If you plug in headphones and can’t hear any sound, there may be several potential causes.
Hardware malfunction
Headphone jacks can become faulty over time, often due to physical damage or a simple connection issue. If the headphone jack is loose or otherwise damaged, then sound from your device will not come through the headphones. If this issue goes undetected, the headphones may not detect an audio signal and you will get no sound.
Software issue
Sometimes, a software issue can cause the audio setting on your device to fail to acknowledge your headphones. Your device may not recognize that headphones are plugged in and thus will not switch the audio channel from the device’s audio output to the headphones. To solve this problem, try opening the sound preferences menu and setting the audio output to “headphones”.
Incorrect cables
Another common culprit of no sound when headphones are plugged in may be the cables being used. Most modern audio-enabled devices have multiple types of audio inputs and outputs. Check to ensure that the cable you are using is suitable for the type of output port on your device. For example, a 3.5mm audio cable will not work with a USB port, even though they may look similar.
Settings
In some cases, the audio settings on your device may be set to transmit sound only through the device’s internal speakers. This can happen when you plug in headphones but don’t realize that the device is still set to output sound through its own speakers. To avoid this issue, make sure to check the audio settings on your device after plugging in your headphones.
Headphone Malfunction
If you’ve checked all the other solutions above and none of them worked, the issue could be with your headphones themselves. Obvious signs of damage to your headphones (such as a broken wire) can cause the sound to not reach your ears. If the headphone jack is working properly, you may want to try different headphones to see if that solves the problem.
In rare cases, the actual driver within the headphones can become damaged, especially with older models. If that’s the case, the best solution would be to buy new headphones altogether.
No matter what kind of device you use, it’s important to check all the potential causes if you’re experiencing problems with your sound. While hardware failure is always a possibility, it is more likely that a software issue is the root cause of the problem. With a few simple checks and quick adjustments, you should be able to get your sound back quickly.