Headphone socket on laptop?

Acer laptop with combo headphone/mic socket. The tip of a 3.5m stereo jack has detached inside the socket and it's cutting off the speakers. If I put the headphone jack with the missing tip back in the headphones work. It was either a poor quality plug or the socket gripped the plug so tightly it pulled the tip off. Problem now is getting the tip out of the socket without damaging it. This is not an easy laptop to dismantle, I recently fitted an SSD and it was awkward work. Been wondering if I put a dab of superglue on the end of the plug, push it in the socket, leave it for a while to set then pull it out will it bring the detached part out with it? An obvious pitfall is that the whole plug would then become lodged in the socket! Any ideas anyone?

Kenny Cargill

Reply to
Kenny
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Didn't realise it was so common a problem, have a few YT videos to look at later.

Kenny

Acer laptop with combo headphone/mic socket. The tip of a 3.5m stereo jack has detached inside the socket and it's cutting off the speakers. If I put the headphone jack with the missing tip back in the headphones work. It was either a poor quality plug or the socket gripped the plug so tightly it pulled the tip off. Problem now is getting the tip out of the socket without damaging it. This is not an easy laptop to dismantle, I recently fitted an SSD and it was awkward work. Been wondering if I put a dab of superglue on the end of the plug, push it in the socket, leave it for a while to set then pull it out will it bring the detached part out with it? An obvious pitfall is that the whole plug would then become lodged in the socket! Any ideas anyone?

Kenny Cargill

Reply to
Kenny

Videos are a good place to start. If you have to take it apart, a video can save you hours as well as prevent you from damaging it.

But the superglue idea sounds like it might work. You'd have to use a small amount though, so like you said, it doesn't foul the whole thing up. I'd use the thicker, gel type.

Reply to
trader_4

Grrrr.. you appear to alternate between calling it a JACK (female) and a PLUG (male).

I assume you mean "the tip of a 3.5mm stereo (TRS) PLUG has detached inside the JACK"?

Presumably, the *TIP* has come off the plug just past the RING conductor; i.e., the TIP (and only the tip!) remains in the jack while the RING and SLEEVE of the plug are still intack.

I suspect you mean that the RIGHT channel of the headphones works (the right channel is fed from the RING conductor with the SLEEVE acting as ground/common). I'm not sure the TIP conductor (which is stuck in the jack) would still make contact with the (now broken) plug satisfactorily to provide a connection for the LEFT channel (though it might, depending on what's left protruding from the truncated plug)

Exactly. The risk increases as you apply more adhesive.

One can argue that sufficient "care" may make this a worthwhile approach. The alternative is disassembly. And, if this approach fails, disassembly will be *required*.

However, also note that if the plug adheres too strongly to the jack, you may have trouble getting at the jack itself! I.e., the body of the plug is likely larger than the hole in the enclosure through which the jack protrudes. So, you won't be able to just pull the main-board out (from the inside) as the plug body will hold it to the case.

OTOH, if you haven't been OVER zealous in applying adhesive, you can probably "break" the plug at the previous fault line.

A more problematic condition might be adhesive flowing *through* the jack *body* and adhering the jack to the main-board. There, you'd have two relatively large, FLAT, adjoining surfaces that could prove difficult to separate (when you eventually try to remove the jack from the main-board) without lifting foils.

[Keep in mind that superglue tends to be of low viscosity.]

Does the laptop have BT? If so, consider delivering audio via a BT headset??

Reply to
Don Y

He wants the speakers to work...not the headset.

Reply to
bob_villain

Jack.

Plug

Jack

Wow.

Probably the first.

It sounds like a good idea. I've never gotten superglue to stick to anything, not even my skin, but for some people it works.

Oh, you said put it on the end of the plug. No, don't do that, for the reason you give blelow. Put it on the end of something thinner, like round toothpick cut off square.

And in light of my dislike of superglue, maybe anotehr glue. I like pc-70. It's not as runny as ... what's that other glue people like, also grey, also 2-part

PC-70 takes 24 hours to get to be full strength, but this seems like it's worth that.

Reply to
Micky

I don't like headsets, because then I'm attached to the computer and can't stand up. though I guess he's using one already.

I use a USB pair of amplified speakers, by logitech.

Much like these, altghough now they are branded by Cyber-Acoustics and not Logitech. Probably the same thing however.

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The clip to the screen and they stand up on their own. I used them with the desktop for a while when I couldn't figure out what was wrong with its speakers.

When I said round toothpick, I mean for you to find a part of the toothpick that is narrower than the hole.

Reply to
Micky

Grrrr.. you appear to alternate between calling it a JACK (female) and a PLUG (male).

I assume you mean "the tip of a 3.5mm stereo (TRS) PLUG has detached inside the JACK"?

Presumably, the *TIP* has come off the plug just past the RING conductor; i.e., the TIP (and only the tip!) remains in the jack while the RING and SLEEVE of the plug are still intack.

I suspect you mean that the RIGHT channel of the headphones works (the right channel is fed from the RING conductor with the SLEEVE acting as ground/common). I'm not sure the TIP conductor (which is stuck in the jack) would still make contact with the (now broken) plug satisfactorily to provide a connection for the LEFT channel (though it might, depending on what's left protruding from the truncated plug)

Exactly. The risk increases as you apply more adhesive.

One can argue that sufficient "care" may make this a worthwhile approach. The alternative is disassembly. And, if this approach fails, disassembly will be *required*.

However, also note that if the plug adheres too strongly to the jack, you may have trouble getting at the jack itself! I.e., the body of the plug is likely larger than the hole in the enclosure through which the jack protrudes. So, you won't be able to just pull the main-board out (from the inside) as the plug body will hold it to the case.

OTOH, if you haven't been OVER zealous in applying adhesive, you can probably "break" the plug at the previous fault line.

A more problematic condition might be adhesive flowing *through* the jack *body* and adhering the jack to the main-board. There, you'd have two relatively large, FLAT, adjoining surfaces that could prove difficult to separate (when you eventually try to remove the jack from the main-board) without lifting foils.

[Keep in mind that superglue tends to be of low viscosity.]

Does the laptop have BT? If so, consider delivering audio via a BT headset??

Reply to
Kenny

Nice try, but no dice!

Reread your original post and notice *if* you used the terms "jack plug" and "jack socket".

Hint: you did not.

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Reply to
Don Y

Micky's idea of the tooth pick might be the best superglue trick but you may end up in more trouble than you are in now. Can you get to the back side of that jack without taking too much apart? They are generally sealed but if you can get a clean shot at the back of the enclosure you might be able to drill a small hole in the back and push the tip out with a paper clip. There may even be a hole there now. I have jacks made both ways.

Reply to
gfretwell

Don Y posted for all of us...

Jack on jack off...

Reply to
Tekkie®

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