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Inspiron headphone jack problems
I have a few Inspirons with loose headphone jacks. The oldest machine is 2 yrs old and the newest is 9 months old. After reviewing the posts on this board, it seems to be a common problem. The headphone jack should be durable enough to last forever. I've never had this problem on any desktop with a quality sound card. Does Dell have any plans to improve the headphone jack so it doesn't become faulty so quickly?
DELL-Rance
298 Posts
0
April 4th, 2003 14:00
HighlanderHawk:
Please note that the DellTalk forum is not indicative of the majority of Dell systems - this forum tends to represent two very concentrated subsets of Dell system owners; those experiencing problems with their system, and those with usage questions.
Considering the amount of posts in this particular conference added every day, this doesn't seem to be a particularly common problem. It is unfortunate that two of your systems exhibit this problem. If your systems are still in warranty this would likely be covered.
KuKaLiE
7 Posts
1
April 5th, 2003 01:00
im haveing the same problem its verey loose and my comp is 3 weeks old
X-ray_Doc
10 Posts
1
April 5th, 2003 05:00
KuKaLiE
7 Posts
0
April 5th, 2003 23:00
PYROTAK
99 Posts
0
April 7th, 2003 02:00
KuKaLiE
7 Posts
0
April 7th, 2003 02:00
ReinerNacht
1 Message
0
April 8th, 2003 22:00
And I would have this exact same problem as well. Mine is so bad the connection between my headphone jack/audio jack and my internal speakers isnt' working anymore....not even pressure/jiggling would work on it really. Headphones do work, but it's annoying at times wearing headphones.....
It's strange how my Gateway and Compaq laptops have never had any problems to this degree, yet my 8100 has about 3 problems that probably go beyond "install the latest driver" and such.
X-ray_Doc
10 Posts
0
April 8th, 2003 23:00
Well, I just thought I'd give everyone an update. My laptop was still under warranty so I called Dell. They did not hesitate in agreeing to fix my headphone jack. It's a stupid design, but apparently the jacks are part of the motherboard. Dell has no way of replacing them, other than to replace the motherboard. Bottom line, a computer technician showed up at my house today, replaced the motherboard and I now have a "firm", usable headphone jack. In my opinion, the entire design of those jacks should be changed, but Dell fixed mine quickly and without complaints!
kennerb
2 Posts
1
April 9th, 2003 20:00
Take a look at my post. It tells exactly why this is happening. The side of the card that holds the jack floats. It is supported by the jack resting in the whole between the case halves. open it up and take a look for yourself. It amazes me that the engineers were signed off on this one. Its like supporting your roof with it's shingles. I'm out of warranty so I am S.O.L. Dell won't admit it is a defect. I love my Inspiron, but I do too much audio stuff with it to invest in another one designed like this. : (
I have not seen any posts about this issue and am surprised. The design of the sound card has it so the card is not attached where you plug in headphones and mics. I cannot believe there has not been a recall on this problem. The reason being is that all pressure that is applied while plugging in mics or headphones and the constant weight is transferred to the card and jacks themselves. You can actually wiggle the whole card by touching a plugged in cable. It is very loose and causes crackling. I do a lot of audio with my laptop and now my speakers don't work anymore and I have to constantly move the headphone/line cable to get sound. I have NEVER dropped or banged my laptop around. I find that having this problem due to standard use is unacceptable. I will post a picture if anyone does not understand what I am talking about.
jlax01
66 Posts
1
April 9th, 2003 22:00
jlax01
66 Posts
0
April 11th, 2003 05:00
vedres
1 Message
0
March 5th, 2004 23:00
I have the exact same problem. The headphone jack is not only jiggling, but the cintacts inside are loose - much looser than the - completely unused - line in jack.
Without replacing the whole motherboard, is there a simple way to deal with this?
Can I swap the line in jack for the headphones jack?
Can I convert the SPDIF output to analog?
login_already_e
4 Posts
0
April 6th, 2004 12:00
luckado
2 Posts
0
October 14th, 2004 15:00
Yes, unfortunately I now have the same problem with my headphone jack, where it is extremely loose on the inside, and I can get sound with headphones plugged into the jack, but when I pull it out, the jack won't revert the sound back to the speakers. It is obviously a problem with the contacts inside the jack, and they don't realize that the headphones have been removed, so it doesn't send the sound to the speakers.
I've emailed tech support, and they've told me the same thing. Since the audio is onboard to the motherboard, the entire motherboard would have to be replaced in order to fix the problem. And, if your laptop is no longer under their warranty (as is in my case), just the labor alone is 269 dollars, and an additional 699 if the problem is the motherboard... I might as well buy a new laptop for that much money... and it definitely won't be a Dell!
Obviously, a simple solution to this problem, if Dell does not want to change the layout of their laptops, is to put the audio inputs/outputs on a small riser card, so if that becomes damaged, all they would have to do is replace the riser card, not the whole motherboard.
But, alas, this is Dell, so they aren't going to change anything unless it helps their bottom line... oh well. S>O>L it is.
dspman
306 Posts
0
October 17th, 2004 04:00
Does anyone know whether the jack is thru-hole or surface mounted to the mainboard? Perhaps it can be replaced once notebook is out of warranty.
Edit:
I found a thread that helps: http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=insp_audio&message.id=18929 .
Jack spec is found at: http://www.foxconn.com/Catalog/Spec/connector/JA6333L-6S0-TR.PDF
It is through-hole soldered, so should be replaceable with a good temperature-controlled soldering iron and solder wick or desoldering tool. Much cheaper than a whole board, if you or someone you know can do the deed.
Thanks, jimco, for the link, jmb4370 for the part ID, and AJ Quick for the photos!
The next step is to find a good source. This part should be inexpensive (around $1-$2), but is hard to find in US, as Foxconn appears to be a Taiwanese OEM supplier. Here are possible sources found on the web, in EEM, and the NoCal Electronics Source Book:
No guarantee that these sources will deal with individuals. Sent email to Parts-People.com, but no response yet. Have not contacted any of the others, or Dell parts. Doubt that Dell stocks other than the system boards, but it may be worth a try. If anyone has luck finding a good source, please post to the rest of us.
If in warranty, by all means have Dell service replace your mainboard. That is apparently more cost-effective for Dell than replacing individual components in the field.
Message Edited by dspman on 10-18-2004 10:13 PM