iPhone 3G thinks headphones are still inserted: no earpiece sound

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Level 4

1,829 points

iPhone 3G thinks headphones are still inserted: no earpiece sound

Three times in the past week, my new iPhone 3G hasn't turned the earpiece back on when I removed my headphones, so I ended up missing calls. The ringer went off, but when I brought the phone to my ear there was no sound. The first time I had no clue what had occurred until I got the voicemail: the caller could hear me fine, but I couldn't hear her....

This is becoming frustrating, since I use my iPhone to listen to music and podcasts at least twice a day. Is this a flaw with my unit, or a common problem? I do not want to exchange mine, go through all the hassle of reinstalling everything and re-entering all my passwords, and only then find out the new one does the same thing.

I'd love to hear advice from anyone with a similar experience. And if there's a fix, that would be cool too. For now, quickly inserting and removing the headphone plug multiple times seems to work, though it seems unwise as a long-term solution, since it's probably wearing down whatever part trips the sensor in the first place.

MacBook Pro, 15", 2.33GHz Intel, 3GB RAM, Mac OS X (10.5.4), 23" ACD, 500GB MyBook HDD

Posted on Oct 9, 2008 3:20 PM

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Answer 1

Oct 9, 2008 3:32 PM in response to Eric Westby

I have had similar problems and the only solution i found was to plug in my headset and unplug it. I've seen several threads on here with the same problem and that's the only solution as of yet.

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Answer 2

Eric Westby Author

Level 4

1,829 points

Oct 9, 2008 3:37 PM in response to jpwumatillaFl

Thanks for your reply. I searched for similar threads but couldn't find any. Perhaps they've expired, but if any still exist and you know the URLs, feel free to post them.

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Answer 3

MobileDev

Level 3

565 points

Oct 9, 2008 5:20 PM in response to Eric Westby

It's a well known problem. Solution is what the previous poster said:

Plug / unplug your headphones quickly until the internal jack switch works correctly and your sound comes back.

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Answer 4

basilon

Level 1

15 points

Oct 9, 2008 8:26 PM in response to Eric Westby

I had the same problem like 5 months ago and i called the apple care, they told me that the only solution for that is to plug in and then unplug it like 10 to 13 times very fast and then turn off ur celphone turn it on back again and u should be ready to go. I did it and it really works! so remember ur gonna do this with the cel on once u do the 10 to 13 times thing turn it off and turn it on back again and good to go!!!!!!!!!! hope it helps....

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Answer 5

Eric Westby Author

Level 4

1,829 points

Oct 10, 2008 8:12 AM in response to MobileDev

Thanks for your input. It concerns me, though, that people state that it's a well-known problem. A common hardware failure so early doesn't augur well for the long-term health of the switch or the device in general.

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Answer 6

Oct 10, 2008 8:34 AM in response to Eric Westby

This was a common flaw with the original iPhone, and it's sad to hear it hasn't been corrected in the 3G. Sheesh...use a better jack already!

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Answer 7

Eric Westby Author

Level 4

1,829 points

Oct 10, 2008 4:32 PM in response to basilon

Hmmmm, that's pretty good news, implying that the problem is just initial stiffness on the switch needing to be worn in, and not a mechanical flaw. Let's hope that's the case! Thanks again.

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