11-12-2008, 08:24 PM

Ok, so i have a problem.... I just picked up my macbook (white) and unplugged the headphones that were in it, only to find that the end of the 3.5mm headphone jack has snapped off inside the macbook's headphone socket. Obviously this means the macbook's speakers are disabled and i cant plug any speakers or other headphones into the port. My warrenty expired last august, so i cant simply take it in and get it fixed for free.

Im no mechanic... but how easy do you think it would be to take the casing off of the macbook and get this broken piece out? is it as simple as this?

Any help greatly appreciated!!

Thanks,

Luke

11-12-2008, 11:29 PM

If your no mechanic, Please dont try to take the case off.

I suggest using a Magnet or something that will provide leverage and will be able to get the little guy outta there.
I would maybe just take it to a computer specialist and see what they can do.
They might come up with some rig that will get it out of there or you might have to pay a little bit o' cash and get the thing fixed the right way.

Honestly your in a little pickle right now. I would just take it to a specialist and get 'er looked at

11-12-2008, 11:31 PM

This isn't the first time I've read about this happening. How does it even happen!

11-13-2008, 12:19 AM

I am not sure opening the case will help you very much at all. Typically female mini plug sockets are closed and sodered directly to a board. I would get some of the 5lbs test double stick tape, put it on the tip, push it firmly to the stuck part and hope it follows it out.
Can you see the broken off tip? if so you might be able to get needle nose tweezers around it?

11-13-2008, 06:25 AM

Originally Posted by Eric559

This isn't the first time I've read about this happening. How does it even happen!

haha, well they were fairly old headphones and i needed to wriggle the plug around to get sound out of both ear pieces, so that suggests the 3.5mm jack was bent and weakened already... i was watching a film on my bed, got up to get some food and put my computer down on the bed, im guessing the un-even surface pushed against the jack and it just snapped off.... so completely my fault really.

11-13-2008, 06:29 AM

Originally Posted by Michael415

I am not sure opening the case will help you very much at all. Typically female mini plug sockets are closed and sodered directly to a board. I would get some of the 5lbs test double stick tape, put it on the tip, push it firmly to the stuck part and hope it follows it out.
Can you see the broken off tip? if so you might be able to get needle nose tweezers around it?

Yeah i think your right there, i just googled for macbook motherboards and saw they are as you described.

Tape is a very good idea! I hadnt thought of that. I was on the verge of thinking a very very small amount of glue might be wise... but then again id have to leave it to set not knowing whether its spilled out of the sides and is sticking to the inside of the female socket. I will definitely give tape a shot then!

I can see the piece yes, but its 4mm or so inside the socket, so getting tweezers round it with enough grip would be nearly impossible. I'll give tape a try as soon as i find some really strong stuff.

11-13-2008, 06:32 AM

Originally Posted by Mjc.americor

If your no mechanic, Please dont try to take the case off.

I suggest using a Magnet or something that will provide leverage and will be able to get the little guy outta there.
I would maybe just take it to a computer specialist and see what they can do.
They might come up with some rig that will get it out of there or you might have to pay a little bit o' cash and get the thing fixed the right way.

Honestly your in a little pickle right now. I would just take it to a specialist and get 'er looked at

yeah you're right, i woulnt want to cause more damage. I'll give a magnet a shot, although im not sure if i have any powerful enough to get it past the little bumps and groves that are inside the socket.

Last resort... i'll take it to a specialist and see how much it would cost and how they would do it.

Thanks for your help everyone!

11-13-2008, 10:33 AM

Originally Posted by lukenn77

yeah you're right, i woulnt want to cause more damage. I'll give a magnet a shot, although im not sure if i have any powerful enough to get it past the little bumps and groves that are inside the socket.

Last resort... i'll take it to a specialist and see how much it would cost and how they would do it.

Thanks for your help everyone!

Odds are they will try the same things as u then just desoder and replace. I thought about also saying the smallest drop of crazy glue but you would need to be very careful to not weld it in perm. If your handy with a soder iron you could tack flux to it and see if that pulls it out.

11-13-2008, 02:50 PM

ok, so glue didnt work, and neither did tweezers. i took the case off following instructions on ifixit.com and had a look from the inside.... there is definitely no way in from the back. all back together and works fine... except the sound still

11-13-2008, 07:53 PM

Originally Posted by lukenn77

ok, so glue didnt work, and neither did tweezers. i took the case off following instructions on ifixit.com and had a look from the inside.... there is definitely no way in from the back. all back together and works fine... except the sound still

Well you have little to loose really. I would try the smallest amount possible of epoxy or crazy glue and see if that is enough to remove it. The only other suggestion I can think of would be to heat up a needle and make a small hole on the opposite side of the jack where u can push it out instead of pulling.

04-01-2010, 11:49 AM

Hi, I trolled a lot of forums regarding this problem, this one actually worked. I tried the dental pick approach first, it didn't work at all. I dabbed a small amount of glue (Household Goop is the product I used) on the end of a nail, but to protect the rest of the computer and ensure I didn't glue the nail into the slot as well, I used a straw, cut to fit and placed in the female end of the jack around the piece that was stuck, acting as a sleeve, I let the glue cure for 24 hours and pulled out the broken piece as easy as pie.

04-01-2010, 08:53 PM

When this happened to me a few years ago I used super glue and a toothpick. Let it sit in there for a few minutes then pulled it out with success.

08-10-2010, 08:26 PM

I have the same problem of a tip of a headphone plug snapped off in my a1181 macbook audio input jack. I tried a multitude of methods trying to get it out, including paperclips, tiny flathead screw drivers, glue on all sorts of different objects to pull it out, and now it is permanently fastened in there. I got too antsy this afternoon and tried too many things at once. Instead of replacing the entire logic board ($400, or $60 for sketchy ebay buys), I am wondering if anybody can point me in the direction of who manufactures the actual part I need to remove, and solder back in. Does anybody know where that part information might be available? I am planning on buying it off of a place like digikey.com. Does anybody have any ideas? Thanks a bunch.

08-10-2010, 08:39 PM

I doubt you can just buy the part, but even if you could, you do realize that components on the logic board are surface mounted? In order to remove a surface mounted component without destroying the integrity of the logic board you would need a specialized solder removal tool and a good knowledge of how to use it.

If the headphone tip can not be removed, the Apple recommended repair is to swap out the entire logic board. If you wish, try the Mac parts folks at iFixit: The free repair manual.

Regards.

08-11-2010, 11:47 AM

Thanks for your reply and I am familiar with ifixit. I understand this will be extremely difficult, will need a solder removal tool, the space I am working with is tiny, and I can't just goop a bunch of solder in there and hope it will work. Luckily I have some really experienced people willing to help my out with the labor, they just don't want to track down the part. Does anybody know where I can look to find this information? If push comes to shove I will end up buying a new logic board.