Though the fix for this particular issue has remained unchanged for some time now - which can be surprising because it is so un-elegant - this issue continues to come to us from iPhoneFAQ readers. It also continues to pop up on Apple's iPhone discussion forums and on other iPhone related websites. So, we figured we'd publish the all-too-uninteresting solution.
For those unfamiliar with the issue, on occasion, the iPhone will stop outputting sound out of its external speaker after headphones are removed from the headphone jack . Essentially, the iPhone thinks the headphones are still connected and will continue to ouput sound only through the headphone port until you're able to "convince" it that the nothing is plugged in. Often, even powering down and back up one's iPhone won't solve the problem.
Why? Because that attempted solution is just too fancy. Believe it or not, the only known fix to this issue is to repeatedly insert and remove a device from the headphone jack. Remember to play a song or otherwise output sound when plugging and unplugging your earbuds, headphones, etc.
We've forwarded this solution to everyone who has written in with this same issue, and we've yet to hear back from anyone reporting that it did not solve the problem.
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
I have had this problem twice. I sent my iphone back to apple and in three days got a brand new phone. And i mind you, this happened twice. Two new phones, same issue. So i recomened given Apple a call if your battery is not so good and you have this problem
I've had this happen to my Samsung A940, my Iphone, and my new Asus Eeepc. I think it is either something in the air or happens to lots of gadgets. The only fix for all is put the plug back into the jack and then pull it back out again. Works for them all.
had the same problem. the real cure is to slice a milimeter circumference off the rubber tubing on the headphone jack so that more of the metal jack is slightly exposed. i know this sounds silly but trust me it works.
well i never had sound on my iphone without earplugs or usbcable connected with the computer.. and even with the ' trick ' from in-out it didn't work
Thank you .... this really worked!!!
I have had my iPhone for a few months now and this is the first problem I have had with it so far. I went to an Apple store and they fixed the problem immediatly by spraying compressed air into the earbud jack. They used an extension that looked like a earbud jack, but it had small holes placed throughout the extension and then hooked up the compressed air hose to the end of the jack and let er rip. He then reset the phone and everything began running normally.
I've had this happen a lot and actually i've found just blowing really hard directly into the socket works now. (rebooting afterwards). Its a pain in the ass though. If your phone is hacked then using the fast reboot in boss prefs saves some of the pain.
I tried to plug and unplug the headphone a lot of times after I read your advise and it didn't work for me, but I just turned the iphone off (red slide button) and turned it back on and it worked. I don't know if this is a battery issue, but if it happens again, I will go to apple store and check my battery out. I don't think that it would be a smart move to turn it on and off all the time (if this happen quite often).
Good luck!
I had this problem too but I decided to take a look inside the headphone jack and there was a small piece of aluminum stuck inside possibly from my allergy pills that was tricking the phone into thinking the headphones where still connected. Not saying this is your problem but try and look inside and see if anything is in there causing interference.
Just confirming this problem exists on my brand new iPhone 3G w/ 2.1 firmware.
Plus, I have never used the headphones jack. The problem seemed to start when I was playing a game that had sound (EA's Spore) and an incoming phone call occurred. Ever since then, I get no "normal" sound notifications, but can play sounds manually through Settings, etc.
This fix did do the trick, though. Thanks!
I had this problem after having my iphone in my pocket. I tried resetting it on the phone settings, doing updates through itunes and unplugging and replugging the headphone jack and nothing worked. I was about to give up when all I did was squeeze the middle of the phone and the sound suddenly came back on the speakers. I'm not sure why but maybe the pressure from being in my pocket affected it and when I did the same type of pressure it worked. So if all else fails then just try lightly squeezing the phone, not hard pressure but a light squeeze. It made mine work so... Good luck:)
This same problem happened with my iphone mid call. It just went silent. Further studies showed no sound would come through the speakers and adjusting the volume revealed it thought the headphones were attached. I used the fix it shown here to no avail. Reflashed software prior to this and blew in the jack hole as a last resort. Turning it on and off did nothing. I let it rest, went out and had a beer, came back and turned on a song; *Hey Presto* it worked fine... Seems okay now. I'm glad cos this is my third iphone in 5 weeks: I've had 2 replacements so far for other reasons and have told apple there won't be a third. Pitty, cos I do love the phone.
I found that high temperature makes this..
(when You had Your phone in the pocket - temp was higher, when You let him "rest" the temp was lower. I have this issue very often - solutions from net are not working form me.
When I start the call I have to hold my iphone with 2 fingers and not to close to my head ( when I hold the phone close to my ear he is warming fast and the issue comming up.....
Anybody can see the correlation between temperature of the phone and the issue?
EA has a sound option called Global Setting. If you set that to off, it messes with all other audio applications.
It may be a problem of conductivity. There is a circuit that determines whether or not the headphones are inserted by the metal. But other particles can get in the headphone jack that are conductive. I tried the headphone insert/removal and this did not work on its own. I finally had to blow air (I would suggest compressed canned air for computer cleaning purposes) into the headphone jack. Miraculously, the sound started working only after doing this.
Fixed mine, holding the unit upside down and repeatedly shoving a headphone jack into it. did make me chuckle when i found this solution. :-)
I found the best way to snap my iphone out of thinking my headphones were plugged in was to go to 'sounds' in the setting icon and play a ringtone. Hope this helps.
Ok, I'm not stupid nor am I an idiot so through those two out. I've tried this and it worked the first time. Same thing happened again. I have a cramp in my hand from plugging and unplugging. The magic just won't work twice.