Headphones snapped in socket

[quigonjay]

So the headphone jack just snapped off in the socket. Cheapo Lenovo Idea pad. Nothing to do with the laptop though the headphones where probably about 12ish years old. So I have no sound through the speakers because it is stuck in there. About 5mm in so nothing to grab or poke at.
Just wondering if i remove the casing to reveal the innards will it reveal much or would i have to dismantle the socket itself?
Problem is it is only about 3 months old so still under warranty

[wibble cb]

You can’t dab a bit of superglue on the piece not stuck in the socket, insert it and wait for a minute or two, then gently pull it out?

[Road2Ruin]

wibble cb said:

You can’t dab a bit of superglue on the piece not stuck in the socket, insert it and wait for a minute or two, then gently pull it out?

That's what I would do, or something similar, like a small Allen key

[Dave.]

You might be able to disable the socket in sound settings, put override the output to the internal speakers/Bluetooth/etc.

[Road2Ruin]

Dave. said:

You might be able to disable the socket in sound settings, put override the output to the internal speakers/Bluetooth/etc.

Or change the output to Bluetooth, and have a set of Bluetooth speakers or earphone.

[TonyRPH]

A bit of hot melt glue and a 3.5mm drill bit should solve this.

Put a dab of glue on the back of the drill bit and hold it against the broken plug long enough for it to set properly.

Then you should be able to withdraw the broken plug.

Incidentally, I've just bought these to prevent this very thing from happening.

[quigonjay]

I now have sound through the speakers with changing the settings but no superglue at the moment, though would be slightly worried about gluing the rest of it in there

[TonyRPH]

quigonjay said:

I now have sound through the speakers with changing the settings but no superglue at the moment, though would be slightly worried about gluing the rest of it in there

Which is why I suggested using hot melt glue - there's little to no risk of causing any more damage, as it's easily removed but can be amazingly sticky on a small surface area.

Superglue will run everywhere and make things worse.

[stemll]

TonyRPH said:

Incidentally, I've just bought these to prevent this very thing from happening.

How do those prevent it? Still has a 3.5mm plug that could snap off.

[ATG]

The sockets are almost always "open" internally ... i.e. if you open up the laptop's case so you can get at the 3.5mm socket, you'll be able to push the broken jack back out easily. Personally that's what I'd do before trying the super glue approach, just in case the glue ends up sticking the broken bit of the pin to the socket. That's based on me being confident stripping down and reassembling things like laptops. There's almost always a YouTube video showing you how to get into a particular laptop, and you can judge from that whether or not you're comfortable giving it a go.

[TonyRPH]

stemll said:

TonyRPH said:

Incidentally, I've just bought these to prevent this very thing from happening.

How do those prevent it? Still has a 3.5mm plug that could snap off.

Less chance of it snapping when it exits at a right angle v.s. a plug sticking straight out as it's more flush to the laptop.

[quigonjay]

Was going to remove the casing but have searched high and low and just do not have the right tool for the job. They are the tiniest little allen bolts, actually they are so small these tired old eyes can not tell if they are allen bolts or those star screw things, either way do not have a tool small enough

[miniman]

This will have one.



https://amzn.eu/d/hMGcF5t

[SlimJim16v]

Maybe a tiny self tapping screw?

[Ydnaroo]

In my experience, I doubt if you managed to get in there you'd be able to access the socket without more dismantling and then I think the chances of being able to eject the broken piece are slim. First I'd try a pair of thin fine point tweezers and see if I could pull the piece out with the aid of a magnifying or eye glass and a decent light.

[TonyRPH]

quigonjay said:

Was going to remove the casing but have searched high and low and just do not have the right tool for the job. They are the tiniest little allen bolts, actually they are so small these tired old eyes can not tell if they are allen bolts or those star screw things, either way do not have a tool small enough

The screws will be Torx not allen headed.

[Hoofy]

TonyRPH said:

A bit of hot melt glue and a 3.5mm drill bit should solve this.

Put a dab of glue on the back of the drill bit and hold it against the broken plug long enough for it to set properly.

Then you should be able to withdraw the broken plug.

I second the hot glue idea over superglue. Superglue has a risk of running down the inside and meaning it'll be in there permanently. Hot glue should peel away nicely if (when) you overapply it and draw out the jack.

[quigonjay]

miniman said:

This will have one.



https://amzn.eu/d/hMGcF5t

Bit much for the one tiny tool i need

Ydnaroo said:

In my experience, I doubt if you managed to get in there you'd be able to access the socket without more dismantling and then I think the chances of being able to eject the broken piece are slim. First I'd try a pair of thin fine point tweezers and see if I could pull the piece out with the aid of a magnifying or eye glass and a decent light.

I do have some small tweezers but getting them in the hole squeezes them together too much to be able to grab anything, it is quite flat where it broke off, no edges or anything to get hold of

[dan98]

TonyRPH said:

Less chance of it snapping when it exits at a right angle v.s. a plug sticking straight out as it's more flush to the laptop.

On the contrary, if the cable gets yanked it'll rip the socket sideways off the motherboard instead of simply disconnecting itself.

[quigonjay]

SlimJim16v said:

Maybe a tiny self tapping screw?

Just had a go with a screw but no joy, felt like i was going to damage further or dislodge the socket if i pushed any harder