Help! One of my headphones broke off inside my Macbook

[kbenker]

I've had the same problem for a little over a month and have tried a couple of the suggestions on here and they didn't work. I haven't tried the glue one yet, but I'm hesitant about putting glue in there.

I took it into an Apple Store and they didn't really know what to do, same with Apple phone support.

 

[christopher3071]

Yes

It's not a MBP, just a regular Macbook. If I took it to Apple or mailed it in would they be able to help me? I have Applecare for a few years on this machine...

Yea, my best mate had this happen to his iPod nano a year ago. The guy at the apple store was a bit surprised but he did give my buddy a new nano for it. If you bring it to apple they will definitely repair it. It's too hard to get the tip out so they will most likely replace the jack or next biggest component containing the jack. That's what they did for him anyway. Best of luck..

 

[tremendous]

I suggest putting the Mac on its side so the headphone jack is facing up. Then get some Krazy Glue and glue something small like a toothpick to the broken headphone part. Wait a while and then pull out.




WTF? What headphones were you using? I don't see how that's possible.

those in-ear headphones that have replaceable rubber ear pieces. guess i just pushed it in too far and it went into my ear.

 

[SuperSnake2012]

Yea, my best mate had this happen to his iPod nano a year ago. The guy at the apple store was a bit surprised but he did give my buddy a new nano for it. If you bring it to apple they will definitely repair it. It's too hard to get the tip out so they will most likely replace the jack or next biggest component containing the jack. That's what they did for him anyway. Best of luck..

I sent it into Apple and they told me that to fix it they would have to replace the entire logic board, something that would cost over $800 (yes, you read that correctly ). I just told them to send it back, I'd rather try the Superglue trick.

 

[Eric Lewis]

I sent it into Apple and they told me that to fix it they would have to replace the entire logic board, something that would cost over $800 (yes, you read that correctly ). I just told them to send it back, I'd rather try the Superglue trick.

800 dollars? what the ??

 

[hierobryan]

I sent it into Apple and they told me that to fix it they would have to replace the entire logic board, something that would cost over $800 (yes, you read that correctly ). I just told them to send it back, I'd rather try the Superglue trick.

good decision. i'm pretty sure it'll work. just use a small amount of glue and make sure to give it enough time to dry before trying to pull it out. if you don't wait long enough you'll end up with too much dried glue in the hole...not good.

 

[SuperSnake2012]

I tried the superglue and it didn't work... it dried sufficiently, then when we pulled it out the piece didn't come out. I'm willing to try it again, but this is really discouraging... is there a way to get to this from the inside?

 

[motulist]

With the computer fully turned off, try holding the macbook with the headphone jack pointing towards the floor, and then giving it some pretty good whacks on the top side. When any modern laptop is turned off they're usually really quite rugged, so you should be able to shake it and smack it pretty good without doing any damage.

No guarantee though, proceed at your own risk.

Other than that, I'd try the tweezer idea. Just get the smallest thinnest ones you can get. Maybe even try a medical supply store for some forceps or other tools you could repurpose. Remember, medical tools are design to work on the tiniest and most delicate of structures, so one of them should be perfect for doing a little home surgery on your macbook.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forceps

EDIT:

I did a little googling around on forceps just out of my own curiosity, and I found the perfect ones for you! They're called splinter forceps, and they're these super thin little things designed specifically for pulling out splinters! Check it out!

http://www.fcsurplus.ca/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=2193

In fact, this other site even says they're:

Great for grasping anything which would be inconvenient or impracticable to grasp with the fingers. Especially useful for delicate operations such as those of:
-Watchmakers
-surgeons
-dentists

http://www.bannertherapy.com/ProductInfo.aspx?splinter-forceps&number=05-575

 

[SuperSnake2012]

That site has a minimum order requirement of $24... is there another place to buy those? I don't want 12 of those tweezers

 

[Consultant]

That site has a minimum order requirement of $24... is there another place to buy those? I don't want 12 of those tweezers

Print out page, go to hardware store.
Or ask guys at hardware store about your problem...

Whacks will probably not get it out. Might cause damage.
Do you have a picture?

 

[eluk]

...

Whacks will probably not get it out. Might cause damage.
Do you have a picture?

Definitely won't, too little mass in the part and it is held in by the switch that disconnects the internal speakers.

 

[arynna]

success!

I had the same problem and spent the better part of the afternoon today reading forum posts in the hope that I'd find a good solution. I was a little hesitant to risk using superglue around my computer, but decided that it was the best immediate option.

Bought superglue (the GEL kind, not the liquid), put a dab of it on the end of a toothpick, stuck the toothpick in there and let it sit half an hour. Just pulled it out, and the broken off end of the headphone plug came out with the toothpick perfectly. (It came out so easily, in fact, that I didn't realize it had worked until I looked down at the toothpick and saw the plug still stuck onto it.)

It was cheap, really easy, and worked like a dream. Don't be afraid to try, and you only have to use a TINY amount of glue.

Hope this helps someone!

 

[SuperSnake2012]

Kind of a happy ending to this story... couldn't get the headphone piece out. Luckily (or unluckily ) my ethernet jack died, so I brought it to the Apple Store in White Plains, NY and had it checked out. The guy said that the entire logic board was going to be replaced, free of charge, which would fix my headphone problem. When I mailed it in to Apple they wanted to charge me $800 for it! Plus I got a whole new top case to my Macbook so I have a fresh keyboard again

 

[hershey3000]

This just happened to me

Ok, so this unfortunate event just happened to me with a newly purchased set of speakers/subwoofer. The metal part to the headphones connector just snapped off in half into my mac book. I simply inserted a safety pin into the ear phones jack and slowly pulled the ear phone connector out. IF that doesn't work, send it out to the guys at mac, and they'll do the same exact thing for you, except with the proper tools.

