MacBook + Headphones = Problems

Hi, My MacBook Pro is all of a sudden experiencing problems with the headphones I'm using. I've had this computer for about 9 months, and the heaphones have worked in all that time. Until today there weren't any problems, but then they acted funny. I was listening to music when all of a sudden the sound just came out merky and fuzzy and quiet and odd. I tried shutting it down, didn't work, I tried unplugging the headphones and replugging them, didn't work, I tried using the speakers and they worked normally so it's not the built-in speakers. Then I went into settings to see if there was anything weird with the sound, and there was... When I adjusted the balance to the far right or far left it would sound normal. But when the balance was center the sound would be merky, or quiet, or echoey with a delay, really any bad sound you can think of, it was what it sounded like. I don't think it's my headphones, but if it is I guess that's okay, better than having to buy a new computer. The sound now is just weird when the balance is at center, but when it's far right/left it sounds pretty normal with te exception some of the sound gets lost because it was more dominant on the other side. If anyone has had this problem and knows how to fix it, please let me know, I am literally hundreds of miles from the nearest Apple Store, going to college in rural Nebraska, and I would really appreciate the help. Thank You so much.

Sometimes you can reset the NVRAM (PRAM) and that may help some.
You can let the reset/start chime sound three times in this procedure...
•About NVRAM and PRAM:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379
Then later try a reset of the SMC but read through the other items suggested.
•Intel-based Macs: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC)
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964
Some users had noticed their model Mac portable had a tiny light inside the
headphone or sound out port, and in some models this indicated an issue.
Not sure about yours, though. Sometimes a tiny switch inside there sticks.
{with AppleCare coverage, too bad you didn't know when -or if- the college
had an Apple Tech from nearby city there, that may be able to look @ yours}
http://www.apple.com/support/contact/
Hopefully a reset can help.
Good luck & happy computing!

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Macbook Headphone Jack

Music plays fine when I listen to it off the Macbook, put when I go to plug my headphones in, music will come out for a split second, and then nothing. Tried plugging it back in a few times, and still nothing. Any ideas?

I have the same issue with my new macbook headphone jack (just bought 14days ago!!!). I have just send in back to the apple service centre for repair and they claim that it is a logic board problem (which will cost form 800 to 1000 SGD to replace if you don't have apple care!).
So if you still have the warranty, visit a service centre and get it repaired.

My Fall 2009 system DVI output to our HDTV doesn't include audio. Connecting the Macbook headphone output to the TV's RCA plugs works if TV is in AV (PC) mode, but no picture. DVI to HDMI adapter to TV works fine for picture, but no audio.

My Fall 2009 model Macbook Pro DVI output apparently doesn't include audion. Adapting DVI to HDMI works with new LG TV, but doesn't provide sound. Connecting the Macbook headphone output to the TV's RCA jacks give sound with the TV in AV (PC) mode, but no video. Is there a fix for this? Search for a DVI to HDMI adapter that includes a plug for the headphone jack comes up empty, so far.

DVI has never included audio, sorry.
There is also no DVI->HDMI adapter including a plug for audio; such thing cannot work without quite a bit of electronic extra effort.
Instead of much bla-bla, why don't you tell the exact TV model, and we'll try to come up with a solution?
BTW, no home theater AV receiver present, correct? Sound to come from the TV, correct?

