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How do I remove a 3.5mm tip from inside the audio jack?
The tip of a 3.5mm headphone male pin has detached itself quite good inside my headphone jack (MBP 15"). I have tried every technique including toothpicks with epoxy to tweezers to tiny drills. All of this has only resulted in the tip getting more and more stuck! I am ready to open this baby up and fix it from the inside.
Would this be a good idea? Will I be able to drill open the audio output "cage" that I have observed by looking at the step-by-step guides? If this is the case - would I be able to pry out the tip from there?
But before I do it - Does anybody know if I would be able to use a bluetooth headset to get audio from my MBP? Right now I can't get any sound, even from the internal speakers since the tip is making the mac think that there are headphones attached, and therefore the speakers are offline.
I am immensely grateful for any input or words of advice. Sending it to service is out of the question for monetary reasons.
Thank You!
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mayer
150.7k
Answered
Accepted Answer
You need to approach this from the back of the port. You'll never get it out the front. Open your machine and look at the back of the port. Sometimes you can pull the middle bracket on the back of the port out enough to allow access to the broken tip and remove it. If this fails you will need to replace the whole left I/O board. Here's the part #922-8040: Link
Here's how to do it: Installing MacBook Pro 15" Core 2 Duo Models A1226 and A1260 Left I/O Board
Edited by: Brett Hartt ( )
MacBook Pro 15" (Model A1226) Left I/O Board
Includes MagSafe power, USB, and audio ports — 4 available at 119.95 each.
PS if someone tells you to use tweezers to extract it out the front, you can be sure they've never done it.
Thanks for the help! My initial plan involved a software solution - but OSX Snow Leopard does not have a system option to simply disable input from the audio jack in the first place it would seem. I'm not concerned with the well being of the Audio Out. As long as I'll recieve sound from my speakers it would be satisfactory. Anyways - Thanks again!
If you have access to a right-angle dental pick you may be able to perform the tip extraction by pushing through the DC input jack from the rear without removing the DC / Sound board from the PowerBook but it will be tricky to say the least! Good links mayer!
Tim,
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Amol Lohade
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I had similar problem with laptop Audio Output. I used back side of ballpen refill to remove the tip. I put some glue on the refill and kept it inside the audio output for a while. The tip came out along with the refill.
Amol
I've got the same problem with my Macbook Air audio jack. like Amol said, I'm using a powerglue and apply it just a bit to the inside of the rest of the broken jack (the cable, not the port ), so it won't overflow to the outer shell, push it back to the audio port, wait for a moment, then pull it out. not sure if it's lucky or not, but, it works !!! Thanks to Amol for the idea... thumbs up for you... you make my day better:-)
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You could try to drill a tiny hole in the jack from the outside, then screw a wood screw into it, making a handle with which to pull it out.
I've not done this with a stuck audio jack, but it's a common method used to grab disposable objects when you can't reach or don't want to touch the sides of the object, such as removing a pattern from a sandcasting mold, which was my inspiration for this answer. It's a better way to avoid voiding your warranty, but if that is not an issue you can of course open it up and try that instead. Be creative anyway though. If you decide to open it up, beware that the female jack might be inside a single enclosure meaning you'd not have any more access to the inside - you'd probably have to replace the plug. Here's a link to a typical jack, with picture. Good luck!
I know this is old, but I just had to comment. 3.5 mm diameter of the jack, and you want to drill a "tiny hole and use a wood screw? your drill is going to run of the broken part of the jack and do far greater damage. Also, you better have a good drill press and a jig to hold your computer in place. Do not even try to use a handheld drill. Mission impossible, I can hear the music...Sorry. had to get it of my chest.
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