Headphone Jack Light Up?

In my unibody Macbook, when I run Windows 7, the headphone jack light up in a orange color. It doesn't bother me but I do want to know if its a problem or a future one.

I have had the same issue, when I bootcamp with Win7 the red light is always there. But when I boot up to Snow Leopard the red light is gone.

Similar Messages

  • Headphone Jack Light + Internal Speakers Gone?

    When I took out the cable to my speakers from my PowerBook's headphone jack I noticed a red light inside the socket. I plugged the cable back in and the light turned off but came back on about half a second after I took it out again. There is a small LED inside the hole and I have never seen it before. The computer also stopped playing sound out of it's internal speakers completely and in the System Preferences sound menu there is only a line-out option, no internal speaker one. It seems like the light is telling me that I have to plug in speakers to hear sound, but why? The laptop has always worked fine until now so what has made it suddenly do this and how can I get the internal speakers working again?

    The light is a fiber optic fiber. Your jack has a dual use. You can use a fober optical cable to get a digital line-out. Your problem may be related, but that's what the light is so don't go sticking anything in there (such as a paper clip) as so many people tend to do for some reason.

  • Headphone jack light

    occaisionaly a red light comes from my headphone jack and no sound will come from the speakers. the longer i stay on my computer the less the red light comes on and stops whatever it is i'm listening to at the time. i assume it's a setting problem, but i'm computer illiterate and i don't know what to change. i've talked to a few friends with macs about it and they've all never had a problem like this. what should i do to fix it?

    Your Macbook has the ability to do optical audio out, so that is what the red light you are seeing is. Normally, an adapter is used for optical audio, but something must have happened to the headphone jack on your Macbook is it is showing without that adapter. Whenever that light is showing, you won't be able to use the headphone jack when that light is showing because it is not sending out that type of audio signal. I would suggest getting it fixed by either calling AppleCare, or making an appointment at the Genius Bar at your local Apple Store.

  • No sound on Boot Camp (Windows 8) red light in the headphone jack ?

    I have a MacBook Pro 9.2 (i7 3rd gen, HD4000, 750GB, 8GB) and i install Windows 8 Pro 64 bit. I have a issue with my headphone jack only when i use BootCamp i have the latest driver for it (download from bootcamp application OSX). I see that inside of the headphone jack there is a red light i think that it is the optical out of it. I try to reinstall the driver no succes. Now i need help to fix it

    The red light means you have jammed the digital audio jack by inserting an analog plug too far. It is not a BootCamp issie--can happen to people without BootCamp. Here is the reason for the problem I posted in another thread:
    Background, or "why this happens": the audio-out port on a modern Mac is digital and is held to high dimensional standards. Most headphones have an analog plug not made to such standards. The specific issue is the the "tip-to-stop shoulder" distance on many analog plugs is just a bit longer than on a digital one and jams the "mute" contact inside the port in the muted position. <deleted>'s advice to insert a plug and gently wiggle it in the horizontal plane is exactly on target unless you are under warranty, which would still necessitate a trip to an Apple store for service.
    The best action is prevention. When connecting headphones (or external speakers), put on the headphones and have an audio track running BEFORE you insert the plug. Insert the plug slowly, listening for sound on both channels and, when you hear it, STOP INSERTING.
    Bottom line is you do NOT want to insert any random plug "to the hilt" until you know it is dimensioned to fit a digital port.
    My MacBook Pro has the same jack. I have a pair of decent-quality, name-brand headphones and their plug is not to spec. This picture shows their plug in the port at a position that delivers proper sound and does not let the plug fall out:
    Note that the shoulder is about 1/16-inch from contacting the computer case. It is secure in this position.
    Every plug is different. I have a pair of El Cheapo external speakers I picked up for US$2 at a yard sale and their plug fits perfectly on my Macs with a digital audio port. Go figure!

  • Is it dangerous to look at the red light in the headphone jack?

    I recently purchased an early 2009 model white MacBook. Today I was installing Windows on it and I noticed a red light coming out of the headphone jack. I thought there must be an LED in there to help you locate it in the dark. I was curious about it so I crouched down next to the computer and looked inside the jack to see what the deal was.
    At the time I didn't know that there is such a thing as an optical audio jack. Obviously I now know that's what the red light was all about. Now I'm wondering if looking at that light could have injured my eyes. Is it a laser, an LED, or something else? Does anyone know how dangerous it is to look at that light? I looked directly at it from close range for perhaps 3-10 seconds, with eyeglasses on. I don't remember it seeming uncomfortable to look at.

