pinpoint the trigger before I get a new phone, I'll post back. Good luck!