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My computer model is an Acer Aspire Timeline U currently running Windows 7 Enterprise.

My headphones are in perfect working order, but recently when I have plugged them into my laptop, the sound comes out of the speakers instead.

I have been to my high school's I.T. department about the matter. They say that there appears to be food inside the headphone jack, and that the switch which activates when headphones are plugged in and deactivates when they are unplugged is failing to activate. According to them, the headphone jack is connected to the motherboard and thus all in all, I will need to cough up $282 to fix the problem. Aside from personal expense, what guarantee do I have that after paying to have the headphone jack fixed it does not end up needing fixing again?

Is there a cheaper way of fixing the problem? What exactly is the problem?

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  • Did you try to see if you can just clean out the food or whatever junk
    – SeanClt
    Commented Mar 23, 2016 at 23:16
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    Is there a cheaper way of fixing the problem? Well if you can find the exactly correct type of 3.5 jack, and you are good at soldering you could replace it directly, but it will be serious PITA. You could also just spend $5-10 on a USB audio adapter and simply disable the onboard audio completely. amzn.com/B001MSS6CS
    – Zoredache
    Commented Mar 23, 2016 at 23:58
  • @Zoredache, what do you think of Vasko's suggestion?
    – Mad Banners
    Commented Mar 24, 2016 at 2:11
  • Vasko's suggestion, that you attempt to clean it, is perfectly fine. But sometimes the switch in those types of jacks get bent out of shape. Cleaning it will not unbend it. There shouldn't be any way to make things worse by attempting to clean it.
    – Zoredache
    Commented Mar 24, 2016 at 2:32

1 Answer 1

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Try getting a compressed air can (from electronic store) and blow it out, also check the steps below are correct:

  1. Click "Start" then type in Sound and select it from the results that you'll see

  2. Once it's open click on the tab that says "Playback" then select your headphone from the list device showing in there

  3. Click on "Set Default" then reload the video or audio you're trying to play.

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