So the headphone problems have plagued the iPhone for quite some time. It is a very random event and is not being reported by a very high percentage of users out there, but it is nonetheless prevalent. Since we understand how difficult it can be to have to troubleshoot a $400+ wonder-device after expecting the world and being given a small island we can definitely empathize with those of you out there experiencing the “stuck in headphones mode” issue. Well the wait is over for the fix and iPhoneAtlas has provided the important specifics on how to get your shiny new iPhone out of “stuck in headphones mode”; here are the details.
The fix: unplug then re-plug headphones or any other compatible device into the iPhone’s audio jack several times and make sure there is no debris in the audio port.
Option 2: Reset your iPhone by holding down the sleep and home buttons until the Apple logo appears; Restore your iPhone: Click the Restore button under the Summary tab. Restoring the phone will erase contacts, calendars, photos and other data on the phone, but will restore automatically backed-up information including text messages, notes, call history, contact favorites, sound settings, widget settings, etc.
Thanks iPhoneAtlas!
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Thanks for so much for this advice! My iphone’s been stuck in headphone mode for about a week now. I’ve had to resort to takng/making calls on speaker- not ideal! I un-plugged and re-plugged my headphone’s a few times and it worked! Brilliant!
Thx.
THANKS A TON! this worked like a charm. i didnt need to reset my phone, i just did the unplug n plug thing that you guys recommended. thank you so much i was freaking out. it just happened tonight and i’d already scheduled an appointment with the genius bar. but i guess i won’t be needing that…again thanks
marsha
I have tried so many options and none worked, I believe its due to debris in the socket. I blew some wind in to the socket and it started working
Negative. This issue is being reported by Apple and they have not found a fix yet =(
Anto
DO NOT plug/unplug and twist the head phone jack or play with the headphone jack. It’s just the debris as vindivv rightly pointed out! Try a small long pointed needled wrapped in cotton to clean the socket. It perfectly works fine! =)
Hope this info helps the headset locked iPhone users out there =)
Cheers,
Anto
wow! i´ve tried everything!!! even restore! and nothing
this post save my life!!
thanks!!
mauricio
You are welcome =)
Rock on!
O.K. How about this one….
I pulled the male headphone jack out of my Iphone and the tip of the jack
is still stuck in the phone. The phone thinks its transmitting through the
headphone jack and I can no longer hear anything. The “Genius” bar guy
said $300 for a replacement-sorry.
Any ideas?
D
Before reading this post I did try to plug the headphones in once again and remove, but it was still stuck in headphone mode. After reading the post, I plugged and unplugged the headphones several times and that fixed it. It’s a weird problem but I’m really glad it worked. Thanks for the post!
My phone was stuck in headphone mode. I blew it out with air nozzle and it went to working correctly!
I’m glad the it solves so many of our problems =)
More info on http://www.nevervoid.co.cc
Cheers
nevervoid
I too was facing this problem. I tried the jack an trick, no luck. I found a pump for an excerise ball,pumped a few times and it started up again like a charm.
thanks everybody !!!!!!
jeremy
Worked like a charm – thanks!
Just like people, every iPhone is different. To fix the “stuck in headphone” problem, use all of the below suggestions. One will work.
Suggestions:
1 – Plug and unplug headphones until iPhone realizes headphones are not present.
2 – Use cotton swap to clean debris.
3 – Use canned air to cleanse headphone port of debris.
It’s not the iPhones fault. All devises with such a port experience this issue when the device travels in an enclosed space (pocket, purse, etc.) Junk builds up – dust, lent, etc. There is also an engineering design flaw regarding the size of the headphone jack and the size of 3rd party headphones.
I tried the re-plugging the headphones with no luck. I went and purchased long bristled toothbrush and pushed it down into the slot and rotated it around several times and now the phone is back up and running. Much better than sitting around all day waiting on the Idumb@ss
Try removing the SIMtray and blow some air there as well. It worked for me after some snow got into the headphone jack (don’t ask how
).
Cheers!
Mine is stuck now, A bottle of washing up liquid spilled in my bag. Will try the remedy when I work out which are the “sleep” and “home” buttons. In the mean-time I am sucking soap.
I would like to add that i did all of the things everyone talked about here and had to resort to taking apart my phone, unplugging the back peice from the motherboard and then reassembling because nothing else worked….. then two days later the problem came back…..
Thanks for the tip — in-and-out SEVERAL times did the trick.
I tried many many many many times the plug and un-plug tip and finally worked. Thanks!!! Greatings from Portugal.
Thanks to Mr Antony Pratap, I was having a similar issue, basically the inverse. Today I plugged my iPhone into my car and my iPhone wasn’t recognizing the headphone jack. I used a paper clip and gentlely plugged out a bit of fuzz.
Greg: I’m glad it helped
I cleaned headphones output with a toothpick and a tishue it worked perfect
None of the above solutions worked for me, although, all of them had worked previously.
What finally got me happy again was inserting some third party headphones with no jack adapter. They will not go as far as they should, but IT WORKS. Maybe it is the slight difference in diameter that told the iphone no headphones were present anymore.
