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and now her headphones don't work nor do the external speakers on her MBP...:eek:

There's a little metal thing inside that needs to be physically reset. easy to fix - google it! I can't remember the exact details, but I had that happen to me a long time ago.

cheers!
 
ya i heard if you stick a toothpick in there, it fixes it.
you need to hit that switch or something that someone already said
 
The reason why it does that is because the headphone port on your Mac doubles as a digital audio output. For REALLY good sound quality with surround sound as an option, you have to use a digital optical cable to connect to it. Sometimes though, you might accidently hit the switch when pulling out standard headphones.

If this happens, you'll know it because the headphone port will have a red light glowing inside it, and no volume can be controlled. To reset it, you have to do it manually. Take a paperclip or toothpick, and simply fiddle around the inside of the headphone port until the volume becomes available again.

It sounds ridiculous, but it's true!
 
You just need to plug and unplug a couple more times until it goes off. The port thought it sensed optical audio, but it was wrong.

Yeah, she unplugged and plugged in the headphones a number of times as I mentioned and it worked fine with the headphones, but when taking the headphones out to listen to the external speakers on her MBP, it cut out again and displayed the "grey circle with the line through it" over the speaker. I'll give her a call in the morning and try the toothpick insertion at 6 or 7 o'clock to reset the audio. Then I'll take it to the Apple Store right around the corner from her house....
 
Then I'll take it to the Apple Store right around the corner from her house....

Truthfully, the Apple Store won't be able to do anything. There's nothing actually wrong with the computer or the port. When the headphones were pulled out they simply triggered the switch. Working for an Apple authorized service provider, we see this happen all the time! Not kidding, probably once or twice each day.
 
Yeah, she unplugged and plugged in the headphones a number of times as I mentioned and it worked fine with the headphones, but when taking the headphones out to listen to the external speakers on her MBP, it cut out again and displayed the "grey circle with the line through it" over the speaker. I'll give her a call in the morning and try the toothpick insertion at 6 or 7 o'clock to reset the audio. Then I'll take it to the Apple Store right around the corner from her house....

hey just to make you feel a little better.
that thing where it cuts the sound is normal.
since its only using light, it would be difficult to have sound control, so it leaves it up to the surround sound system.

actually im currently connected with an optical cable right now.
 
Thanks for all the advice and comments. I did the paperclip at 6 or 7 o'clock and after putting it in the headphone jack two times, the red light went out and the volume was adjustable once again. Took all of 10 seconds to fix....:cool:
 
cant you just switch in the Audio/midi preferences, default output "built in output" instead of "digital output" ?
 
I had this happen once before and I just plugged the headphones back in and pulled them back out. I actually got on the forums tonight because I'm having this problem now, and it doesn't seem to want to be fixed. I've tried the headphones and a paperclip to no avail. I guess I'll be taking it in tomorrow. :(
 
Another way to fix this is to get a mini toslink optical cable. Obviously you don't want to purchase something you won't use, but if you're looking to hook up your Mac to a speaker system, this by far will get you the best quality audio.

Not to mention simply plugging it in the headphone jack and pulling it back out will get the red light to go off!
 
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