This is frustrating....

[conuly]

I prefer to listen to things on the computer via headphones rather than speakers. Recently, the audio jack stopped working. It says it's unplugged.

It's not wobbly, so I think it's likely not a hardware issue. (Can't solve a hardware issue anyway - this laptop won't handle any more repair work!) The headphones work fine on other devices. I've tried rebooting. I've tried disabling and enabling the device. I've tried updating the driver. I've tried uninstalling the driver, reinstalling it, and rebooting. What is left to try?

If there's nothing else left, I suppose I could get a set of USB headphones. I'm reluctant to do this, though, because I'm out of ports (because the poor condition of my poor laptop means I'm using a plugged in keyboard and mouse), and all my USB ports *are* a bit wobbly, so I don't want to strain them with a lot of plugging and unplugging. I could get a USB hub, but... I mean, at this point, I know what the solution really is. The solution really is that I start saving my money and put it towards a new computer. But at least USB headphones would be a(nother) stopgap before I have to bite that bullet.

Comments

[acelightning]

It sounds as if the microscopically tiny circuit trace on the printed-circuit board has broken, and those can't be repaired by human hands. (I've tried.) Have you tried plugging the headphones into the jack where you normally plug in the speakers? (Keep the volume turned down low!) If that works, it'll keep things usable until you can get a new computer.

[conuly]

This thing's only got one audio jack. The external speakers are USB speakers.

[acelightning]

Is your laptop equipped with Bluetooth?

[conuly]

So it claims!

[acelightning]

Then get a Bluetooth headset - a lot of people use their phones to listen to music, and a lot of people use headsets with their phones while driving, so therefore Bluetooth headsets are widely available and relatively inexpensive.

[erinptah]

Have you tried getting some compressed air and physically cleaning out the port? That's the only other thing that comes to mind.

[malkingrey]

Basic USB hubs are fairly cheap, and that would make a good stopgap.

[cosmolinguist]

This was my thought, too. And they might still be useful when you do have to get a new computer, more than USB headphones might be.

[randomdreams]

I echo the above, that a bluetooth headset is definitely the least intrusive fix.
I have done motherboard repair on a laptop of exactly the sort you're talking about, but it takes working under a microscope with some fancy soldering equipment and a chunk of experience.

If you like the laptop you have, you could look for another on ebay and swap hard drives. I'm on my third or fourth Lenovo T400, a 12 year old system that's perfectly adequate for poking about online. Even in like-new-with-windows-10 shape they're still only $150 or so, and if I get one that's in better shape than mine, but doesn't have a hard drive, it's like $40.

[conuly]

Great, sold.

[archangelbeth]

I've got a decent set of Philips Bluetooth headphones -- but they're kind of finicky, and don't connect well (or automatically) to my old-but-still-working computer here. So I use them on the newer one to play Star Trek Online, and use some bluetooth Apple over-the-earpiece+earbud thingies for this one.

[conuly]

Hate earbuds. Hate them, hate them, hate them. I like classic headphones.

[conuly]

Well, I don't mind playing around once I have a new laptop, but I'm not going to try any more repairs on this one until then. It's held together with spit and hope.

[conuly]

Especially as I still have a USB-to-audio jack adapter floating around somewhere.

[conuly]

Can't hurt, I guess.

[archangelbeth]

I can't stand standard earbuds -- they fall out of my ears! These things have a loop like glasses do, with a slightly-in-the-ear earbud part, and the loop keeps them from falling out. I prefer regular headphones, though. (These are more portable, I will admit. But also my spouse has NO ability to realize that I've got them in, and I can't have one ear half-uncovered -- as with regular headphones -- to hear when someone's talking to me.)

[conuly]

Do they work with glasses as well?

[archangelbeth]

Yes! I have glasses! I suspect they don't work quite as well, but the earpiece loop is half flexible. (This is the expensive Beats one from the Apple Store. I've gotten cheaper ones from, like, Staples, and IIRC, they were flexible all through. This one is stiff for the first, "front" part, then flexible at the "sits on top of ear" part till the tip.)

They're at least as comfy with my glasses as most padded, not-too-squeezy headphones are.

[conuly]

I'll think on it. Thanks :)

[archangelbeth]

If your computer has kind of dubious Bluetooth, the Apple/Beats ones appear to be more capable of holding a connection than the Philips headphones. If your computer has decent Bluetooth, I strongly suspect that even relatively cheap forms of the "over the ear + buds" might suffice, so you could see if you hate them or not. Might find cheaper ones in a Best Buy or Staples? Dunno.

Here's a no-longer-available version, Skullcandy brand:
http://www.pssl.com/Skullcandy-CHOPSBUD-Over-The-Ear-Buds-GreyRed -- apparently "over the ear buds" is the right term to get a lot of hits at duckduckgo, on a search...

[conuly]

I have no idea if it's dubious or not, to be honest. Like many people, I'm set in my ways and reluctant to change, and I'm pretty sure I've never used bluetooth anything with this computer!

[gatheringrivers]

Bluetooth isn't bad - my portable devices support bluetooth, so I use them with my watch. I think the range is *somewhere* in the neighborhood of 50-100 feet? So for most smaller houses you could likely go to the kitchen, the loo, and back to your desk without running out of connection.

I'll ping hubby and see if he knows whether there's a way to tell if it's a good or so-so bluetooth connection.

(That said, Anker makes a line of nice, useful and durable USB hubs and cables, so if you decide to go that route, I think I've seen one of theirs hold up to 10 ports?)

[conuly]

At this point, I'll see what's cheapest at Staples.

[archangelbeth]

The only way I know this computer has dubious bluetooth is because it has a really short range (20 feet?) and it won't sync up with those headphones properly. ^_^