Loose Connection Headphone Jack MacBook

respectfully,

the iPod classic that I own does not have the same jack - on every other device that I own with a standard mini-jack (including this ipod and the nano 3g and the ipod 4g and the powerbook that I own) there is a sticking point on insertion of the plug which offers some resistance to a gentle pull

let me re-phrase that, the GENTLEST of pulls - the standard way of removing a plug from a socket of course is to PULL it out intentionally, but we are talking about a gentle gentle gentle pull

the kind of pull that results from just moving a cable around ... the kind of pull that happens when wearing headphone and turning the head so the cable just moves a bit and the sound cuts out ... or having a cable plugged leading to a PA, lifting the macbook up to slide out some paper from underneath so the cable just moves a bit and the sound cuts out

the audio specs for the macbook read as follows:

- Combined optical digital output/analog line out (minijack)
- Supports Apple Stereo Headset with microphone

to me the first implies backward functional compatibility with any standard minijack - while the second makes it clear that there is something new about this minijack socket - I certainly don't have a problem with the second but I do if its implementation results in the non-compatibility of standard minijacks which in my experience is the case

unfortunately, because the work I do relies heavily on connecting to PAs through this socket, this is not mere whining about a minor annoyance, but is an issue that prevents me from using an otherwise near-perfect machine on a daily basis

I certainly didn't want to send back two brand new macbooks and buy an EOL model instead - and I didn't come here to whine - I came here to see if anyone else was experiencing the same issues

to be absolutely clear, it's not that it never works, it's that it doesn't work anything like reliably and for work I need it to be reliable - it seems a shame that something so apparently trivial as a headphone socket should make the macbook unusable for me

movetolearn wrote:
. . . unfortunately, because the work I do relies heavily on connecting to PAs through this socket, this is not mere whining about a minor annoyance, but is an issue that prevents me from using an otherwise near-perfect machine on a daily basis . . .

If I were doing this everyday, I would not want to fatigue these ports by inserting mini plugs over and over again. At bare minimum I'd invest in _*[this product|http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/imic].*_ USB plugs/jacks seem more durable imho.

So, that MB/MBP output jack is both optical/line out, plus a conductor for headset mic input (4 metal conductors plus fiber optics)? or does a headset mic use a separate plug for the mic in jack?

Yes - if you are using the jack for professional use - it would be easy to fatigue it and render it loose without too much effort. Any USB to Digital device would work also - and it would allow you to specify higher fidelity than the 1/8" port allows. Companies like Tascam (US-122), M-Audio, Alesis, Edirol, or EMU (0404) make excellent professional AD/DA converters that work quite well with the USB port. I've got a Tascam US-122 (older model) in my studio that gives me two 1/4" inputs, as well as balanced mike and phantom power. It has a separate headphone monitor so I can listen to what I'm recording without tinkering around with the sound settings on the Mac. These devices plug and play natively - usually without any additional software, and they give you a variety of outputs (1/8", 1/4", RCA, and SP-DIF) that you can take advantage of. They aren't that big - easily carried with the Mac in a bag.

The jacks on a $1200 laptop should be of good quality and not subject to "fatigue" after a few weeks. I have a $600 2yr old Acer laptop with a headphone jack that's been used hundreds of times and it still works perfectly.

pancenter-

thanks for the suggestions - but really the basic point is that the headphone socket does not appear to me to be fully backwards compatible with standard minijack plugs - I posted here to try to figure out if I was alone in experiencing this or if it was a common issue

from the number of replies to this post vs. number of macbooks sold then maybe I was just unlucky with the two macbooks I received and it was just a coincidence that all the macbooks and macbook pros at my local reseller also exhibited the same behaviour - and apple accepted my returning these two macbooks with no restocking fee so no complaints there

on a premium notebook like this I should be able to listen to headphones through the headphone socket and not through a USB adaptor to prevent them from cutting out at the slightest movement of the cable - this is not an issue with my new MacBook Pro (early 2008) - it was never an issue with my Al G4, Titanium G4, my Pismo G3, or my 5300c Powerbooks

it's not an issue with ipod classic 80Gb, ipod photo, ipod mini, ipod nano 4g - nor with my iRiver iFP-380, Olympus WS-110, Sony CD Walkman D-EJ725, Sony MD Walkman MZ-R700PC nor the cheap unknown brand TV in the hotel room I'm writing this from

I'll stop now since I'm maybe in danger of whining ...

I'm having the headphone issue as well. But, I've noticed that once I do get the stereo to become stable (on those good days) the machine gets really really hot under what seems to be the processor. I installed the smctemperature app. I'm at 74 degF and the fan is spinning 3072rpm. It's almost like the jack is shorting something out. I don't know much about that kind of thing, but it seems that way.

for those having this problem - maybe you could try this adaptor:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Apple-iPhone-3-5mm-Audio-Adapter/dp/B000WKQ8LS/ref=sr116?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1230380949&sr=1-16

meanwhile I can happily report that the previous revision macbook pro that I bought instead doesn't exhibit this behaviour

I have the same loose jack issue. My iphone headphones/mic fit great in the audio out jack of my macbook. My Bose Companion 2 external speaker's jack however, fits loose. This gets annoying if I shift my notebook around on my desk and the plug moves. Liveable, but annoying.

