• Old MBP's headphone jack port don't always work with connected speakers

    From Ant@21:1/5 to All on Tue Feb 7 00:41:25 2017
    XPost: comp.sys.mac.system

    Hi.

    The old 13.3" MBP (mid-2012; Mac OS X v10.8.5/Mountain Lion)'s headphone
    don't always work with various speakers (powered and non-powered).
    Speakers seem to have no problems with his iPhone 6+ though. I looked at
    MBP's headphone jack to see if it was dirty, but it looked OK? It was
    hard to see inside though even with a flashlight.

    Has anyone had this problem before? Thank you in advance. :)
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  • From David Empson@21:1/5 to Ant on Wed Feb 8 10:33:12 2017
    XPost: comp.sys.mac.system

    Ant <ANTant@zimage.com> wrote:

    The old 13.3" MBP (mid-2012; Mac OS X v10.8.5/Mountain Lion)'s headphone don't always work with various speakers (powered and non-powered).
    Speakers seem to have no problems with his iPhone 6+ though. I looked at MBP's headphone jack to see if it was dirty, but it looked OK? It was
    hard to see inside though even with a flashlight.

    Has anyone had this problem before? Thank you in advance. :)

    A possible explanation is a faulty socket which is mistakenly activating digital optical audio output rather than analog audio output. If it only happens for some speakers, it might only be happening while the plug
    from those particular speakers is connected - perhaps it is a slightly different shaped plug which is falsely triggering the digital optical
    output mode, or there could be a physical obstruction in the socket
    which is preventing the plug from going all the way in, resulting in the
    same effect.

    If the output was stuck in digital mode you would see a red light in the
    socket when looking into it, but if it only happens while a plug is
    inserted, it may be hard to spot.

    There is another way to tell: with the speakers plugged in but not
    working, if the output is in digital mode and you try to use the
    computer's volume adjustment keys, the on-screen popup to show the
    volume adjustment will indicate that volume adjustment is disabled.
    (That's because digital optical output is fixed level - volume needs to
    be adjusted on the output device, not the computer.)

    Similarly, the output volume adjustment in System Preferences >
    Soundwill be greyed out, and the list of output devices in System
    Preferences > Sound > Output should mention digital output rather than "Internal Speakers" or "Headphones".

    --
    David Empson
    dempson@actrix.gen.nz

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  • From Ant@21:1/5 to David Empson on Wed Feb 8 02:14:57 2017
    XPost: comp.sys.mac.system

    In comp.sys.mac.portables David Empson <dempson@actrix.gen.nz> wrote:
    Ant <ANTant@zimage.com> wrote:

    The old 13.3" MBP (mid-2012; Mac OS X v10.8.5/Mountain Lion)'s headphone don't always work with various speakers (powered and non-powered).
    Speakers seem to have no problems with his iPhone 6+ though. I looked at MBP's headphone jack to see if it was dirty, but it looked OK? It was
    hard to see inside though even with a flashlight.

    Has anyone had this problem before? Thank you in advance. :)

    A possible explanation is a faulty socket which is mistakenly activating digital optical audio output rather than analog audio output. If it only happens for some speakers, it might only be happening while the plug
    from those particular speakers is connected - perhaps it is a slightly different shaped plug which is falsely triggering the digital optical
    output mode, or there could be a physical obstruction in the socket
    which is preventing the plug from going all the way in, resulting in the
    same effect.

    I forgot to mention that these are analog speakers only.


    If the output was stuck in digital mode you would see a red light in the socket when looking into it, but if it only happens while a plug is
    inserted, it may be hard to spot.

    Hmm, we never saw this red light before but then we don't have any
    digital speakers.


    There is another way to tell: with the speakers plugged in but not
    working, if the output is in digital mode and you try to use the
    computer's volume adjustment keys, the on-screen popup to show the
    volume adjustment will indicate that volume adjustment is disabled.
    (That's because digital optical output is fixed level - volume needs to
    be adjusted on the output device, not the computer.)

