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No sound out of MacBook speakers & red LED in Headphone jack

I have the same problem, tried the match stick method but I'm having no luck. Can anybody recommend what I should try next?

The annoying thing to add to this problem is that i don't have the option of taking it back to a store because it was second hand from one of my teachers at college, I'm sure I could ask him to sort it out. How long does the warranty last for one macbooks? It was bought about 9 months ago
 
It might take a couple of tries with the q-tip or matchstick end to clean or reset the sensor/switch. Also check your audio preferences and make sure it is set to built-in speakers, if available. The red light should go out though, just gently insert it and wiggle it around several times and don't be afraid to go in a little deeper if it doesn't respond the first time. Just be gentle with it.
 
problem solved! ... not by me

hey guys
well, after about 2 months os wiggling with a q-tip, two keys from the keyboard stop working.
You may think this two problems are not related to each other, but after some research, I found that your logic board might be damaged in wich case these two problems are related. In my case this was due to liquid (deep sigh).
If you think you might have damaged in some way the logic board I suggest you take your macbook in right away. The problem might be getting bigger.
This is what I did and the diagnostic told me what I´m telling you.

If you´re sure that its just the audio jack, then keep trying. Also use a light and some twizzlers to actually see what youre doing (Already did this and worked temporarily).

Good luck.
 
Cool! I hope that's not my problem. I rarely have the red light anymore and when it does come on the q-tip or toothpick always works, but my trackpad button stopped working recently...turned out it was just dusty inside so I blew it out and it was fine. I leave the lid open and the system running 24/7...
 
Tips that work!

After an initial panic and consulting this forum - thanks everybody for all the good tips with Q-tips - I fixed the "stuck microswitch issue" on my Macbook with the inside plastic tube of a ball point pen. Not conductive, rigid and the ideal diameter. Push gently but firm. Strange problem nevertheless. I though by 2008 this should not happen. But life is strange...every day a new surprise.
 
Magic !

I plugged the headphone jacket in and out several times and it didnt work. Went to the kitchen to pick up a toothpick to try it. when i came back, the red light had already gone!
It must hate toothpicks!
 
Hey, I just experienced a weird thing. I hope my logic board isn't damaged, but it seems fine now. I came to work on the laptop and the keyboard was totally unresponsive, just giving a "beep" when I tried to type anything. I couldn't click anything with the trackpad either. I could select objects on the desktop but couldn't do anything with them. I also heard a repetitive clicking sound inside the machine. I ended up power-cycling it and everything was fine after that. I then realized that I had my external speakers plugged into the wrong port (the one next to it). Could that have caused this problem? I'm very careful that I touch something else before touching the laptop for the first time when I walk up to it, to discharge any static electricity, so I don't think that was the issue.

diegogo said:
hey guys
well, after about 2 months os wiggling with a q-tip, two keys from the keyboard stop working.
You may think this two problems are not related to each other, but after some research, I found that your logic board might be damaged in wich case these two problems are related. In my case this was due to liquid (deep sigh).
If you think you might have damaged in some way the logic board I suggest you take your macbook in right away. The problem might be getting bigger.
This is what I did and the diagnostic told me what I´m telling you.

If you´re sure that its just the audio jack, then keep trying. Also use a light and some twizzlers to actually see what youre doing (Already did this and worked temporarily).

Good luck.
Click to expand...
 
tbarclay said:
I have the same problem, tried the match stick method but I'm having no luck. Can anybody recommend what I should try next?

The annoying thing to add to this problem is that i don't have the option of taking it back to a store because it was second hand from one of my teachers at college, I'm sure I could ask him to sort it out. How long does the warranty last for one macbooks? It was bought about 9 months ago
Click to expand...
Without AppleCare, it's under warranty for 1 year, with AppleCare it's under warranty for 3 years.

Selling it to someone else does not void either warranty, you can take it to Apple yourself :)
 
Simple Solution <3

First i would like to thank everybody on here for there expert advice, (you guys are genius).
After having been informed that i had managed to break the speakers on my girlfriends macbook pro after she had removed my headphones a red light was showing from the jack i was starting to accept that i may have to pay to fix the comp.
She booked the comp into the mac store but before going i decided to see if you guys could help..
I tried all suggestions with no results until eventually the simplest solution worked..
Using a dental floss brush called a go between and rubbing alcohol.
http://www.drugstore.com/qxp79943_333181_sespider/g_u_m/go_betweens_cleaners.htm
I was beginning to lose hope so i just dipped it in the alcohol and shoved it in the hole..
Nothing happened so i swirled it about a little. Again nothing. SO i looked inside the hole and brushed around the edges and anywhere i could see gaps.
The brush did not go deep into the hole but all of a sudden off went the light.
I turned up the volume and pop back in business.
So try this method and please dont give up until you have as i think it saved me a good bit of cash.. i guess it must just be grease build up or dirt?
Respect and Thanks to you all.
xx Allister Blackham xx
 
eye candy twins said:
i guess it must just be grease build up or dirt?
xx Allister Blackham xx
Click to expand...

My theory is that due to the design of the cooling system the internal fans are causing air (and dust) to be sucked into the speaker/headphone port resulting in buildup of airborne contaminants on the internal switch and sensors...
 
Finally got it!