Hope this helps,
regards from Romania!
thank u soooo much…!!! blowing air into the socket worked for me! BRILLIANT!!!
Tried everything. Still won’t work. Only four months old. F@#king iphone.
The fix is simple. Plug in the iphone headphones. Then press and hold the micro-switch on the headphone wire that doubles as the mic. While holding the switch down, unplug the headphones. This will clear the headphone error.
My iphone headphone jack isn’t working. Its as if the phone is thinking that opposite. When there are no headphones in I can’t hear anything and pressing the volume button shows (headphones)on the screen. However when the headphones are in it acts as if there are none in it and all the sound functions work fine.
I also know that it definitaly thinks that is in headphone mode when nothing is plugged in as while playing music and putting the headphones in but not all the way you can get music to play through the headphones..
I have just recently swapped the back case on my iphone and it came with headphone jack switches etc already in place. All I had to do was attach a cable..
Do you think that there is anyway to get a program to manually change it or a command line that will reverse it?
Hi John, your solution is also my solution. Have also tried everything but nothing worked. Well, the solution for me was: Hold down the switch for the volume and unplug the headphones! Magic … that works! How flippin’ simple is that solution?
Christian- you’re a life saver- tried all the other posts and none of them worked- and then yours being the last post worked!! Thanks
just get a cotton swab and clean it gently.it worked for me.common sense.might have to sqwish the swab so it fits into the tiny hole.
just one insert/remove of the headphones cleared it. Very helpful.
NOTHING is working for me. Just traded my old iPhone in for this one yesterday because the vibrate button on my old one had broken off….I tried everything!! Reseting, blowing pushing various buttons while ejecting the jack. I am so frustrated now!!!!
Okay, believe me I read up a lot of sites and tried them all but the one that worked “once” was using the hand pump with a basketball needle to blow debris out of the jack. Whoever thought of that is a genious.
Forget resetting and especially restoring (if you have unlocked/jailbroke) phone. Save time and money by blowing air to clean out dirt/lint/junk!
Iphone Jack
I dropped mine in my swimming pool. I dreid it out and had the headfone ringer problem. Blow dry air into the hole using compressed air. Works a treat.
Thank you took a few cleans, however worked perfectly after.
I have tried the all above and only managed to change from headphones to ringer (headphone), I can now hear phone ringing but no luck yet hearing pleople speaking unless using speaker, may try using a hammer later, LOL….
You guys are not going to believe this but, I have this problem and I have been reading ALL DAY LONG on different forums about this issue and I have tried every single method people discovers and posts. NONE of them have worked, I tried EVERYTHING even sucking on the headphones jack (as someone else suggested – as a desperate measure). I am starting to think the problem is not in the jack itself it might be in the mother board…check this out, I disassembled the hole phone, mother board and everything, took the whole flex cable for the headphones jack, volume and sleep button out and cleaned it with isopropyl alcohol (I actually let it sit submerged for about an hour), let it dry for a while (hours), blew compressed air on it, installed it and it is still there. You name it, I have tried it. restore, downgrading, reset, compressed air, vacuum, etc…
I guess I have a beautiful iphone 3g 16 GB that only works as a door stop now, a brick! what a shame.
e.
Make sure the silent override lock switch is not engaged. I have a 3GS and it’s located right above the volume controls. Had me going nuts for hours!!
I’ve had the same problem ongoing for a month or so now – And I believe it’s not due to lint at all, but it’s an overheating problem (I have the older iPhone 3G). Air being blown into the headphone jack is serving to cool the interior of the phone more quickly, which is why it seems to work most of the time, but not 100%. Keeping the phone out of the direct sunlight and not in my pockets has helped, but the problem still recurs quite frequently. I can induce the problem by heating the phone up (holding in my hands), and by allowing it to cool off with a little breezy air, it always goes back to normal after about a minute or so.
Anyone else able to confirm this?
For those that nothing has worked (like me) … in the mean time of searching for a solution, I took an old pair of headphones and cut off the wire and plugged it in. The phone is now usable as a regular phone but cant use the headphones. At least its usable now why I search for the solution.
My iPhone 3G has lost all sound. I’ve tried reboot, restore, re inserting the headphone jack, etc… everything I’ve read on hear to do. sometimes one of the three methods will fix it, but the problem always returns. Now the OS Freezes from time to time. I’m not sure if it is a hardware or software flaw but this phone has become useless (no sound= no phone calls, no ipod, no audio at all) I’m really baffled at what it could be. This phone is brand new Model: 7A341 8GB (a month old) and this happened shortly after the 3.0 software upgrade. Any suggestions other than going to my nearest apple store which is out of state 300 miles away?
My friend’s iPhone lost all sounds out of the speaker, calls would even drop if the headphones were removed. Every time the headphones were plugged in, the ipod would launch and start playing. After trying everything and getting really frustrated, he finally gave up and let his daughter play Box of Sox. About level 3, some tickling sounds started coming through the speakers. I doubt it was the game that fixed it as much as letting the phone figure things out. Maybe try playing a game with sounds.
