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iPhone stuck in "headphones" mode

Earlier I accidentally grabbed my iPod headphones instead of my iPhone headphones and I think I may have jammed them in there too far. Because now I can't hear any of the keyboard clicks or sounds and when I receive a text message there's no sound either. And when I receive a call it won't allow me to hear the person on the other line unless I put my headphones in or use the speaker function. And when I turn the ringer volume up/down it says "headphones" in parentheses as if it's been set to "headphones" mode or something! Is it possible that I jammed them in so far that my iPhone thinks my headphones are still plugged in? Did I just totally ruin my iPhone? What do I do? Anyone know how I can fix this? Thanks!

Windows XP Pro

Posted on Jan 15, 2008 9:14 PM

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Posted on Jan 21, 2017 8:59 AM

i tried everything i could think of i sucked on the headphone jack look to see for debris or anything suck and nothing i turned it on and off several times and still nothing so i was desperate i grabbed my blow dryer i set it on high and bam it worked i could hear everything hope this helps you an saves you money User uploaded file

928 replies

Aug 29, 2008 9:43 AM in response to SoCalSkippy

I've had this problem perviously and the unplug-replug 7-8 times worked for me the last 2 times it glitched but not this time. I cut the end off a Q tip and went rooting around in the headphone jack and dug out a little lint which didn't solve it but atleast there's no lint in there now... I did a software restore, tried all the other tricks I could find but here's how I finally got it working again.

Headphones out, ipod stoped
Called my phone from another phone
the ringer rang out the speaker but when I tried to talk and listen I got nothing (obviously trying to use the headphones which weren't there)
turned on speaker phone, could now talk and listen.
turned off speaker phone and it went back to working properly
hang up, enjoy working speaker again.

My suspicion is that it's a combination of hardware and software issues that cause the hangup. The most likely cause is a sticky switch in the jack causing the iphone not to properly recognize when headphones are removed. However once you unstick the jack (dig out lint, jiggle it with a bunch of insert-removes etc.) the software may still glitch and apparently asking it to go to speakerphone then back to regular mode (which should CHECK for headphones in theory, and not just trust the jack switch) may just do the trick...

If it rings out the main speaker it has to know on some level that the headphones arn't there...

Oct 1, 2008 8:09 PM in response to SoCalSkippy

Try "twisting" the headphone plug while it's in the jack. I went to the Apple store today after many restores. I though my internals speakers had gone.

Not the I can "recommend" this other method, but for those where nothing else will work and you are out of warranty: I would try a small cotton swab with rubbing alcohol. I use this method in the recording studio to clean contacts. Only a last resort.

With both methods a twisting motion will work best.

Oct 14, 2008 12:59 PM in response to SoCalSkippy

Since I don't recall ever plugging in headphones to my new iPhone, this "stuck in headphone" problem caught me by surprise. The only way I was able to tell that I was in headphone mode was by trying to adjust the volume during an actual phone call.

As suggested in this thread, I tried using some computer speakers to plug in/out a bunch of times, but my phone was still stuck in headphone mode whenever I tried to place a call or receive a call.

So, I plugged in my computer speakers, made a call to my home answering machine and heard my call on the speakers. Then, while still in my call, I unplugged the computer speakers and it fixed the problem. My iPhone is no longer in headphone mode and I can place calls again.

Apple really should consider adding some sort of "Setting" where the mode can be changed manually. All this plug in/out stuff is really quirky.

Nov 7, 2008 5:17 AM in response to SoCalSkippy

iPhone: My problem is similar - it seems my phone will stay in headset mode (sometimes?) if I am listening to the iPod through the Aux port in my car and I receive a phone call. I will hear the phone ring through the car speakers, unplug the aux jack and attempt to answer the call. The caller can hear me, but I cannot hear the caller. The same thing happens if I am using regular headphones.

Rebooting the phone sometimes helps. Using the iphone headset seems to work to correct the problem. Now I must ensure that I carry my headset at all times. This is a software problem in my opinion.

Apple - you need to fix this.

Dec 11, 2008 9:27 AM in response to KJB1985

I had this happen a few times before and inserting the headphone jack worked those times, but this time it didn't.

What I did to fix it after trying everything above a number of times was to take an air duster (like this one: http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/329576/Office-Depot-Brand-Duster-10-Oz/), inserted it all the way into the headphone jack and sprayed all around for about 10-15 seconds.

After that was done, I inserted the headphones and pulled them out one time and it was fixed.

Jan 24, 2009 3:26 AM in response to SoCalSkippy

Having same problem... but it is now causing trouble DURING calls. Whilst using phone all went quiet, it had switched to headphone mode.
I've reset, cleaned with air duster and tried insert / remove jack. All have worked but the problem keeps occuring.

There seems to be no pattern to when it is going to goto headphone mode.
Any other fixes out there?

Feb 4, 2009 4:19 AM in response to Wurkle

Having the same problem. It is definately a software problem and is on 2.2.1 also. To say I am mad is an understatement. If another company release software with these types of issues we would be all jumping up and down, but Apple get away with it. I have to all intents and purposes a brick as at least twice a day (usually in the middle of a call) the phone jumps into headphones mode and you need to Home+Power reboot to get sound back. All the shiney u.i. is still "lipstick on a pig" if you can't use it for it's main purpose - the phone.

Apr 6, 2009 8:56 PM in response to SoCalSkippy

So After reading all this "fixes" none of them worked.

What I did was get someone to call you turn speaker mode on and off a couple of times, leave speaker mode on, and hang up. this worked for me.

Hope it all goes well.

iPhone stuck in "headphones" mode

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