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greenday123

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 15, 2005
262
0
NJ
Is it normal for the sound jack in my macbook to be emiting a red light? Sorta like a laser pointer.
 
I tried that 3 times actually. The red light is still there. What does the red light mean?
 
Yeah the headphones do work, but when they are unplugged the built in speakers dont. Maybe it thinks they are still plugged in?
 
the red light is for use with optical audio with the right adapter. go under system prefs and see if you can switch the sound output to the built in speakers, if not try restarting. mine used to do that while in windows, but it works fine now!
 
Yeah the headphones do work, but when they are unplugged the built in speakers dont. Maybe it thinks they are still plugged in?
Possibly...time to bring it to the apple store? :eek: If restarting doesn't do anything it is probably something stuck in there.:(
 
The light is on because the computer thinks you have an optical cable plugged in. That is also why it is not playing sound out through the internal speakers.

If you are in Windows via Boot Camp, you need to go into the audio drivers and disable digital output. If this is Mac OS X, then landis' idea of making sure the sound output is set correctly is your best bet. If that doesn't do it, then off to a repair shop for you!
 
There is a switch located in the headphone/optical audio jack that is stuck. I have heard of success using a toothpick to deactivate the switch to put it back to operational. If you feel uncomfortable trying this, then take it to the Genius Bar.

Good luck.
 
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