    Thank you both for your replies.
    GfulDedFan wrote:
    To the best of my knowledge, that light shouldn't be on when the port is empty.
    Yes, my understanding is that that light should only ever come on when there is a Toslink mini-plug adapter inserted into it (or at least a regular 3.5mm analog plug). However, like you said, I've seen a number of posts on the internet about that switch that turns on the digital output (red light) getting stuck in the on position (even without having plugged in a Toslink adapter). My understanding is that in my case the light came on because I was in the process of installing Windows and the driver for the audio hardware hadn't been installed yet.
    GfulDedFan wrote:
    As far as harmful rays, I doubt that it would be harmful because I've read about this audio problem before but never with a cornea damage attached to it.
    I did look inside the jack directly at the light. I think it might be the retina that would be at risk if anything, but in any case, I sure hope nothing was damaged.
    JoeyR wrote:
    The power for the lasers used for digital audio is very low.
    Is it a laser?
    JoeyR wrote:
    Especially if you didn't find it uncomfortably bright.
    I don't recall having a reaction that it was uncomfortably bright and then having to force myself to look at it. If it had seemed uncomfortable I don't think I would have continued to look at it.
    I don't think I actually became concerned about it until I found out that the light is for digital audio output and wondered if it is a laser. Not that I recommend looking right at a bright LED either. But I wasn't expecting a bright LED either (let alone a laser) -- like I said, my first thought was that there must be an LED inside to make the jack easy to locate in the dark (I was in a darkened room at the time.
    JoeyR wrote:
    If you've ever, even very briefly, had a low power laser pointer hit your eye, you'd realize it is super bright.
    Fortunately I haven't, but someone who did have a laser pointer aimed at their eye told me they noticed it when they felt a burning sensation on their eye.
    JoeyR wrote:
    Any damage would almost always be nearly immediate. If you haven't had a problem, you're fine.
    Do you think any damage would be readily apparent right away, in the form of pronounced discomfort or noticeable vision problem?

  • Internal speakers suddenly will not unmute.  My headphones work, and there is a red light coming from the headphone jack

    I put my volume on mute a few weeks ago, and I don't know if I have used it again since then or not, but now the volume will not unmute.  There is a red light glowing out of the headphone jack.  Sound through headphones works.  I've tried updating and restarting my computer.  Help?

    No, not forceful - gentle.
    A PRAM-reset might also help:
    Shut down the computer.
    Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
    Turn on the computer.
    Immediately press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.Continue holding the keys down until the computer restarts, and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
    Try this a few times.
    Stefan

  • After installing an update I am no longer able to hear sound out of my speakers. A red light comes on where the headphone jack is. I have already attempted to trip to switch with a wooden toothpick in the headphone jack but have not had luck.

    after installing an update I am no longer able to hear sound out of my speakers. A red light comes on where the headphone jack is. I have already attempted to trip to switch with a wooden toothpick in the headphone jack but have not had luck.

    Have you gone into system prefs nad made sure that the headphone port is set to audio out. And not audio in.
    Also make sure that you are selecting built in speakers for your audio output.
    If that does not fix it try doing a Pram reset.
    Shut your mac down.
    Press the startup button.
    Hold down the following keys. Command Option P and R. Wait till you hear the chime 2 times. Then let go. See if that fixes it.

  • Headphone Jack optical light on mystery

    So this is weird.  I thought I'd run it by the communities to see what comes up.
    I have a 2007 MacBook - suddenly the digital output kicked on and won't turn off.  Red light coming out of the headphone jack and no internal speaker controls indicate that the micro switch inside the jack is toggled.  So I play and play with it and can't get it to come off.  Finally I just pull the logic board and solder a new headphone jack in.  Computer passes ASD, and BOOT CHIMES, but shortly after power on and boot to OS X the light comes back on (in a new jack, remember) and we are right back where we started.
    So I tried Safe Mode, which of course disable audio controls
    I tried SMC reset, EFI reset, clean install of OS X (it does the same thing when booting from a installer disc or any other OS X System volume)
    Not a clue.
    Is it possible that this is some funky board failure?
    I guess it's possible, but the headphone jack works fine when plugged in, and as stated I get a boot chime at power on so something else is going on.

    Check this thread...
    http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=9976427#9976427
    Below is a response I posted a couple of months ago.
    The red light is optical(digital) audio output, so you won't hear any sound and digital output by it's nature, does not allow volume control.
    This seems to be a somewhat common problem with the alu Macbooks.
    One of the fixes posted here is gently inserting a toothpick and slightly pushing/moving it around to see if the jack connection will switch back to analog speaker output. I would also try using several 1/8" jacks (headphones, speakers...etc) and see if plugging and unplugging them causes the jack to switch back. It's a mechanical fault and there's been enough of these problems that Apple mght do something about it.
    pancenter-

  • Macbook 2008 no audio from speakers - can't disable digital audio - red light in headphone jack

