2 month old U-MBP headphone jack stopped working (thoughts?)

[sn0warmy]

I bought my unibody MBP back in late July from the Apple store here. It's been a great machine. Except all of a sudden my headphone jack won't play sound. I realized this last night as I tried to listen to music on it while surfing the web. I've plugged headphones into it maybe 10 times total. And they worked every time before. If I unplug the headphones and plug them back in repeatedly I can get them to work after about the 4th or 5th time. When they do work, the sound is great.

Anyway, I made an appointment with the genius bar this afternoon to show them and see if there is anything they can do. Obviously, after paying $2,500 for a laptop I would expect it to run completely flawlessly. But at the same time, I'm hoping they don't offer to replace it with a refurbished one. In fact, I would prefer to not even get a new one. I love this one, I guess I just hope it's fixable.

Any one have any idea of what I can expect to happen? Should I backup my data assuming they will replace it? Should I just expect to have to leave it with them so they can fix it? Will they just say "sorry, tough luck" and send me on my way?

I wish I almost wish it was a bigger issue than just the headphone jack. It almost makes it not worth the effort.

And before anyone asks:
- No it has not been near any water spillage (I imagine they will conclude this when they run the light test in the headphone jack)
- It has never been dropped
- Yes I have tried 3 different pairs of headphones and gotten the same results.

 

[miles01110]

Anyway, I made an appointment with the genius bar this afternoon to show them and see if there is anything they can do. Obviously, after paying $2,500 for a laptop I would expect it to run completely flawlessly.

You mean the world isn't perfect?

Any one have any idea of what I can expect to happen? Should I backup my data assuming they will replace it? Should I just expect to have to leave it with them so they can fix it?

Yes, you should back up your data. Yes, you should expect to have to leave it with them so they can fix it. If the headphone jack is really screwed up, it can mean a logic board replacement (as absurd as it sounds).

 

[ZizousamA]

I bought my unibody MBP back in late July from the Apple store here. It's been a great machine. Except all of a sudden my headphone jack won't play sound. I realized this last night as I tried to listen to music on it while surfing the web. I've plugged headphones into it maybe 10 times total. And they worked every time before. If I unplug the headphones and plug them back in repeatedly I can get them to work after about the 4th or 5th time. When they do work, the sound is great.

Anyway, I made an appointment with the genius bar this afternoon to show them and see if there is anything they can do. Obviously, after paying $2,500 for a laptop I would expect it to run completely flawlessly. But at the same time, I'm hoping they don't offer to replace it with a refurbished one. In fact, I would prefer to not even get a new one. I love this one, I guess I just hope it's fixable.

Any one have any idea of what I can expect to happen? Should I backup my data assuming they will replace it? Should I just expect to have to leave it with them so they can fix it? Will they just say "sorry, tough luck" and send me on my way?

I wish I almost wish it was a bigger issue than just the headphone jack. It almost makes it not worth the effort.

And before anyone asks:
- No it has not been near any water spillage (I imagine they will conclude this when they run the light test in the headphone jack)
- It has never been dropped
- Yes I have tried 3 different pairs of headphones and gotten the same results.

Mine is almost as old as yours and I constantly use my earbuds. The headphone jack just suddenly stopped working and didn't respond no matter how many times I tried, and I've tried 3 different pairs as well. I left the earbuds plugged in and went to sleep. Next day, everything was back to normal. It maybe the same for you. Anyway, if you want to go to the store, surely you must back up just in case.

 

[analytical44]

I don't mean to insult your intelligence by any means but have you tried to restart the computer? My headphone jack stopped outputting sound one time after I went from my speakers to my headphones. A restart resolved the problem.

 

[sn0warmy]

Mine is almost as old as yours and I constantly use my earbuds. The headphone jack just suddenly stopped working and didn't respond no matter how many times I tried, and I've tried 3 different pairs as well. I left the earbuds plugged in and went to sleep. Next day, everything was back to normal. It maybe the same for you. Anyway, if you want to go to the store, surely you must back up just in case.

Woah, I will definitely try this first. If I can fix this myself without leaving my computer with them I would much rather do that.

It also just occurred to me that the headphone jack was fine until I installed Snow Loeopard....

 

[sn0warmy]

I don't mean to insult your intelligence by any means but have you tried to restart the computer? My headphone jack stopped outputting sound one time after I went from my speakers to my headphones. A restart resolved the problem.

haha, believe me, as an ex computer tech I understand how dumb some people can be when it comes to trouble shooting technology. (i.e. not plugging the desktop into the wall and complaining that "it won't turn on").

But yeah, I've put it through a full reboot 2 times since last night, hoping that would fix it.

 

[cluthz]

Have you tried to repair permissions?
Can you see Headphones in the PrefPane when they are connected?

 

[ZizousamA]

Woah, I will definitely try this first. If I can fix this myself without leaving my computer with them I would much rather do that.

It also just occurred to me that the headphone jack was fine until I installed Snow Loeopard....

It could be an SL glitch or something. It wouldn't surprise me. I've experienced some anomalies since installing SL. Yeah try to give it some time before you go to the store and hopefully it will work.

 

[sn0warmy]

Have you tried to repair permissions?
Can you see Headphones in the PrefPane when they are connected?

The headphones show up only when I've plugged them in for the 4th or 5th time and they start working. I'm just going to leave them plugged in and let my computer go to sleep while I'm at lunch. Maybe they will magically be fixed when I come back and wake the computer.

 

[analytical44]

It also just occurred to me that the headphone jack was fine until I installed Snow Loeopard....

Maybe try reinstalling the OS if all else fails. Definitely a minor pain but may be worth a shot if you can't go without your computer for a few days. Gook luck, post back and let us know what happens.

 

[Vulcan]

Same thing happened to mine, but in my case, a simple reboot fixed the issue. Good luck.

 

[macphobic]

Same with me. no audio out of headphone jack; restart; audio out of headphone jack.

 

[sn0warmy]

I forgot about this thread. The problem persisted, then last week I installed a new 7200rpm harddrive with SL. The headphone jacked worked just fine 100% of the time for a few days. And today it went back to only working 50% of the time again.