How do laptops detect headphones?

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dbz_ssj4

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Jun 14, 2009
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How do laptops detect headphones?

My laptop will detect my headphones 90% of the time and intermittently switch to speakers for 2 seconds and back. And will not detect my set of altec lansing speakers at all.

Any ideas?
 
It's my understanding that the headphone jack itself is a physical switch that's activated when a connector is inserted. Perhaps that part needs to be replaced... or maybe just bent back into submission.
 
Ah thanks i thought so, however im looking at the jack from the back and see a metal flap i thought was the switch, but it doesn't seem to affect the behavior when moved to contact the side as if a plug were inserted. What i need is a diagram of how this works.

New divers do seem to affect it, the microsoft drivers would switch several times a second constantly, the gateway drivers did the same thing as my first post, but would mulitstream the audio... headphones and speakers, and the newest realtek drivers do not multistream.

This is what I'm working with. http://cgi.ebay.com/GateWay-ZA8-LT3103u-USB-Audio-Sound-Board-DA0ZA8TH6C0-/280602183517?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item415531875d
 
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Don't have time right now, but the technical name is TRS connector. Wiki it or somthjing.
 
I did, but wiki does not describe the method by which it detects a plug has been inserted.
 
dbz_ssj4 said:
I did, but wiki does not describe the method by which it detects a plug has been inserted.
Click to expand...

Easy way of saying it:

the bump on the tip of the connector pushes up a metal bar/contact, which breaks a circuit, and allows "detection"

normally, at any rate.
 
How should i try cleaning it? Isopropyl bath, it would be extremely difficult to do it any other way.
 
q-tip or other object small enough to fit in the hole, but wont leave any meterial behind when cleaning.
 
If you are talking about software detection of speakers or headphones when a TRS plug is in the jack...that's by measuring the DC resistance. Line level connections (jack to amp), or speaker level connections (jack fo driver) have different impedances than headphones. Headphones typically sit in the middle. Some headphones have near speaker impedance levels....those can cause issues if detection of device type is done using this method.
 
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