11-15-2011, 02:45 AM

While I am hoping this is not a hardware issue, I believe it is. My apologies if it is not.
For about a week I have been having an issue with audio on my macbook(unibody, 2.66ghz i7, 4gb ram, 1.5 years old).

When: Mostly with internet streaming content, specifically with netflix, pandora, grooveshark, but also in non-internet applications like itunes. Happens regardless of number of applications opened. Also, my internet connection is not the issue. Other devices have no such problems on the same network.

What: Audio cuts in and out when listening on internal speakers, but computer indicates that content is still playing. When listening on headphones, sometimes audio switches back and forth between internal speakers and headphones, and sometimes cuts in and out similar to listening with internal speakers. If I continue listening/watching content will sometimes freeze up entirely.

Any help you can offer is appreciated.

11-15-2011, 03:03 PM

From your description, it sounds like an intermittent audio jack. There's a small switch internal to the jack hardware that switches the audio output from speakers to headset. Sometimes that switch gets stuck or becomes unstable.

You can try using a sturdy toothpick by inserting it into the jack and moving it around a bit inside to see if you can get it working again. If your machine is covered by Apple care it probably would be best to take it on in and have Apple look at it. The usual repair for a defective jack is to replace the entire logic board. Sounds drastic but the jack assembly is surface mounted to the logic board and can not easily be swapped out.