My iPhone Is Stuck In Headphones Mode. Here’s The Real Fix!

You’re absolutely sure that headphones aren’t plugged into your iPhone, because, well, they’re not. You see “Headphones” above the volume slider when you press the volume buttons, but your iPhone isn’t making any sound. You’ve tried a hard reset, putting your headphones in, and taking them out again, but it’s not working. In this article, I’ll explain why your iPhone is stuck in headphone mode, an awesome trick to get junk out of your headphone jack or Lightning port, and how to fix the problem for good!

My iPhone Doesn’t Have A Headphone Jack! How Can It Be Stuck In Headphones Mode?

Apple got rid of the headphone jack when they released the iPhone 7. It was very controversial at the time, but many people have moved onto using Bluetooth headphones like AirPods.

However, Apple didn’t completely eliminate the ability to use wired headphones on newer iPhones. Your purchase of an iPhone 7 or newer model includes a pair of wired headphones that plug directly into your iPhone’s Lightning port (also known as the charging port).

A new iPhone 7, 8, or X also includes a dongle which lets you connect your old headphones to your iPhone’s Lightning port. However, Apple stopped including this dongle with the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR.

Even though the iPhone 7 and newer models don’t have a traditional headphone jack, they can still get stuck in headphones mode! The steps below will help you fix any model iPhone that is stuck on headphone mode.

No, iPhone, There Aren’t Headphones Plugged In!

Your iPhone is stuck on headphone mode because it thinks headphones are plugged into the headphone jack or Lightning port, even though they’re not. This is usually caused by a problem with the headphone jack or Lightning port itself. 99% of the time it’s a hardware problem, not a software problem.

iphone display headphones volume

Eliminate The Possibility Of A Software Problem

The easiest way to make sure a software problem isn’t causing your iPhone to stay stuck in headphones mode is to turn it off and back on again. To turn off your iPhone, press and hold the power button (also known as the Sleep / Wake button) and slide the button next to “slide to power off” across the screen.

slide to power off power icon on iphone

If you have an iPhone X or newer, press and hold the Side button and either volume button until “slide to power off” appears on the screen. Swipe the power icon left to right to shut down your iPhone X or newer.

It can take 20 seconds or so for your iPhone to turn off, and that’s completely normal. To turn your iPhone back on, hold the power button (iPhone 8 and older) or the Side button (iPhone X and newer) until the Apple logo appears on the screen. You can let go of the power button or Side button when the Apple logo appears.

If your iPhone is still stuck on headphones mode after your iPhone turns back on, there’s a hardware problem with your iPhone. At this point, this problem is being caused by one of two possibilities:

  • Debris stuck inside the headphone jack or Lightning port is fooling your iPhone into thinking that headphones are plugged in.
  • The headphone jack or Lightning port is damaged, either physically or by liquid.

Take A Look Inside Your iPhone

Grab a flashlight and shine it inside your iPhone’s headphone jack or Lightning port. Is there any debris stuck inside? I’ve seen everything from rice, to brown goo, to broken-off tips of cheap headphones stuck inside. Trying to extract something from your iPhone’s headphone jack or Lightning port is extremely difficult, and some Apple techs won’t even try.

Poking around in your iPhones headphone jack or Lightning port can cause damage, but most people I’ve worked with agreed it was worth the risk because they really had nothing to lose. If I had to guess, I’d say I was successful about 50% of the time when I tried to extract something from a customer’s headphone jack when I worked at an Apple Store.

How Do I Get Junk Out Of My iPhone’s Headphone Jack?

There’s no right way to do this, and Apple Stores don’t have any tools designed to extract debris from headphone jacks. There are, however, some unofficial tricks that Apple techs sometimes use to get stuff out. Be careful — none of these are Apple-approved methods because they can cause damage, but I’ve had success with each of them in different situations.

The BIC Pen Trick

I really wanted to write this article so I could share this trick with you. An Apple Genius showed me how to do it, and I still think it’s brilliant. Be warned: Your pen will not survive this procedure. Here’s how to use a BIC pen to remove debris from an iPhone’s headphone jack:

  1. Use a standard BIC pen and remove the cap.
    IMG_0277IMG_0278
  2. Use pliers to pull the pen tip away from the plastic housing.
    IMG_0282 IMG_0293
  3. The tip is attached to a circular plastic cartridge that contains the ink.
    IMG_0299 IMG_0298
  4. The opposite end of the cartridge is the perfect size to remove debris from the headphone jack.
    IMG_0304
  5. Insert that end into the headphone jack and gently twist to loosen the debris, and then shake it out of your iPhone or iPad.
    IMG_0309

I’ve saved lots of headphone jacks using this trick. Be careful not to press too hard. If the debris isn’t coming out, move on to the next tip.

