iPod touch Problem with headphone connection

[Chuchichan]

I have a two year old ipod touch (3rd generation a think). Just recently I've noticed that the headphone connection seems to be faulty. At first I thought it was the headphones, but now I think the connection on the ipod has an issue.

What happens is I lose the sound in one ear and I have to jiggle the headphone into the port to get it to emit full sound over both right and left.

I've tried two different earbuds and the same thing happened.

Has anyone experienced this? Is it easy to repair?

 

[tablo13]

There might be lint in the jack. Use a Q-tip.

 

[Chuchichan]

There might be lint in the jack. Use a Q-tip.

Thanks for the suggestion. I just tried that but it didn't resolve the issue. It seems that if I bend/push the earphone connector to the right or left and hold it there, the sound is good.

Anyone experience this or know a possible fix?

 

[ThereGoesJB]

I have had this exact problem on a few electronics, the 1/8" aux on my car stereo as well as an ipod 5th gen.
Both instances im pretty sure were from over use, the metal pieces in the jack that provide that snug fit eventually loosen or maybe even the plastic wears out from plugging/unplugging so often (i use it constanstly between my car, home stereo, and headphones)... who knows

it was doing exactly what you describe, losing one channel unless i seriously applied pressure to it in one direction or another. For the 5th Gen ipod it was pretty easy to find a replacement headphone jack on ebay- it was actualy a whole componant that the hold switch and headphone jack were attached to. But this of course means you need to be comfortable opening up your ipod and (at least in my case) unscrewing tiny screws and replacing the parts.

I imagine an apple store must have some capacity to replace a simple part... maybe even under warrenty if you still have it.


I just did an ebay search and found replacements for 1G & 2G .... did not see 3G but it doesnt mean its not out there. It does look more simple than the ipod classic replacement i had to get, ipod touch headphone jack looks like one piece which might mean its not too hard to replace once the ipod is opened up.

good luck