    Similarly, the output volume adjustment in System Preferences >
    Soundwill be greyed out, and the list of output devices in System
    Preferences > Sound > Output should mention digital output rather than "Internal Speakers" or "Headphones".

    Ooh, we will check that. Will it say analog if analog speakers are
    connected?
    --
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  • From David Empson@21:1/5 to Ant on Wed Feb 8 21:29:00 2017
    XPost: comp.sys.mac.system

    Ant <ANTant@zimage.com> wrote:

    In comp.sys.mac.portables David Empson <dempson@actrix.gen.nz> wrote:

    If the output was stuck in digital mode you would see a red light in the socket when looking into it, but if it only happens while a plug is inserted, it may be hard to spot.

    Hmm, we never saw this red light before but then we don't have any
    digital speakers.


    There is another way to tell: with the speakers plugged in but not
    working, if the output is in digital mode and you try to use the
    computer's volume adjustment keys, the on-screen popup to show the
    volume adjustment will indicate that volume adjustment is disabled.
    (That's because digital optical output is fixed level - volume needs to
    be adjusted on the output device, not the computer.)

    Similarly, the output volume adjustment in System Preferences >
    Sound will be greyed out, and the list of output devices in System Preferences > Sound > Output should mention digital output rather than "Internal Speakers" or "Headphones".

    Ooh, we will check that. Will it say analog if analog speakers are
    connected?

    If it is functioning correctly, the output should say "Internal
    Speakers" if nothing is plugged in, or "Headphones" if an analog output
    device is plugged in. It doesn't say "Analog" explicitly.

    I don't have any digital output devices handy to check what it says for digital, but my vague memory is that it did include "Digital" in the description.

    --
    David Empson
    dempson@actrix.gen.nz

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  • From Jolly Roger@21:1/5 to Ant on Wed Feb 8 15:14:41 2017
    XPost: comp.sys.mac.system

    On 2017-02-08, Ant <ANTant@zimage.com> wrote:
    In comp.sys.mac.portables David Empson <dempson@actrix.gen.nz> wrote:

    A possible explanation is a faulty socket which is mistakenly activating
    digital optical audio output rather than analog audio output. If it only
    happens for some speakers, it might only be happening while the plug
    from those particular speakers is connected - perhaps it is a slightly
    different shaped plug which is falsely triggering the digital optical
    output mode, or there could be a physical obstruction in the socket
    which is preventing the plug from going all the way in, resulting in the
    same effect.

    I forgot to mention that these are analog speakers only.

    If the output was stuck in digital mode you would see a red light in the
    socket when looking into it, but if it only happens while a plug is
    inserted, it may be hard to spot.

    Hmm, we never saw this red light before but then we don't have any
    digital speakers.

    The output can still get stuck in digital mode; so you should look for
    the red light to make sure it's not turned on.

    --
    E-mail sent to this address may be devoured by my ravenous SPAM filter.
    I often ignore posts from Google. Use a real news client instead.

    JR

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  • From Ant@21:1/5 to Jolly Roger on Thu Feb 9 03:02:57 2017
    XPost: comp.sys.mac.system

    In comp.sys.mac.portables Jolly Roger <jollyroger@pobox.com> wrote:
    On 2017-02-08, Ant <ANTant@zimage.com> wrote:
    In comp.sys.mac.portables David Empson <dempson@actrix.gen.nz> wrote:

    A possible explanation is a faulty socket which is mistakenly activating >> digital optical audio output rather than analog audio output. If it only >> happens for some speakers, it might only be happening while the plug
    from those particular speakers is connected - perhaps it is a slightly
    different shaped plug which is falsely triggering the digital optical
    output mode, or there could be a physical obstruction in the socket
    which is preventing the plug from going all the way in, resulting in the >> same effect.

    I forgot to mention that these are analog speakers only.

