Red Light in Audio Jack

Question

Level 1

6 points

Red Light in Audio Jack

I tried to turn up the volume for my internal speakers but it says it can't do it & a red light shines out from the audio jack. If I put external speakers in the audio jack, they will work just fine. Why won't my laptop speakers work?

MacBook Pro

Posted on Oct 23, 2009 7:45 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Best reply

Allan Jones

Level 9

68,606 points

Oct 23, 2009 9:23 AM in response to Amy02

Some device you plugged into the headphone jack was slightly out-of-spec dimensionally and jammed the jack in the "mute" position. Most people are able to "unstick" the connector by inserting a headphone plug and wiggling gently in the horizontal plane.

Apparently there is a dimensional standard for 1/8" stereo mini-pin plugs that is observed by some manufacturers better than others others. I have a dirt-cheap set of external speakers whose plug fits the jack on my MBP perfectly. Yet I also have a "name-brand" set of headphones whose plug is a little too long and can cause the problem you have if I run the plug in "to the hilt." When i use the headphones, I'm careful to insert them only until I get satisfactory stereo sound. The plug is secure at that point but the stop shoulder on the plug is not touching the side of the MBP at the port.

Reply

Answer 2

direwolf8

Level 4

1,280 points

Oct 23, 2009 2:39 PM in response to Allan Jones

American plugs are 1/8", while European plugs are 3.5 mm.

Reply

Answer 3

Allan Jones

Level 9

68,606 points

Oct 23, 2009 9:08 PM in response to direwolf8

American plugs are 1/8", while European plugs are 3.5 mm.

I'd heard that, but what I see on my MBP with different plugs looks more like a length difference. The variation looks to be in the tip-to-shoulder distance that controls how deep the plug can penetrate the jack.

Reply

Answer 4

Amy02 Author

Level 1

6 points

Nov 3, 2009 8:17 AM in response to Allan Jones

Thanks! I inserted a paperclip & just drug it around the sides & now it works!

Reply

Answer 5

Dec 25, 2009 6:59 AM in response to Amy02

I read the other posts. Being averse to sticking foreign objects in the jack, I used another cable, inserted it all the way and gently moved it left to right, as previously described. It worked perfectly!

Reply

Answer 6

Allan Jones

Level 9

68,606 points

Dec 25, 2009 7:56 AM in response to Ron in Denver

Welcome to AD, Ron!

Being averse to sticking foreign objects in the jack,

I agree--I flinched just a bit with I saw "paperclip." However, it worked too. I would have reacted less had a non-conductive material been selected.

Merry Christmas!

Reply

Answer 7

Network 23

Level 6

12,333 points

Dec 25, 2009 6:01 PM in response to Amy02

By the way, the red light is for an optical audio connection. If you plugged in an optical cable, it would be receiving digital audio via the red light.

Traditional plugs are analog.

Reply

Answer 8

Jan 1, 2010 7:00 PM in response to Network 23

I got this red light as well shortly after installing windows 7 with boot camp and it goes on and off periodically.

Reply

Answer 9

Jan 3, 2010 12:27 AM in response to Amy02

I am having this same issue and haven't been able to fix it.

I recently replaced my lower case for my laptop because the old one was dented. Everything worked perfectly before I swapped the case and then afterwards the audio wasn't working. I opened it to double check all the cables and everything is fine. This is when I noticed the red light in the jack so I googled it. I tried wiggling different things around like other people have had success doing and it didn't work for me. Any ideas?

Reply

Answer 10

Rod Hagen

Level 7

32,000 points

Jan 3, 2010 4:04 AM in response to James-ace

James-ace wrote:
I got this red light as well shortly after installing windows 7 with boot camp and it goes on and off periodically.

This is apparently a general issue with Windows 7 on the MBP (and other computers too), James, and doesn't relate to the "stuck switch" issue confronted by some users regardless of OS.

Windows 7 seems to have quite a few issues relating to optical audio, though with various other computers the difficulty seems to more often be turning it on rather than off!

Reply