apanster
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: Broken headphone jack! 3.5mm dillemma. Help. Please.

Hi.

So my headphone jack has broken off clean into two pieces.

The trouble is the 3.5mm jack protuberant is now stuck inside my iTouch and due to the amazing self-locking mechanism of earphone/headphone ends, it will not come out, whatever I do.

Tweezers have not helped, neither has a small magnet.

I'm glad I gave up on the magnet for I have now come to know that the hdd is right next to the earphone socket.

Anyway, I need help.

How do I get that broken-piece out of the socket?!

 

Please. Help.

Many thanks, in advance.

 

- AP.

iPod touch, iOS 5.0.1

Posted on Aug 1, 2012 5:53 AM

by apanster,Solvedanswer
apanster apanster
Level 1 (0 points)
A:

Guys,

 

It is done! It's out! I have achieved what surely seemed impossibe. I mean the things I tried with my iPod Touch, be it tweezers, pliers, glues, toothpicks, ear-buds.

 

I read about all of these wondorous ideas and plans online, to take out that unholy peice of metal lodged in my iTouch socket.

But anyway, yesterday you guys gave me some good tips. I was about half-way in the decision making process of making appointment with The Store and almost about ready to dive into what Alex suggested up here.

 

But then this evening, something made me go back to glue.

Glue, the creation of the century. Or well, maybe last century, or the one before that, I'm not sure when glue was dicovered/invented.

 

Anyway, getting to the point. It's out.

All I did, was make another failed attempt with the squared-off end of a tooth-pick dipped is some superglue. Like always, it stuck to the little golden 1mm protuberant like a charm. One pull, and it came off, while the thing was still lodged inside.

 

I went back to the headphones. I saw the broken off jack and realized, there was a bit of a cavity at the point where the jack had broken off. So I gave a tiny squeeze to the superglue pen and filled the cavity with just about a single drop of glue. Next, I rammed the headphone jack back into the socket.

 

I swear I wasn't expecting anything to happen. Barely 10 seconds into the "Eureka attempt", I don't know what came over me and I just pulled on the cord.

And there it was! IT WAS OUT.

Simple. Effective.

 

The solution always is right next to the where the problem began.

 

I should add, the speaker on the iTouch works fine, like everything else.

BUT, when I plugged in my new headphones, there's no output to the RIGHT channel.

I must say, this makes me sad. I don't know if I messed up something with the glue or pliers. Can't say.

I might have done some damage to those tiny silver dot like things on the socket wall which act like the self-locking mechanism for earphones/headphones.

 

Anyway, if it does end up working again, I'll be sure to let you guys know.

Many thanks again for the help.

 

Cheers.

- An overjoyed AP.

Posted on Aug 2, 2012 9:04 AM

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Q: Broken headphone jack! 3.5mm dillemma. Help. Please.

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  • by drorata,

    drorata drorata Dec 1, 2013 3:09 AM in response to manoj karnati
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 1, 2013 3:09 AM in response to manoj karnati

    +1 for the idea with the pen's refill. I only had to increase the inner radius a bit (using a knife) and then it worked like a charm! Simple and effective!

  • by FA6OOM.GH,

    FA6OOM.GH FA6OOM.GH Dec 14, 2013 6:46 AM in response to apanster
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 14, 2013 6:46 AM in response to apanster

    I had this problem just before 1 week and the solutions you've wrote hadn't worked so i tried using a baby nail scissors and it worked

  • by sophie278,

    sophie278 sophie278 Dec 23, 2013 3:20 PM in response to apanster
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 23, 2013 3:20 PM in response to apanster

    Thumbtack worked for me! I got nearly my whole headphone jack stuck in the port, was considering to try glue, but I didn't want to permanently damage my iPad. So I got the thumbtack, bent the end, after about 5/10 minutes of trying, out it popped. Very very happy!

  • by kctipton,

    kctipton kctipton Jan 6, 2014 9:13 AM in response to apanster
    Level 1 (15 points)
    Jan 6, 2014 9:13 AM in response to apanster

    Hooked tack solved my problem.  Superglue not helpful for some reason.

