Headphone jack broken off

This problem was not caused by a defect in your MacBook Pro, so Apple is not responsible to fix it under warranty. Your anger should be directed towards the manfacturer of the stereo cable that broke off inside. By trying to get it out yourself, you may do more damage. You should go with what Apple says is necessary to fix the problem correctly.

You should really abandon any attempt to drill it out, as the remaining piece would just spin around (there wouldn't be sufficient friction to resist that of the drill), and dentists' tools aren't really drills anyway, so that too needs abandoning.

Short of a cartoon-style magnet, the offending piece needs to be accessed from inside, which means partially disaassembling the Macbook (without other problems, which you don't mention, there is no reson to assume the logic board or any other functional component is broken or will become so by removing the jack)

The problem is, of course, that opening the Macbook will invalidate the warranty. You have a choice, and it depends how inconvenient the sound issue is. Is fixing it worth sacrificing the warranty? (maybe it's worth waiting until warranty is no more anyway)

Good luck

Max

Try putting a TINY amount of superglue on the tip of a toothpick, then CAREFULLY stick it to the piece that's stuck. When the glue sets fully, see if you can pull it out. Of course, this is at your own risk, and is quite hazardous, as you may end up gluing something to the inside of the jack.

You are allowed to open up the back of your MacBook Pro, Apple even provides instructions in the owners manual on how to install new ram, which requires you to unscrew and remove the bottom of your MacBook Pro.

That's ridiculous... You think the wire was just fine, and the jack held it too tightly, causing it to break? Go get a new wire and try your best to pull the plug into two pieces, breaking the metal by pulling in the same direction as unplugging it. You won't be doing that, not without tools and a **** of a lot of force, and even then the jack will fail somewhere else first. There was something wrong with the plug, period. This is not Apple's responsibility to fix.

As to opening the back, Apple does not care. You are allowed to do that without voiding the warranty, to allow you to replace the two user-serviceable parts (the hard drive and the RAM). However, messing with anything else, including the headphone jack, will void the warranty.

Yeah, I meant to mention taking things apart wouldn't help much, but forgot. The headphone jack is soldered on, and the only opening is the one you stick the plug into.

I've been wracking my brains trying to come up with a less dangerous solution than superglue, but I'm not coming up with anything. It's just too tight a space. Of course, if you're preparing to buy some other hardware as a work-around and just write off the headphone jack as ruined, what harm would a little superglue do?

Actually, I've been thinking more about this... What does the broken end look like? Can you get a good look at it? If it's hollow, you might be able to gently but firmly press the tip of a toothpick into the hollow and then pull it out. Alternately, if it's a bit pointy, you could try trimming the tip of a toothpick off with a sharp knife or razor blade, then split the new flattened end. If you can capture part of the broken piece in the split, you may be able to get it out.

A friend of mine did this with his 2006 Polycarbonate MacBook. He tried the superglue but as most people find - it was diffcult to be careful enough and he just ended up with a pool of superglue in there which quickly dried and made the problem unfixable.

I did actually manage the get the piece out for him by using a very very small drillbit on a bench drill and clamping the MacBook in place. If you PRECISELY attack it down the middle (ie not your best shot with a hand drill) with a drillbit thinner than the end of the plug, you can make a little hollow which will make the superglue rescue more likely. Or, as I did, you can continue to drill, very carefully, slightly off-centre, until the cheap/light metal that makes up the end of the plug disintegrates. This is incredibly patient work and requires a steady hand not to drill right through the plug into the optic at the back of the port - but hey - you're effectively paying yourself £900 to do it right!

Unfortunately in this case the residual superglue meant the port was still useless but I got the plug out!

In theory the best tool would be like a plumbers grabbing tool - you know? A flexible metal tube with tiny wire claws that you close by pulling the other end of the tube. I can't find any non-commercial images to link to...

I have just removed a broken jack from a MacBook, this was broken off about 3 mm from the outside of the casing. Using a small battery powered electric drill and a 1mm bit I carefully bored through the center of the broken socket to a depth of around 6mm - then found a small screw and carefully screwed it into the new hole - makeing sure not to overtighten it. Then I pulled firmly using a pair of heavy pliers and the complete body of the jack came out. No damage was caused to the jack socket and the MacBook is now back to normal.

After reviewing this and other forums, I first tried bending a paper clip tip. After some effort, all I was able to remove was a tiny strip of metal. I could not hook the rest of the jack.

The glue on toothpick or end of pen refill were intriguing, but I was concerned about glue drip. However, on a recent Target visit, I found Loctite Super Glue Ultra Gel Control ($3.99). I also got epoxy just in case. The refills I had were too big. I tried to think of something sturdier than a toothpick, then came across a 4d finish nail. I checked a 2d, but the 4d head was actually slightly smaller.

I laid the computer on a desk, unplugged & with battery removed. To hold it steady & straight, I then clamped the end of the nail in locking pliers also laid on the desk. The nail was parallel to the desk. I inserted the nail head first to check for clearance.

I dripped just enough glue to slightly mound on the top of the head. I waited a couple of seconds, then carefully inserted and held it for 20-25 seconds, a little more than specified. It did not hold. I tried again and waited 5+ minutes for full strength. I then pulled it out -- with the tip of the broken jack!!

My speakers and jack both work, saving $99+ in repairs, with 20 min. of work!!