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to licorice.
2010 Macbook Pro. 10.6.6
iPod earphones do not even show up in output list.
2006 Macbook Pro. 10.6.6
iPod earphones work fine.

hdrw?softw? both? daemons?
a trip to so called "genius" bar in order?
 
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This is an easy fix. Save yourself the trip to the apple or the Q-tip store....

You turned on the mute button when you last used your headphones. You just forgot you did this.

Yes- I know you think the mute isn't on, because you can hear voices when listening to the built in speakers, right?

Trust me. Plug your headphones back in and put them on your ears.

Now hit the computers mute button again. TADA!

Fixed. right? NEXT!
:D

Thanks you'r awesome!!

How does the system work though? Is there a system?

thanks again...
 
I had the problem where every time I put my headphone jack in, the sound would continue playing out of the laptop speakers and not the headphones, even though it had worked a week ago.

My fix was to go to system preferences>sound then click the 'output' tab. Near the bottom I changed the setting titled 'use audio port for' from 'sound input' to 'sound output'.

Haven't a clue how it had changed itself to that setting, but at least I sorted it.
 
Thanks

I had the problem where every time I put my headphone jack in, the sound would continue playing out of the laptop speakers and not the headphones, even though it had worked a week ago.

My fix was to go to system preferences>sound then click the 'output' tab. Near the bottom I changed the setting titled 'use audio port for' from 'sound input' to 'sound output'.

Haven't a clue how it had changed itself to that setting, but at least I sorted it.

This exact thing happened to me just now. I was so afraid because my headphones where new and expensive. So I did this and it worked perfectly fine.
I don't know how my speakers got onto that setting :S
 
I'm having this issue with my brand new MacBook Pro. I can duplicate it easily, headphones plugged in listening to music, pause music, unplug headphones and hit play again... Music plays through laptop speakers. I hit pause again and plug in headphones and music continues to play through laptop speakers. There isn't an option in sound preferences under "Output" all I see is Internal Speakers... The fix I use for this is to shut my computer or restart it. Which is ridiculous! Does anyone know of a fix for this? $2000 and it does this? Come on Apple.
 
i made a thread about my problem last night. it's kind of like this but i'm only hearing sound from the left earbud when i use my headphones.

i tried the sound preferences tip but there's nothing like that there. it only shows balance and output volume.

i'm pretty pissed off at this.
 
i made a thread about my problem last night. it's kind of like this but i'm only hearing sound from the left earbud when i use my headphones.

i tried the sound preferences tip but there's nothing like that there. it only shows balance and output volume.

i'm pretty pissed off at this.

Well I just got back from the Apple Store. The issue has been resolved, All that was done as a reset of the SMC/PRAM and a cleaning of the headphone jack. I didn't think that I would need to reset the SMC/PRAM on a brand new machine so I didn't bother, but you don't know if you don't try. Hopefully this helps others out.
 
restart

System preferences didn't recognize that I had headphones plugged in, but then I restarted my MacBook Pro, and now it works again. Thanks fastcarfastlens for the info on resetting the PRAM, I'll try that if restarting doesn't work in the future.
 
Fixed!!

Hi guys the same issue happens to me i spend like 1 hour trying to solve it and the i found the problem.

I have an MacBook pro 2011 that comes with only 1 jack...

So this is what you need to do:

1. Go to system preferences
2. Go to sound
3. Select "use audio port for: Sound Output"

Fixed!! :D
 
Hi.
I have a problem with the headphone jack of my macbook.
When i plug in some headphones or external speakers, it wont get sound to them, just like the headphone jack isn't there and the sound come out from the macbook speakers. The only ones that seem to work are the ipod original ones, but not if insert them completely, they need to be strategically plug in, like half in and half out, and if i move it a bit more the sound goes back to the speakers again.
Does anyone knows what this might be and how to fix it? I can't use the warranty, because the warranty time already passed.
Sorry for any mistakes on my english.
Thanks

It has been 3 years but i have the same problem today : (.

Is it socket related? All software suggestions failed so far.
 
Most probably no hardware issue

I had the same "problem" with my MacBook...
After restarting in windows (via Bootcamp), the headphone was working perfect, so no HW issue (oooeeeeffff)

Go to the Audio Preferences
-> Select the "tab" OUTPUT (not realy a tab)
-> Make sure "use audio port for" is set to "Sound Output"

Now it is working as brand new :):apple:
 
I had the same "problem" with my MacBook...
After restarting in windows (via Bootcamp), the headphone was working perfect, so no HW issue (oooeeeeffff)

Go to the Audio Preferences
-> Select the "tab" OUTPUT (not realy a tab)
-> Make sure "use audio port for" is set to "Sound Output"

Now it is working as brand new :):apple:

this is not a software problem for me. If i tilt or move the jack i can get stereo, otherwise it is mono. I am very dissatisfied with this malfunction.
 
The Cat did it... Turned down the volume when external speakers were plugged in.

Ok, do you have a kitten or cat who likes to stand/lay/walk on your Mac keyboard? I do. Here's our story.

1. Cat walks on onto the keyboard and lays down on the warm kb a few days ago

2. I fail to notice the external speakers are no longer working (may have been out of the room)

3. I troubleshoot and am about to give up and make a Genius Bar appointment

4. I read this thread and check my SOUND settings in SYSTEM PREFERENCES

5. Discovered that there are TWO volume settings for my MacBook running Lion: Internal volume and External volume.
-- For my tinny, INTERNAL Speakers, I had a volume sitting in mid range
-- For my EXTERNAL speakers, the cat had stepped on F10 and/or F11, resulting in the volume being on either MUTE or all the way DOWN.