  • by tkdiers,

    tkdiers tkdiers Feb 23, 2014 10:50 AM in response to apanster
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 23, 2014 10:50 AM in response to apanster

    The glue on a toothpick worked perfectly but regular super glue isnt strong enough so I used 2/3 jewlery glue which bound to the mteal much better

  • by Two Headed Girl,

    Two Headed Girl Two Headed Girl Mar 30, 2014 8:22 PM in response to apanster
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 30, 2014 8:22 PM in response to apanster

    so I tried the thumbtack method and the superglue method and they both just made a mess really. i took my computer to an apple store today and they just made up some ******** about replacing the logic board for $600, so don't do that... i recomend to anyone who has this problem to take their computer to a jewelry repair store. sounds crazy, but they have much more presice tools than thumb tacks and superglue, and if your jewler is as much of a bad *** as the one i went to, they'll do it for free.

  • by mlgk,

    mlgk mlgk Mar 31, 2014 5:53 AM in response to Two Headed Girl
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 31, 2014 5:53 AM in response to Two Headed Girl

    I took my macbook to a jewelry store thinking the same thing. I could actually see the prong of the headphone when I looked in the hole so I thought the jeweler would have a small tweezer like tool to pull it out. He took a small drill to it and ruined any chance of removing the prong of the headphone jack. Just don't let anyone do that. Wish I would have tried some of these other ideas......except superglue.....never have been good with that.

  • by MartyChicago ,

    MartyChicago MartyChicago Apr 13, 2014 11:52 AM in response to apanster
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 13, 2014 11:52 AM in response to apanster

    To get the ink tube without glue to work is all about the pressure you put on the plastic tube while pushing it in around the broken jack in phone. I put it in then pushed the exposed tube and phone down against my table and it went in farther and bam out came the tinny end of the jack.

  • by cpb1956,

    cpb1956 cpb1956 Apr 17, 2014 4:33 AM in response to apanster
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 17, 2014 4:33 AM in response to apanster

    Thumb tack tip worked perfectly for me. Took about 1 minute!
    Thanks a lot guys

  • by zeeshanzaidi,

    zeeshanzaidi zeeshanzaidi Apr 27, 2014 3:35 AM in response to moorem85
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 27, 2014 3:35 AM in response to moorem85

    Hello,

     

    Thanks alot for the solution. I coudn't find the thumb tack but used a safety pin instead, and it worked

     

    image.jpeg image_1.jpeg

  • by krystinnn,

    krystinnn krystinnn May 28, 2014 11:26 PM in response to apanster
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 28, 2014 11:26 PM in response to apanster

    Yay! I've had this headphone plug stuck in my (old) MacBook for about two years, and I'm going to another state for two months and was desperate to not have to bring external USB speakers for when I use Skype. I didn't have a thumbtack so I used a safety pin and bent it with a pair of pliers, pushed it down the side of the plug and it seemed to push into the plastic ring around the side and I slowly pulled it out whilst jiggling it around, worked a charm!

    This was more helpful than anything else has been, that headphone jack has glue and everything in it due to trying so many different techniques and it the sound now works again!
    Thank you so much!

  • by Kristin L,

    Kristin L Kristin L Jun 5, 2014 6:20 PM in response to apanster
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Apple TV
    Jun 5, 2014 6:20 PM in response to apanster

    Hey everyone....just did the thumb tack think to my first edition iPad.  Worked great....couldn't believe it!  I love this community.  Gotten so many great suggestions!  Thanks!

  • by Nikivine,

    Nikivine Nikivine Jul 10, 2014 7:35 AM in response to apanster
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 10, 2014 7:35 AM in response to apanster

    Quick and easy fix - take the inside so a bic pen and push it in (over the jack) and pull out quickly.  Mine came out on the 3rd try.  iPad works perfectly now. 

  • by harsh94,

    harsh94 harsh94 Oct 21, 2014 5:17 AM in response to Beeyoung88
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 21, 2014 5:17 AM in response to Beeyoung88

    I got the same problem, it's gonna be nearly a month. A bit of the aux cable is stuck inside the headphone slot, any suggestions ?

  • by 2425a,

    2425a 2425a Nov 2, 2014 12:57 PM in response to harsh94
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 2, 2014 12:57 PM in response to harsh94

    The problem with the bic pen tube idea for me was the lack of rigidity of the tube. So I cut a small piece of bic pen tube to about 1 1/2 inches. Opened up each end slightly with an electrical screwdriver then forced the screwdriver most of the way down the tube. You only need a 1/4 to 1/2 inch or less of tube showing over the end of the screwdriver, before using the screwdriver to push this piece of tube down the earphone socket hard and over the broken plug. This has just worked for me. 

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