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

Do this!!!! I tried everything and this soft reset worked like a charm. THANK YOU

This is the best answer. Thank you!

I did a soft reset and it fixed the problem.   I had tried the qtip and re starting but that didn't work.  Soft reset and it's all good

it's work , thx very much KBlonquist , i try to suck it and it work    

Same thing here.  I tried everything else and finally gave in and tried this.  And it worked.

"I got a bit of rain in mine and it said (headphones). fixed it by rolling up a thin bit of toilet paper that is quite long and inserting it in"

This^

I Had this issue with an old phone as well as my new week old phone, they key to fixing it is a paper clip and patience! It takes a lot of wiggiling and twisting before you get it just right and it's fixed! Make sure the paper clip gets right to the end of the jack

help me pleash, apple id how my open

Try connecting a bluetooth connection and disconnecting it. It worked!

done the lighter trick.. Worked after a second of doing it! Thank you!

II'll just share my ultimate solution. I too also noticed the little detent balls inside (1 on one side near the rim, and two in a row slightly deeper in on the other side of the jack interior. (A headlamp is very useful when inspecting the inside of this jack.) anyway, I tried exercising the spring-loaded detent balls but found it to have no effect. One ball did appear not to be protruding as much, but nothing I did to manipulate it with the paper clip had an effect. I figured there must be something in the recess with one of the detent balls, but was not coming out by simply pushing on them with the paper clip. So...

1) I turned off the phone to reduce the possibility of damaging it while doing the next step.

2) I used an air compressor (120 psi) with an air gun that had a needle inflator (the kind used to inflate basketballs and soccer balls) on it. these needle inflators always have the air outlet hole on the side of the needle, not the tip. So I simply shoved that into the headphone jack opening, all the way in, and moved it around a fair bit while activating the air gun to blow air all around inside the jack interior, focusing the air outlet on the needle to especially blow on each of the detent balls.

3) I turned the phone back on to test it and it once again worked properly, accurately registering that no headphones were attached, and properly playing my voicemails through the handset speaker. Success!

Hopefully this helps someone else.

Mine was also due to the phone falling on hardpack snow. Crazy that it continues to plague the jack/phone hours afterward, as it does seem to be simply some residual moisture that is the culprit. You'd think it would spontaneously dry on its own within a short amount of time (say, an hour)...but nope!  As posted previously I was able to dry/fix it using an air compressor with a needle inflator attached.

You are going to have to reset your iphone so please follow the following steps:

Plug your iphone into a computer ( most likely a macbook of any kind)

1. Hold down the home and sleep button at the same time.

2. When you see the apple logo keep holding in till you see the itunes logo and let go.

3. Then follow the directions on your computer to reset your iphone

Good Luck,  Let me know if this helped you!!!

this worked great! i stuck a qtip that i broke in half in there and i got a lot of compressed lint out. awesome fix. thanks!

I tried the paperclip and moved it in a circle motion and then inserted and pulled out the headphones several times and it worked. Saved me a trip to the genius bar.