How to Get My Headphone Jack Working on Computer

All computer sound cards are equipped with at least one line-out (headphone) jack. The headphone jack is usually located on the front of laptops and on the back of computer towers. As with any piece of computer hardware, the headphone jack may become damaged or unresponsive. Most problems are easily solved without the need to take your computer to a professional repair shop. A few simple troubleshooting techniques may help a computer's headphone jack start working again.

Things You'll Need

• Internet connection or sound card installation CD

Instructions

Hardware troubleshooting

1. Verify that your headphones function properly. Plug the headphones into another device with a headphone jack, and check if they work.

2. Check the volume on your computer. Many laptops have external volume controls as do many PC keyboards.Verify that the volume is set to medium or higher.

3. Verify that the headphones are inserted into the proper jack. Most computers have the headphone jack next to the microphone jack. Verify that your headphones are in the slot with the headphone symbol. Many towers use different color jacks, but laptops rely on the symbol to help you distinguish between the two.

4. Make sure that the headphones are inserted properly. The headphones must be pushed in all the way in order to function correctly.

5. Confirm that the volume control on the headphones is not turned off or set to mute if applicable.

Software troubleshooting

1. Use a different media player for your audio or video reproduction. Improper codecs or a faulty media player may cause the sound problem.

2. Use a different audio or video file to test the sound. A faulty file with sound issues or the combination of a particular file with the media player will cause audio problems.

3. Verify that the headphone jack is not turned off or set to mute. Most Windows- based systems use a speaker or similar icon in the system tray beside the clock in the lower right corner. Double-click on the icon to open the audio controls for the headphones.

4. Verify that the sound card is enabled in the device manager. Open the "Control Panel" from the "Start" menu and double-click "Device Manager." Click "Sound, video and game controllers," then double-click on your sound card to open the properties window. Verify that the "Device Status" pane says "The device is working properly."

5. Update the device driver. Click the "Driver" tab in your sound card's properties window. Click the "Update Driver" button. Click on the automatic update to browse the Internet for a new driver, or insert your installation disk and click to browse for the driver on your computer. Follow the onscreen instructions to update the driver.

6. Reset your sound card. Right-click on your sound card in the "Device Manager" window and select "Disable." Wait for two minutes, and right-click the sound card to open the context menu again. Select "Enable" to reset the device.

7. Restart your computer with the headphones plugged in.

Tips & Warnings

• Check to see if the headphone jack works after every step.

• Your sound card may be damaged and require replacement if none of the troubleshooting steps succeeds.

References

• Microsoft Windows: Tips for Fixing Common Sound Problems
• Polderbits: The Audio Input Connection On Your Computer