theknaveofhearts
asked on
audio out only plays through right speaker
hey guys, about a month ago for seemingly no reason the sound in my left earbud on my macbook died. at first i thought it was my earbuds, they are getting a little old, but sound comes through the left bud perfectly fine on my iphone.
so then i tried to reinstall 10.6.4 combo update on my macbook. still nothing. so i tried an archive and install. still no audio in my left ear bud.
fearing hardware damage i booted over to my windows and ubuntu partition, both play sound perfectly out of both ear buds.
so i've tried an archive and install, reinstall combo update, booting to another os on the same hardware and my earbuds in another device.
can anyone think of anything else to try? i'd really really rather not reinstall if i don't have to. i've had enough of that this year...
thanks guys.
so then i tried to reinstall 10.6.4 combo update on my macbook. still nothing. so i tried an archive and install. still no audio in my left ear bud.
fearing hardware damage i booted over to my windows and ubuntu partition, both play sound perfectly out of both ear buds.
so i've tried an archive and install, reinstall combo update, booting to another os on the same hardware and my earbuds in another device.
can anyone think of anything else to try? i'd really really rather not reinstall if i don't have to. i've had enough of that this year...
thanks guys.
rockiroads
when u run your mac o/s does it have ichat running? I was reading this here http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=418914
ASKER
nope. I'll boot it and have nothing but audio running and it won't work.
How about zapping PRAM? Boot pressing option + alt + P + R
Also remove battery and charger and keep power button pressed for few seconds.
Audio connector might also be dirty
Also remove battery and charger and keep power button pressed for few seconds.
Audio connector might also be dirty
Almost certainly a dirty (or broken) connection socket. Turn off / unplug the computer, take a toothpick and a bright light and see what you can dig out of there. My iPhone once had a bit of pocket lint that prevented the audio jack from fully inserting.
You might also try turning your toothpick into a mini-q-tip by wrapping a bit of cloth around it and then swirling it around inside the audio socket.
You might also try turning your toothpick into a mini-q-tip by wrapping a bit of cloth around it and then swirling it around inside the audio socket.
ASKER
if it was dirty it wouldn't work on a windows or ubuntu partition. I looked in the socket any way and it looks clean.
I tried the pram and smc reset, no go.
I tried the pram and smc reset, no go.
ah, missed the windows and ubuntu piece.
tricky.
tricky.
ASKER
hmm. okay so a few updates. i tried booting to a separate, external leopard drive (same computer) and it didn't work, tried booting to a separate external snow leopard drive and it didn't work and i tried windows and ubuntu again; this time windows didn't work but ubuntu still does work. is it possible that there is some sort of hardware switch or something that apple drivers respect and ubuntu doesn't?
Have you determined that ubuntu is actually giving you stereo, or is it just mono on both channels? Could be that the audio chip has one channel fried, but ubuntu's controllers don't handle it anyway. This might be useful:
http://www.audiocheck.net/audiotests_stereo.php
Also, this may be obvious but... you did check the L-R balance setting in the Sound pref pane, I presume?
http://www.audiocheck.net/audiotests_stereo.php
Also, this may be obvious but... you did check the L-R balance setting in the Sound pref pane, I presume?
ASKER
i'm certain it's using stereo. just tried that site and left was left and right was right. and yes, i've checked l/r balance in audio midi and system preferences>sound>output.
ASKER
(oh and when i say left is left right is right, this is on my ubuntu side. the mac side i just heard crackling in the left and right in the right)
ASKER
just discovered this, if i plug the ear buds in just enough that the computer registers them it works in the left ear bud. it's not even far enough that if i let it go it pops back out. hope this helps.
This sounds like something AppleCare should help you with.
Do you see a red light inside of the audio socket?
i've seen things like that before and the only way to fix it is to send it in and replace something inside the board.
Do you see a red light inside of the audio socket?
i've seen things like that before and the only way to fix it is to send it in and replace something inside the board.
ASKER
nope, no red light.
Not a hardware problem if it's working in ubuntu. The red light is a common issue which means the jack is stuck in optical digital mode but if you have sound on one side that's not the problem.
Check this, it's easy to overlook:
Go to:
-System preferences
-Sound
-'Output' tab
is the balance set to the center or is it all the way to the right?
-Neil
Check this, it's easy to overlook:
Go to:
-System preferences
-Sound
-'Output' tab
is the balance set to the center or is it all the way to the right?
-Neil
ASKER
the balance is centered.
Sorry, just wanted to throw this out there too.....
Kharkovyy, the red light issue doesn't typically require a part replacement or applecare service. It's just a stuck microswitch at the bottom of the headphone jack that is keeping the jack in optical mode. If you put a plastic paper clip in there and rake it up the side of the jack (at various angles) as you extract it it will fix this issue almost every time. Sometimes you have to jiggle the paperclip for a bit and other times you'll get it right away: it's just a case of hitting the right spot :). I administer 650+ macbooks and have seen the red light on about 20 occasions. Haven't had one i couldn't fix like that yet....
Kharkovyy, the red light issue doesn't typically require a part replacement or applecare service. It's just a stuck microswitch at the bottom of the headphone jack that is keeping the jack in optical mode. If you put a plastic paper clip in there and rake it up the side of the jack (at various angles) as you extract it it will fix this issue almost every time. Sometimes you have to jiggle the paperclip for a bit and other times you'll get it right away: it's just a case of hitting the right spot :). I administer 650+ macbooks and have seen the red light on about 20 occasions. Haven't had one i couldn't fix like that yet....
Knave, 2 different sets of settings actually get stored depending on whether or not you have something plugged into that jack. Have you checked the balance setting both with and without the headphones plugged in?
Also, with the headphones out are you getting sound from both speakers of the macbook?
-Neil
Also, with the headphones out are you getting sound from both speakers of the macbook?
-Neil
ASKER
yeah, i've check with them in and out and both of my internal macbook speakers play just fine.
when i plug the earbuds in i hear a pop then if i play music loud enough the right side is clear and perfect but the left side you can kind of hear crackling sometimes. it's almost as if it wants to play but some little thing is preventing it.
when i plug the earbuds in i hear a pop then if i play music loud enough the right side is clear and perfect but the left side you can kind of hear crackling sometimes. it's almost as if it wants to play but some little thing is preventing it.
Sorry bro i missed where you had already checked the balance higher up the thread.
Seems like you've covered all the variables. If you've booted off an external drive running a different instance of the OS then it pretty much eliminates software problems and if it works under two different OS's (windows/linux) then you've pretty much eliminated hardware problems. If booting off of a different instance of the OS on an external drive didn't fix the problem then it's pretty likely that a rebuild wouldn't either.... Like you were saying it could be something in the hardware (switch etc) that only the OS X driver is making use of. Bizarre. Maybe a case for applecare after all. Best of luck
Seems like you've covered all the variables. If you've booted off an external drive running a different instance of the OS then it pretty much eliminates software problems and if it works under two different OS's (windows/linux) then you've pretty much eliminated hardware problems. If booting off of a different instance of the OS on an external drive didn't fix the problem then it's pretty likely that a rebuild wouldn't either.... Like you were saying it could be something in the hardware (switch etc) that only the OS X driver is making use of. Bizarre. Maybe a case for applecare after all. Best of luck
ASKER
anyone else have any advice on this matter?
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ASKER
thanks for all the help, it seems to be fixed.