Do your headphones suddenly seem to have lost sound? This informative article should help you fix the underlying problem with your headphones, depending on the scenario.
It can be very frustrating after a period of use, to discover that your headphones no longer have sound or have lost sound on one side. This can be caused by a variety of reasons, from a defect in the earphones to an interruption in the windows player in use. First, let us asses some situations where sound may be lost in your headphones and how to navigate them.
On a windows media player
In recent times, Microsoft confirmed that installation of certain updates resulted in users having no sound in their computers and headphones or speakers, due to one or more of a couple of factors. Here are a series of steps to follow if your headphones have no sound on a windows media player.
Check if the audio driver is updated
This is the most common and easiest to solve cause of loss of sound in headphones on windows. You can do this from the Device manager, checking your speaker and headset settings to check if the drivers are up to date. There is also the option of downloading a driver updater like TweakBit to do this automatically in future. If they are up to date but you still have no sound, then you should try the next step
Use troubleshooting
This may seem like a long shot, but you can use the troubleshooting feature to search for and fix audio playback problems on the device. It will display all the audio problems found and the measures taken to fix them. It is also advisable to take any recommended actions given by the system since they could either fix your no sound issue, or other problems in the device.
Restore your computer
If all these steps fail, you should save and back up your work and perform a system restoration on your device. This option can be found by clicking the start button. From here you should follow the instructions as given by the installation wizard.
In the case that these steps all fail, then chances are that it is your headset that has a defect or malfunction, causing it not to have sound. You can verify this by trying it on a different device that uses a different system, to save you the trouble of going through all the steps.
If the headphones work in a different device, it could be because of one of two reasons. Your jack could be dirty or clogged, or your device could have an issue that likely needs to be checked out by a qualified device technician.
Faulty Jack
This is typically a result of clogging by dust particles and other small particles of dirt and can be easily remedied without requiring a lot of tools.
The first way you could go would be using a plain cotton swab. Gently roll it around the area, making sure to touch the sides, and in between the serrations. Observe it to see whether any dust or lodged particles have been removed.
The second way would be doing the same to your output device jack input. To do this, it would be important to make sure that the cotton swab used is big enough to fit in the jack input, while leaving a bit of space. Gently roll it in the area, making sure to touch the walls, but careful not to get it lodged in.
If these methods fail, then you could look into having the headphone jack replaced or repaired, according to the directions offered by the device manufacturer.
Headphone defect
First, you will need a couple of tools
- A knife or a pair of scissors
- A multimeter
- Shrink tubing
- Soldering iron and a solder
Armed with these tools, you should follow the following steps.
Cable issues
This is done by plugging the headphones into an audio input and bending the cable as you listen. If you can hear some audio through them, then they still have some life in them and can be fixed. In the case that you do not hear any sound at all, then they could either be permanently spoil, the problem could be with your output device or, best case scenario, the problem could be with the plug, making it reddemable.
Proceed to fix the cable as follows:
Test the cable to figure out where the point of discontinuity is located. This can be done by connecting them to an output device and bend the cable, sliding your thumb in a right angle along the cable. The point at which the sound cuts or crackles is the place that needs fixing.
Use wire strippers or a knife to carefully remove the plastic coating around the wires, removing half an inch of the shielding and extend the cut until you see the broken wire.
If the wire is shredded, then cut the cord both sides of the shred or otherwise cut it in half. You should be careful to remove the same length from the right and left cords.
Slip the cut areas over a shrinking tube to create continuity and act as an insulator and join the wires together making sure to connect same colour insulations.
Overlap the wires from end to end and twist them in opposite directions. This should easily hide the repair. Follow this up by using soldering iron to solder the connections for each splice.
Allow the solder to cool then sand off the enamel coating that has formed, making sure to keep the white and red ends separate from the earth wire. You can use electrical tape for this.
Fit the shrink tube over the repaired area and use a source of heat to make sure it constricts and fits perfectly around the cable, making it protected and strong.
Plug issues
Try pushing the plug at the end of the headphones or manipulating it by moving it from side to side. In the case that you hear some audio under this circumstance, then it is the plug that needs fixing, nit the cable.
This can only be remedied by changing the audio plug, which is best done by an electrician. It can also be done for a low cost at your average phone repair guy once you have bought the replacement jack in the same size as the original.
