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Loose headphone jack

OK.
I figured out my problem with the headphone jack on my Droid. I bought mine last November. I have a set of Bose ear buds with gold plated contacts on the plug. These work fine with my iPod, pocket radio, CD player, etc.

However they would crackle and the channels, either L or R would drop out on my Droid. I use Pandora a lot for instance.

I have a special scope that I can see down into small openings. I had read about using dental picks, etc., to bend the contacts so they would make a better connection. I didn't have to do that.

I could see that the contacts in the headphone socket were corroded and dirty. I took a Q tip, and after removing some of the cotton so it would fit, soaked it in rubbing alcohol and cleaned out the headphone jack. The contacts are nice and shiny and now the headphones work just fine!!! If I wiggle the plug hard it will loose contact a little bit. This improved the quality of the sound nearly to perfect.

I have been helped with problems on this board. I hope this helps someone too.
 
I talked to a Verizon rep yesterday about my phones jack being loose. She said she would just ship me another phone if I wanted. I asked if I would get a refubr or new one and she said a refurb one. I really didn't want a refurb. She did tell me that if Verizon runs out of Droid 1 refurbs, I would get a Droid 2 as a replacement. She didnt know when that would be but it is a def possibility. So I am going to wait it out for a bit and hopefully get the Droid 2 later. The rep said I have a 2 yr warranty that would cover this.
 
I just got back from the VZW Store... sending me a replacement for the headphone jack issue. I hope I get a good one!
 
i have the same issue, the headphone jack gets bumped sometimes, the music will crackle, and then if you do it too much, it turns on party mode by its self and plays some random song, im on my second phone, and to tell you the truth i like the phone, but i use my droid and my mp3 player prob more than i use it as phone, so this issue with the headphone jack has become a major issue, i wish i could get a droid x, but they are 300 and up, which sucks. i wish vz would just let me pay the difference of the two phones and be done with it, thats how mad i am. and i know this is off topic, but when you send mms to people, taking the picture and just sending it directly, mine for some reason wont. i have to take the picture, open the gallery, and then send it. that has also become a pain in the ass, im gonna try to go to vzw tm after work and explain all of this to them, they always act as though its not a problem, but if they were having the same problem, they would want someone to fix it as well.
 
Just wanted to say that I have been having the same issue for a couple of days. I have tried the Q-Tip and rubbing alcohol trick and so far (knock on wood) it seems to be fixed.

Jeremy Roberts
 
dmgabe said:
I had that problem, and after about two days lost left channel audio. I exchanged it at my local VZW store, and the new one is rock solid. (Both new and old units were 40/09 builds if that is of interest to you.)
Click to expand...

My headphone jack is also loose. However, thus far I haven't had any issues with loss of audio. It wiggles, but doesn't seem to be a problem at this point. My Droid is build 39/09.
 
While the q-tip and alcohol made a big difference, it did not completely clear it up. I ended up exchanging mine under the warranty at the Verzion corp store.
 
Does anyone know why replacements don't have the same problem? Has Motorola addressed the loose connection in manufacturing? Was it just a bad batch?

I ask because I got my D1 at launch and don't want to go through the hassle of getting a replacement if there's a chance the new phone will have the same problem.
 
Splendor said:
Does anyone know why replacements don't have the same problem?
Click to expand...

Where did you hear that? There are plenty of people on these boards who have gone through multiple units and all of them had the headphone jack issue. Getting a replacement won't necessarily resolve your issue...And if it does, the odds are that it'll only be temporary. (Although, at this point, if you get a replacement, it won't likely be a D1, so maybe the other phones don't have this problem...?)

Do some more research on these forums and you'll see A LOT of talk about this. There are posts, videos, and pictures that clearly show that it's a design flaw/issue.
 
jmt9779 said:
Where did you hear that? There are plenty of people on these boards who have gone through multiple units and all of them had the headphone jack issue. Getting a replacement won't necessarily resolve your issue...And if it does, the odds are that it'll only be temporary. (Although, at this point, if you get a replacement, it won't likely be a D1, so maybe the other phones don't have this problem...?)

Do some more research on these forums and you'll see A LOT of talk about this. There are posts, videos, and pictures that clearly show that it's a design flaw/issue.
Click to expand...

I "heard that" from the people posting in this thread who said that they tried the "fixes" listed in here but ended up exchanging the phone because the fix didn't work. I would assume that if the replacement phone had the same problem they would have mentioned that. I know the root issue is the way the phone is manufactured which is why am I was asking if that issue had been addressed, but it sounds like it hasn't so I'll keep mine.
 
My replacement ended up being worse than my original... couldn't get the headphone jack to work at all. I called Verizon, and they sent me out another replacement... had it next day. This one is rock solid... so far at least!
 
Splendor said:
I "heard that" from the people posting in this thread who said that they tried the "fixes" listed in here but ended up exchanging the phone because the fix didn't work. I would assume that if the replacement phone had the same problem they would have mentioned that. I know the root issue is the way the phone is manufactured which is why am I was asking if that issue had been addressed, but it sounds like it hasn't so I'll keep mine.
Click to expand...

Nope, not addressed. I'm in the same boat as you - My headphone jack has been god awful for months but it's not worth the hassle of exchanging the phone for one that will end up with the same problem. I bought a little bluetooth receiver (Jabra Clipper) for my headphones which eliminates the jack altogether.
 
jmt9779 said:
Nope, not addressed. I'm in the same boat as you - My headphone jack has been god awful for months but it's not worth the hassle of exchanging the phone for one that will end up with the same problem. I bought a little bluetooth receiver (Jabra Clipper) for my headphones which eliminates the jack altogether.
Click to expand...

You just added "Jabra Clipper" to the top of my Christmas wish list. Thanks! :)
 
I think I fixed mine! Very simple too! simply squeeze the phone where the phone jack is as hard as you can.

I think the real problem is the connections between the phone jack assembly and the circuit board. Go to the link to see the connection. Click on the image they recommend to see it. (But don't take the phone apart!! (voids warranty) How can I repair the headphone jack? - Motorola Droid - iFixit

Here's a video of someone taking it completely apart so you can see where the connections would be in the photo:
YouTube - Motorola Droid A855 Take Apart & Repair Directions by DirectFix.com

Instead of taking the phone apart simply squeeze the phone with your thumb and fingers as hard as you can across the headphone jack. Sounds too simple, but it improved mine quite a bit! I can now toss my phone around without crackling or pausing the music!

Hoping the new ones have this corrected, because I put up with it for about 2 years and I'm ready to replace it soon.... wished I would have squeezed it sooner!
 
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