Macbook Battery Problem

Hi all, this is my first post, but something weird happened to my macbook that I have to share with you.
Ok, my Macbook Core Duo 2.0GHz (1st generation) have had no problem during its first and half year. Then I left the notebook sitting at home for one month as I was away on business. Came back, the machine won't start, used AC adaptor and showed the battery not charging, "x" and everything. My warranty expired, so I bought a new battery. Once I got that, it worked fine for almost 7 months.
Another business trip left my macbook for 1 month, I came back, the battery is dead again!!! So I went to apple support and bought another new battery. This time I installed it at home, and it doesn't charge what-so-ever. I tried everything from SMU reset, PMU reset, P-RAM reset. NOTHING WORKED.
So I took a friend's macbook battery to try, and it worked! I can charge that battery with my macbook, and my battery won't charge on his macbook. So scientifically I thought its the battery defect. I went to Apple Care and they say they will replace it for me, but think that it should be my macbook's problem. Must be the Logic Board, I explained why I disagree, and that the battery came with only one LED blinking when I got home to charge, the current was already too low to charge.
Anyways, I was able to buy a second-hand battery really cheap but with limited life-span and use it until my replacement battery returns. Everything seem fine and I can charge it up to 100% although it will only last me 50-mins, still not bad, right?
I was reluctant to completely drain this battery now since I am afraid it will drop to zero and won't recharge like the other ones.
I am using Boot Camp, and Vista as well as OS X. Suddenly today, two days after I bought the 2nd hand battery, I was using Vista to show my friend the battery problem is fixed. But suddenly out of nowhere the battery dropped from 95% charged to 0% in seconds. It shuts down automatically, and the battery was flashing one LED indicating it's dying.
I started back in Mac OS X and found the charger able to recharge, but it fixed at 0% for 20 minutes. I thought I am screwed and went out for a smoke. I came back to see the battery charging back to 5% and then slowly to 10%, and 20%, suddenly it went back to 85% in seconds, and then 100%. I try to unplug it and it seemed fine. I left it on without the adapter for 20 minutes, the battery drain normally, to 70% (it's fine considering the battery was 2nd hand) My friend thought I should try to switch back to Vista to see if the same thing will occur. So I did, and before the Vista screen came up, the macbook blacked out. I checked the battery indicator and it's flashing one LED again!!!
So I switched back to Mac side and re-do the charging, this time it took longer to get back to +90%, I thought this is normal, 'cause I did use the battery longer on the Mac side before switching to Vista for the test.
I thought to myself, why Vista drained my battery, and then I remember the first battery that died on me was about the time I switched the PC side to Vista. Prior to that, the PC side was using XP. The second time it died it was in Vista as well. I also remember I wanted to reduce the size of my PC partition, so I trimmed off unnecessary features like hibernation by (Powercfg -h off). It saved 2G in size but it may be causing some problem to the charging circuit for the Mac-hardware??? Don't know for sure.
So I erased my Vista partition, and re-installed XP. Since then I tried both sides without adaptor, usually for 10-minutes or less, and no sudden dropped to 0% occurred since.
Everything else is working fine with my macbook, except the power features. Right now at least I can charge the battery, but I am always worried about when or IF the battery will dropped off and kill itself.
I am waiting for the replacement battery to return from APPLE, and hopefully when it returns, my Macbook will be able to recognize the DEFAULT low-charge of a new battery. I'm still not sure if my macbook is defective, and if it did killed the first battery replacement they gave me a few days ago. If it did kill a decent battery, will it kill this new replacement as well??
I know for a fact that the reason why the machine won't charge the battery is because the current of the battery has become too low for the machine to be able to charge it. If the current becomes lower, the "X" will occur suggesting that the machine doesn't even recognize it's a battery. But what I want to know is what caused the battery to drop to such a low current if I turned off the macbook during storage.
Sorry for the length of this post, but I have to be clear on all the details if I want help, I suppose. Right now my question is (1) Why is this occuring?? (2) Am I right in assuming that by removing Vista with XP, the problem will not repeat?? (3) Is it likely for any new or 2nd hand functioning battery to drop to the state of the other battery any time soon?? (4) Am I doing proper care for my Macbook, and what should I do in the future to avoid the same problem from occuring??

