No sound on my mac book and a red light in the headphone jack
as in the title,
The sound controls dont work and I have a constant red light out of the earphone jack, with the earphones in all is okay but without ....silence
The red light is the digital in light, that is how it reads the headphone jack. The reason the sound doesn't work is because a switch to turn the speakers back on is stuck (note that if you boot the computer, you will hear the startup tone).
There are several ways to fix this...
Some have found that putting the headphone plug in and out several times (maybe twisting it a little) will work.
Others have used a toothpick to adjust the switch (I don't advise this because the toothpick may break).
Instead of a toothpick, many have used a paperclip (probably best to use an insulated one). I couldn't get this to work, but I would suggest straightening, folding in half, then twisting the paperclip and moving it around in the port.
You can also use a sewing pen/needle.
I have seen all of these methods online, but they didn't work for me. I took a que from this instrucable and cleaned my jack with a dry q-tip. I then cut off most of the end and turned it around inside the port. This worked, but after I put the headphones back in the same problem came up, I just did the same procedure again and it worked again (even after I plugged the headphones back in and took them out).
PS: I woud suggest putting some q-tips and possibly some scissors in your MacBook bag in case the problem arises on the move.
Similar Messages
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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! -
Red light in the headphone output of my MacBook and no speakers.
My MacBook recently has been shining a RED light out of the input for the headphones. This is accompanied by the problem of me not being able to get sound to play out of the internal MacBook speakers...I believe the two are related. I am able to play music when I plug in headphones and hook my computer up to my TV, but when I disconnect the source I cannot hear anything coming out of the computer itself. When I try and adjut the volume with the buttons on the keyboard the volume icon appears and a little "no smoking" or "circle with a line through it diganal" appears next to the level of volume that I want to hear...Can anyone please give me some insight as to what may be the problem with my MacBook.
there's a small switch in the very back of the headphone jack. I know it doesn't sound like a good idea, but just take a tooth pick or something small and flick the tab by the light. it's somewhere around the 4 or 5 o'clock position.
the switch turns the computer's audio out from digital to analogue and seems to get stuck with some computers. mine had this problem but hasn't resurfaced since. -
Basically, my iphone has been in the same apple ID as my dads iphone and mac book, so my iphone has always been synced to his macbook. I bought myself a mac book the other day and want to sync my iphone to it. However i have obviously put my mac book in a different apple id as i know pay for things i download myself, how can I sync my iphone to my mac book without losing all the music and pictures on it? ive now put my iphone into my new apple id thinking this might help? ive also tried clicking 'manually manage music and video' but this doesnt seem to work, it basically says you have to erase your iphone to sync to a new itunes!
HELPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" how can I sync my iphone to my mac book without losing all the music and pictures on it?"
You cannot. Copy everything you want form the old computer to the new one, then sync it.
it basically says you have to erase your iphone to sync to a new itunes!
Correct Iphone will sync, or manually manage, with one and only one computer/library at a time. Syncing, or manually managing, to another will indeed erase the current content. -
No sound, red light emitted from headphone jack
So I really have no idea how to get my sound back. I simply pulled my headphones out of the back of my Mac and I lost sound from the speakers in the computer. When I hit the adjust volume buttons on the keyboard, a circle-with-a-line-through-it symbol shows up underneath, and I hear nothing. When I look at the port where my headphones plug in, a red light is shining out of it. I've already checked sound options in system preferences. Did I break my sound by simply pulling my headphones out?? Help!
Had same thing happen a couple times and fixed it by just plugging headphones in and unplugging a couple times.
Don't know for a fact but I think the audio output thinks it has a digital optical device connected (Hence the red light). That would explain why you are getting no sound from speakers.
Next step would be to call Apple.
Randall -
What is the difference between a mac-book, and an I-pad?
What is the difference between a mac-book and an I-pad?
The Macbook is a computer (running Mac OS X), an iPad is a tablet (running iOS). What are thinking of using it for ? The Mac is more powerful than iPad, so if you need processing power then that will be better suited for your needs. If you will mainly be using it for media (films, music), internet browsing, emails, ebooks, then an iPad would be sufficient.
Macbook Air : http://www.apple.com/macbook-air/
MacBook Pro : http://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/
iPad Air : http://www.apple.com/ipad-air/ -
I HAVE A MAC LAP TOP MAC BOOK AND WANT JUST TO REINSTALL THE SOFTWARE I DONT CARE ABOUT MY FILES I HAVE BACK UP BUT WHEN I INSERT THE DISK VERSION 10.5 WHICH COMES WITH MY COMPUTER DOESN'T WANT TO READ I HEARD THA IS TRYING BUT NOTHING,
CAN SOME BODY HELP ME...There is a possibility that the disk drive could be broken, if it just spits it back out that usually means its toast. If your MacBook has a Core 2 Duo processor, you can install Lion (via a thumb drive not disks). Here is a link to the Lion thumb drive.You can also still order them for $19.99 by calling 1-800-MY-APPLE. Also you can borrow an external disk drive and try the Leopard disks that way as well.
