Headphones & Speakers Both On Problem Faq


chronomitch

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I thought I would create a thread to dispel some of the false information concerning the problem where sound emanates from both the speakers and headphones when headphones are plugged in. I was able to fix my gp2x, so I wanted to share this info with you.

Would an admin/mod please sticky this thread? Thank you.

What problem are you talking about?
This problem occurs when headphones are plugged into the headphone socket. On many gp2x units, the speakers do not shut off, resulting in sound coming from both the speakers and headphones.

How can I tell if my gp2x has this problem?
Go into the mp3 player and start playing a song. Gently insert your headphone jack into the headphone socket. There is NO need to push hard, as you will read further on down. The speakers should switch off. If the speakers remain on, then you have the problem.

What causes this problem?
The problem lies in a screwup during the manufacturing process. The lead for the headphone detection signal on the headphone socket is slightly off-center from where it should be connected on the circuit board inside the gp2x. As a result, the solder between the two points needed for headphone detection usually breaks after a headphone jack is inserted into the headphone socket a couple of times.

Will pushing the headphone jack harder into the headphone socket fix the problem?
NO! In fact pushing the jack harder into the socket can make the headphone socket completely disconnect from the circuit board and fall into the body of your gp2x. Also, the mechanism that detects whether a headphone jack is present is located near the top of the socket (you should be able to see it easily). Therefore, even a slight insertion should turn the speakers off.

Should I return my gp2x back to the seller?
Because more and more people keep having this problem, the chance that you will receive another gp2x that has the same problem is high. Until GPH fixes the problem in the manufacturing process, it is likely that any "new" gp2x's will have the same problem. Also, the fix for this problem is relatively easy, even if you are new to soldering.

How do I fix this problem?
Here is a step by step guide to fixing this problem. It is a relatively easy fix. You will need a soldering iron and a small bit of solder.

1. Unscrew the four screws on the back of your gp2x. You may need to find a good screwdriver to do this because the screws are small and very tight.

2. Gently remove the back plate of the gp2x. You may be afraid that the plate may break, but it is actually quite durable. It may seem that it won't want to come off. This is because it gets easily hung up on the battery connections (part is on the back plate, part is on the circuit board).

3. Once the back plate is off, there is no need to disassemble the gp2x any further. Locate the headphone socket. The connection for headphone detection is located on the left side of the socket near the bottom (this side should only have one connection, the other side should have three connections). It should be easy to see that the connection has been severed.

4. Now for the moment of truth :lol: Just joking. This part is actually pretty easy. Now that you have located the severed connection, it needs to be reconnected using solder. Only a little solder is needed, so just melt a little solder on the soldering iron itself. Then gently press the soldering iron on the connection. Let it solidify for about 30 seconds and verify with your sight that there is no longer a gap between the point of contact on the headphone socket and the point on the circuit board.

5. THIS STEP IS OPTIONAL. I didn't do this because my headphone jack seemed pretty solid. If your headphone jack is loose, or if you're just a bit paranoid, you may want to also resolder the other three connections on the headphone jack and/or superglue the base of the socket to the circuit board. Like I said, I didn't need to do this, so it is really optional.

6. Before putting the back plate back on, make sure that the power button/slide and L/R buttons are in place, since they have a tendency to go out of whack. Then just place the back plate back on, lining it up with the battery terminals on the circuit board. The back plate does not seat itself firmly on the rest of the gp2x (the screws hold it together), so just put the screws back in. Make sure they are tight.

7. Test your gp2x to make sure that the speakers switch off when your headphones are on. If it works, congrats! If not, then try resoldering the connection.

Will performing this fix void my warranty?
I ordered my gp2x from gp32z, and I have yet to find a statement that says opening my gp2x will void the warranty. Even if this constitutes voiding the warranty, there is no way that anyone can tell that the gp2x was opened in the first place, so I wouldn't worry about voiding the warranty.

Is the switch from speakers to headphones hardware or software?
From my testing, it seems that this switch is done at the hardware or firmware level, although people can write software for the gp2x that can control whether the speakers are on/off. The reason I say this is that in all programs I have tried so far (mp3 player, video player, DrMDX, GNUBoy, NeoCD2x, Gp2xEngine, etc), the speakers automatically cut out when headphones are used. I somehow doubt that all of the various emulator authors specifically coded their programs so that the switch is made from speakers to headphones and vice-versa.

If you have anymore additions or information that you feel should be placed in this FAQ, please PM me or post in this thread.
 
chronomitch,

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! My GP2X started doing this the same day that I updated my Firmware to 1.1.0 so I thought it was a firmware issue. I starte searching around and found this thread. I opend up my 2X just a little while ago and sure enough, there was a break in the solder. I pulled out my solder iron and had it fixed in a couple of min. Thank you so much.

dgnadt
 
Thanks for the description, I'll probably my electronic-freak friend solder this cause I got no idea about such stuff... but anyways, I would like to see a firmware fix too/ a way to manually turn speakers off easily ... I already wrote it into the gp2x.com customer board... dunno if it got recognized...
 