gpotts,
Thanks again, here's my battery profile: (keep in mind this is the 2nd hand battery I am profiling) BTW, something happened when I was doing this message, I left the notebook on for about 20 minutes, it dropped from +90% to 48%, macbook prompted me that the battery is running low. I plugged the adaptor and it went back to +95% within minutes...
Good thing is, I haven't seen the sudden drop to 0% ever since I removed Vista, and also I am able to charge my battery everytime I try now, no more "NOT CHARGING" or "X" indication.
Any clues??? Thanks in advance.
Battery Information:
Model Information:
Serial Number: DP-ASMB013-34cf-** <Edited by Moderator>
Manufacturer: DP
Device name: ASMB013
Pack Lot Code: 0001
PCB Lot Code: 0000
Firmware Version: 0102
Hardware Revision: 0300
Cell Revision: 0100
Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh): 1533
Fully charged: No
Charging: Yes
Full charge capacity (mAh): 1597
Health Information:
Cycle count: 349
Condition: Good
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): 466
Voltage (mV): 12597
System Power Settings:
AC Power:
System Sleep Timer (Minutes): 60
Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes): 10
Display Sleep Timer (Minutes): 60
Automatic Restart On Power Loss: No
Wake On AC Change: No
Wake On Clamshell Open: Yes
Wake On LAN: Yes
Display Sleep Uses Dim: Yes
Battery Power:
System Sleep Timer (Minutes): 10
Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes): 10
Display Sleep Timer (Minutes): 2
Wake On AC Change: No
Wake On Clamshell Open: Yes
Display Sleep Uses Dim: Yes
Reduce Brightness: Yes
Hardware Configuration:
UPS Installed: No
AC Charger Information:
Connected: Yes
Charging: Yes

Macbook airport problems linked to battery power?

I too have experienced the macbook/airport problem, specifically since 10.5.8 came back. When I upgraded to 10.5.8, it was so useless that I just reinstalled tiger. Then Snow leopard came out and I upgraded only to experience the same problem but not as severe.
I have just been able to pin/point the problem today (mainly because I just grew so frustrated and spent considerable time trying to figure out). I have tried all the other potential fixes posted on here to no avail (changes airport settings, replacing card, changing dynamic IP to manual, encryption etc).
This is what I have determined and was able to reproduce it:
When macbook is running on power (plugged in):
If battery power is below 60%, connection is spotty - the lower it is, the worst the problem.
If the battery power is above 60%, no problems at all, runs fast and no drops.
When macbook power is not plugged in and running on battery:
Below 60% almost useless
Above 60% spotty and worse as the battery drains
Can anyone else test this out? I've sent Apple an e-mail.

I've gone down to maybe 15% without any noticable difference in connection.

New micro with the headphone problem fi

I just orded a new Zen micro off of ebay. How can i tell if it is a newer one with the headphone problem fixed? If does not come with the ac charger or the belt clip. Does that tell anything about the age. Any other way to see when my micro was manufactured? When did the headphone problem start getting fixed?

Justinw wrote:
I just orded a new Zen micro off of ebay. How can i tell if it is a newer one with the headphone problem fixed? If does not come with the ac charger or the belt clip. Does that tell anything about the age. Any other way to see when my micro was manufactured? When did the headphone problem start getting fixed?
Im not sure that the creative people will honor my warranty, and I was wondering how much would it cost to have the jack problem fixed? It should be a recall, but I suppose that wont happen.

EAR BUD Headphone Problems .. the how to fix them thread!

Hi Guys,
Said I would start off this thread for all those with EAR BUD Headphone problems. Specifically:
- Those with ONE SIDE quieter than the other
- Those with ONE or BOTH sides completely gone.
This would apply to those who own Creative players with Ear Bub Phones supplied or the like.
I think I have a solution to those with "ONE SIDE quieter than the other". If you pull off the rubber gels from the phones you will see a MESH. You might notice an ear wax buildup on the outside of this mesh. Dont bother cleaning it yet. Now you may have to do something you wont like - Use a Jewelers Screwdriver OR some tool equally thin to POP OUT the mesh. Now turn the mesh around. You should now see the problem - HUGE WAX BUILDUP on the under side. NOW clean both sides if you wish, but you might be at a hiding for nothing - I challenge you to get the mesh back in. Not to worry - the phones and sound should now be back as it was in day one. Stick the GELS back on without the mesh. Also behind that mesh maybe a piece of foam. Up to you what you want to do with this ...
It seems this WAX buildup issue on the underside of the mesh in EAR BUDS is a common problem across all makes. I have a Creative, Seinheiser and Philips set - all with the same issue. I did the above on all - now all are back working fine.
Of course you may have to be on WAX lookout more frequently if you cannot get the MESH back in, which maybe the case most of the time. It would seem the very device - the mesh - that protects the buds from WAX buildup is causing a problem itself ..
WITH respect to issues with NO SOUND on either or both sides, this maybe a cracked wire, usually up around the bud end. One thing I have not figured out in most Ear Buds is how to open the casing - over to somebody else for this,
Hope this is helpful to others,
Cheers, Aidan ( Cork, Ireland )

