Broken Headphone Plug Stuck in Jack

Terrrible situation

I have also experienced the horror of getting a jack stuck in the audio input, however after looking up solutions to take the broken piece out, most common one i found was to get a toothpick and add a little superglue and attach it to the jack. After a few unsuccessful attempts i managed to flood the input with glue!

and the toothpick obviously snapped off and now theres dried up superglue full in the audio input with a broken jack! Great!

I was thinking of pushing a needle through the glue and heating the needle with a solder iron in order to melt the glue and get access to the input?

Any suggestions, Also is there a way i can use my MacBooks speakers and disable the headphone output?

thanks

Thanks , to all the posters here.

It happened to me as well but another broken (on purpose) jackphone plug with a tiny drop of superglue did the trick.

Krazy Glue Works

The bottom half of the headphone plug broke off in my Macbook. It was too far in for even small pliers to work. I put a drop of Krazy Glue (also known as super glue) on the top half of the plug and put it in the jack. I held it for 1 minute and then let it dry/cure for 1 hour. I then gently pulled on the plug and the whole thing came out.

It worked!

Stuck some super glue to the end of a bamboo skewer (a very tiny amount). I totally didnt think it would stick! Held it there for 3-4 minutes, gently pulled, and the **** thing came right out! Thanks to all for the advice, now I have my Mac back!

THANK YOU lucaslock!

I know this is an old thread, but I just wanted to thank
lucaslock a lot, his idead worked out great for me, the headphone plug was out in under 5 mins.

thanks lucaslock!

Used a couple pins and worked it out in <10min. Thanks lucaslock!
goodski

broken headphone jack

I used a q-tip type applicator for finger nails. I cut it and it's hollow inside. Fits perfectly over the broken tip of headphone jack and I pulled it right out first attempt

headphone jack

Used a q-tip type applicator for nail polish. Cut it in half and it's hollow and it fit perfectly over broken headphone piece and it came right out first attempy

Wow you guys are resourceful! I am not so patiently waiting on money to arrive so I can buy my first macbook. Not sure if I'm getting the air or the pro but anyway... If that ever happens to mine, I'll know where to look for advice! Thanks!!

Easier than I'd thought

The same thing happened to me and I initially panicked. After trying various methods such as trying to fish it out with a pin and preparing a paperclip to act as a hook I decided to reinsert my broken headphones and twist. It then came out still attached to them.

this worked! no glue

Anna07 said:

The same thing happened to me and I initially panicked. After trying various methods such as trying to fish it out with a pin and preparing a paperclip to act as a hook I decided to reinsert my broken headphones and twist. It then came out still attached to them.

Click to expand...

Wow, I'm glad I read to the end of this thread. I just tried this method and this worked. I didn't want to use glue (seemed scary). Didn't end up needing to.

The very tip of the headphone adapter (a headphone to RCA adapter in my case) was stuck in the jack of my girlfriend's computer. The tip has a small point sticking out that goes into the hollow space on the second section of the adapter.

I put the broken adapter (which still had the first two sections intact) gently into the jack, so that the part which broke off inside was now inside the hollow section of the adapter. When I had tried just pulling it out after doing this, it didn't work -- there was nothing to stick the two parts of the adapter together. But after reading this post, I tried twisting the adapter after inserting it into the jack. I think I twisted it clockwise. I then pulled, and the whole thing came out! Thanks!

It looks like there's some threading on the tip of the adapter, which I guess interfaced with some threading inside the second section, causing them to stick together enough so that when I pulled, they came out together.

If more than one section of the adapter is broken inside the jack, this method likely won't work for you -- but if it's just the tip that's in there, definitely give this a try. Much safer than superglue. I don't think there's really any way this could damage your computer, unless you push on it way too hard or something.

success with patience

The very tip of my audio cable (£40 QED audioconnect) became INEXPLICABLY lodged in the audio socket on my MBP-usual story, Apple store wanted £400 for a new logic board but suggested the superglue method first

I was coming round to the idea of trying that but foolishly thought a minute amount of blutack on the end of a paperclip would work. The blutack then came off inside the socket too. I then thought about it, found this thread, and took the smallest drill bit I could find (1mm) which was fitted into a snappy type quick chuck so I had something to really grip. Standing the MBP on its side like an upended open book I pushed the drill bit inside the socket and into the bore of the broken tip where it had about 3 or 4mm depth before it hit the end of the tip's bore. I began to bend the tip until I could feel it pushing against the side of the tip's bore. After a few attempts I felt the tip move-this had now broken the seal the blutack had formed around the tip, (I had managed to push the blutack past the tips flange as I had tried to scrape the gunk out!) Several more attempts to prise out the tip with the drill bit ever so slightly bending under pressure soon enough broke the drill bit off inside the bore, but with nothing sticky to keep it there i fell out when I flipped the MBP over. I still had enough drill bit in the quick chuck to just reach the bore, but the very end of the bit was broken- a good thing as it afforded MORE grip against the smooth inside of the tip's bore. 3 or 4 more attempts, increasing pressure each time and then without warning the whole lot just popped out. So satisfying. Rebooted, tested audio and working. Good luck to anyone who has suffered the same fate.

headphone jack stuck

tried the safety pin and it worked!!! Thank you! saved me from tears after tripping on my speaker lead

broken earphone plug on my macbook pro

kch2003 said:

Somehow someone seems to have knocked my macbook over during the night, and broken off the headphone jack plugged into it. So now my laptop has half of a headphone connecter stuck inside the jack, with no way to pull it out.

