[Delysid23]

I thought this problem would turn out to be fairly common but extensive searching of the web and this forum turned up next to nothing, so maybe it's more rare than I thought -- or I just haven't come up with the keywords everyone else uses to describe it.

I 've got a 1st Gen iPod Shuffle that's ten months old, and around the six-month mark it started intermittently losing the right channel. Investigation has isolated the problem to the iPod's earphone jack, and the problem recurs no matter what I plug into it -- i.e. different earphones, the audio-in on my Mac, a set of external speakers, etc.

It's not a big deal when connecting it to the Mac's audio-in or external speakers, since everything is stationary so once I fiddle with the connection to get both channels working I can just leave it alone and everything's fine.

But when I'm out and about listening with earphones it's a royal pain, and is getting worse. I used to be able to adjust the position of the iPod and incoming earphone plug into an orienation in my pocket where both channels worked for a long time, but now am lucky to achieve such a feat for more than a few minutes and end up having to carry the iPod in my hand with my thumb and forefinger holding the iPod and earphone plug in the magic position that maintains the right channel's connection.

Has anyone managed to resolve such a problem? I'm considering opening the rascal up, using the "non-violent disassembly" instructions on the web and then seeing if I can somehow manipulate the exposed earphone jack assembly to get a consistent good connection.

Any suggestions or words of experience regarding this matter would be immensely appreciated.

Thanks!

[seanc]

Do they not have 1yr warranty? Just take it back assuming they do.

[Delysid23]

Originally Posted by seanc 

Do they not have 1yr warranty? Just take it back assuming they do.

Good point! Though I'm not sure I have the receipt because my dad got it as a promotional bonus for opening a bank account or from an Internet service provider or some sort of deal like that. I'll have to look into it. He may have gotten it more than a year ago because it just sat around for a while at first.

I just checked the Apple Canada website and they charge $40 (Canadian dollars) shipping & handling for warranty service done six months or more after purchase. Cheaper than buying a new Shuffle, but still....

I'd still be curious to hear from anyone who's tried fixing the earphone plug inside a Shuffle or other iPod, both for interest's sake and the possibility that I may yet have to undertake such a task.

[history-geek]

My 30 gig video ipod just started doing the exact same thing as above, right side cuts out. You can make it work intermittently by wiggling it. Symptom is the same with different earphones. It seems the jack at the top is shot. I keep my ipod in a rubber cover. At least twice a week I have to remove the earphones so I can remove the rubber cover and put it in an armband when I work out. Perhaps the repeated removing of the earphes wore it out. I have had it right at a year now.

[MacosNerd]

Weird, but my ipod mini has the same exact problem Just started happening a few days ago.

[Delysid23]

Rather than attempt radical surgery upon the sealed iPod Shuffle with razor blades and solder in an attempt to fix the bad headphone plug connection, I came up with a less invasive low-tech and low-expense workaround that has served well for many months now.

Just take a binder clip of the appropriate size for your particular iPod model::


Then plug in the headphones and pull the phones' cord down the back face of the iPod and clip it to the bottom with the binder clip, such that the cord emerges from the clip on the front face. I wish I had a digital camera so i could just take a picture, but you'll figure it out. The idea is to clip the cord onto the iPod with enough tension to pull down on the inserted plug, effectively applying a lateral force that will press it against the inner sides of the jack at a bit of an angle. With a little jiggling and adjusting you can get it into a position where it will maintain a good solid connection.

The shiny metal-wire arms of the binder clip can then be flipped up against the front and back of the iPod, making the whole asssembly secure and compact enough to easily slip into a pocket or whatever. I have a silicon rubber case or "skin" on my iPod Shuffle, which does help a bit in holding the clip and wire securely in place, and protects the iPod from any scratches, but I found it worked almost as well on the plain sheer plastic outer surface of the iPod without any extra case or skin involved.

I tried various kinds of clips, rubber bands, clothes pins, and such until finally hitting upon the humble binder clip as the perfect device for the purpose.

Now, if you find yourself in a situation where you can't find a binder clip because your thieving colleagues have liquidated the office-supply cabinet, don't despair. Close your eyes and repeat three times: "Binder-Clip Girl, heal my Pod."

When you open your eyes again, Binder-Clip Girl will be there:



She is always on duty defending our right to listen wherever and whenever we can to podcasts of SoccerGirl reading Smurf porn, or other audio as you prefer.