iPhone stuck in "headphones" mode

Thanks so much, this worked! I put it the refrigerator for about 20 sec. and whollah it got me out of headphone ringer ****

Hi guys and greetings from Finland. I have the exact same issue with the phone stuck in "Ringer (Headphones)" mode painfully often. I have also tried all the tricks on the net from cleaning to sucking and inserting the headphones. Nothing seems to help.

However, I too have noticed that it always goes to headphones mode when it is in intensive use or simply in my hands for a longer time. It is definitely a heat issue. I also got it to the normal "Ringer" mode by using coldness. I put it on a cold block for 10 minutes an voilà! You know those things u have in the cold bag.

Apple needs to react to this problem!!! I did not have this issue with my iPhone 3G 3.01 a few months ago. Now it just seems to get worse all the time. And I don't normally even use the headphone for anything.

Apple do something before we have to go dirty with this. So many of us here and on the net also here in Europe have this issue.

Same problem here,
Only happens when I come back from a run, I use the phone in an armband and it does get very warm. I take the headphones out and it sticks in headphone mode!!!!!

Glad this worked for you. Generally I've found that you don't need to put your iPhone on ice for so long. In my experience about 20-30 seconds in a freezer or in front of an air conditioner will do the trick.

I'm not sure if my experience means I have the same problem - but if the Apple headphone jack is inserted in my iPhone 2G the loudspeaker works but not the headphones - so to get music played in iPod mode I need to insert the headphone jack-plug to get the loudspeaker working..


Any thoughts ?

Dan

A further oddity is that when I go to settings/sounds/ringtone, not only does the selected ringtone sound thru the speaker, but using the volume control makes the message "ringer headphones" become just "ringer" Alas this does not hold, since as soon as a tune is selected in iPod mode the message reverts to "ringer headphones" with no headphones attached.

I have found a possible fix for the "iPhone stuck in headphones mode". It has got to do with how the iPhone uses its RAM when in intensive use. Heat seems to be a factor but probably just is result of the memory being almost full and the processor working hard. Most often the iPhone will go into headphone mode when playing a Youtube video for a while over WLAN or 3G.

The FIX: Download the "Memory Sweep" application from iTunes Application store. With it you can free 30 mb of memory on your iPhone (you need to free 30 mb as 20 mb is not sufficient). After you have freed the iPhone memory lock the phone. Unlock again and voila the iPhone is now in "Ringer" mode. Underneath the link to the free application:

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=320954758&mt=8

Apple has to provide a fix for this!! It is a type of software/hardware issue that makes the iPhone think that it is in headphone mode when in intensive use and its memory is running short. Not all iPhones seem to suffer from this but there are loads of people having this problem and writing about it in Europe/US.

Thanks for offering a possible solution. I tried this and it didn't work for me unfortunately.

I've sent a complaint to MacFixit to see if they would give it some profile on their website and pressure Apple to provide a fix. If anyone else knows how best to highlight this problem to get Apple's attention, please let me know.

EDIT: If the iPhone is already very warm then it has to cool down before it works. Anyway this is so sad and Apple should fix this.

Okay so I have the same problem, but it's happening because I spilled water on my iPhone... 😟
So, putting it in the fridge didn't work, which didn't surprise me cause the problem has nothing to do with heat.
Any ideas on how to fix it?

Thanks 🙂

I have had the same problem for many days now and tried everything I had read in different forums regarding this problem. Nothing helped me!!!

I agree that this problem has to do with overheating as it is already posted! Today, I did something that helped me solve the problem at least until a permanent solution will be available to us.

I reduced the brightness level almost to zero and this keeps my iphone cool enough not to enter headphones mode. I know that this is an unfortunate situation but it's better than being stuck in the headphones mode.

PS. YouTube still has some problems even under these conditions. We look forward to a permanent fix, of course!!!

See my earlier posts...nothing worked for me either. In frustration, I returned to the Apple Genius Bar yesterday to take them up on their offer of replacing my 3G with a new one for $199 (even though I'm eligible for a 3GS in early December). My logic was as follows: I either pay $399 for an early upgrade to a 3GS (and keep a broken 3G as an iPod Touch) or a get a replacement 3G for $199 and get an upgrade to a 3GS in December for $199 and have a working 3G which I'd convert to an iPod Touch and give to my kid and a new 3GS (total $398). In other words for the same price as an early 3GS upgrade I'd get two working iPhones.

At the Genius Bar they tested my phone again and suggested it was a faulty headphone socket which they couldn't fix (I still maintain it's a fault with the heat sensor). After opting for a replacement for $199, the Genius kindly offered to provide a FREE replacement (even though I was two months out of warranty). I graciously accepted his offer and now have a brand new 3G at no cost to me (which also includes a 90 warranty). My faith in Apple has been restored and obviously Apple Genius's have the discretion to offer out-of-warranty replacements on a case-by-case basis. I am now a very happy camper and my life is whole again now that I have a fully working 3G.

So either this worked for me or its a coincidence.
So I tried putting it in the freezer and tried the memory dump with "scan lite" from the app store and it still wasn't working. That isn't to say that these didn't help but on a hunch I put in (in the bottom) an external speaker I have for my iPod Touch. You know the little white rectangle looking external speaker for 5 bucks on ebay. It doesn't work right off the bat so you have to restart with it plugged in. I then went to my podcasts and listened to a few minutes then tried my baseball app and on and on. It works great that way if you really can't get it to work. A possible workaround maybe. But a few minutes later my plugging in and pulling out (just trying to confuse it) . Somehow its now working. I have to say it works even better and louder with the external one. Not good for on the go but great for sitting in the backyard. Loud. Hope this helps. Its also a pain if you have a fancy cover/shell but still a workaround if it doesn't work.

I have this problem and my iPhone is only 3 days old fresh out of the box. It is a 3G 8GB. It was offered to me for a great price with a up-grade to my existing AT&T plan. This problem started happening to me today and will not stop. As a matter of fact, as I am typing this, I am watching my 3 day old iPhone sitting on the table next to me constantly turning itself on and off from ear phones mode to ringer mode with no earphones plugged in.

Again I want to stress to Apple that this phone is 3 days old and has never left my home. It has never been exposed to heat. It does not have lint in it, etc...

I do not keep it in my pocket, I have a carrier, so no lint issues. I did try using canned air none the less and that did not work. I do not expose it to heat, no exercising with it, I have a Nano for that. Plugging and un-plugging the earphones does not work. Trying to use the iPod feature did nothing in terms of re-setting anything.

I believe this is faulty workmanship at the factory. Apple should tighten it's quality control where ever these phones are produced. After reading how extensive this thread is and how far this problem goes from every where around the globe where these phones are used I find it hard to believe Apple can not fix this. I would like to see an Apple representative comment on this.

I will more than likely end up at the Genius Bar and have the phone exchanged. I am very happy I bought the extra coverage for this phone. Something tells me I will get my moneys worth from it.

Las Vegas, NV

First, you phone should be covered under the original 90 day warranty. Don't accept anything other than a new replacement from Apple. After months of trying to troubleshoot on my own and after two visits to the Genius Bar, they eventually replaced my phone for free (even though it was out of warranty). Good luck.