That's a bit trickier. I think I'd select the text from the beginning of the frame wher the continuation starts and cut to the clipboard, then paste at the end of the text in the frame from where it should continue. That frame should now show an overset, and you should have a bunch of empty linked frames where the text was previously located.
Turn on show text threads and find the first out port in front of the now empty frame and click it, then click inside the same frame (or double click the outport should work too). This will break the thread at that frame, but leave the empties threaded together so you can pick up the overset and flow it back in from the other page.

Macbook wifi problems

I have a 2.1 c2d macbook and a network based around a d-link dsl-g604t. I have the macbook since christmas and it connected perfectly for the first few days but now it won't connect at all and it gives the error code '88001006' and says 'There was an error joining the airport network "the_ether"'. There are also a g4 aluminium powerbook, a g3 powerbook, and a clamshell iBook which all connect to the network fine. Is the macbook the problem and if i change to 10.4.7 will this fix it?

Hi, I had similar problems and eventually the Airport card just disappeared from the system.
At first I thought it was dead but I reset the P-RAM, and it came back.
This is from Apple support:
# 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.
# Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.
# Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
# Release the keys
You can also try holding down the on button til the computer beeps. I did that too, which of the two solved my problem I don't know.
If the above doesn't work it could be a loose antenna on the airport card, check that the antenna is properly fastened (unfortunately, this isn't as easy as on the early macs)
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Repair/MacBook-Core-2-Duo-Airport-Card/519/1
If this doesn't work you probably need a new airport card.
I'd take it in for repairs if you're not comfortable or very able at fiddling about with the internals of a computer.

How to fix the stuck in headphone problem

How to fix the stuck in headphone problem?

First try a reset: Hold the Sleep/Wake and Home buttons and don’t let go until the screen goes dark and the Apple logo appears (no data will be lost)
If not try this:
Settings > General > Reset > Reset All Settings

MacBook headphone jack problems

I am experiencing problems with the headphone jack on my MacBook. The headphones I'm using work fine on other devices. When I plug them into the MacBook jack the output (under Sound Preferences) changes from "internal speakers" to "headphones," yet there is no sound. This is regardless of the application I am using, or the volume level. Occasionally, if I leave the headphones in the jack for a protracted period -- like overnight -- they will start working. But the problem always returns. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

I had experienced no output from my headphone jack and thought I may have to get it serviced. I would set up my wireless headphones and streamed xm radio everynight going to bed. One day I had thought my wireless system transmitter was inop, and tried other headphones, result no output.
My final solution was to check out postings here and determined it need to be reset. As per instructions, I removed the battery, and held down the power button. I re-installed the battery, fired it up and everything is working fine.

Macbook Headphone Jack no sound out but mic works problem Mavericks

Hi,
I currently was plugging my macbook Pro to a amplifier to listed music louder, It never worked. After that i Puted a Headphone and worked and unpluged it and plug the headphone again and it did not work anymore. But if i put my blackberry headphones the mic works perfect and on system preferences it says Headphone Port so the mb pro recognizes the headphone but is not able to exit the sound to the headphones. I formated the macbook pro but the problem persists. I'm trying to find a software solution because in my country Venezuela there is no apple store or Certified Tech Service so I'm on my own on this.
Hope you can help.
Thanks in Advance.

