iRig Failure

(somehow my message got posted before I was finished)

Toward that end, I am trying to find specs on the 3.5-mm stereo headphone minijack. Specifically, I can see visually that a normal headphone plug that fits this jack has three connectors (along the single plug), whereas the iRig plug has a 4th connector. I assume the first three are L,R and ground. And the the 4th must be audio in. But I'd like to verify that. I figure there must be a picture of this somewhere online, but I cannot find it.

Google search just turns up a gazillion hits for the iPad technical specs, and all they say is that they have such a jack, not what the actual specs for that jack and corresponding plug are.

Thanks for any help,

Bob H

Have been in contact with IK Support daily since the 25th. The issue still hasn't been resolved, and progress seems to be moving very slowly.

I wonder if the problem could be a loose pin in the iPad2's headphone jack. The reason I suspoect this is that if I insert the plug nearly all the way, but not quite (maybe leaving it out about half the distance of one of the contacts on the plug), and jiggle, and get lucky, I can finally get output through the iRig to headphones or speakers. But in that state the amplitude app detects no input from my guitar. If I push the plug the whole way in, then I get the input but no output.

That, coupled with the fact that inserting the headphone or speaker plug directly into the iPad2 jack works correctly, suggests to me that the middle of the three pins may be slightly off, closer to the input pin than it should. The additional fact that things worked OK the first day or so suggests that the pin was positioned ok then, i.e. that it must be lose (and no, I haven't stuck anything else into the jack).

The iPad2 was purchased on the 21st, so should still be under warranty. Does this hypothesis sound reasonable? And if so, is this something that an apple service center can test?

Thanks for any help,

Bob H

Nearest actual Apple store is at least 150 miles away, but there's an authorized service/warranty outfit nearby. I guess my best bet will be to call apple support first.

I'm not entirely clear what you mean by "headphones/mic for the iPad". If this is a single unit that has both headphones and mic, I don't have one so I have no ability to test that.

I also have not tested with any mic. The only other (than iRig) input device I have is a griffin iMic, so I could conceivably tyr that as input. Input from the iRig works, as input, in that I can see response to my guitar in three different places in the AmpliTube app. I just can't hear the output.

IK Multimedia's support is asking me to exchange the iRig at the store (100 miles away) or get a return authorization to send it back to them so they can check it out there. Which I imagine will take at least another week of turnaround.

I described to them what I described in my earlier email, about the possibility of the problem being in the iPad itself. They did not comment on that in their reply (which is one of the things that has made interacting with IK Multimedia's support so frustrating.

Thanks,

Bob H

Thanks, Joel

The latest from IK Multimedia is that I can ship it back to them and they can test it and either send it back to me or replace it. However, they do not cover the cost of shipping.

Trying it on someone else's iOS device is a good idea. I'll see if I can find someone willing to do that.

I have opened a case via apple support, to see if they can check the headphone connector. From my support phone call, it's unclear at the moment whether the local apple service center would end up changing me to look at it or not. So I will check on that tomorrow. The other option is to do a return to apple service.

When you say "If not then send it to US and we'll send you out a new one", who is "us"?

Thanks,

Bob H

At this point I will probably try every other option before resorting to sending it back, because (a) IK Multimedia won't pay for the shipping even if the product turns out to be defective, and (b) I still can't get a good sense whether the problem is in the iRig, in the Amplitude app, or in the iPad.

I am concerned about this message from IK Multimedia, espeically in the phrasing of the final statement:

"As soon as the unit is received, we will test the iRig. If we find that the

iRig is defective, we will replace it for you. If we find that it works correctly,

we will contact you to inform you."

I am concerned that "contact you to inform you" implies that I am going to have to pay shipping again if I want the iRig back.

Bob H

Tried one other thing last night and finally had SUCCESS. A friend suggested I "restore" my iOS and just start over. I did this and now the AmpliTube app and iRig combination is working.

Unfortunately it appears that in the process of doing that the apple ID that I had used to purchase apps has become hosed, and it looks like I'm going to lose between $5 and $10 worth of purchased items. One item was an AmpliTube in-app purchase of the six band graphic equalizer stomp box.

Now I am wondering what kind of state information on the iPad was preventing this from working. Previsouly, I had deleted and re-installed the AmpliTube app, but that didn't fix it.

Bob H

Deanna, I think you are probably right about the iRig being faulty. To be sure, you could contact customer service for the iRig and go through the list of possible failure causes.

You could also test the failure hypothesis by buying a second iRig, using it to test, then returning it. The iRig is available from most WalMarts and where I live its no fee to return it. I wouldn't normally suggest doing something like that, but here in the U.S. the iRig company won't pay shipping for you to return a defective unit.

As for losing apps on a restore, as long as you sync your apps to iTunes before the restore, I don't THINK you will lose anything.