    If the output was stuck in digital mode you would see a red light in the >> socket when looking into it, but if it only happens while a plug is
    inserted, it may be hard to spot.

    Hmm, we never saw this red light before but then we don't have any
    digital speakers.

    The output can still get stuck in digital mode; so you should look for
    the red light to make sure it's not turned on.

    OK. We will look for that. I never saw anything red. Does it show like a
    red circle in that audio out hole with the audio cable connected?
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  • From Jolly Roger@21:1/5 to Ant on Thu Feb 9 13:11:36 2017
    XPost: comp.sys.mac.system

    Ant <ANTant@zimage.com> wrote:
    In comp.sys.mac.portables Jolly Roger <jollyroger@pobox.com> wrote:
    On 2017-02-08, Ant <ANTant@zimage.com> wrote:
    In comp.sys.mac.portables David Empson <dempson@actrix.gen.nz> wrote:

    A possible explanation is a faulty socket which is mistakenly activating >>>> digital optical audio output rather than analog audio output. If it only >>>> happens for some speakers, it might only be happening while the plug
    from those particular speakers is connected - perhaps it is a slightly >>>> different shaped plug which is falsely triggering the digital optical
    output mode, or there could be a physical obstruction in the socket
    which is preventing the plug from going all the way in, resulting in the >>>> same effect.

    I forgot to mention that these are analog speakers only.

    If the output was stuck in digital mode you would see a red light in the >>>> socket when looking into it, but if it only happens while a plug is
    inserted, it may be hard to spot.

    Hmm, we never saw this red light before but then we don't have any
    digital speakers.

    The output can still get stuck in digital mode; so you should look for
    the red light to make sure it's not turned on.

    OK. We will look for that. I never saw anything red. Does it show like a
    red circle in that audio out hole with the audio cable connected?

    Here are some YouTube videos that show it:

    <https://duckduckgo.com/?q=mac+audio+red+light&iax=1&ia=videos>

    --
    E-mail sent to this address may be devoured by my ravenous SPAM filter.
    I often ignore posts from Google. Use a real news client instead.

    JR

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  • From Jolly Roger@21:1/5 to Ant on Fri Feb 10 02:10:28 2017
    XPost: comp.sys.mac.system

    On 2017-02-10, Ant <ANTant@zimage.com> wrote:
    In comp.sys.mac.portables Jolly Roger <jollyroger@pobox.com> wrote:
    Ant <ANTant@zimage.com> wrote:
    In comp.sys.mac.portables Jolly Roger <jollyroger@pobox.com> wrote:
    On 2017-02-08, Ant <ANTant@zimage.com> wrote:
    In comp.sys.mac.portables David Empson <dempson@actrix.gen.nz> wrote:

    A possible explanation is a faulty socket which is mistakenly activating
    digital optical audio output rather than analog audio output. If it only
    happens for some speakers, it might only be happening while the plug
    from those particular speakers is connected - perhaps it is a slightly >> >>>> different shaped plug which is falsely triggering the digital optical >> >>>> output mode, or there could be a physical obstruction in the socket
    which is preventing the plug from going all the way in, resulting in the
    same effect.

    I forgot to mention that these are analog speakers only.

    If the output was stuck in digital mode you would see a red light in the
    socket when looking into it, but if it only happens while a plug is
    inserted, it may be hard to spot.

    Hmm, we never saw this red light before but then we don't have any
    digital speakers.

    The output can still get stuck in digital mode; so you should look for
    the red light to make sure it's not turned on.

    OK. We will look for that. I never saw anything red. Does it show like a >> > red circle in that audio out hole with the audio cable connected?

    Here are some YouTube videos that show it:

    <https://duckduckgo.com/?q=mac+audio+red+light&iax=1&ia=videos>

    Interesting. I have never see these red lights before, but then I don't
    use digital speakers. Same for "stuck" issue.