I changed them on varius settings and nothign happened. Any other ideas? Thanks

Headphones problem with MacBook Pro?

I recently purchased some new headphones, but only 1 earpiece works on a mac. There's nothing wrong with the headphone because both the ear cups work on everything els. He headphones are super super loud ( louder then dr dre beats ) and have the same base.

you would usually get this problem if you have your headphones socket broken or you have not plugged it properly - all the way.
Have you tried other headphones on your Mac?

Macbook Pro Earphone/Headphone Problem

Hello.
Whenever I plug my earphone/headphone into the headphone jack, the music or sound coming out of the earphones will increase quickly and then suddenly drop back to its 'normal' sound. This happens within 1-2 seconds of plugging it in. I contacted Apple Support and they told me that this was a normal occurrence for earphone with volume control, and it was true. However, when I asked other people I knew, they replied that this has never happened.
Has this happened to your Mac, is there a fix. I have a Macbook Pro with retina display 13inch 256 GB model with Yosemite.
Thank you.

Had you tried the 'system management controller - reset' ?
•Intel-based Macs: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC) - Apple Support
Sometimes items that appear as hardware issues can find a source in the system level
of the hardware-firmware interface; so this may help to clear out some glitches in there.
There also is a NVRAM reset, usually in the bottom of the same page linked above.
That may not do much for this audio issue, but then it may. These resets do no harm.
I see in the info on this, that it may be able to affect volume...
•How to Reset NVRAM on your Mac - Apple Support
Good luck & happy computing!

Audio headphones problem

Good morning,
unfortunately I'm here to ask your help.
When I plug my headphones in the jack connection, I continue hearing the sound from speakers. If I go to settings, then audio I cannot see headphones listed in output.
This is strange because there's no red light in the jack port, when I plug the cable I can hear some "connection sound", but then no audio from headphones.
It's like the system does not recognize the headphones. Of course I tried with different headphones, the problem still remains.
My macbook pro is early 2008 and runs Lion.

I would not force the headphones into the ipod if there is difficulty doing so. If you read line number 5 in the link below then you can request replacement headphones if you find yours faulty.
http://depot.info.apple.com/ipod/
Or take your nano to the local apple store and talk to someone at the genius bar if you have a local apple store.
GFF

10.6.2 USB headphones problem + puzzling Audio Midi Setup workaround

After updating to 10.6.2, my Logitech USB headphones started behaving strangely -- on two separate machines (a 2006 MacBook and a 2009 Mac Pro), so it's not a fault with the computer.
Symptoms:
1. no sound in Skype
2. no sound in YouTube
3. sound, but low volume levels in iTunes when volume is at highest setting
Audio output from the headphone jack and internal speaker remained normal, with no problems.
I knew enough to fiddle with Audio Midi Setup, and discovered the following. The problems described above remained whenever the volume controls for channels 1 and 2 were equal.
The minute the volume controls were set to different levels for the two channels, sound reappeared -- and the greater the disparity, the louder the overall volume coming to both ears. For example setting channel 1 to 0.83 value/-1.00 dB and channel 2 to 1.00 value/3.00 dB produces an adequate volume level overall (though I suppose it is coming at the cost of an actual inequality between the two stereo channels).
Am I correct to assume that I have uncovered a bug here? I had no such problems before 10.6.1.
Unfortunately, I don't have a second pair of USB headphones to test whether that makes a difference.

Update to my own message: It's not necessary to go to Audio Midi Setup to see the effect. In the Sound preference pane as well, setting the balance dead center causes the sound to go to zero, but unbalancing it in favor of either the left or right brings the sound back -- the more unbalanced, the louder.
Furthermore, the balance control does not actually reduce the volume to either ear when moved to the left or the right. That is, with balance all the way to the left, I get louder volume...out of both ears.
No such problem when playing through the regular headphone jack.

MacBook + Headphones = Problems

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