help me hear you

November 28, 2006 9:59 PM

laptop hardware fix-it-yourself question: a shoddy headphone out port on an old laptop controls my audio. depending on how far the headphones are plugged in, i get sound variously from speakers or half headphones. there's

so, my fujitsu s5020 4-5 year old laptop has always worked well, but for the last few months a strange problem has taken hold: when the headphones are plugged all the way in, i only get sound from one side of them. when they're halfway in, i get sound from internal speakers AND both ears of the headphones. when they're out i get nothing from the internal speakers at all.

the variations on getting sound sometimes matter only by a few micrometers of movement. my question: aside from ordering new motherboards, etc, can anyone recommend a solution? i'm pretty handy with fixing PC hardware but have never opened a laptop. even some build-and-fix solution like duct tape at the right place would make me happy. this is so frustrating! am i just stuck with this problem until my next laptop?

posted by yonation to computers & internet (9 comments total)

This used to be a problem I'd have ALL the time with headphones and no-name walkmans in the 80's (when I was little).

One of the things I remember doing to fix it was buying a 3.5" stereo to mono convertor from Radio Shack. This gave me the music in both ears again, but it was really just a mono signal going to both ears!

Maybe you could try the same? It wouldn't be a big expense to give it a go.
posted by ranglin at 10:02 PM on November 28, 2006

I have the exact same problem on my laptop; in the end I gave up and bought a Turtle Beach Audio Advantage Micro for 20 bucks - it's a USB soundcard, and now I just plug my headphones into that.
posted by mikeyk at 10:04 PM on November 28, 2006

thanks for the responses so far - i want to emphasize the internal speaker problem, which is the strangest - they should be on by default but only work when the headphones are actually half-in... when nothing is in, shouldn't they be coming on!?
posted by yonation at 10:08 PM on November 28, 2006

If you feel up to poking inside the laptop case, inspect the connector -- it may have come loose from the board it's soldered to, in which case you might be able to resolder.
posted by Krrrlson at 10:17 PM on November 28, 2006

It's not too difficult a repair - chances are good that the socket is ok and one or more of the solder joints have cracked, in which case all you would need to do is remelt them with a soldering iron, (perhaps adding a touch more solder if there is no risk of accidentally bridging connections), and you're done.
If that doesn't work, the problem is probably with the socket and you'll need a replacement socket. The hardest part will be de-soldering the existing one. Digikey or mouser will likely have an identical replacement component, failing that, people work out which socket goes with which make and model, buy them in bulk for pennys then sell them individually on ebay for a few bucks, listed as the correct part for the computer model.

If you don't have the confidence to take a soldering iron to the motherboard, I suggest looking up the price of a replacement motherboard on ebay - with a laptop of that age, you'll probbaly find that a motherboard is very affordable, at which point, you worst case scenario is reduced to "I'll have to spend $x, and wait a week for the replacement to arrive", which is probably quite tolerable.
posted by -harlequin- at 10:21 PM on November 28, 2006

they should be on by default but only work when the headphones are actually half-in... when nothing is in, shouldn't they be coming on!?

Both a cracked solder joint, or internal wear/damage could achieve this. The internal speakers have their power routed through a switch inside the socket - they are turned on/off mechanically, not by electrical detection of the presence of earphones. If the contacts are nolonger touching properly, the speakers don't go, and putting a plug in part way, just right, can short that gap, turning them on.
posted by -harlequin- at 11:15 PM on November 28, 2006

Also - try cleaning the socket interior - there might be fluff or dirt lodged in there. This is unlikely to help, but it's easy and no-risk :)
posted by -harlequin- at 11:20 PM on November 28, 2006

I'd go with Harlequin.

A Stereo headphone socket has 2 contacts, one for each line. Without the jack plugged in, the Amplifier L & R outputs are linked to the internal speakers. With it plugged fully in, they are linked to the headphones, and the contacts to the speakers are broken.

"when the headphones are plugged all the way in, i only get sound from one side of them." -- one of the links to headphones is not getting connected.

"When they're out i get nothing from the internal speakers at all." -- both links to speakers are not getting connected, though they should.

"when they're halfway in, i get sound from internal speakers AND both ears of the headphones." -- ALL are connected!!

Basically it appears to be a mechanical orientation problem with the socket contacts. Dirt and fluff when pushed in, twisted etc can push contacts out of shape in weird ways. As long as the disorientation is not permanent, cleaning [tweezers?] can be the solution. Otherwise change the socket.

A couple of points. Are you using the same headphones as usual? Has someone tried a non-compatible jack at some time?
posted by metaswell at 4:02 AM on November 29, 2006

Those jacks are a wear item... they deteriorate with extensive use/abuse. Some folks jam excessively large plugs into them, screwing them up for good. Others use an incorrect size plug and expect it to work. Oxidation plays a part, sometimes, as does dirt.

There are not many ways to address it. If you are lucky, you can use abrasion and cleaning agents to re-establish connection integrity. Cracked solder joints are not hard to repair if you can get access, but access is not that easy with MOST laptops.

I'd start with assuring that I had the right plug size, making sure that the plug was clean, visually inspecting the interior for dust/crud, cleaning the interior as much as possible without disassembly, and if all that fails, then look for internal issues. If you haven't taken it apart before, you have a new set of surprises awaiting you, and most laptops are REALLY resistant to disassembly.

Connectors = 80% of computer problems. Big pain.
posted by FauxScot at 4:29 AM on November 29, 2006