[dba-Tech] No Headphone Output

Hi Tina:

It would seem that the sound card components are faulty which means the whole motherboard may need replacing. (As mentioned earlier, I had a netbook that exhibited the same issues and the solution was a new motherboard.) 

As long as you still are on warranty there should be no issue and someone that works with laptop repair should take no more than a couple of hours to exchange the board and have the working computer back to you.

Jim 

----- Original Message -----
From: "Tina Norris Fields" <tinanfields at torchlake.com>
To: "Discussion of Hardware and Software issues" <dba-tech at databaseadvisors.com>
Sent: Saturday, 15 March, 2014 7:19:32 AM
Subject: Re: [dba-Tech] No Headphone Output

Hi Jim,

Yes, according to the technician, my Inspiron 15R 5537 is equipped with 
the combo jack, combining both headphone/speaker output and mic input.  
There is no separate mic jack.  The icons on the single combo jack are 
both the mic and the headphone icons.

According to Dell's own online FAQ section on the combo jack, my 
ordinary 3-pole stereo plug should work just fine for my headphones.  It 
is also supposed to support a full headset, with mic and earphones.  
Well, something is definitely wrong, since I have no headphone or 
external speaker output - and the device managing software clearly has 
those capabilities grayed out.

The tech I'm working with at Dell tells me that the sound card and jack 
are integrated into the motherboard, so there is little likelihood of a 
physical disconnection.  However, it occurs to me that the audio card 
component could still be faulty, and/or the soldering could be faulty, 
etc.  If the problem truly is a motherboard problem, then perhaps the 
replacement motherboard has the same defect as the original board.

TNF

Tina Norris Fields
tinanfields-at-torchlake-dot-com
231-322-2787

On 3/14/2014 10:22 PM, Jim Lawrence wrote:
> Hi Tina:
>
> The plot thickens...
>
> Bryan stated that a four pole plug would be if a microphone was built into the single jack. If this was the case your documentation on the product should clearly state that and it would be unlikely that your laptop would have an additional microphone jack. Is this the case?
>
> What was you laptop model again? I would think that just checking the accessories associated with the listing of your product on the Dell website should give you a clue.
>
> Jim