Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Internal Speaker Issue on MacBook Pro...

R

rimrocka07011

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 31, 2006
72
0
Cleveland, OH
I recently started re-using some Logitech Z-4i's with my MacBook Pro... I used these speakers earlier in the year, and they worked well. I use them again, and they worked well.

But now, after needing to go mobile for the first time since using my speakers again, I have discovered that I get NO SOUND from the INTERNAL SPEAKERS when I am not connecting out to my Logitech speakers. This is quite frustrating... I'm not even able to control the volume (its greyed out when not connected to the externals). When I unplug my line-out from my headphone jack, the headphone jack is glowing red, indicating that it probably still thinks something is plugged in there. I even try to restart the computer, and it makes the startup sound, and then the headphone jack glows again.

Is there anyway that I can reset my sound card? Anything that I can do to fix this? Is this a common occurrence? HELP!
 
That kind of thing happens when of the tabs inside a phono jack is bent. They can often be fixed with a small pick, but it would be very easy to break them off too. You will want to bring it into the shop if you haven't done that kind of thing before, and the tabs aren't always accessible anyway, especially on the little jacks.

If you haven't yanked a cable or anything like that, it'll probably be covered under the warranty.

If Apple decide that it's not a warranty item for some reason, and that you need a nice new expensive board, you could you a Griffin iMic or something as a replacement.
 
Seems your 'book is confusing the phono jack with an optical one. On my PowerBook, If I connect my audio using an optical cable, then my volume is grayed out.


The jack glows red because it has a laser in there to sent audio digitally if you were to use an optical cable. Seems your laptop is having trouble telling the difference. Try using a different cable to see if that helps.
 
Are your sound settings correct in the System Prefs? Mine looks like this:

BTW, should the headphone jack glow red? I don't think mine does that? :confused:
 

Attachments

  • Picture1.png
    Picture1.png
    45.1 KB · Views: 1,010
UPDATE: I tried to plug in another audio-out cord (iPod earbuds) into my headphone jack, and once I pulled them out, I got sound from my internal speakers. However, once I plugged back in my internal speakers, the jack still glowed red after I unplugged those... a pretty weird occurrence. After that, I tried plugging in the earbuds again and unplugging them to get sound, but the jack still would glow red when there was nothing plugged into it. Also, my sound settings doesn't list an "Internal Speakers" when my audio-out is plugged in or when it is not. Should I try to get a new audio-out cord for my speakers?
 
i had a friend that had a last-rev powerbook g4 17 inch, and she had the EXACT same problem (where the optical glowing red thing would not turn off when nothing was plugged in)

it started with no internal sound, only on ext. speakers, then it escalated to the airport/bluetooth not working at all, so she took it in, and they replaced the headphone jack, bt and apx

it worked for a little while, then she was getting kernel panics every hour on the hour, took it in again, worked a while, then completely died

so she took it in again, and they gave her a brand new macbook pro 17 inch
 
I just had this problem with my macbook. After reading this thread, I grabbed a plastic tipped Hair Pin (wives are great assets) tickled the speaker jack, the optical light went out, and voila, my internal speakers are working just fine....

It is definitely a faulty jack issue. Hopefully rev b macbooks will have this solved.
 
giles117 said:
It is definitely a faulty jack issue. Hopefully rev b macbooks will have this solved.
Click to expand...

Come on, you and I know that this problem is confined to a small number of notebooks and not a problem the MacBook is particularly struck by.
 
atticus1178 said:
so she took it in again, and they gave her a brand new macbook pro 17 inch
Click to expand...
My issue isn't quite this severe, but I have just started getting this 'stuck on optical' red LED issue with my headphone port.

I gather there's no other cure for this, other than to take it in for repair? I have around 3 months left on my first year warranty, so I guess I should be covered, right?

*Literally prays that he gets it replace with a new MacBook Pro 17"* hehehe

Thanks,
onlyone-jc.
 
Similar issues

onlyone-jc said:
My issue isn't quite this severe, but I have just started getting this 'stuck on optical' red LED issue with my headphone port.

I gather there's no other cure for this, other than to take it in for repair? I have around 3 months left on my first year warranty, so I guess I should be covered, right?

*Literally prays that he gets it replace with a new MacBook Pro 17"* hehehe

Thanks,
onlyone-jc.
Click to expand...

I've had similar problems with my MacBook Pro 15" 2.0Ghz. Is this a job for AppleCare?
 
nesbitt_a said:
I've had similar problems with my MacBook Pro 15" 2.0Ghz. Is this a job for AppleCare?
Click to expand...
Sure is! I gave my local Authorised Apple Repair Centre an e-mail, and they said to bring it in for a repair. They said they couldn't give a time-scale initially, but that once the machine had been assessed, I would be given a date.