Thanks for the description, I'll probably my electronic-freak friend solder this cause I got no idea about such stuff... but anyways, I would like to see a firmware fix too/ a way to manually turn speakers off easily ... I already wrote it into the gp2x.com customer board... dunno if it got recognized...

You might have seen this already, as you replied to my first post on the thread, but I created a simple workaround program that toggles the speakers off/on for those too lazy to solder.

Link to my post

It's probably not optimal, but it works fine for me.
 
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Well, I am happy I got a friend who knows soldering.. works fine now.. glad someone made a firmware fix though...
GPH should look into this too since you REALLY cannot want users to open and firmware fix/solder their units!!

and please, ADMIN, STICKY POST or integrate into WIKI/FAQ!!!!

BUMP!!!!

Thanks
 
For those of you who have never soldered before and are afraid to solder, I found this site with video instructions:

http://radiojove.gsfc.nasa.gov/elab/soldering.htm

It turns out that my headphone jack completely broke and fell into the unit. I could hear it rattling inside. I hated the thought of returning it for repairs or a replacement but was at the same time afraid of soldering since I had never done it before. :(

Once I saw the mini videos on the site above, I overcame my fear, bought a soldering kit from Walmart and managed to pull it off without breaking my GP2X. In short, I was able to fix it and restore my headphone jack.

The instructions on the top of this post really helped as well. Thanks so much. :)

Hope this information helps others as well!

Manny
 
This is going to help me a lot because my gp2X does this to me too !
It was the first time I tried to put earphones into it. dammmn !
I was wondering if my gp2x had the headphoen and speakers problem. stuuupid :rolleyes:

And because I'm "just a bit paranoid", I'm going to "also resolder the other three connections on the headphone jack and/or superglue the base of the socket to the circuit board". :ph34r:

Thanks for this helpfull FAQ
 
nice step-by-step writeup chronomitch.

another problem i had with the gp2x was the small amount of space around the headphone socket. it was to tight to plug in my grado sr80 headphones! so i went at it with a dremel and made enough room:

151151035_718af4b3d6_m.jpg

http://flickr.com/photos/k9d/151151035/
 
Just a word of caution - I had the symptoms described i.e speakers not turning off with the headphone jack inserted, but this only occurred with one set of headphones and not with another. Both sets had a right-angled plug and the dimensions of the plug were just slightly larger on the 'faulty' one. I filed this one down, and now I don't have a problem.
 
starpause posted on May 25 2006 at 08:05 AM said:
nice step-by-step writeup chronomitch.

another problem i had with the gp2x was the small amount of space around the headphone socket. it was to tight to plug in my grado sr80 headphones! so i went at it with a dremel and made enough room:

151151035_718af4b3d6_m.jpg

http://flickr.com/photos/k9d/151151035/

AaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaHH!! :eek: :eek: :eek:

How could you do that, does that remind any of the GP32-ers around of the "best joysick mod ever"? :)

I would have gone to a local machine shop equipped with a mill and had them do something about it with a sharp high speed bit in the size you need.

And then I would polished the area back up. Please everyone learn from this, Dremels melt plastic.
 
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Aerothorn posted on May 31 2006 at 07:45 PM said:
Does the mark 2 have this problem?

If I am correct it shouldn't, based on the new pictures in the archive they appear to be using a different design of headphone jack in the MKII.

It has gold-plated contacts, and looks as though it might have properly made contacts in the jack (the ones on the two different MK I units I owned would grab the "segments" on the headphone jack and catch up, thus you would have to force in the plug and that is likely why the jack came loose.)
 
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I just developed this problem with my "First Edition" unit.

Well, sort of.

I stopped getting sound through the headphones, though the speakers would still turn off. Never had the original problem here. Open my unit and find that the *other* three contacts snapped (though very nearly in contact anyway - basically a clean hairline break). The ground or whatever that gave everyone else trouble was content to wiggle this way and that.

And so now I have a soldering iron and will hop-to tonight. Probably should have read this thread before any of it happened, though it wouldn't have prevented the most horrifying moment - I knocked off a resistor somehow when I opened my unit. I didn't have an iron then, so I... er... superglued it back on.

Worked fine.

And in the next few months I'll probably spend an ungodly sum of money on electronics parts, since I now have an excuse to pick that up, too. Ah well.
 
Ironically, I just emailed gp2x.co.uk with this problem. I had soldered the jack and fixed it for all this time, and yesterday at the airport, it somehow started up again. So once again, I opened it up, and tried fixing it a second time....this time, nothing. I am about to try again, and I'll post back if there's any progress.

great FAQ btw. Helped me a great deal.
 
I have experienced an odd channel flip issue.

1) Didn't have headphones in and stereo was correct.
2) Plugged in headphones and stereo was correct.
3) Unplugged headphones and stereo was flipped????

Very wierd, happened once and I cannot explain it.

It was with my own game, and I had just been pissing about with sound code several hours earlier... I didn't find any bugs related to it though? And it was only after unplugging headphones.

MK2 btw.
 
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