Compressed Air

Try using a can of compressed air to blow air directly into your iPhone’s headphone jack. This may work even if you don’t see anything stuck inside. Compressed air can loosen debris just enough to shake it out or blow it out completely. Be gentle: Don’t stick the hose all the way into your iPhone’s headphone jack and start blowing. Start from the outside of your iPhone and work your way in.

If you don’t have a can of compressed air, you can try blowing it out yourself, but I don’t particularly like that option because our breath contains moisture that can damage your iPhone’s internal circuitry. If you feel like you have nothing to lose, then by all means, give it a try.

Tweezers

Really thin tweezers can sometimes reach just far enough inside to pull a piece of rice or other debris out of an iPhone’s headphone jack. Using tweezers is risky, though. It’s a lot like the game called Operation (by Milton Bradley). It’s very easy to damage the sides of the headphone jack if you shove tweezers in too far.

I Don’t Recommend This, But…

Some tech-savvy people (and secretly, some Apple Geniuses) have had success extracting debris from iPhone headphone jacks by disassembling the iPhone and poking the debris out from the underneath of the headphone jack. There are some excellent teardown guides of iPhones if you’d like to try, but I don’t recommend you do. 

How Do I Get Junk Out Of My iPhone’s Lightning Port?

Just like a headphone jack, it can be difficult to remove gunk and debris from from a Lightning port. The safest way to remove debris from an iPhone Lightning port is to use an anti-static brush.

clean ipad lightning port

If you try to clean out the Lightning port with an object like a paperclip or a thumbtack, you can run the risk of causing an electrical charge within your iPhone, which could cause even more damage. Toothpicks are also risky, because they can splinter and get stuck inside your iPhone.

However, most people don’t own an anti-static brush, and that’s okay. A brand new, unused toothbrush makes a fine substitute if you don’t have an anti-static brush.

The Cocktail Straw Trick

This method could also be called the “coffee stirrer” trick, as either utensil can be used. Flatten out the tip of your cocktail straw or coffee stirrer so it can fit inside your iPhone’s Lightning port. Use the flat tip of the straw to scrape or scoop any gunk out of the Lightning port.

clean iphone lightning port with cocktail straw

Compressed air and tweezers are also possible solutions if something is lodged in your in your iPhone’s Lightning port.

I’ve Tried Everything And My iPhone Is Still Stuck On Headphone Mode!

If your iPhone still isn’t working after you’ve tried everything above, there’s a good chance your iPhone needs to be repaired. Usually, the headphone jack or the Lightning port on an iPhone will stop working for one of two reasons:

Water Damage

A very common reason for iPhones getting stuck in headphones mode is water damage, and a lot of the time people don’t know how it could have happened. Here’s how the conversation went: I’d ask, “Are you an athlete?”, and they would say yes. I’d ask, “Do you listen to music when you run or work out?”, and they’d say yes again. Can you guess what happened?

A lot of the time, this is problem is caused when sweat runs down the cord of an athlete’s headphones. At some point, a small amount of sweat gets inside the headphone jack or Lightning port and causes their iPhone to get stuck in headphone mode.

Other types of water damage can cause this problem too — it doesn’t take much. The headphone jack on older iPhones and the Lightning port on newer iPhones are two of the only openings on the outside of the iPhone, and that makes them particularly susceptible to water damage. Even if the rest of an iPhone works perfectly after it gets wet, the headphone jack or Lightning port may not.

Physical Damage

If your iPhone is smashed into 1000 pieces, you probably know what’s wrong. If it’s still in one piece, there is another very common reason why iPhones get stuck on headphone mode: The headphone jack or Lightning port gets pulled away from the logic board.

“Wait a second. I keep my iPhone in great shape.”

Plugging headphones in and out of your iPhone should never cause this problem. I’ve never seen it occur from normal use. Here’s the question I’d ask: “Do you wrap your headphones around your iPhone when you’re not using it?” The customer would say yes. (Come to think of it, the same Genius who turned me on to the BIC pen trick told me this, too. I’d give him credit if I didn’t think he could get in trouble.) Can you guess what happened here?

