How to Fix your iPhone Headphones Mic If It’s Not Working

By Gary Ng on February 9th, 2009 392

The Apple iPhone headphones are very functional headphones that get the job done. They won’t please audiophiles out there, but for the rest of us they are just fine. One of my favorite features is the mic/button that lets you control music (even on my MacBook!) and have conversations.

A couple weeks ago I noticed my mic stopped working, along with the button remote. At first I thought it was my iPhone and a recent firmware update that caused the headphone jack to malfunction. So, I ended up calling Apple Support on the phone. I told them how my mic/remote wasn’t working and they immediately sent out a new pair via next day via Fedex!

I opened the package I tested out these brand spankin’ new headphones–only to have them not work still! At this point in time I decided to turn to Google. I was able to discover what was causing this minor headache of mine: a chunk of lint!

I ended up using the end of a paperclip to dig out the massive chunk of lint below:

iphone_jack_dust

I was pretty shocked at the size of this chunk of lint! I had no idea this could make its way down the headphone jack. So there you go folks, if your mic/remote doesn’t work, shine a light down the headphone jack to see if you can find a massive chunk of lint. Just make sure you turn OFF your iPhone before you start picking around!

Founder and Editor-in-Chief of iPhoneinCanada.ca. Follow @iPhoneinCanada and on Google+. Click here to save 20% OFF at ZAGG.com with coupon 'iphoneinca'!

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  • Blackshit88

    this works! AWESOME!

  • Adaortega714

    Wow, Your right I gave it a shot & I had cotton in there from last year & I thought my headphones just broke/: but guess not now I can listen to music in the car & go to the gym & listen to music from my headphones. Your a life saver <3.

  • Adaortega714

    Wow, Your right I gave it a shot & I had cotton in there from last year & I thought my headphones just broke/: but guess not now I can listen to music in the car & go to the gym & listen to music from my headphones. Your a life saver <3.

  • Macthedoi

    Thank – You very much , My iphone have the same problem !! now is fixed .

  • Macthedoi

    Thank – You very much , My iphone have the same problem !! now is fixed .

  • Macthedoi

    Thank – You very much , My iphone have the same problem !! now is fixed .

  • Mime

    Thx a lot, it solved my problems.

  • Alo

    Cheers mate, thanks for this u saved me from a big headhace :D

    Now works fine! Props!

  • Rajesham Rajanna

    Mic and sound not cleare

  • devlin3x

    Great idea.I just wanna thank you very much. You saved me from a lot of trouble changing my headphone for nothing. It was lint. 

  • Vic

    Incredible… It’s working again!!

  • Tekqui

    Woo hoo!!! I just came home with the same problem and you’re the first hit in google.  

    I’m unlocked and jailbroken and thought it may have been a Cydia app or settings conflict.

    Used a plastic coated paper clip and out came the lint, problem solved!  

    Thanks for sharing!!!

  • Tekqui

    Not so much sad, just that we are all so conditioned to firmware, software and technical conflicts in our gadget-ridden lives that we’ve lost that common sense.  Thankfully this article reminds us of this.

  • Sramires

    Impressed!!! I’ve just read this post and resolved my problem. Tks

  • Khalo99

    Wow! Can’t thank you enough. I was just about to reset my iPhone, too. I’m glass I came across your post. You save me lots of time! You’re awesome!

  • Fad1

    Nice fix.  Mine had even more lint than your pic.  

  • implicitlyrics

    Thanks, that was exactly my problem !
    My 2 years old 3GS is fully functional again !
    RIP Steve by the way…

  • Chefrashad

    It really worked thanks so much.At times we for get a little bit of common sence.

  • Vera

    When I plug in my headphones my iPhone plays music, but when I plug them out, my volume bar disappears and the music stops! Do you know what I can do? 

  • Candtsilva

    I didn’t think of looking inside myself, but I’m sure glad I found this blog. I was ready to take it apart and replace some components. Thank you for saving me the trouble. :)

  • Jbalmoria1

    Nice, i was flabbergasted at first!!!

  • Gustavo

    That was the problem with my headphones too! Thanks a lot ;)

  • Mohammed Tohamy

    Thanks my mic wasn’t working properly and it’s working fine.
    Thanks a lot

  • Mikewatsonstl

    Your great ,exactly what was wrong with mine. Lint, who new.

  • Blamecanada

    I couldn’t sync my iPhone 4s when it first came out, it sucked, I had a $300 paperweight but then I saw this and sure enough the reason why it wouldn’t sync was cuz I had a lint ball in there! Thanks for saving my phone.

  • Ishwar

    Thanks dude……………….. ur tip really worked for me……………………….. I was very worried about the problem of my earpiece………….. Thanx once again
     

  • http://twitter.com/DanThomasUK Dan Thomas

    I’ve just spent ages looking at replacing the headphone jack and ribbon cable, also buying iPhone tools… happened upon your post and what do you know, I had a whole wad of paper stuck up there. Took a few minutes digging with a paperclip to find it. THANK YOU.

  • Ross Berry

    Thank you so much for posting this. I have gone through 4 pairs of headphones and one refurb 3gs and was considering buying the 4gs because of the problem. I was skeptical that there was just lint in there, but I shined a light and sure enough…I feel like a fool but I’m so glad you were right.

  • Strawberriesandchampers

    This just worked for me! Thanks so much and excellent post that saved me on my bus journey to work! :)

  • Irfdiddy

    haha i had the exact same problem!! i even had blown out my headphone jack with an airduster. and nothing happened. so i figured it must not be a lint problem.
    sure enough…that was the issue…i took a paper clip and cleaned it out. could not believe it. THANK YOU!!

  • Mac72583

    Brilliant. Thanks for the post. Just helped me fall back in love with Bose headphones!

  • Life_55555

    You are amazing. It works immediately for me. Thankxxxxxxxx

  • Appledigest

    Exactly one of the reasons they need a way to cover these if they’re going to put them on top. Water, lint, dirt, and everything can get into your expensive device a huge oversite by Apple.

  • http://twitter.com/stgm1984 Johannes Bazinga

    dude, you saved me! just came home with a new pair of headphones /w remote for my 3gs and was devastated, when the remote didn’t work at first. luckily i googled your article, now everything works as it should. thanks!

  • L-e-stat

    No comment, you are genius :D DDD

  • Gt R

    thnks

  • Ranggadablues

    you are genius..thanks dude..

  • Guest

    Same exact thing happened to me, and this article saved my humor. Thanks a lot!

  • Lidiaroxana94

    Well my hole of my iPhone one day just stop working and my headphones work fine bc I tried em out. But I already dusted it. Could it be something else, how could I fix it?

  • dibs

    Thanks man!

  • Bencebujdos

    OMG! You’re my hereo! My iBeats’ controltalk doesn’t work and now it is WORKING!!!! I can’t believe it! Thank you man!! :) )

  • Kjkj

    Genius indeed! I had the same problem and couldn’t figure out which setting I had changed! a chunk of  lint was stuck in it and now it is working perfectly. Thanks : )

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