So I need to take apart my whole laptop and take out the logic board in order to gain access...or is there some way I could do it without going into surgery. It is still covered under waranty until Dec and I don't want to void that...but they also wanted $95 to fix this...

Thanks for all the help.

Click to expand...

Lucky you! At Brea Mall in California, the apple store with the manager's quote was $487.50! It is so sickening that I was quoted that much.

success

Thanks for the Super Glue tip.
The piece stuck in the Macbook had a male end and the plug had a female end left.
So I just put a small amount of Super Glue into the female end, stuck the plug back into the Mac and held it tight for 5 minutes.
Let it set for 45 minutes.
My wife gave me a 10 % chance of success.
My daughter gave me a 50% chance of success.
I said I had a 99% chances or success...then i pulled out the plug and PRESTO....success.
What a great feeling for a silly problem.
This must happen a lot with laptops.
Thank you all for the tips. MUCH APPRECIATED!!!!!!!!!!!!

Stuck Jack

The bent safety-pin did it for me.

Small safety-pin, bottom (pointy end) 1.5mm bent to approx 45 degrees, slide it down the side of the stuck remnant of the jack plug... twist... and slowly withdraw. Worked on about the tenth attempt.

Thanks to all.

Glue on nail worked

After reviewing this and other forums, I first tried bending the paper clip tip. After some effort, all I was able to remove was a tiny strip of metal. I could not hook the rest of the jack.

The glue on toothpick or end of pen refill were intriguing, but I was concerned about glue drip. However, on a recent Target visit, I found Loctite Super Glue Ultra Gel Control ($3.99). I also got epoxy just in case. The refills I had were too big. I tried to think of something sturdier than a toothpick, then came across a 4d finish nail. I checked a 2d, but the 4d head was actually slightly smaller.

I laid the computer on a desk, unplugged & with battery removed. To hold it steady & straight, I then clamped the end of the nail in locking pliers also laid on the desk. The nail was parallel to the desk. I inserted the nail head first to check for clearance.

I dripped just enough glue to slightly mound on the top of the head. I waited a couple of seconds, then carefully inserted and held it for 20-25 seconds, a little more than specified. It did not hold. I tried again and waited 5+ minutes for full strength. I then pulled it out -- with the tip of the broken jack!!

My speakers and jack both work, saving $99+ in repairs, with 20 min. of work!!

hustonk said:

After reviewing this and other forums, I first tried bending the paper clip tip. After some effort, all I was able to remove was a tiny strip of metal. I could not hook the rest of the jack.

The glue on toothpick or end of pen refill were intriguing, but I was concerned about glue drip. However, on a recent Target visit, I found Loctite Super Glue Ultra Gel Control ($3.99). I also got epoxy just in case. The refills I had were too big. I tried to think of something sturdier than a toothpick, then came across a 4d finish nail. I checked a 2d, but the 4d head was actually slightly smaller.

I laid the computer on a desk, unplugged & with battery removed. To hold it steady & straight, I then clamped the end of the nail in locking pliers also laid on the desk. The nail was parallel to the desk. I inserted the nail head first to check for clearance.

I dripped just enough glue to slightly mound on the top of the head. I waited a couple of seconds, then carefully inserted and held it for 20-25 seconds, a little more than specified. It did not hold. I tried again and waited 5+ minutes for full strength. I then pulled it out -- with the tip of the broken jack!!

My speakers and jack both work, saving $99+ in repairs, with 20 min. of work!!

Click to expand...

Congrats!

pin from mimi jack stuck in socket

hi
Thanks for the advice. I only had a large paper clip with a plastic coating, it worked like magic, as the plastic griped the hollow end of the pin. Job done.

Broken headphone jack

I have search the site and unfortunately none of these fixes have worked for me. It maybe because the guy at the Apple Store pretty much flattened any lip on the jack trying to get it out. So there isn't any part of the peace that is hollow.

I've tried drilling it out with a small drill bit, super glue, and a safety pin none of them work. I can't afford a new logic board right now because I am between jobs. My disabled sister uses the MacBook to watch her iTunes movies but Bluetooth headphones only hold a charge for so long. We've are on our 3rd set of headphones. The other two stopped charging. The 2nd pair also had a plug in jack which is what broke off in the MacBook.

Any other ideas?