IMG_0313 IMG_0316

After a while, the strain from the headphones wrapped around the iPhone on the end plugged into the headphone jack or Lightning port becomes so great that they entirely start to pull away from the logic board. It’s OK to wrap your headphones around your iPhone, as long as you unplug them when you do. 

IMG_0318

Unfortunately, if you’re reading this, there’s a good chance the damage is already done and you’ll need to repair your iPhone.

Repair Options: Apple vs. Puls

This problem is especially frustrating for people who go to the Apple Store because the only repair option Apple offers to fix a broken headphone jack is to replace the entire iPhone. A lot of people simply refuse, opting instead to use a Bluetooth headset or speaker dock to make and receive phone calls, but it’s a major inconvenience when the sound doesn’t work on your iPhone.

The case is similar for broken iPhone Lightning ports. Apple will typically just replace your iPhone if its Lightning port is broken. The replacement is covered by your AppleCare+ warranty.

To make matters worse, debris stuck inside your iPhone’s headphone jack or Lightning port isn’t covered under warranty, so repairing this simple problem can be very expensive.

Puls

If you’d like to repair your iPhone today for a lot less than Apple, Puls will meet you at home or a location of your choice in less than an hour, and they offer a lifetime warranty on parts and labor.

Get A New Cell Phone

You may want to consider getting a new phone instead of having your current one repaired. iPhone repairs can get expensive quickly. If more than one component is damaged — which isn’t uncommon if you dropped your iPhone or exposed it to water — the repair company typically has to replace every part, not just the headphone jack. Check out the UpPhone cell phone comparison tool to review your options!

Wrapping It Up

It’s frustrating when an iPhone gets stuck in headphones mode, because it seems like a simple problem should have a simple solution. It’s unfortunate that a tiny piece of debris or a little drop of water can have such a detrimental effect on your iPhone. I sincerely hope that your iPhone is no longer stuck on headphone mode, but if it is, at least you know what to do next. Feel free to leave a comment below. I’d like to hear about any creative ways you’ve found to remove debris from the headphone jack or Lightning port of your iPhone.

About Author

I'm a former Apple employee and the founder of Payette Forward, and I'm here to help you with your iPhone.

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Anonymous
6 years ago

Yay!!! Thank you my phone is working.

Anonymous
6 years ago

Box pen didnt do the trick but the q-tip sure did. Thanks so much. You have to take some of the cotton off the q-tip for it to go in. But it worked.

Anonymous
6 years ago

I tried the bic method. Didn’t work so I tried a Qtip and it did the trick. Be VERY CAREFUL with the Q-tip.

Anonymous
6 years ago

Love this advice but its just today I was at my grandmas and then I accidently dropped my iPad into the snow and I think it melted into water and I tried everything but it wont work

Anonymous
6 years ago

I tried the pen thing and it didnt work, I tried a paperclip and it didnt work, I tied taking most of the cotton off of a Q-Tip and it didnt work. But when I left enough so that that Q-Tip fit really tight and twisted it in and back out….it worked! Thank you.

Anonymous
6 years ago

Thank you,it works. I used little stick and removed very little,but back to ringer.

Anonymous
6 years ago

Thank youuuuuuuu!!!!!!
The a tip turning it off worked like a charm, u are a lifesaver

Anonymous
6 years ago

I used a wooden toothpick with the end softened a bit. Worked right then with a small ball of fluff coming out.

Anonymous
6 years ago

I took the Bic trick one step furtehr and cu toff about an inch form the empty end, popped it in the headphone socket adn then used it as a straw, gave a good suck and released a lump of fluff. All working agin!

Anonymous
6 years ago

Thank you!!!

Anonymous
6 years ago

I used a hairdryer to dry the water damage, and it worked! Dont have it in too hot though xx

Anonymous
6 years ago

Thank you !!

Anonymous
6 years ago

Cotton swab worked like a charm, even after trying the pen!! Thank you, my kid is happy again!

Anonymous
6 years ago

I used a piece of ‘straw’ from an outside broom to remove gunk from headphone jack. This worked!

Anonymous
6 years ago

Thank you for taking the time to explain this issue. It has helped tremendously.

Anonymous
6 years ago

Jakub youre the besssst! It worked!!!

