Replacing the jack on a pair of headphones

Got a pair of perfectly good headphones you need to toss cause the jack is broken? This instructable will show you how to replace the jack

Step 1: Parts and tools

Along with the fairly standard soldering iron, a new jack, and such, there's a few other things you'll need. You'll need a box cutter or X-Acto knife to score the outer cable before using a cable stripper to remove the outer covering. You'll also need a microtorch, and a hot glue gun. some people also like to have a little paper or electrical tape, but in my case, i've chosen not to use it. You'd also note two different styles of 3.5mm TRS Jacks- You only need one - the plastic sort is cheaper and looks more 'original', but i prefer the metal one- i've had the plastic ones fall apart post soldering at least once, despite being internally very similar.

Helping hands also are useful - jacks are tiny and need clamping.

Comments

[epicawesomeeli]

Foul you wire one headphone jack to another to make a cable that would connect a mobile device to a something with the same jack.

[epicawesomeeli]

you could play music over it

[tutdude98]

yes but what would you do with that cable?? you cant send data or something to mobile device over 3.5mm jack

[epicawesomeeli]

Sorry I meant could you

[cwhyhache]

hi, i have a pair of spoilt earphones and i really liked to have them fix. however, i do not have those tools (like soldering iron, glue gun..) i see that you're from singapore too. i would really appreciate it if i could send (through mail or somehow) it to you for repair. (if you don't mind) & i don't mind paying a bit for the service..

please mail me a reply. thanks! :D
[e-mail]

[A.I]

Thanks for posting this! Extremely helpful! Didn't even need the hot glue, worked like a charm. :)

[isottomayor]

What the Buthane Toch is?

[faileas]

also called a microtorch - basically a heat source capable of producing very intense and focused heat, much more than with a cigarette lighter. While i got it locally, thinkgeek has a similar product http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/tools/8868/

[Isurvival]

I have bought a very good headphone,but the cable broke at the jack, and i would like to ask, if i change the jack, will it affect the quality of the sound? I would like to know, before i change it...thanks for your help in advance-very good instructables by the way :)

[faileas]

In my personal experience, as long as its done properly, it should not in any substantive way.However there are folk who believe cables and jacks make a major difference, so i suppose YMMV. I do believe there's no major change in sound quality from my experience, but i did not have the chance to do proper before and after testing, or comparison between different jacks.

On the other hand, i'm certain the headphone will sound better with a working jack, than a broken one ;)

[Isurvival]

Thanks for the info, and the help-this instructible is really helpful for the ones like me, who don't really know how to deal with electricals, and for sure, it will sound better with a working jack than without :D

By the way, my granfather helped me a bit with the soldering, and it works like the new :) I'm very happy adout it, so thanks again

[moccor]

is it possible to solder both a 3.5mm and 2.5mm headphone jack onto the same set of earphones? to switch between both sizes whenever needed. or would that damage a device and require some sort of switch to block off the other jack?

[faileas]

No idea- though i think it could get messy. In that situation i'd probably solder on a 3.5mm jack, and get or make a 3.5mm to 2.5mm adaptor, since i don't think the stranded cables would split so well.

[moccor]

Do you think it would blow out the speakers or maybe ruin a headphone jack on a phone/computer ect? I kinda want to try it

[peyo]

um where did u get that jack i tried using one i had in my house i guess thats not the one i needed cuz i took it apart and it was all plastic and it didnt those two little things to attach the green and red wires im mad as hell this is confusing

[faileas]

were you able to unscrew it? these are specifically meant for you to be able to solder in wires. something like this http://www.switchcraft.com/products/523.html is what you should be looking at

[doctorpsyco]

where did you find the replacement jack? how much did it cost?

[faileas]

Local shop in singapore. It cost a dollar fifty ;p

[moccor]

can this be used to cut the 3.5mm jack off earphones and switch it with a 2.5mm jack?

