How To Fix Bent Headphone Jack? A Comprehensive Guide

If your headphone jack gets bent and you want to fix it, it can be a headache. Despite being pretty good at these things, I have gone through a similar phase and faced problems. So, I decided to put this guide on how to fix bent headphone jack.

A headphone jack is an essential part of headphones and is also fragile. Even a little mistake can ruin your entire headphone. You may try different ways with your headset to improve the sound quality, like bending, pulling, and tucking. Sometimes all these ways become useless if your headphone jack gets bent. So don’t worry. In this guide, I will spare from all these and tell you different methods to repair a bent headphone jack. Stay tuned!

What issues a Bent Headphone Jack Can Cause?

If there is a slight twist in the headphone jack, it can create the following problems:

Low Volume: Your headphone produces low volume even if you change the audio settings of your device.

Stereo Mode: Due to the bend, the inside wires may get entangled and create difficulties for stereo style, and only one side of the headset will work.

Static Sound: It is not a big issue if you hear sound from only one side, but it is a problem when you hear a static sound or no audio from both sides.

Loose Headphone Jack: Due to bent, the headphone will not correctly connect to the device, remain loose and can slide out even if you try hard to hold it.

All these above issues tend you to repair your bent headphone jack.

How To Fix My Bent Headphone Jack?(2 Easy Ways)

A bent headphone port can create an issue, so it is vital to fix it, but can you fix a bent headphone jack? The answer is a big Yes, it is easy, and the following procedure may help you to fix a bent headphone pot, so let’s start!

1) Straighten It Out

You can straighten the jack with only simple tools you may have at your home. However, remain careful while doing this because pulling or pushing a bent headphone jack is hard enough and can worsen.

Tools Required

1. Two pairs of thin pliers
2. Straight ruler

Instructions

• Hold the plug’s tip with one plier and use the second plier for the middle section and ring.
• Pull the plug back with gentle and firm force.
• After pulling the jack back, use the straight ruler to ensure the plug is straight.
• If there is a difference, apply pressure until it reaches the required position.
• It is vital, so be careful, don’t stress too much, and remain gentle while handling these things because the audio jack is a delicate item.

2) Replace The Bent Headphone Jack

If you fail to straighten the bent headphone jack, you can replace it with a new one. Follow the below step to replace the jack:

Tools Required

1. Solder
2. Damp cloth
3. Stereo 3.5 plug
4. Soldering iron
5. Cutter or scissors
6. Wire stripper
7. A Helping Hand for Tools

Instructions

• With the cutter, remove the bent headphone from the wire. You can also use scissors to cut the cable.
• Remove the insulation on the wires with a wire stripper or a sharp knife one inch below the tip.
• Most wires have an enamel coating. To remove this, expose it to flame for a few seconds.
• After removing the insulation or coating, you can see three wires. White, green, or blue for the left channel, red for the right channel, and the black wire is ground.
• Separate the wires and apply solder to the ends of individual wires. For this, heat the soldering iron and use it to melt the solder.
• Wrap both ends of the ground wire and remove excessive solder with a damp cloth to avoid short circuits.
• Use any heat shrink, like electrical tape or Sugru, to provide insulation to the wires.
• Open the casing of the jack or plug and insert these tinned wires into the case.
• Using any helper tool and holding the plug will make the process easy.
• Now connect the new wires with the plug and start with the ground wire.
• Repeat the process of soldering the rest of the wires and hold for a few seconds so the solder will cool and fix the wires in place.
• Use heat shrinks for wire wrapping and around the case.
• Screw them into the plug and test your headphone.
• You may mix up the right and left wire connections if there is a problem. De-solder has connected again with a soldering iron and reconnected them in place.

How To Fix Broken Headphone Port?

Want to know how to fix a crooked audio jack, then follow the below steps:

• Cut the broken part and separate it for the headphone wire.
• Remove the rubber on the top of the jack with a sharp knife or cutter.
• If there is plastic on the headphone port, remove it with pliers.
• Clean the port and remove wires with the use of a soldering iron.
• Remove the rubber or insulation from the other end of the cable, and here, four wires will reveal one is of copper, known as ground wire, red for the left side, green for the right side, and blue wire for your microphone.
• For soldering wire, use a soldering iron and fix the wire in place into the headphone port.
• Close the headphone port, check it for this plug in the headphone jack, and check that it is working. If the problem is still there, recheck the soldering. If all connections are correct, open its earbud and find out the problem.
• In the end, wrap the individual wires and port with any heat shrink like Sugru or electrical tape to make the connection safe and secure.

How to Fix Headphone Jack With Aluminum Foil?

It is common for headphones to stop working, and everyone has experienced this issue. You may feel inconvenienced if your headphone jack stops working, and you want to resolve this issue. But do you know the reason behind this problem?

The problem is not due to the headphone or player. It may happen because the solder on the jack break inside the casing. So here is another method to fix the broken or bent jack with aluminum foil. Start the process with below simple steps:

Tools Required

1. Small screwdrivers
2. Wooden toothpick
3. Soldering iron
4. Solder or aluminum foil

Instructions

• Remove the screws and open the headphone jack case to cover the backing. However, the screws may locate in different places depending on the headphone jack you want to repair, whether laptop, desktop, or MP3.
• Pull the case and if it will not remove, have a look carefully and remove a missing screw.
• Clean all of the old solders on the connection with a soldering iron. For this, slightly touch the heated solder iron to melt the solder between the circuit board and the jack.
• Roll over the wooden tip of the toothpick on soft existing solder and clear the area.
• Use aluminum foil for new soldering and apply it to the connections with a soldering iron.
• Touch the soldering iron to the aluminum foil until it melts, and rebuild the connections.
• Let it dry for a few seconds so that it will fix in place.
• Now plug the headphone jack into the device and play music. If there is no sound, turn up the volume and if there is still no change, then start to recheck the connections. It is also possible that your solder is improper in making the connections.
• While repairing the headphone jack in a laptop, remember the correct locations of the screws you remove for opening the case because every screw cannot fix on every hole.

How to Avoid Bending Your Headphone Jacks?

It is easy to avoid bending your headphone jack by following simple precautions. Here are a few tips and tricks to avoid this problem.

• Make sure that the wires are not entangled.
• Pull the plug of the headphone, not the wire.
• Don’t remain the headphone jack connected after use.
• Use wireless headphones without a jack.
• Always buy headphones that contain solid and right-angled plugs.
• However, one of the best solutions to this problem is that use wireless headphones as they don’t have any jack.

It is easy to fix a bent headphone jack, so there is no need for technical information. Follow the above easy steps, and you can do it without hassle. First, manually fix the bent headphone port with pliers; if it does not work, you can replace the broken headphone jack. If these quick fixes are not working, get a new pair or use wireless headphones without jacks.

Final Thoughts