Anonymous
6 years ago

As a last resort the cotten swab worked. The piece of lint it pulled out was so small I could barely see it. Amazing that such a tiny piece could cause such a big problem.

Anonymous
6 years ago

You can also go into settings, sounds, then try to get the ringer to go back and forth playing the ringtones. It just worked for me and my phone was stuck on headphones. Turning phone off and on wouldn’t work, but this did!

Anonymous
6 years ago

As for water damage, take a Qtip then remove some cotton leaving just a thin layer of cotton left on the tip. Stick tip onto headphone jack and twist in slowly to dry the area. It worked for me instantly!

Anonymous
6 years ago

UGH!! it didnt WORK >:( stupid water!!

Anonymous
6 years ago

this is tops

Anonymous
6 years ago

Its really workingggg. Thankyou so muchh

Anonymous
6 years ago

but my iphone switcher to headphones mode on night time only why is that?

Anonymous
6 years ago

Turning the phone off and carefully picking out debris and fluff that was stuck in the jack socket with an unfolded paper clip worked for me. I guess because the fluff / debris was damp and causing a connection between the rings of the socked. This would make the phone detect that the headphones are plugged in. Make sure you turn phone off and be very careful if you try this that you don’t poke the paperclip up into the phone too far and damage anything else! 🙂 Good luck anyone with this issue.

Anonymous
6 years ago

Whew – fixed thanks to you! Trying another pair of earbuds finally did the trick.

Anonymous
6 years ago

Thank you !!! I fortunatly read this just before “throw phone at wall ” mode.

Anonymous
6 years ago

I got coffee in my headphone jack and thought my phone was done because it woul dnot get out of headphone mode. I got me some Q Tips thanks to you all and it worked great! Thanks!

Anonymous
6 years ago

OMFG THANK YOU! I feel into a frozen pond earlier this day, and really thought my Phone was broken, but i was wrong! You gave me a option to fix it! This is my appreciation.

k thx bye

Anonymous
6 years ago

Heres how i fix my Headphones stuck iPhone. Plugged in the earphones into the iPhone then turn it off, after the phone is off I plugged out the earphones and turned on the phone. Now its not stuck anymore in Headphones mode.

Anonymous
6 years ago

Mine is still stuck I think it has water damage

Anonymous
6 years ago

brilliant the cotton bud worked for me too!!

Anonymous
6 years ago

What do I do if it’s water

Anonymous
6 years ago

Many thanks for the great advice. The compressed air worked on my phone!
Danielle Scott

Anonymous
6 years ago

The cotton swab tricked worked for me.

Anonymous
6 years ago

Excellent

Anonymous
6 years ago

Super super excellent!!!!! I did the qtip and blow dryer a few times and now it works. Thank you so much!

Anonymous
6 years ago

I tried the bic pen and cotton swab suggestion. Nothing worked for me. So in the car I turned the heat on high, had it blow through the vents, put the headphone jack opening end of my phone in the vent so it blew in the hole about 30 seconds and it worked!

Anonymous
6 years ago

Thanks for good advice!!

Anonymous
6 years ago

Qtip worked!

Anonymous
6 years ago

Great help, i useds one of the TePe brushes for teeth which worked brilliantly 🙂 phew glad it is working!!

Anonymous
6 years ago

Thank you, thank you, thank you, cotton swab is genius and totally worked!!!!!! Thank you!!

Anonymous
6 years ago

It worked! Thank you!

Anonymous
6 years ago

dry

Anonymous
6 years ago

It worksss!! Thankyouu

Anonymous
6 years ago

worked for me…3 times was the charm and a reboot

Anonymous
6 years ago

I figured out a way to make it work. I made a phone call and kept hitting the speaker phone button until it finally worked. I called a business that I knew had an automated system so that I wouldn’t be bothering anybody while I did this.

Anonymous
6 years ago

I thought it would be obvious but I cant figure out what/which is the headphone jack! Where on the iPhone(6S) is the aperture or hole?

Anonymous
6 years ago

Awesome thanks for help

Anonymous
6 years ago

Thanks!
I used a cotton bud and it worked almost immediately.
I was very relieved and thankful for your help and advice !

Anonymous
6 years ago

It happened to me today morning,I mistakenly dropped my iphone into water and now it works gine but speaker doesnt work until i use headphones I dont know how to sort out this problem.

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