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Internal Speaker Issue on MacBook Pro...

MacBook Pro Internal speaker issue resolved (for now)

I baby my MacBook Pro:apple: and just spent the last hour and a half trying to figure out why my internal speakers were not working; not showing up in sound preferences output nor allowing me to change the volume control plus the red light of death was appearing in the headphone jack, headphones worked when plugged in. Then I came to this forum and voila! It is fixed! Thanks! Could be a temporary fix but I used the advice of another on here who suggested to plug and wiggle my headphone plug in the jack. Sounds dirty but after four or so times my internal speakers are working again! Which is good considering my warranty is up. I have only had this computer for 2 years and 5 months. Come on mac...!
 
Red light fix

I had this problem for months. Today I bent a small zip tie in half and inserted the bent end into the jack. I only inserted it a short way, about a 1/3 of the jack depth. It immediately turned off the light and restored my internal speakers.

I can now switch between internal and headphones by simply plugging the jack with the zip tie, and I'm not afraid of messing up the jack as the tie is nylon and won't short out or cause undo wear.
 
Temporary Fix

After endlessly poking around with a safety pin i stumbled on a solution to tide me over till i take in for repair.
This worked for me as a temporary fix, iv'e had to do it twice in the last two days. I only created an account because i havn't seen this suggestion anywhere...

1)Plug your headphones into the port and go to system preferences.
2)Go to sound and by the output tab, click use audio port for output
3)Repeat step two by the input tab (click output for both)
4)Now remove your headphones from the jack and VIOLAA your sound should no longer be grayed out(for now)

I dont know exactly why this works or if it will work for you but i thought i'd attempt to assist any other frustrated persons in this forum because i feel your pain.
 
same problem and wont go away !

I have had the same problem for over a year (yes- I know I should have done something about it but I do have airport express for wireless streaming)

It started when I was in garage band and accidentally put a digital-audio jack into the headphones instead of an audio one.
It has constantly glowed red from the earphone socket ever since and I have tried everything to no avail.
I have reset the whole macbook (make sure you back-up!!!) but this did not work.
I have sought expert (albeit amateur guys but really knowledgeable) advice
I guess I shall got to Regent Street to get the repair cost ;-?

The internal speakers signal has vanished from the sound bar in the system pane and despite trying some of these ideas very carefully, nothing is making a difference. The internal speakers are sounding when I re-start.
I have also tried going back into Garageband and 'tricking' the macbook into thinking that the digital audio has been removed.

These ideas are all very well but if a simple mistake can cause so many issues, it really is something that I shall have to take up with the store.

will keep you all posted !
 
not just the headphone jack

i have a Mac Pro 5.3 with 10.5.8.
I inserted USB headphones to watch a company 'TV' webcast via the browser.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thanks guys

I was fiddling with a sewing pin for the 20th time almost mechanically, when the red light went off and I started receiving sound from my mb's speakers. I joined in with MacRumors just to say a huge thank you.
Cheers guys, you saved me from staying awake for the next 24 hours.

Take care.
 
Fix does not work

I, also, do not have a "red light" problem. I just do not have the sound, and no "built-in speakers" are listed in my sound preferences. When I plug headphones in, the sound preferences panel recognizes them and the sound comes back on.

I've tried to plug iPod earbuds into the headphones port and this does not work. I've also tried to re-set the P-RAM, and that does not work.

Any other suggestions?

Thanks.
 
Internal speaker MacBook not working

It is CARBON in your headphone jack.. take little cotton, a thin match stick and create a tiny earbud (do not use real earbud, it may damage jack) look a like, roll this in both directions in Jack.. You may notice carbon when you pull them out... tickling the jack may restore sound temporarily but it would resurface if you do not clean it properly.... :D
 
It is CARBON in your headphone jack.. take little cotton, a thin match stick and create a tiny earbud (do not use real earbud, it may damage jack) look a like, roll this in both directions in Jack.. You may notice carbon when you pull them out... tickling the jack may restore sound temporarily but it would resurface if you do not clean it properly.... :D
 
mac loud said:
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! ;-)
Click to expand...

I am not sure if I want to vote for RECALL & upgrade. I am very much happy with it. But I started getting this problem. After reading few post I realized that jack/switch is loose or I must have inserted wrong sized pin. After couple of in/out in/out problem solved. But I hope it does not keep coming again.

Thanks 2 u all!!
This forum has either fix for common problems or details about them to understand that we need to live with it. This is also good for most lehmans.

K006CAM
 
Works now

Also signed up to say "thanks". I used a bobby pen that has the plastic drop on the end. Found the little switch in the back of the hole. It could have been dirty, who knows. It works now. I don't think I'll be plugging in headphones anytime soon.
 
elsabella said:
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...
Click to expand...
Okay, I realize this is an ANCIENT thread, but my 15" MBP (2008) started having the same problem last night and this was the first google result for my search, and while the whole discussion was helpful elsabella's comment was one of the most enjoyable I have ever encountered on any forum at any time.

THANK YOU! :-D


- Jon
 
Keeps repeating

I see that this problem occurs intermittently. Is this prodding the only solution each time? Very disappointing :(

I think I should just take it to Apple Care. Will keep you posted.
 
