Headphone jack problems, can only hear out of one (or zero) speaker(s) at a time

[nickchak]

Please help. I just got a new SONY Vaio Fs laptop and already the headphone jack is malfunctioning. I can only hear out of one speaker or headphone usually, and on some days neither will emitt any sound whatsoever. Whats my problem and how can i fix this???

 

[Nodsu]

Any chance of a broken headphone cable? Try with another set of headphones or speakers before blaming the computer.

 

[PFJ]

Hi,

It could cable as Nodsu suggests as they are not making these items to last or withstand any punishment. The headphone & other AV sockets the manufacturers use (not just Sony) are crap. I know this from my days as an repair technician in the audio/video trade. Usually the solder gives or at worst the pads come loose. Generally, resoldering the socket provides a cure. If the socket needs replacing it is not an expensive task to preform but time costly. Any job today which is labour intensive will be expensive. If you have to go down this road and the socket needs to be replaced then in future I would suggest that you also purchase an extension cable or have one made up of ~3-4 inches with an headphone plug and socket and use this to plu your headphones into rather than the laptops headphone socket. That way you can easily and cheaply replace the cable accessory.

Regards

PFJ

 

[snow_white748]

I have that problem too!

I have the same problem and I also have a Vaio FS... Looks like a glitch with this laptop

In the short term, try wiggling the socket around, I've managed to get some sound if I wedge the socket in place with a bit of paper. I rang up a computer shop and they said with Vaios it's normally a faulty pin on the motherboard rather than a simple loose connection. And the only people who can replace individual motherboard components is Sony for a minimum of £120!

Does anyone know if getting a USB soundcard would bypass the problem? i.e. a Creative external sound blaster or something?

Cheers and I hope that helps a little
Helen