[Note: on my Dell PC there is only ONE volume setting and it controls both Internal AND External speaker volume. I am used to that design and assumed Mac was designed the same way.]


So, try this process if you have feline co-workers:

1. start to play something through your Internal speakers

2. while listening, go to SYSTEM PREFERENCES>SOUND

3. click the OUTPUT tab and observe the INTERNAL SPEAKERS line... also observe the OUTPUT VOLUME slider location (and perhaps move it to the lower-middle range, if not already there)

4. now observe the changes in the SOUND dialog box when you first plug in your EXTERNAL speakers/headphones... (text should change to HEADPHONES)

5. highlight/click the HEADPHONES text

6. drag the OUTPUT VOLUME slider to the upper-middle portion of the range (this is the slider that controls EXTERNAL speaker volume -- I discovered that mine was set to mute/zero by Mojo the kitty.)

7. Adjust your external speaker volume, as needed


When the previous steps were complete, music was playing through external speakers just fine.

So, to test the TWO volume theory on your computer, simply observe the SOUND dialog box content... as you remove and re-insert the speaker/headphone plug.

Each time you remove/re-insert the speaker plug, the VOLUME slider should toggle back to its prior location.

Hope this helps... if not, a visit to the genius bar might.

Cheers.
 
thank you for this detailed reply.

unfortunately mine is definitely a hardware problem. i have sound only from one earphone. if i tilt properly i have stereo.

my bad luck.
 
This is an easy fix. Save yourself the trip to the apple or the Q-tip store....

You turned on the mute button when you last used your headphones. You just forgot you did this.

Yes- I know you think the mute isn't on, because you can hear voices when listening to the built in speakers, right?

Trust me. Plug your headphones back in and put them on your ears.

Now hit the computers mute button again. TADA!

Fixed. right? NEXT!
:D

You sir, are a legend. Nice work man.
 
Thanks Licorice!

This is an easy fix. Save yourself the trip to the apple or the Q-tip store....

You turned on the mute button when you last used your headphones. You just forgot you did this.

Yes- I know you think the mute isn't on, because you can hear voices when listening to the built in speakers, right?

Trust me. Plug your headphones back in and put them on your ears.

Now hit the computers mute button again. TADA!

Fixed. right? NEXT!
:D

Thank youuuuuuuuuuuu Licorice! Worked for me!
 
Check Volume Setting

The volume settings are different for the speakers and the head phones. After you plug in the head phones, increase the volume.:)

Norm
 
Licorice..you are a genius!

This is an easy fix. Save yourself the trip to the apple or the Q-tip store....

You turned on the mute button when you last used your headphones. You just forgot you did this.

Yes- I know you think the mute isn't on, because you can hear voices when listening to the built in speakers, right?

Trust me. Plug your headphones back in and put them on your ears.

Now hit the computers mute button again. TADA!

Fixed. right? NEXT!
:D

This did the trick. You made my day! Thanks millions!
 
I was convinced the right audio output was broken...

... until I went into System Preferences > Sound > Output > Headphones and changed my balance from full left back to center. I actually sent back two sets of Skull Candy headphones because I was convinced their products were defective. FAIL. :eek:
 
MacBook Pro headphone jack

This is an easy fix. Save yourself the trip to the apple or the Q-tip store....

You turned on the mute button when you last used your headphones. You just forgot you did this.

Yes- I know you think the mute isn't on, because you can hear voices when listening to the built in speakers, right?

Trust me. Plug your headphones back in and put them on your ears.

Now hit the computers mute button again. TADA!

Fixed. right? NEXT!
:D

That makes sense, as I recently stumbled upon a solution to my suddenly non-operational MacBook Pro headphone jack. I plugged in a set of Sony earbuds that feature an in-line volume control. After increasing the volume on the headphone control, the jack suddenly worked again!! I reinserted my speaker jack and I haven't had a problem since...:D
 
Fix the software!

It has been 3 years but i have the same problem today : (.

Is it socket related? All software suggestions failed so far.

Definately a software problem, and a very annoying one!
When I have been using the computer to many hours without rebooting it does not recognize anything I plug in to the headphone jack. Reboot always helps!

MPB 2011 / OS X 10.7.4
 
Nope!

This is an easy fix. Save yourself the trip to the apple or the Q-tip store....

You turned on the mute button when you last used your headphones. You just forgot you did this.

Yes- I know you think the mute isn't on, because you can hear voices when listening to the built in speakers, right?

Trust me. Plug your headphones back in and put them on your ears.

Now hit the computers mute button again. TADA!

Fixed. right? NEXT!
:D

:( I wish you were right, but it didn't work for me! I have a Macbook Pro, 2011, Mavericks OS. Any other suggestions? My system recognizes that headphones are plugged in, but there's no sound coming through them. I've done the system preferences, sound output thing. It's not muted anywhere, either. Thanks!
 
MacBook sound stopped working

I will second the suggestion about the Digital Input port thinking that there is a jack inserted into it for my situation. This has happened to me numerous times. When looks at System Preferences Sound, the only choice for output is Digital Output. I would not take the previous user's advice and use a Q-Tip. Please use something less likely to leave pieces in the port. I used a toothpick carefully. I felt it pop just a little after poking around the bottom a few times, and my sound returned. Now I keep a toothpick in my laptop bag with other tools in case of recurrence.
 
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