Good Luck! -
I don't have any sound on my Mac Book Pro.
My volume bar appears as if my computer has full volume, but I can't hear anything, not even the "Bleep" the sound does when you push the sound buttons.
Go step by step and test.
1. System Preference > Sound > Output > Internal Speakers
Highlight Internal Speakers / Headphones
Make sure that Mute is not enabled.
2.Plug in and remove the headphone.
If you see red light in the headphone port, plug the headphone
in and out of the port 5 or 6 times to flip the microswitch inside.
Sound output may be stuck in the digital mode.
3. Reset PRAM. http://support.apple.com/kb/PH4405
4. Reset SMC. http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964
Choose the method for:
"Resetting SMC on portables with a battery you should not remove on your own".
5. Applications > Utilities > Audio MIDI Setup
Audio Devices window
Side Bar
Click the Built-in Output.
Under Mute any of the boxes checked? If so, uncheck it. -
My speakers on my macbook pro quit working the other day after using my headphones. when I try to adjust the speakers my screen indicator sayes that it is at full volume on the bar but also muted(circle with line through it). I also noticed a red light inside my headphone jack. My headphones still work including volume. Any quick fix?
Hopefully one of these steps should solve the problem.
1. System Preference > Sound > Output > Internal Speakers
Make sure Mute is not enabled.
2. Remove the headphone.
If you see red light in the headphone port, plug the headphone
in and out of the port 5 or 6 times to flip the microswitch inside.
Sound output may be stuck in the digital mode.
3. Reset PRAM. http://support.apple.com/kb/PH4405
4. Reset SMC. http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964
Choose the method for:
"Resetting SMC on portables with a battery you should not remove on your own". -
Borrowing my boyfriend's computer after my own Macbook died, he had given up on the audio on his Macbook Pro as a logic board issue but I think it might be fixable.
System prefs for audio is stuck on digital output. The red LED from the headphone jack only shines sometimes (rarely, actually, but the digital output/no sound persists). No appearance of dust in the jack. What concerns me most is that the headphone male end doesn't "sit right" in the jack: rather than plugging in securely, it pops right back out.
I have a hunch this is similar to that little switch problem a lot of people deal with in the headphone jack, but the fact that the headphones won't plug in seems different. I've tried pulling the jack in and out and wiggling--no sound change, but the LED turns off and on sometimes. Any other ideas? Thank you all.Possibly create a new user profile to test if it is a software issue. If it still has problems once tested on another profile it is most likely a hardware fault, and the only option is to take it to Apple. Honestly though it sounds more hardware related due to the power outage impacting it's performance instead of a program. Good luck buddy.
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i installed win 7 on my mac book, and the sound driver was installed successfully, but i don't hear any sound, please help
Is the volume muted? Click on the volume icon in the system tray to see if it shows as muted. If that's the case, I know of a workaround to fix this because if you unmute the speakers now, the condition will come back when you reboot your computer. I don't know the exact steps off the top of my head at the moment as I'm not in front of my machine. Check this first and reply if muting was the problem and I will detail the steps needed to fix the problem.
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I don't have sound on my Mac Book Pro...
I don't have sound on my Mac Book Pro... I've gone to my sound in the system prefrences and it's saying that internal and export sound are not even an option.
Hi j,
Have you tried a pair of ear phones yet? If not, try it.
If no luck, gently pull them out and push them in a few times.
If no luck, try the following:
PRAM Reset: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=2238
SMC Reset: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964
Safe Boot: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1455
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1564 -
I have rented a movie on apple tv and wish to finish it on my mac book air. When I open iTunes on my mac book air I can not see the movie in iTunes. It is an authorised device and I can see other purchases just. How do I fix it?
Rented movies downloaded to an Apple TV can't be transferred to any other device.
(86941) -
IMAC DVD Player does not recognizing dvd movie . I have an IMAC (10.7.4) using DVDPlayer (vers. 5500.26.11) and it will not recognize/play a dvd movie...it thinks it is a blank dvd. The IMAC will play rented dvd movies. The dvd movie plays fine on my Mac Book Pro (10.6.8) on the Pro's DVDPlayer (vers.5.4) abd in my external Sony DVD Player The dvd move was made/burned on a PC. Why will a dvd movie play on my Macbook Pro and not my IMAC?
Hello:
This is not an area I have much experience in......I rarely insert DVDs and I have never had a similar problem.
When the DVD is in the drive (and DVD players is open) click on File>get disk info.
Barry -
I have a 17" Mac Book Pro and a 13" Mac Book Pro...both use the same Apple ID. My wife uses the 13" and now wants to change the Apple ID on the 13" to her Apple ID. How do I do this and not loose the information on that computer?
Hello Teddy53149 and welcome to Apple Support Communities,
Follow this procedure:
Change your OS X account name and home directory name - Apple Support
As they recommend and as always when you're messing with administrator accounts back everything up first.
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