Little red light in headphone port, permanently stuck on

[PolishDude]

I read all the info about the optical port getting stuck in the headphone port of a macbook and how to fix it. Well I tried everything and it's still on. The sound out of it is okay with my ipod headphones but when I use any other 3.5mm adapters it sounds like crap, not to mention my computer speakers never work. I was thinking of taking my macbook apart and just taking the headphone jack out, would that get my macbook speakers to work again? I can always buy a usb soundcard that will give me a 3.5mm jack again but want my other speakers to work, i bought the computer in dec of 06 so its way past warranty

 

[segers909]

Taking the headphone jack out means desoldering it from the logic board, which is EXTREMELY hard. So unless you are very skilled, don't even think about it.

I would recommend that you keep trying. Try using a screw driver to make the thing click.

 

[PolishDude]

I have literally tried everything for hrs, it doesnt work...i have taken apart the laptop to see if i could get to it but even once apart the access is really no better

 

[johnnyham]

There's a small switch inside of the headphone jack that tells the computer if it needs to be in digital (optical) or analog (normal) mode. The older Macbooks have a problem with this switch getting permanently stuck. It seems to be aggravated by frequently plugging a headphone jack in and pulling it out. I fixed it on my early 2006 Macbook by simply pushing a headphone plug in, wiggling it around, taking it out, then repeating a few more times. Alternatively, I've read about people having success fixing this by putting a paperclip in there and wiggling it around or inserting other objects approximately the same size as the headphone jack.

It's a pain, I'll admit it. But keep at it, and it'll get fixed. It crops back up from time to time for me, but a simple wiggle and I'm back on the road. It last happened about a month ago, and I haven't had it happen since then.