MacOS – Permanently set audio output to headphones

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I am pretty sure I have a faulty audio jack on my 13-inch, early 2011 MacBook Pro, given that I've spilled some liquid on it a while back.

Ever since, it's been bad at detecting whether headphones are plugged in or not, and recently it got worse, to the point where it almost never detects them being in and always plays audio through speakers instead.

Is there a way to simply force audio to always go to headphones, whether it thinks they're plugged in or not? I almost never use the speakers anyway, so this would make my life significantly easier while I wait for the new MacBooks to come out.

To clarify a bit: I've tried a bunch of solutions that attempt to repair the hardware, but I've given up on that. I'm just looking for a way to force the driver to send stuff to the jack regardless of what it thinks is happening.

Best Answer

There are a few things that could have happened to your headphone jack.

You may have a stuck headphone port switch, in which case you'll need to try to pop it out using one of these methods:

  • Insert and remove your headphone plug a few times to reset the switch
  • Blow compressed air into the headphone port to clean it out
  • Gently insert a stick, like a cotton swab stripped of cotton or a toothpick, into the port and gently move it around to dislodge the switch

Official drawing of the headphone port switch on a Mac

Above: The official headphone port switch diagram for a Mac computer.

Your MacBook could also have trouble detecting the sound output device. Try option-clicking the Sound icon in the menu bar and slecting your headphones in the Output dropdown, or navigating to System Preferences > Sound > Output, and then selecting your headphones from the list.

If these tips don't work, it's a good idea to bring your MacBook into the Apple Store to have somebody look at it. If you have AppleCare, this kind of thing should be covered by warranty. If not, you may have to fork over a bit of money. It's up to you to decide if that's worth it or not.

In conclusion, there isn't any built-in way to force the audio to always go to the headphone jack besides selecting them in System Preferences or from the menu bar.

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