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iphone 4 dock - no sound from iphone

C

cheeks

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 27, 2010
3
0
i just bought an iphone 4 dock today. when i plug it in, my iphone makes no sound except for ringtones.

there is a line out port but i don't intend to use it to connect to external speakers. i would like the iphone to play the music direct. any idea if this is supposed to be the case or is there a software/hardware issue with either the iphone or the dock?

any help would be appreciated. thanks!
 
Any luck?

Hi,
I have the same problem, which for me is making every single alarm clock app besides the built in one useless.
Did you ever find a solution?
Cheers
 
Not much of a solution

Well I ended up using the line out to a small set of speakers if I wanted to hear anything else coming in :-(
 
I recently bought cheap docking station for my iPhone 3G from Dealextreme and have exacly the same problem.
I've opened my dock:
iPhoto-20101230-161657.jpg

and found one resistor inside, near line-out connector.
IMG_0131.jpg_%40_200__%28RGB_8%29-20101230-162955.jpg

To disable line out function of the dock (and use internal iPhone speaker for music) you can desolder that resistor or just cut the lane leading to that resistor with sharp knife.
 
viperet said:
I recently bought cheap docking station for my iPhone 3G from Dealextreme and have exacly the same problem.
I've opened my dock:
iPhoto-20101230-161657.jpg

and found one resistor inside, near line-out connector.
IMG_0131.jpg_%40_200__%28RGB_8%29-20101230-162955.jpg

To disable line out function of the dock (and use internal iPhone speaker for music) you can desolder that resistor or just cut the lane leading to that resistor with sharp knife.
Click to expand...

Woah.

I will be testing this tonight with the sw-box docks as well. Does this work while not plugged into USB?
 
obyte said:
Woah.

I will be testing this tonight with the sw-box docks as well. Does this work while not plugged into USB?
Click to expand...

This works plugged and unplugged. But there is a better solution, than just cutting the lane. You can replace 3.5mm line-out connector with special one, with switch inside, and connect resistor through switch, so it will be connected only when 3.5 mm audio jack is inserted into line-out.
 
viperet said:
This works plugged and unplugged. But there is a better solution, than just cutting the lane. You can replace 3.5mm line-out connector with special one, with switch inside, and connect resistor through switch, so it will be connected only when 3.5 mm audio jack is inserted into line-out.
Click to expand...

I'd rather not re-wire everything on 20 docks :)
 
viperet said:
My dock costs $4.50 with worldwide shipping =)
Click to expand...

I meant 20 individual docks, not $20 docks lol

Edit: I just realized that cutting the trace would completely negate the line out. I wasn't thinking this morning.

Any idea what switched line out jack to get to try?
 
Che Castro said:
what speakers can i use with the iphone 4 dock line out plug?

will any portable speakers do?
Click to expand...

Well mine are $7 speakers so if they work hopefully all the rest do!

Seems like there's no simpler solution than taking the dock apart? :-(
 
still no software solution? only hardware "fix"

out of all the current forum posts, this one is the only that seems to address the problem of "when i connect my iphone to my [cheap] dock, the sound disappears (unless i connect external speakers to the line out port)"

viperet has posted 2 hardware "solution":
one you open it up as explained above
a) either desolder the line out resistor, or cut the wire leading to its function (NOTE: you will not be able to use the line out port anymore).
b) desolder the line out resistor, and replace it with one that has a "switch" whereby if there is no external speaker connected then your iphone's internal speakers will be used; this is, logically-speaking, how it Should work by default but does not

i understand these 2 hardware options, but before proceeding, i want to find out if there is a simpler Software solution to simply tell the iphone to "pass thru" the dock's line out and continue to use its own speaker?
it continues to be somewhat of a hassle, as i expect you would have to go into whatever app/configuration to set the "pass thru", but i would prefer this than the posted hardware fixes

i would appreciate any constructive suggestions, thank you :)
 
I got the same dock for 2.50 shipped. It was cheaply constructed. I desoldered the a9 resistor and now it plays audio

Weird thing is the 30pin connector on the back side is upside down. Sure confused me a bit trying to plug it in the first time.
 
I'm hoping someone can assist me...I just bought a dock and have the same "only ringtones" play issue while docked. I opened up my dock and while the outside case is the same, the internals are just a bit different. I only know so much about internal electronics, is the R5 component the resistor that needs to be desoldered..(I thought I'd find a color band resistor). Or I can just use a blade to cut the two lines going down from it correct? Thanks everyone.
Dock.JPG
 
I have the same issue with these small charge docks, I've tried cutting the two lines to the resistor, but still no sound. Either I didn't cut deep enough or it just didn't work... Could anybody point out exactly what to do? I'm not very good with electronics, but I REALLY want the sound to work as it will make a nice alarm clock. Thanks.
 
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