Alright, Ive had my 5th Gen iPod Video for 3 years now, its been serving me great until earlier this week. I have used multiple pairs of headphones, and when fully plugged in audio only plays out of the left ear, no matter what brand/type of headphones. If I move the jack of the headphones around, sound cuts in and out, I have to find a sweet spot and hold it there to get stereo sound. I take very good care of my electronic items, and this is no exception. Ive used the compressed air to blow out the port, Ive cleaned of the jack on the headphones Ive been using. I'm stumped, and I really don't want to buy a new iPod.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPod 5th Gen iPod Headphone Problems
- Thread starter Lopez.T.H.
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Sounds like one of the contact pins inside the headphone jack has become slightly bent away from making contact with the plug. No amount of compressed air will fix it, moving the plug around will only make it worse.
Nothing short of opening it up and replacing the jack internally will fix it. There used to be a time when these things were open to being bent back into place. These days, it's a sealed solid block like so.
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/iPod/iPod-5th-Generation-Video-/Headphone-Jack-Hold-Switch/95/2/Page-1
If it was me, I'd use the iPod on a dock and get a new one to tide you over. Or if you're confident with electronics and taking things apart, see if you find a similar model on eBay being sold for parts and replace the headphone jack and hold switch assembly as pictured below, but that's fiddly and probably a long shot.
Nothing short of opening it up and replacing the jack internally will fix it. There used to be a time when these things were open to being bent back into place. These days, it's a sealed solid block like so.
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/iPod/iPod-5th-Generation-Video-/Headphone-Jack-Hold-Switch/95/2/Page-1
If it was me, I'd use the iPod on a dock and get a new one to tide you over. Or if you're confident with electronics and taking things apart, see if you find a similar model on eBay being sold for parts and replace the headphone jack and hold switch assembly as pictured below, but that's fiddly and probably a long shot.
Great... Well, good thing I have that 1st Gen. Shuffle still. I'll probably buy a refurb. iPod classic or a 16GB Touch.
You could always see about getting it repaired. I like the 5th gen iPods; I hope to keep mine going for as long as possible since they ditched the 160Gb Classic.
Maybe, I would try and do it myself but I dont trust my skills with something such as that. And my iPod is no longer under AppleCare, so it would be a small fortune to have Apple replace it?
I'm not sure where you are but it might be worth googling 'iPod repair' and the city you live in, email any useful-looking businesses and get a couple of quotes to replace the headphone assembly, see what happens.