External headphones not working (unless plugged in at boot up)

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Level 1

105 points

External headphones not working (unless plugged in at boot up)

Hello,

I have a MBP 1st gen unibody running 10.5.7. However in last few days my headphones are not working when i plug them in. When i got into system pref-sound it still shows as internal speakers... this is where it goes weird tho: If i boot the machine up with the headphones in, they work fine and system prefs show them as headphones. But as soon as i unplug them and plug them back in, the machine doesn't recognize them anymore.

I have done the following with no luck:

Repaired permissions
Reset PRAM
Created new user account
Tried another set of headphones
Reinstalled quicktime
Restored system from time machine backup
Did a full archive and install and tried it under 10.5.5 and was same then later did all the updates, still same.

I think i covered the basics.. its just weird it works when leaving headphones in on bootup then afterwards stops if i take them out and back in. I have booked an appointment at a genius bar but wonder is there anything ive missed before i go....

Any help, tips or tricks will be appreciated.

Macbook Pro (late 2008), Mac OS X (10.5.7), 2.4ghz, 2gb ram, 250gb hdd, Nvidia 9400m+9600m GT

Posted on Jun 23, 2009 5:15 AM

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Answer 1

Tiiim Author

Level 1

105 points

Jun 23, 2009 7:36 AM in response to Tiiim

update:
if i wake the mbp up from sleep most of time it comes back but again unplug it and plug it back in doesnt work. I have reset the smc twice and no different...

any ideas?

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Answer 2

Tiiim Author

Level 1

105 points

Jun 24, 2009 1:52 AM in response to Tiiim

guessing no-one knows.. will take it to the Genius bar then.

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Answer 3

Bugsy123

Level 1

0 points

Sep 7, 2009 1:28 AM in response to Tiiim

Hey,

I have exactly the same problem. Since upgrading to Snow Leopard the headphones are only registered when I put the computer to sleep (close the lid) and wake it again.

Did the Genius solve your problem OP? Is anyone else experiencing this?

Thanks in advance

Bugsy

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Answer 4

Bugsy123

Level 1

0 points

Sep 8, 2009 12:55 AM in response to Bugsy123

Can't decide whether this is worth taking to a Genius or not. I can get headphones to work if they are plugged in when I wake the MBP from sleep, but could it be symptomatic of a bigger problem that's going to come and bite me later on down the line.

Any advice would be gratefully received

Bugsy

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Answer 5

alanphil

Level 1

0 points

Sep 18, 2009 11:39 AM in response to Bugsy123

We have two MacBook Pro 13 laptops. I updated my wife's system to Snow Leopard and she started having the headphone problem you are describing. Before I found this discussion I was thinking this was a hardware issue, but now it looks more and more like an issue with Snow Leopard.

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Answer 6

KLasc

Level 1

18 points

Oct 7, 2009 4:08 PM in response to Tiiim

Hey!

I'm having the exact same problem. Just bought a new MBP 13 inch with Snow Leopard already installed. I toggle a lot between having external speakers or headphones plugged into audio output. It was working fine for about the first week with the computer, but just started having the problem you describe-- not recognizing an external audio device plugged in unless I restart/put computer to sleep. Any solutions yet?
Thanks!
Kyle

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Answer 7

Oct 9, 2009 12:24 PM in response to KLasc

The problem I am having is: my AKG headphones worked fine with my MBP 13" for the first 4 weeks and then nothing, checked the headphones with my iPhone and they work fine. I plugged me Apple headphones in to my MBP and they work fine, my MBP just decided to refuse to work with any other headphone but Apples!!!

Dose anyone have any ideas?

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Answer 8

Oct 9, 2009 12:39 PM in response to Bladerunner1973

OK so I figured it out, not sure if this will help with your headphone issues; On the Input tab of the sound control panel I set the "Use Audio Port for" to "Sound Output" (this seems strange) my MBP was thinking my AKG headphones where a Mic!!!!

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Answer 9

Oct 9, 2009 3:48 PM in response to Tiiim

Yeah, I have this problem as well. Toggling the "Use audio port for:" setting does nothing. The only way to get it working is to close the laptop and open it again, as far as I know.

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Answer 10

KLasc

Level 1

18 points

Oct 10, 2009 12:29 PM in response to WholesaleMagic

This is stolen from someone who helped me on a different thread... at least for now, it seems to have solved my problem:

Try trashing the prefs file in

/Users/USERNAME/Library/Preferences/com.apple.soundpref.plist

Reboot and see if that helps.

Try and see if this also affects another user account if that doesn't work. At least you'll know if it's restricted to your account or is potentially a machine issue.

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Answer 11

Oct 16, 2009 5:11 AM in response to KLasc

KLasc wrote:
Try trashing the prefs file in

/Users/USERNAME/Library/Preferences/com.apple.soundpref.plist

Reboot and see if that helps.

Just to report that I was also having this audio output problem. I was afraid it was a hardware issue. But trashing the prefs file and rebooting worked! Thanks!

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