SubscribeSometimes the iPhone gets stuck and thinks it has regular earphones or ear buds attached even though you don’t. Here are a few things to try.
- If you have a regular iPod headset, try attaching those to your iPhone and unplugging them several times.
- Plug and unplug your iPhone headset several times.
- Lint may be trapped in the connection. Try blowing into it or try canned air.
Ensure the unit is unlocked while performing these steps.
by adam, on October 11 2008 @ 8:44 am
thanks for this tip.
by Anthony Bunn, on October 13 2008 @ 1:00 am
I try the above using iPod headset, try attaching into iPhone and unplugging them several times.
I try to force it in and out fast, didn’t work however. So I’ve tried to clam down do it slowly at at a time pulling in and out, finally it’s working!!!!.
Thanks,
by tea, on October 27 2008 @ 5:10 pm
thank you! thank you! your advice worked!
by Antony Pratap, on November 3 2008 @ 3:31 am
This issue has been reported by Apple. Plugging In and Out a zillion times is not going to help resolve this issue as it may only damage the jack.
Is there another fix for this issue?
-Anto
by kwstas, on November 5 2008 @ 8:56 am
i tried to plug and unplug several times, i restored my iphone from itunes, i reseted my iphone with home and lock button but it didn’t work
by kwstas, on November 5 2008 @ 8:57 am
any advice???
by Jake, on November 29 2008 @ 9:12 pm
Lots of posts here:
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1630?viewlocale=en_US
That includes a link to Apple’s KB article on the same.
What worked for me, after trying all the fixes like plugging and unplugging while the phone was open, starting and stopping playback, switching between speakerphone on normal…
…was just a q=tip with no cotton on it. It removed some gunk that had apparently fallen down the jack hole. Problem solved.
by Armand, on April 21 2009 @ 1:45 pm
WOW
Hello all, don’t you love Google
I am so glad this post was found because I really was desperate about my iPhone that I could only make calls with my headset from now. But the plug in plug out did the trick
THANKS GUYZ
by Rehan, on June 18 2009 @ 1:52 am
Thanks for the help. It helped me and my iphone works perfectly now
by Audio drop-out when on call - Stuck in headphone mode - MacTalk Forums, on July 8 2009 @ 10:52 pm
[...] (with a paperclip) and pull it out again to remove any dust/debris. 3. reset the phone. See this, this one, this one and this one Ive done all of these and its still occuring. Whats worse is that I think [...]
by Allen, on July 9 2009 @ 3:34 pm
I addition to the things mentioned above, I’ve also had success with both of the following:
1. Use a toothpick to clean out the pocket lint and other crap from the data port at the bottom of the phone.
2. Remove the majority of the cotton from both ends of a cotton swap. Dip one of the ends in isopropyl alcohol and insert into the headset jack. Spin and oscillate the swab in and out of the jack to thoroughly clean the inside walls. Follow again with the dry end of the cotton swab.
This issue was a contant occurance until I did the second suggestion. Not anymore.
by Aaron Smith, on July 30 2009 @ 11:35 pm
I had this bug and tried everything bug nothing worked. Finally, I found out that I had had my mute button (the switch just above the volume buttons) enabled. Disabling this fixed the problem.
by awillimd, on August 1 2009 @ 5:11 pm
OK, so here’s my story…and possibly a solution. My iPhone would get stuck in Ringer (headphone) mode. No amount of inserting and removing the headphone jack would work. Blowing into the jack hole didn’t work. This morning I went to the Apple Genius Bar. They did some tests, blew crap out of the hole and the problem did not go away. Eventually they completely wiped my phone back to its virgin state. Still didn’t do the trick. They offered to exchange the phone (of course, it’s about a month out of warranty) with an exact copy (white, 3G, 16GB) for $199. I declined as I’m eligible for a lower cost 3GS upgrade in December. Came home depressed wondering why I didn’t take out an AppleCare Plan. Again tried all the tricks and the problem just seemed to get worse (i.e. it just stayed in headphone mode). So, here’s what worked for me. I normally use a pair of Etymotic earbuds instead of the supplied iPhone earbuds. The Etymotic jack (that thing that goes inside the iPhone) is different from the iPhone earbud jack. The Etymotics jack has two black bands (separating the jack into three separate metal pieces). The native iPhone earbuds jack has three white band that separates the jack into four separate metal pieces. Somehow, my Etymotic jack messed up the iPhone settings and caused it to get stuck in the headphone mode. The only way to get it back was to re-insert the Etymotic jack. That has reset the iPhone and everything is working fine again. So, if you are using any brand of earbud other than the native iPhone buds, that may be causing the problem. Hope that helps. Works like a charm for me.