    Looking for help with this problem, that seems like a lot of people had in the past and still have, but I see that a couple of discussions on it here have been archived. Too bad, as the problem continues.
    I seem to be having the same problem with my late 2008 white 2.1Ghz Macbook.
    I had used earphones a few times with movies and iTunes, with no problems. Now I've just rebooted to find that I have no audio from internal speakers (the boot up chime works though). Earphones work perfectly.
    There is a constant red light in the earphone jack. The volume icon in the top menu bar is greyed out. In the Sound preference panel, Built-in Speakers are not available as an option for audio out. The only option is Digital Audio. If I connect earphones, then they are available as the only option.
    I have tried all the various methods that people have recommended, to switch off digital audio through the earphone jack: trying to flip the little switch with a toothpick, paper clip, etc., as well as cleaning around inside the jack with a bit of rubbing or cleaning alcohol; also tried inserting and removing the earphones plug several times, while pushing the volume buttons on the keyboard. Nothing works.
    I did get something from inserting/removing the earphone plug, as I seemed to be able to adjust volume from the keyboard, but I never got sound out from the speakers; the volume window seemed to indicate increase/decrease volume as I pressed the keys, but after a few seconds the volume window greyed out again with the No Entry symbol.
    Trying to flip the digital audio switch in the jack occasionally gets the red light to turn off for a couple seconds, but then it comes back on.
    Is there any particular problem with this that can't be solved by the aforementioned methods, that many people have used to solve it in a simple manner? Could my problem be more serious? Is there anything I could do if I opened up the Macbook, e.g., somehow to manually turn off the digital audio switch?
    Any help greatly appreciated.

    Got it fixed with a small flathead screwdriver with a fairly wide blade. Opened iTunes, started playing songs, had red light in headphone jack, as per usual with this problem.
    Put screwdriver in jack, with blade more or less vertical, started moving it around inside of jack in clockwise motion, pressing pretty firmly. Took just a couple of "swirls" around the inside of the jack and then audio finally turned on! Was a bit of a hassle, but finally worked.
    Many thanks to all for their suggestions.
    P.S. re. advice not to use metal object. This was the only way I was finally able to solve the problem (i.e., using the small screwdriver). I didn't see where using a metal object would be a problem, seeing as the headphone plug itself is metal. Anyway, it worked.

  • Red light headphone jack problem iMac 27" 2011

    I have a problem with internal speakers. I searched forums and I think is a problema about the connector, the red light in headphone jack is on. I cannt hear from internal speakers sometimes and now it's allways. I need to plug a headphone or external spekaers to get sound.
    I buy the iMac about 2 month ago. May I send the computer to the store or can I fix it?
    Regards,
    Francisco Mesa

    Some solutions to be found in this thread https://discussions.apple.com/message/10384803#10384803
    Stefan

  • Does anyone else notice the light from the headphone jack on their white iPhone 4?

    I noticed that whenever i turn on my lockscreen or whenever my iphone's screen is on, you can see light from the audio headphone jack. Anyone else have this problem? ( Iphone 4 white)

    Clarification, iPhoneMac is correct. There is light noticible at the bottom of the Headphone Jack.
    However, when I responded, I checked the 6 iPhone 4 here and none of them showed this in lit room normal usage. In Dark Room especially with the Screen Brightness turned up you can see a bit of light (glow) at the very bottom of the Jack, if you look right down the barrel.

  • Light in Headphone jack...

    I have compared the headphone jack on my wife's 3gs with my new iphone 4 and have noticed that there seens to be a noticable light when I look down into the headphone jack hole. That is to say when the phone in on and the screen is lit. Is this a common thing that others have noticed.. And just the way the phone jack hole is designed? It would make me feel better to know that it is this way on other iphone 4 phones, and that it is not just something I imagined.

    I'm on my second iPhone 4 now, and they both have light leaking through the headphone jack! I don't think it's a problem though

  • Headphone jack has red light

    The output (headphone) jack on my MacBook has a red light in it and I can't produce any sound from my built in speakers. Also, I cannot control the volume level; it shows the volume maxed out, but all the slider controls are greyed out and, using the volume buttons, shows a crossed out circle instead of the speaker icon. If I have headphones or speakers hooked up everything works fine, but if not then I can't use sound. Any ideas?

    There is a micro switch that can get stuck....use your headphone plug and try plugging and unplugging it several times.....there have been numerous threads about the problem...you might also try using 'Search Discussions'...enter 'Red Light'
    and Welcome to Apple Discussions

  • Headphone jack displaying red light

    The headphone jack on my macbook is displaying a red light, and the built in speakers will not play. However, whenever I plug in speakers, the sound works. What is going on? Is something jammed, or can this be fixed with the push of a button?

    It means your digital audio out has switched on. You can insert a plastic toothpick in the hole and try and switch it off. The switch should be at the 3 o'clock position and go towards the 6 o'clock position. Some people also have had luck inserting their headphone jack and pulling out a few times. Another recent report was that inserting the headphone jack and turning it in the hole helped.
    If your not successful or uncomfortable doing this you need to contact Apple about service.

  • Headphone jack red light

    I couldn't plug in my headphone to my Mcbook Pro at all.  I can only plug in half way of my headphone.  At the same time,  my headphone jack start to have red light on.  Internal audio doesn't work,  volume icon turn grey and don't let me do anything.  Can anyone help?

    f you can only plug your headphone jack in halfway, there is a problem with the jack. You should take it to an Apple store.  The red light is telling you it is in digital audio mode, there is a micro switch that switches between analog and digital output. But seeing that you can not insert your headphone in, you Should take it the Apple store or an AASP.

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