 

[martin painter]

ok i had the same problem thanks to my house mate. went to the mac shop and they said they cant get it out and they reckoned they had the best tools (tweezers) for the job then proceeded to tell me it will cost £350 for a new logic board or something. i spent an hour searching for a remedy and there was no way i was going to bond a cocktail stick to my macbook. i had tried a tooth pick and little tweezers from those little pocket knifes you can get and they just didnt work. then i came across a hair clip. with a knife i took the bobbles of the end and opened it up so i had just 1 straight end. i had a quick look inside and kind of realized that there was kind of a clip holding the jack in place quite far in (it was only the smallest tip that had snapped inside.) so as you look into the jack hole i slid the hair clip in to the left side down past where it was held by a clip and from there it pretty much just popped out. i hope this helps everyone. i couldnt believe how easy it just came out. please let me know if you need help.

 

[corks]

Just had this issue with my macbook, and as mentioned above the toothpick with superglue is defiantly the way to go. Thanks for the help guys!

 

[Kwales66]

Thanks Guys !!

Hi all - I was a bit dubious trying the super glue on a cocktail stick to get the broken headphone jack out of my mackbook.

But with a little patience I now have sound again !! YEY !!!!

K

 

[DoNoHarm]

you shouldn't use superglue - you need metal epoxy. if you go to your local hardware store there is metal epoxy for a few bucks. you could use either a toothpick or possibly even the broken off end of the headphone jack. use a very small ammount, enough to create a droplet smaller than the contact area of the headphone jack. a good way to ensure that you're using a tiny ammount may be to wet the end of a toothpick and dab the broken headphone jack a few times. then insert and wait for it to harden. the welded headphone jack may even be stronger than before!

 

[-rob a-]

i got it!!

i was reading about the glue idea and i was getting ready to try it, but then
i found my toolkit with some needle nose pliers and pretty skinny tweasers... the very tip of the headphone plug had snapped off in the jack and there was not enough space to simply pull it out with the needle nose.
i also tried to pick it out with a really skinny micro flat head screw driver, but that didn't work...
i was able to get the tweezers into the jack, but i couldn't get enough grip to pull out the piece. so, i was able to get a stronger grip and pull the piece out by using the pliers along with the tweezers:
i stuck the tweezers in the jack, gripped the piece, then gripped tweezers as close to the tip as possible (with the pliers for added strength) and viola!!

-that's how i did it. i hope this helps someone.

 

[mulze22]

Ok, so this unfortunate event just happened to me with a newly purchased set of speakers/subwoofer. The metal part to the headphones connector just snapped off in half into my mac book. I simply inserted a safety pin into the ear phones jack and slowly pulled the ear phone connector out. IF that doesn't work, send it out to the guys at mac, and they'll do the same exact thing for you, except with the proper tools.

I took your suggestion about using the safety pin and that worked for me as well. I was freaking out too because I had used all the precision tools in my tool and nothing was working. Thanks for the advice.

 

[mastermind6192]

Is it just me, or do most of these methods sound very damaging to you mac if you mess up. Go to the apple store and they will fix it for free ( if you are still under warranty).

 

[Dozerrox]

Is it just me, or do most of these methods sound very damaging to you mac if you mess up. Go to the apple store and they will fix it for free ( if you are still under warranty).

The OP said they wouldn't fix it under apple care.

 

[andershusa]

The first thing that hit me when part of my headphone jack got stuck inside my Mac Pro was to super glue a toothpick to pull it out. Since it seemed a bit risky I googled to look for other suggestions and came across this thread. This made me go ahead with the glue, but I used it on the broken headphone jack and not a toothpick. Worked like a charm.

I just used a tiny drop of glue, and allowed it to sit for a good hour. Then I yanked it out in one quick motion.

 

[luis.s]

A headphone jack broke off inside my 13" MacBook Pro about an hour ago (just the very tip bit). I searched and found lots of solutions, including this thread, but I was scared to stick super glue in such a small space of my laptop. I tried tweezers but they weren't strong enough.

I then tried sticking the part of the plug that didn't break off in, and after a few attempts and various amounts of wiggling and pulling out at different angles, the broken bit came out with it I thought I'd share this solution here, as it's such a simple one but it took me a while to think of it, and I'm so glad I did this before sticking glue in my laptop. It may not work for everyone with the problem, but try it first if this happens to you.

 

[teejusb]

I had a similar (if not exact) problem happen on my old toshiba laptop. Heres what I did and i fixed it without ANY problems...

What you need.
-Scotch tape
-Your broken earphone
-Patience?? (not really takes like 5 minutes)

1. Take the tape and wrap the broken end of your earphones so that around a centimeter sticks out off of the end. Make sure you have enough layers so its stiff enough to go into your earphone jack without bending. Don't put too many layers otherwise it won't fit.

2. Stick the broken plug (with the tape) into your jack and once the tape's wrapped around the broken piece, pull it out. The broken piece should come out with it. (You might have to do this twice to get all of it out) and voila! Le Fin

Worked without any problems!