[faileas]

probably. or a quarter inch jack. Soldering a 2.5mm jack is likely to be... fiddly i suppose

[moccor]

well im sure sound will come out of atleast one of the earphones rite? it would be awesome if both left and right worked, but aslong as it will work partially and have sound com out of either side, im fine with that. do u think theres a guarantee atleast one side will work when converting to a 2.5mm from 3.5mm? i kno ur not held responsible for anything

[faileas]

As long as its a TRS, it'll work. It really comes down to your soldering skills and getting the right wire on the right pin, and not letting any wires that shouldn't be touching touching. Take your time, practice, and make sure your soldering joints are good, and it should work perfectly

[moccor]

ok i tried it. the first time i tried using a used 2.5mm jack and cutting away at all the plastic and crap to get to it. but that was messy and hard to work with so i failed. but then i just cuz the jack off another 2.5mm earphones, and soldered it to the 3.5mm wires, and it worked perfectly

[xbdude]

Hi i was wondering where you got the metal TRS jack i could only find plastic black ones (Canada, Toronto)

[faileas]

sim lim tower, in singapore ;p

[LeviMan_2001]

Awesome instructable! I never thought about cleaning the wires with fires! I'm listening to my previously broken headphones right now haha

[fiola]

I've done this several times to save the life of some crappy headphones that flatten the high tones but reaaally boost the low ones. And even though it works it always end up with a bad contact for one of the headphones.

Any suggestions???

[faileas]

Two things. firstly heatshrink each connector - this should provide protection, electrically speaking. i SHOULD have done this, but... i didn't have heatshrink at the time. then secure the connectors with a blob of hot glue. Someone i know managed, somehow to fill the entire thing with hot glue, which is a more extreme, but mechanically stronger solution.

[inlikeflint]

I dorked my original jack on my Sennheisers ($100.00+ headphones)... I have tossed many headphones, and earbuds, but I have to fix my Sennheisers because they have been the best cans I have ever owned. I had not thought of hitting up Radio Shack for a metal jack, but now I am and this tutorial has me stoked. Thanks for posting this...

[inlikeflint]

.... I have the PX 100's that fold up like sunglasses. I thought about getting the model you have but I had to be able to hear things in my surroundings and not totally tune out. These headphones are the best, and when my jack broke I was so bummed. (I'll have mine fixed by tomorrow... Thanks again!)

[Freak_09]

Em, I have a problem....my earphones cables are too thin, they tend two broke if I twist them the wrong way. But I tried and they do work when connecting them to the jack, so, I was thinking about using an ipod earphones cord to: 1) make my other earphones cord longer and 2) make the jack connection not so fragile. What do you think? can it be done?

[faileas]

If its too thin to solder, its really not going to be the effort to fix.

I suppose you can splice, or replace (it dosen't really need to be headphone wire, any sufficiently thin wire will do)

for the jack connection, i totally reccomend getting the metallic sorta jack, and using heatshrink and hot glue for extra strength

[Freak_09]

I agree with you it may not be worth fixing it, but, to tell you the truth, I'm kind of a maniac and got these black ladybug shaped earphones....so I don't really want to dispose of them so easily. I've read other instructables where you unsolder the wire from the speakers and solder a new one, but for this you need to open up the speaker case, which seems rather imposible with mine. Argh....should give it a try?

[faileas]

If it is impossible to open, it is badly designed!. on the other hand, if you look carefully, there almost always is a way to.

You could possibly cut the old cable VERY close to the headphone, have some other wire just as reinforcement, and heatshrink, maybe.

if its not fused in place, there's also always a peg or 3 you can carefully dislodge to take it apart, or screws. If you have nothing to break cause its already broken, a little courage, a little patience, and a little work can always save the day

[Focker]

I have at least 4 pair of headsets that have bad jacks, and every time I tried fixing them they would not work, then I saw step 4 and it all makes sense now. I never scraped or burned off the enamel coating which is probably why I couldn't get signal. Great ible!

[faileas]

Thats the little bit of magic here, really. Its something unique to headphones (though it makes little sense in these headphones. Each wire has its OWN insulation, and then the enarmel), so most people wouldn't think about it.

[safdar]

olden day headphones have copper wire without the enamel but the wires are very fat and stiff which can get annoying

[yoricktf]

hey is there anything else you can use aside from microtorch, lets say, a gas stove???? or maybe even a plain lighter??

[safdar]

you can use a lighter and then use sand paper to clean the wire up a bit

[osgeld]

plain lighters are not all that clean burning, leaving suit all over the wires your trying to clean (altho you CAN do it) anything with a blue flame should work fine