    Like I said above, the port can get stuck in digital mode even if you
    don't use digital speakers, which is why you should check it. ; )

    --
    E-mail sent to this address may be devoured by my ravenous SPAM filter.
    I often ignore posts from Google. Use a real news client instead.

    JR

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  • From Ant@21:1/5 to Jolly Roger on Thu Feb 9 19:18:01 2017
    XPost: comp.sys.mac.system

    In comp.sys.mac.portables Jolly Roger <jollyroger@pobox.com> wrote:
    Ant <ANTant@zimage.com> wrote:
    In comp.sys.mac.portables Jolly Roger <jollyroger@pobox.com> wrote:
    On 2017-02-08, Ant <ANTant@zimage.com> wrote:
    In comp.sys.mac.portables David Empson <dempson@actrix.gen.nz> wrote:

    A possible explanation is a faulty socket which is mistakenly activating >>>> digital optical audio output rather than analog audio output. If it only >>>> happens for some speakers, it might only be happening while the plug >>>> from those particular speakers is connected - perhaps it is a slightly >>>> different shaped plug which is falsely triggering the digital optical >>>> output mode, or there could be a physical obstruction in the socket
    which is preventing the plug from going all the way in, resulting in the >>>> same effect.

    I forgot to mention that these are analog speakers only.

    If the output was stuck in digital mode you would see a red light in the >>>> socket when looking into it, but if it only happens while a plug is
    inserted, it may be hard to spot.

    Hmm, we never saw this red light before but then we don't have any
    digital speakers.

    The output can still get stuck in digital mode; so you should look for
    the red light to make sure it's not turned on.

    OK. We will look for that. I never saw anything red. Does it show like a red circle in that audio out hole with the audio cable connected?

    Here are some YouTube videos that show it:

    <https://duckduckgo.com/?q=mac+audio+red+light&iax=1&ia=videos>

    Interesting. I have never see these red lights before, but then I don't
    use digital speakers. Same for "stuck" issue.
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  • From Lewis@21:1/5 to Ant on Fri Feb 10 23:51:28 2017
    XPost: comp.sys.mac.system

    In message <leWdnYdzpqZUiQDFnZ2dnUU7-TmdnZ2d@earthlink.com> Ant <ANTant@zimage.com> wrote:
    In comp.sys.mac.portables Jolly Roger <jollyroger@pobox.com> wrote:
    Ant <ANTant@zimage.com> wrote:
    In comp.sys.mac.portables Jolly Roger <jollyroger@pobox.com> wrote:
    On 2017-02-08, Ant <ANTant@zimage.com> wrote:
    In comp.sys.mac.portables David Empson <dempson@actrix.gen.nz> wrote:

    A possible explanation is a faulty socket which is mistakenly activating
    digital optical audio output rather than analog audio output. If it only
    happens for some speakers, it might only be happening while the plug
    from those particular speakers is connected - perhaps it is a slightly >> >>>> different shaped plug which is falsely triggering the digital optical >> >>>> output mode, or there could be a physical obstruction in the socket
    which is preventing the plug from going all the way in, resulting in the
    same effect.

    I forgot to mention that these are analog speakers only.

    If the output was stuck in digital mode you would see a red light in the
    socket when looking into it, but if it only happens while a plug is
    inserted, it may be hard to spot.

    Hmm, we never saw this red light before but then we don't have any
    digital speakers.

    The output can still get stuck in digital mode; so you should look for
    the red light to make sure it's not turned on.

    OK. We will look for that. I never saw anything red. Does it show like a >> > red circle in that audio out hole with the audio cable connected?

    Here are some YouTube videos that show it:

    <https://duckduckgo.com/?q=mac+audio+red+light&iax=1&ia=videos>

    Interesting. I have never see these red lights before, but then I don't
    use digital speakers. Same for "stuck" issue.

    If I boot my MBP into Bootcamp the red light is on and stays one and is
    very obvious in a dark room.


    --
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    by One --Agents of Good Roots "Come On"

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