Here is a link to a video I made, showing the problem. It is very upsetting that nothing is being done about this...

Something has to be done!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTK83kkvdC4&feature=email

I'm having the same issue with my new macbook. All it takes and slight movement of the laptop and the headphones will stop receiving audio ... sending the audio to the built in speakers of the laptop. To remedy the problem, I have to wiggle the headphone cord or reinsert it to the jack repeatidly. This happens with all of my headphones (I have two Apple headphones and one from Bose). This problem is unique with my laptop and have not been able to recreate it on my 3 ipods.

Yeah, add another one to the "me too" crowd here.

My first-generation (plastic 2006) MacBook had the issue, but I managed to alleviate it by using a Scosche iPhone-gauge cable, which probably pushed into the plastic of the laptop's port enough to secure itself.

However, unlike plastic, aluminum is not exactly pliable by computer body standards, at least.

My current unit (the late 2008 aluminum MacBook), of course, has the issue hardcore. No cable (strangely, except for a 3.5mm TOSlink optical cable I have) will secure itself into the jack properly. If you move the MacBook, adjust your headphones, touch the wrong side of the laptop, look at it funny, use it during the wrong phase of the moon, the cable comes sliding out an imperceptible amount, causing audio to be re-routed from the attached audio device to the laptop's fairly obnoxious-sounding speakers (after a delay, at that). Same as everybody else here, so I'll stop at that.

Also same as others... I have NEVER had another device, iPod, other music player with headphone jack, promotional free mini-FM portable radio... have the problem this severely. You'd have to really jerk on or drop those units for a disconnect to occur.

I don't think Apple will be able to fix the problem without re-designing the audio ports by giving them some sort of iPhone-like securing interior barrel.

Otherwise, maybe someone'll figure out a cable whose very adapter end can "get a grip" into the port of the computer. Who knows, Scosche might figure out one soon.

Meanwhile, depending on how you seat your computer (e.g., on your lap, on a desk, in a tree, with green eggs and spam, it doesn't matter), a 90-degree (right angle) adapter might be harder to accidentally unseat. I have tried this with a small degree of success (it's just that during the waxing-Gibbons phase of the moon, one has to be particularly careful*).

Anyways, guys, listen on through your loose 3.5mm audio out jacks, and meanwhile, I'm hoping that someone (hello, audio cord manufacturers, y'all listening?) will figure this issue out so that I won't have to send in my MacBook for a replacement.



*Not sure I was joking about the waxing-Gibbons moon phase thing.


Signed,
Apfelsosse (that's German for applesauce... I think.)
Voluntary MacHostage since 2003

Apfelsosse wrote:
Yeah, add another one to the "me too" crowd here.

I don't think Apple will be able to fix the problem without re-designing the audio ports by giving them some sort of iPhone-like securing interior barrel.

The problem is either with the cheap quality jack being used or a design flaw in the jack hardware, for whatever reason, it's oversized. This should not need a work-around.

pancenter-

Update...

I found that a 90 degree Scosche "triple" cable adapter (used for those cables that start as what appears to be a standard 3.5mm stereo cable and then split into three for video and L/R audio, RCA-style, and are used on video iPods) helps out a good deal.

These adapters have deeper male parts, so this may provide for some security within an oversized female jack. (The problem of using a longer male plug to compensate for an excessively loose female jack is still there of course!) Nonetheless, if I scoot my laptop a little or adjust my headphones, it appears that the little bit of extra mechanical security the lengthened male portion provides prevents the line from slipping out enough to cause the computer to think the wire's been disconnected. The 90 degree bend probably doesn't hurt either (as I mentioned in an earlier reply here).

...and don't get me started on the time I mailed my twisted, burned MagPlug to Apple's hardware engineering department in Cupertino along with a letter about how to design stress relief mechanisms that are found on $1 power cords. The MagPlug's lack of a stress relief mechanism caused failure (a short immediately behind the magnet unit) in less than 2 years. Although it was out of warranty, it was nonetheless assigned a case number. No idea where that went...

Message was edited by: Apfelsosse

Apfelsosse wrote:

These adapters have deeper male parts, so this may provide for some security within an oversized female jack. (The problem of using a longer male plug to compensate for an excessively loose female jack is still there of course!)

The 90 degree bend probably doesn't hurt either...


Kinky stuff!

pancenter-

Yeah, like I said, the 90 degree bend helps. The more kink the better, as it were.

Right now I got a new audio receiver... although it was inexpensive, it inexplicably included an optical jack. So I took my trusty TOSLink 3.5mm - TOSLink standard cable and plugged it in. Again, for some reaosn, the optical cable seems to be more stable in the jack than anything else. Seems that the male jack end has some plastic sheathing that must keep it in the overly wide female port (or that the computer just has greater tolerance for an optical plug moving around in there).