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iphone thinks headphones are plugged in even when not - how to fix

iphone thinks headphones are plugged in even when not - how to fix

iPhone 4, Windows XP

Posted on Aug 10, 2012 2:48 PM

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Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Feb 28, 2017 3:38 PM

I've been trying to get this issue fixed on my iPhone 6 almost all day. I never use headphones and my phone has never had any water or physical damage. I tried SO MANY things and what finally worked for me was this.. HOLD DOWN THE VOLUME UP AND DOWN BUTTONS AT THE SAME TIME, WHILE STILL HOLDING THESE DO A HARD RESET. SO ALL THE STEPS YOU WILL DO AT THE SAME TIME ARE HOLD DOWN THE VOLUME UP AND DOWN BUTTONS WHILE HOLDING DOWN THE HOME BUTTON AS WELL AS THE BUTTON ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF YOUR PHONE. ONCE YOU SEE THE WHITE SCREEN WITH THE APPLE YOU CAN LET GO OF ALL BUTTONS. THIS SHOULD FIX THE ISSUE! I really hope this saves someone a lot of the hassle I've been through!!

192 replies

Jan 3, 2013 7:10 PM in response to kristinfromsummit

I also used a q-tip removing the majority of the cotton just to make the end fuzzy. After inserting it in the headphone port and a small turn, I got a fairly large grey Lint matching my pockets lint... The headphones must have compacted it up in its sensors. I used it dry, no moisture and it worked perfectly... Resetting the phone just made a mess of my set preferences. :-( it was a physical problem than a software reset issue for me.

Jan 9, 2013 3:31 AM in response to kristinfromsummit

I have had this problem for more than a week. I tried sticking things inside the headphone jack, blowing compressed air, blow drier, etc. But understanding the problem, helped me find a solution. The iPhone headphone jack has these small metal balls that stick out, inside of the jack. When you put your headphones in, the iPhone goes into headphone mode. I assume that something got out of line and one of these small balls was unable to push out when I removed my headphones. For this reason, sticking a pin into the jack or a soft paper towel, will not dislodge the small ball. My solution? A paper clip with 2 sides pressed closely together. I jammed the paperclip into the jack and turned it around several times to dislodge the ball. It sounds worse than it is and the headphone jack can take some abuse. This worked immediately, even after all of the other solutions failed.


Let me know if this helps.

Jun 27, 2013 2:05 PM in response to kristinfromsummit

Had the same problem. Couldn't hear incoming calls, Siri, or music through the phone speaker, though speakerphone worked fine. When using airplay, "Headphones" was an option, even though nothing was plugged in.


I tried restart, hard reset, and cleaning the headphone jack. I was just about convinced I had a hardware problem - a short of some kind.


This is what finally worked (found via google in a thread from 2008):


1) Turn off bluetooth


2) Hard reset


3) Turn on bluetooth


Saved me a trip to the Genius Bar.

Aug 28, 2013 4:31 PM in response to David meme

The mostly stripped Q-tiip worked for me where nothing else did. I was in a downpour and the headphone jack end was uppermost in my outside pouch, so even with the umbrella that must have done it in. A friend just told me, though, that evidence of exposure to moisture in your iPhone invalidates your warranty, even for unrelated problems. So I guess that's it for free fixes.

iphone thinks headphones are plugged in even when not - how to fix

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