I'll be taking it in sometime next week. So, I'll hopefully be giving the AppleCare staff a good review in the next week or two.

Keep us all posted on how you get on, also.

onlyone-jc.
 
common issue?

Mine did the same thing. The problem is there is a switch in the jack that tells it if you have a mini headphone plug or an optical plug plugged into the headphone port. The problem is when you remove the plug, the jack doesn't know it and keeps shining the red light to talk with the optical. This disables the internal speakers and you see digital out instead of internal speakers in the speaker conrtol panel. Plugging and unplugging the speakers may get it working right for awhile but it won't last forever.

The repair is warrantied, and involves replacing the left IO board. Parts and labor are covered, and the repair should take about 1/2 hr to perform.
 
Red light of doom

I had the issue described so well in the forum. It began after using a standard set of headphones. Tried resetting the pram. Didn't work. As a last resort I googled "macbook pro stuck digital out" and found this thread. Used a soft small probe gently within the line out jack and out goes the red light of death, and the sound returns from the internal speakers.

Thanks MacRumors
 
Same Problem: FIXED! Sound Preferences - Sound Effects

I came to this forum looking for a solution to the same problem. I tried "tickling" the hole with a hair pin as suggested, and at the same time, I turned ON the "play user interface sound effects" and the "play feedback when volume is changed" boxes in "Sound Effects" in Sound Preferences, and it WORKED! I don't think it was the pin, although it could have been. If my :apple: is like me (we seem to become more similar every day) then it's into a little penetration every now and then ;)

YAY! Good luck...
 
I had this same issue today, where I had sound through external means (speakers, headphones) but not through the internal speakers. Then I noticed that my headphone jack would glow red when I tried to play sound or fiddle with the volume controls. I had no internal speaker choice in my sound preferences, so I finally googled the problem, which lead me to here.

I tried fiddling with the trigger (using a paperclip bent straight), which I think is visible on the bottom part of the headphone jack. After a few seconds of fiddling, the light went off and I had sound again. I plugged in some speakers to see if it was a temporary fix, and it seems to be going good for now. If I have any recurring problems, I will definitely try to get it repaired. And no, I haven't been forceful with my jacks. I got my 15" MBP 2.16GHz for about $500 through those advertisements (from a company called Nuitech), and I baby her!! :cool: :apple:
 
My boss came to me with this problem yesterday on his 15" MacBook Pro, complete with the red light glowing. Good old Google found this thread for me.

I was skeptical about inserting paper clips or other things into his MBP, especially if it was turned on... So I took a pair of headphones and plugged/unplugged them 4 or 5 times and problem solved (at least for now...).

You people on the MacRumors Forums Rock !!

Thanx All !
 
initial sound

hi guys, is there a way to turn off the initial sound o my mbp? I noticed it's palyed also if I have loudspeakers plugged in. It isn't played if I had previously muted my machine. But I would like to know if there's a way to avoid that sound without keeping my machine muted. Thx
 
Macbook Had Same Issues...

My 6 month old macbook started doing the same thing... I was able to get sound from the headphones...but definitely no sound from internal speakers other than when I boot it up. Called Applecare up...they said bring into the store, one trip later, they replaced the dialogic board (???) and all is well now! :)
 
logic board

they probably replaced the logic board, which the same as the mother board for pcs.
 
Internal Speaker Solved!

Hi,

I had a 2 month long problem with the internal speakers not working. Used a bobby pin gently prodding all the way down the audio jack on the left side (note red light on). Tried once, no luck, tried again tapping at the bottom and viola success. In future careful with plugging in external speakers - the bobby pin solved the issue.
 
Thanks

I went through the trouble of making an account just to thank you guys. I used a sewing pin running it along various parts of the wall of the headphone jack. I think the spot was on the lower left of the hole.

I thought I would write down the key words for others to find this forum:
MacBook Pro sound no output internal speakers stuck digital audio red light headphone jack.

Thanks a bunch.
Rob
 
Thanks

Defiantly a phone jack port issue, i got that red laser light people described and wiggled a headphone jack halfway-in the port a few times, the red light inside the jack socket went off and my internal speakers came on again....

..... the wierd thing is, i was in the mac shop a while ago when i was in for something else, and someone was in the queue ahead of me with the same 17'' macbokpro with same problem exactly.....
must be a common screw up.

i vote RECALL & upgrade, the laser nearly blinded me! ;-)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back