Apple Event: May 7th at 7 am PT

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

Level 1

21 points

MacBook speaker disabled when headphone jack is removed

I've been having increasing difficulty getting my MacBook's speaker to work when I remove the headphone jack.

The speaker icon goes grey, rendering the speaker 'unavailable.' So far, I've eventually been able to restore the speaker by jiggling the jack, but the amount of jiggling I have to do before I have success with that is increasing, and I'm expecting to get to a point where it just won't happen.

An Apple Store employee I spoke to, and claimed to be familiar with the problem, said that the repair for this involves replacement of the entire logic board.

Does anyone know whether that's accurate?

If so, are there any other workable fixes for this?

I'm not eager to replace an otherwise perfectly functioning logic board just because of a faulty headphone jack connection problem. (In fact, given my MacBook's vintage, the fact that it's well out of warranty, and the cost of replacing a logic board, I won't even be considering doing that.)

Thanks.

MacBook, Mac OS X (10.6.8), 1.83 MHz

Posted on Dec 5, 2012 6:40 AM

18 replies

Apr 20, 2014 10:55 PM in response to dymar

I know it's way late, but if your still having trouble I have found a free solution not listed above. Let me know if you still need it.

somnio

Level 1

5 points

Apr 24, 2014 2:12 PM in response to Concerned user767

Hi, I've followed suggested steps in this thread and no luck. What is your free solution? Thanks!

Apr 12, 2015 11:26 AM in response to dymar

I have had this problem for going on 2 years now, but I am always able to fix it. The problem can usually be alleviated simply by unplugging anything in the headphone jack and shutting down and restarting the computer. It seems like in everyone's case here it seems to be a sensor issue, so jiggling the plug or finding something like a matchstick to reset it usually works, too, though I use that as a last option due to a fear of long term damage. The six step process listed earlier has also worked for me.

MacBook speaker disabled when headphone jack is removed