I had the same problem and I just now fixed it using the back of a plastic filling of a ballpoint pen.

I recently turned my macbook in for repair at a certified mac dealer here in Amsterdam, as a side note I mentioned the sound problem and they eventually told me they had to replace the motherboard to fix it.
That would have set me back about 500 euros if I remember correctly... Frickin' ridiculous! :mad:

Btw they also charged me 80 Euros (about 100 bucks) for trying (but failing) to retrieve the data from my busted HD. I dread the day I'll have to deal with them again :(
 
Ugh this is not working for me at all! I bought my macbook back in Oct 2007. And I do not have applecare so I don't think I can take it in.

What should I do.

The qtip doesn't do anything. The light doesn't filcker or anything. It does when I take out my headphones but then always goes back to constant. And if it does stay off for a while when I push the volume keys it always goes back to being red.
 
Got iT!

So I had the same problem with the red light through the headphone jack and no sound and I followed everyone's advice and I got a bobby pin and wiggled it around inside of the headphone jack and I had sound! Thank you everybody and good luck to anyone having a problem, I am sure you will fix it.
 
Finally!

Thanks dukelaxx and everybody else!
I didn't read much cuz I've been so impatient with this...
I tried the bobby pin approach and voila!
Sound once again!
Loyal to my :apple:
 
I had the same issue with a late 2008 17 inch MBP. I tried tickling inside the jack but my computer was only 6 weeks old so I didn't go further. I found the answer to what was going on in Apple's support pages and called Applecare. Applecare had no clue what I was talking about and kept telling me it was a software issue. I went along with their troubleshooting until they wanted me to reload OS X. I stopped them there and reminded them I was having the same issue under Windows so a software problem was unlikely. I was placed on hold for about 10 minutes until they found this issue in their support documents and had me send my computer in for repair.

One positive thing came out of this (I think it was positive anyway). Apple offered me a new 17 inch unibody MBP to replace my broken 17 inch MBP and I accepted. Now if the new MBPs would actually be released...
 
The match worked for me. I tried everything, as well as reloading the drivers and having our IT department have a look at it for two days. In the end the solution was a simple match. Thanks for the suggestion. Cheers
 
best option: ball point pen

After reading thru the whole thread and trying all the suggestions (matchstick - no luck, paperclip - no luck, rapidfire headphone jack - no luck, firm but gentle - no luck), I finally got it with the plastic ink container from inside a ball point pen. first try. the light went off after a real gentle insertion with rear end of the ink container. must have been the correct diameter. don't give up.
 
i had same problem with my with my white macbook

i was using my apple headphones watching a you tube video and when pulled them out a red led was shining in my headphone jack:eek:
so i went on to mac rumors
saw this so i chopped a q-tip in half and used the level end to push and jiggle the sensor, it worked, make sure you dont go to hard or you might cause another problem, you need to put it right against the sensor and just jiggle in till you here something click then go to audio midi set up and make sure its on internal speaker:D
 
None of the solutions have fixed mine yet, still trying. Odd thing is, when I boot my system, I get the boot tone via built-in speakers. After POSTing, I get sound only through the headphones.
 
best way to fix the problem

i had the same problem and i tried all the match/paper clip wiggling techniques but nothing worked. so i tried this and for some reason it worked!!


Instructions:
1) Plug in ear phones
2) Start toggling the volume controls on your keyboard (press the volume buttons up and down continually)
3) While toggling, slowly pull the ear phones out. Remember to keep on toggling quickly!!!
4) Now actually make the volume louder by turning it up on the screen

It should now work... at least that worked for me. I guess the idea is that you are trying to tricked the computer in a weird way.

Hope it helps!!
 
I finally repaired mine, yeah! The odd bit is that I repair these things for a living (albeit part-time) and I fixed it on other's Macs before my own. I finally used a modified dental pick to trip the trigger. I felt I was going to break something, and the audio port is not easily repaired. If you break it, you'll need to have the logic board replaced or repaired. It's not a DIY project for even an above average computer geek. (I've sent a few in to specialists for this repair)
 
hi everyone,
just wanted to say that my speakers stopped working and the light came on, with no headsets in! GAH
going to give the "object in the hole" a try!
thanks for the suggestions
 
Okay well I've been working on these suggestions for over a month now, and nothing has worked :( I've tried using a Q-tip, a matchstick, the inside of a pen, as well as a paperclip and normal headphones... no luck.
I'll try a bobby pin next I guess, but I'm starting to lose faith; and it kills me that everyone is having success stories for something that seems so easy to fix.

Also, as of today, I plugged headphones into the other jack next to the headphones one, and the red light went away for the first time, but there is still no sound or settings to switch to "internal speakers." Thus, I must be getting closer but not there yet... I hope I didn't mess things up bad, any other suggestions?

Also, don't know about you guys, but the cause of my problem resulted from me accidently knocking my computer off my bed side table with the headphones in it, but I don't think it landed on them, at least I hope not... Does anyone know details about this?
 
ball point - seconded

ndw137 said:
I finally got it with the plastic ink container from inside a ball point pen. first try. ... must have been the correct diameter.
Click to expand...

This also worked for me, also first try. It was the back end of the cartridge from from one of those really cheap pens with the wide, straight (not tapered) barrel. Thanx, ndw!
 
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