I was at work when it got stuck and I didn’t have headphones with me so I rolled up a small piece of paper and it worked about the third time I tired I think it might need a plug for the headset hole to keep water from wet fingers or sweat or whatever from getting in the hole but thanks for the posting of this information
I have the same problem and have read and tried all the threads and solutions. So I decided to run a test based on one entry that sounded more plausible…overheating as the cause. Here’s the scenario. Had the problem (again) last night after my son spent a long time playing games on my iPhone. Tried most of the proposed solutions (q-tip, plugging in and out, etc.) but nothing worked. Decided to try again in the morning. This morning, the iPhone was back to normal. I decided to try and simulate an overheat by putting the iPhone between my hands for about 10 minutes. Guess what…the problem returned. I again blew cold air into the headphone jack opening. The problem went away. Heated up the iPhone again and problem came back. Blew cold air into headphone jack opening…problem went away. Sooo…I think the “lint obstruction” solution is garbage. It has to do with a hardware flaw that Apple is not admitting. By inserting and removing the headphone jack repeatedly, you are simply helping to cool down the phone (same with the q-tip technique and, definitely, the blowing technique). I’d be interested in seeing if others can simulate this problem/solution. Please post results.
OK, so here’s my story…and possibly a solution. My iPhone would get stuck in Ringer (headphone) mode. No amount of inserting and removing the headphone jack would work. Blowing into the jack hole didn’t work. This morning I went to the Apple Genius Bar. They did some tests, blew crap out of the hole and the problem did not go away. Eventually they completely wiped my phone back to its virgin state. Still didn’t do the trick. They offered to exchange the phone (of course, it’s about a month out of warranty) with an exact copy (white, 3G, 16GB) for $199. I declined as I’m eligible for a lower cost 3GS upgrade in December. Came home depressed wondering why I didn’t take out an AppleCare Plan. Again tried all the tricks and the problem just seemed to get worse (i.e. it just stayed in headphone mode). So, here’s what worked for me. I normally use a pair of Etymotic earbuds instead of the supplied iPhone earbuds. The Etymotic jack (that thing that goes inside the iPhone) is different from the iPhone earbud jack. The Etymotics jack has two black bands (separating the jack into three separate metal pieces). The native iPhone earbuds jack has three white band that separates the jack into four separate metal pieces. Somehow, my Etymotic jack messed up the iPhone settings and caused it to get stuck in the headphone mode. The only way to get it back was to re-insert the Etymotic jack. That has reset the iPhone and everything is working fine again. So, if you are using any brand of earbud other than the native iPhone buds, that may be causing the problem. Hope that helps. Works like a charm for me.
This is crazy, I have tried ALL of the above but NOTHING seems to work, absolutetly NOTHING.
before I had my iphone jailbroken it was working fine but after a couple of days I jailbreaked it, it stayed on RINGER (HEADPHONE) mode and I unjailbreaked it and did ALL of the above and nothing is working anymore.
I also read on the internet that it might have something to do with skype and cydia not working well toghether but I doubt that would be the problem.
You buy a $400 iphone from apple store and apple can’t even fix the sound problem there, now eather they are so stupid to fix an iphone when THEY have created the iphone or that is being done on purpose so that you keep on spending money to get the iphone fixed wich makes them even more money.
just like companies are making cars that run on gas when they have the technology to make cars run on water but purposely make them that way so you keep making those rich people even richer by spending money on gas instead of using free tap water tp run the car.
EVERYTHING IS SO CORRUPT IN THE U.S.
thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaank you so much that’s really helpful……………………………. i had a problem with the headphone but not any more, i did the unplug then re-plug method
I didn’t have this problem until I plugged my 3g into an Ihome that I purchased today. I tried all of the above and I am in the process of doing the new update. Anyone have any ideas? I am about to pull my hair out I am so FREAKING mad.
See my two earlier posts (my two theories were overheating and using the wrong headphone jack). After thinking I’d solved the solution, it has returned (and seems to be getting worse). I’m now almost certain this is an overheating problem (and not a hardware malfunction of the headphone jack). Why? My problem only occurs after I or my kid uses the iPhone for awhile (15 minutes or more). The phone gets warm to the touch and then slips into the “ringer: headphone” mode. No amount of inserting or removing the jack helps. Last night when this occurred on three separate occasions, I held the iPhone close to the vents of cold air coming out of my room air conditioner. Voila, the phone’s ringer returned to normal without using the jack insert method. I again played with the phone and, again, it got stuck in headphone mode once it had warmed up. Again, I held it close the cold air and the phone corrected itself. That makes me almost certain that it’s an overheating problem that seems to trigger the phone’s thermocoupler that confuses the phone’s ringer/headphone mode. I was about to order a replacement headphone jack and install it myself thinking it was a hardware problem with the jack but now I don’t think this is the solution. This is clearly now in Apple’s court. They need to do the right thing and come up with a solution (probably software based) and/or provide free replacements (even for phones that are out of warranty).