Fixed mine with a Q-Tip

After reading loads of info/experiences on this thread, i fixed mine (mid 2009 MB Pro), by stripping most of the cotton from one end of a Q-Tip.
Then I used the stripped Q-Tip to push down or over the switch inside the Audio Out jack. This took quite a bit of fiddling with it to get the switch reset. Since then (about 1 week later) it's working great again.... There was some black dirt (carbon build up??) which also was cleaned by the Q-Tip.

I do believe in severe cases the jack could require a replacement, but this should be replacing a part on the main motherboard and not the whole motheboard itself.

If I had any warranty left I would just have gone to AppleCare and likely they would do the fiddlin with the switch, and/or decide the motherboard needs replacing.

Thanks to all others here who showed me what to do.

cheers
 
Speaker problem mac pro

Like many here I had a problem with the internal speakers after I removed a external speaker. Note I had not had a problem with any "headphone" jacks before. Perhaps its has to do with 3rd party specs for the external speakers..
For my mac pro there was a "red glow" that came on only after the externals unit was removed. A little wiggling with the "headphone" jack and it was fixed. No toothpick needed..
 
Fixed!

As others mentioned, a tooth pick did the trick. I inserted it towards the end, straight from the top right (2 o clock position staring at the switch). I guess my situations was weird because sometimes the audio didn't work but the red light was off. The digital out was on, anyways. Hope this helps!
 
I still think it is sorta funny when you call Apple Care about your audio port being stuck on optical and they never actually knew that there ever was an optical port on a mac book... Was sure that would be a feature they would know about :S

I was just wondering if any one could recreate a the following on a mac book pro 13"

In sound preferences set the In/Out port to Input and plug in some headphones... The profile should change to Headphones when plugged in and back to Internal when out..

Now change it to Output with the headphones plugged in, when i pull out my headphones the profile on my mac will continuously switch between Internal and Optical until the headphones are plugged in again..
 
RE: Internal Speaker issue

Just got done dealing with this myself (MBP 2011 2.3ghz i7, etc.) I tried the toothpick w/ no luck. I ended up blowing the input jack out with compressed air (while no audio was playing hence no red light), and then it worked like there was never a problem. I assume there was just some dust or something in the input making it think there was something plugged in. Good luck!
 
Created an account just to thank you guys and let you know how I fixed my speakers.

For a while now, my in-built speakers were acting up. They'd start and stop and the volume icon would grey out then become black again. I kept trying to find solutions to fix the problem but nothing worked until I found this thread, so thanks everyone. <3

So first I took my headphones and plugged them in and out a few times, that fixed the problem for a few minutes, but the red light came back on again. And at one point, the internal speakers only played when the headphones were plugged IN. So odd. So I tried blowing into the jack and that worked for a bit but then stopped working when I plugged in the headphones again. I then took a bobby pin and prodded inside the jack gently. That only made the sound go out COMPLETELY.

I rebooted and reset my PRAM and NVRAM. Still nothing. Then I just tried plugging my headphones into the other jack, for audio in, and tada! Works like new now. Hopefully it's permanent fix otherwise will have to bring it in.

Good luck!

P.S. I haven't tried using headphones yet... a bit scared!! I think the headphones are the cause since mine are a bit faulty. Will try when I get a new pair.
 
mbp mid 2009
out of warranty

every time i reboot my mac the sound comes greyed out.
i need to insert my iPhone headphones for 3 seconds to fix it.

-no red light for me.
-i have sound in mbp external speakers.
- can't control the volume with keys or icon in menu bar
. I'm able to control volume in itunes.

solution anyone?
 
Same issue w/MacBook Pro 15 inch

I have used this MacBook Pro for a year and a half now without major issue. Recently I decided to use some external speakers on my desk at work instead of the internals. All was well until I tried using the internal speakers again. The volume was greyed out and System prefs didn't list the internal speakers. What I found was that there are several "contact" inside that connector. The one that appears to be the problem is the one on the bottom of the connector. I prodded it with a plastic toothpick and the speakers came back. I believe that it gets stuck making the computer think it has a digital external device. Then when you plug in speakers or headphones those contacts take over and work. When you remove the speaker connector it reverts to thinking it has the external digital device because that contact/switch is still stuck. Anyway it was very definitely the bottom switch/contact on mine. I hope this is helpful.
 
Work Around to internal speaker issue on Macbook Pro

Hello everyone:
My son has a Macbook pro and he has tried all the tricks suggested in this forum. I have a house full of apple products and have done just about every kind of diagnostic to keep things running. Here's the work around I did for him. I know it's strange, but it works. His audio output setting is stuck on digital and the optical red light is on solid, yet if he hooks up speakers or headphones, it works. Here's the goofy trick I discovered by accident.

I took an audio cable with nothing connected to it. You could also use a converter jack. In my case, it's one of those 8mm cables to connect your Iphone/ipod to your car stereo or external audio device. I went in to the control panel and changed the audio output to the audio input source. Strangely enough, the internal speakers fired right up. I was running a slingbox player and it worked perfectly.

Of course, you need to remember to set it back to normal (directed to the output) when you are done! I know it's not the greatest work around, but it works and you are not poking around in there. Let me know if it works for anyone else.

Thanks,
Chicagorex
 
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