IPhone Headphone Jack Not Working - Full Instructions [SOLVED]

If your iPhone’s headphone jack isn’t working, it can be extremely frustrating for you. however, there are some easy troubleshooting techniques you can try that will hopefully resolve the issue.

A few ideas to try are turning off bluetooth, testing airplane mode, and checking airplay output. we’ll go over each of them in detail in this article.

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your iphone headphone jack is not working: common solutions

clean the headphone jack

This solution may seem a bit obvious, but you’d be surprised how many iphone users don’t think of it. you should look into the headphone port and make sure there is no lint, debris, or dirt there. it’s helpful if you can get a flashlight and illuminate the port.

If you see a buildup in the port, you can try blowing it out, or if that doesn’t seem to work, you can also blow some compressed air into it. compressed air is probably the best method as it contains no moisture. you can also try a cotton swab if you don’t have compressed air handy.

try airplane mode

You can also try putting the iphone in airplane mode. do this if you get an “error” message on your phone when you try to listen to music. first, discard the message.

Go to settings or open control center.
in control center, tap the Airplane , or in settings, tap the slider where it says Airplane mode.
Turn iPhone off for about a minute, and then turn it back on. see if that solved the problem

turn off bluetooth

Your phone’s bluetooth function may be interfering with your ability to play music. if you connected to a bluetooth device, such as a speaker, at some point, you may not have turned it off again.

first, open the control center.
then go to the top left row of icons and tap bluetooth so that it is no longer illuminated. this should disable the bluetooth function.
try your headphones again. with bluetooth disabled, the audio should come through your headphones instead of some other device.

check airplay output

Audio may be sent to airplay. you can go to control panel and disable it if that is the case.

first, access control center by swiping up from the bottom of the iphone screen.
go to the top right corner of control center and press the music play controls.
at the top right of the music controls, tap the airplay button to show all sources available output ports.
tap the iphone or headphones option.
turn off control center by clicking the toggle button home to see if that has resolved the problem.

check if the headphones are broken

If the headphones don’t work, it may be due to a poor connection. in that case, the most likely culprit is probably a bad internal cable connection. you can connect the same headphones to other devices to find out if that’s the case.

You can also get a different pair of headphones and try them out to make sure it’s the headphone jack that’s the problem and not the headphones you’ve been using. it’s usually cheaper to replace the earphones rather than troubleshoot what could be a complex problem with the jack.

turn up the volume

This is another one that is so obvious that some people might overlook it in favor of more complicated solutions. turn the volume up as high as possible and see if that makes any difference. the iphone can also be in silent mode, so make sure that’s not the case.

the buttons on the left side of the iphone are the ones you use to adjust the volume. tap the top one to turn up the volume.
You can also ask siri to turn up the volume. this is achieved by pressing the home button for a couple of seconds. when siri appears, address her by her name and ask her to turn up the volume.

clean your headphones

You can also clean your headphones to make sure they’re not the problem. even if it turns out to be the jack, cleaning your headphones periodically can drastically increase their life expectancy. it also kills harmful bacteria that can damage the sensitive tissue of the eardrums.

reboot your iphone

If none of these other fixes seem to have worked for you, you can also try restarting your iphone. that sometimes works.

press and hold the on/off button. on newer models like iphone x, you will also need to press the volume up button.
move the slide to power off icon from the left position to the right.
wait for the iphone to turn off. it may take up to a couple of minutes.
press and hold the power button again. the apple logo should appear after a few seconds. release the button and the iphone should turn back on. see if this has resolved the issue.

If everything else you’ve tried has failed, you can also contact apple support. There are several ways to do this, including calling their toll-free number and live chatting with them through Apple’s website. They’re usually very friendly and helpful, and if you go through a list of all the things you’ve tried, they may be able to find some additional possibilities for you.

If you’ve checked everything on this list and the headphone jack still doesn’t work, then the problem is most likely some internal component damage that you probably won’t be able to fix on your own. If that happens, you may need to take the phone to a licensed iPhone store for help.