by Gill, on August 16 2009 @ 5:54 pm
I had the same problem yesterday. Tried everything (restore everything, plug in and out)and nothing worked. Then i had my headphone pluged into my phone for the whole night and finally this morning i took it out and it worked again. I’m worry that there is something wrong with my phone because i never used my headset before this happened. i don’t understand why it was on headset mode even though i never use my headset.does anyone have any suggestions?
by Glenn H., on August 19 2009 @ 4:28 pm
awillimd–THANKS SO MUCH. I put my other headphones in (that I use at the gym) and that fixed it…
Therefore, I had to use the last pair of headphones…not the earbuds…to get it to go back to non-headphone mode!
by J Snyder, on September 30 2009 @ 2:31 pm
I have tried everything above. Got it off once and went back to headphones 2 minutes later…any more suggestions?
by Steve, on October 5 2009 @ 9:34 am
This seems to be working for me thus far. Did it once, it worked, then went back to headphones mode. Did it again, this time it is behaving normally thus far:
1. Put the iPhone into iPod mode with headphones in and start playback.
2. Stop playback and exit iPod mode.
3. Remove headphones.
by Puas, on October 26 2009 @ 6:31 pm
Allen, your tip about the q tip and toothpick
seem to do the trick. The toothpick worked best
as I could pull out several pieces of lint from the
bottom of the Jack… apparently, inserting and removing
the headphone jack, as suggested by Apple and
several blogs, only excacerbated the problem, packing
the lint!
Thanks for the tip!
by Puas, on November 6 2009 @ 12:59 pm
Follow up to my 10/26 post…
looks like I spoke too soon, a day later the problem returned
with a vengence! It became a constant annoyance. So I called
tech support, they schedule a genius appt, and I took my phone in.
But, of COURSE, the phone was working fine once I got into the store!?$@&)$?!
The tech said all he could do was wipe it clean with a fresh software load! I told
him I didn’t have the time or the patience to make the 45 min drive back to the store
if the software fix didn’t work… and insisted he replace my phone!
Got a new phone… wonder how long before the next problem!
by Elijah Gardner, on November 17 2009 @ 11:32 am
What I did was very low tech but worked. I Went to radio shack. Purcahsed a Mini Stero Connector. Cut it down Flush with the top of the phone and inserted it into the Jack. I can still remove it when I want to use headphones. The iPhone works perfectly now.
by andrew, on November 18 2009 @ 1:48 am
Elijah, is the mini stereo connector still working for you? I have tried everything else. thx
by matthew, on February 11 2010 @ 7:50 am
the q-tip thing worked! woot woot!
by Xavier, on February 14 2010 @ 2:07 pm
What you need to do to fix the headphone mode is to plug and unplug the headphones into your iPhone while turning up and down the volume on the phone.. Try that if blowing air don’t work out for ya. It did for me.
by Susan, on February 14 2010 @ 9:34 pm
Thankx for all the advice! I found that the problem was actually in the data/recharge connector at the bottom of the phone.
by Nikki, on February 23 2010 @ 4:18 am
This is a great site I dropped my iPhone in water yes stupid, butcfrsbbed it out asap but the phone was now stuck on headphones had no idea what to do. But the tooth puck in the top of the jack really worked thanks heaps couldn’t live without my iPhone
by Robert, on March 6 2010 @ 10:48 am
I had the same problem. Seems like there is a pressure switch at the end of the hole where you put the jack into.
I could be wrong but thats my guess. I used a toothpick to
push around in there and then the itouch worked.
by Glenn, on March 8 2010 @ 4:37 pm
I tried all of the above without success. Connected to the bluetooth in the car, made a call, turned the car off and there you go, headphone setting gone. Go figure.