S96J Headphone jack broken :( Replaceable?

Well, the S96J has really really soft speakers, so it's Really important to have a working headphone jack. I plugged my external speakers into it last night and happened to somehow lean and pull it to one side and heard *PoP* or maybe a *Snap*! Anyway... the jack was still in the hole, but it was loose and I had to wiggle it to make both speakers work at anyone one time then hold my breath that it would stay there *sigh*

When I looked at the jack, the outer metal ring, which, I assume is there to hold the cable nicely in place, is missing. I'll post a picture later...

Question...

I built this system, so I'm not afraid to open it up if I have to. Is it possible to replace the header for the headphone/speaker jack without having to replace the motherboard??

Krista

 

Wow, that sounds bad. I did a test on mine and it seems fine - must have been a really bad hit to do so much damage.
You can try other speakers/headphones maybe. But shouldn't that be covered as part of the warranty? Worst comes to worst, you could glue in a short extension cable (maybe one with volume control) onto the front of the laptop inside the groove and use that instead (I've seen extension cords anywhere from 1 inch to 50 feet, 3 inches w/volume control is at Radio Shack). Would give you the vol control and an extension to the cord a bit if you need it and if you do it right it wouldn't look bad.

Still maybe warranty can do something for you first tho...

Cat

 

It's just the little metal ring that you can see in there, as far as I can tell. It might be under warranty but I would hate to pull everything out and send in the bare bones just for that. And... I forgot to take a picture (sigh). I'll have to do that tonight / this weekend.

It didn't take a bad hit, just a tug to the side and I heard the snap

Krista

 

It looks like, from the picture of the board in http://cache-www.intel.com/cd/00/00/28/42/284251_284251.pdf that the jacks are soldered directly to the motherboard. *cry* It still works. I wish I knew how I could replace just the ring / outer part.

Krista

 

Hey Krista - I spoke directly to one of the tech's at the Canadian office while I was waiting for my system to boot I asked him about your issue - he said there's no way really to fix it beyond replacing the whole mobo . But - if you bring it there and its still under warranty they'll do that for you for free . If you go to another ASUS tech center they should also fix it for you as well.

Cat

 

Is there one near Washington D.C.?
Actually will they do it with an S96J? I assume I'd have to work with Mwave.com since that's the intel version.

Yeah, Ken at gentechpc pretty much said the same thing about the motherboard.

I'm idly wondering if I found a rubber washer that I could tuck in there with the right diameter if that might hold the cable steady

Krista

 

Well, the ASUS for the US is in California so you'd be better off coming up here lol.

Not sure if you could get away with handing it in to them directly, they may or may not check - but Intel should do the same thing for you .

Good luck,
Peter

 

I found the piece that broke out. The metal ring with a bit of plastic around it. I tried tucking it back in, but it's not going to stay. The jack still works.. I'll see what I can do. Maybe some glue... *heh*

Intel would tell me to go through Mwave. I bought on a credit card that gives me an extra year warranty, though, where I can go to any service center and the pay the tab, so maybe I should just wait until then and walk into a local repair shop In any case, I really don't want to rip my laptop apart to send in the bare bones, and being without it for that long... well, I'll just have to see.

Once that grainy gpu bios is fixed, which should be next week, my laptop would be Perfect, or... so I thought. Of course, I had to mess something else up on it.. Murphy's law.

Krista

 

It depends what really has been destroyed, if only cosmetics (you say the jack still works) then gluing it is not such bad idea.

 

Hey, that's what i said in my first post

Good luck,

 

Whatever it is a physical damage inside (hidden), or functional issune to make it not work, just contact the Asus service center because this device is not possible for endusers without parts for replacement. If the serious issue relate, the mainboard need to be changed.
Cheers

 

It's a VBI S96J though - should the ASUS Service Centre still be contacted?

Cat

 

I know I know, I still haven't posted the picture

I found the little bit that broke off. The small brass ring, and a tiny bit of plastic around it. I tried to tuck it back in... of course, it didn't stay well and the jack still felt a little loose. Maybe more plastic broke that I couldn't see.

But, I am seriously thinking of gluing it. Getting it to line up in there properly, though, will be the hard part. Taking everything apart to properly glue the itty bitty piece on is going to be such a pain... but now that the grainy issue is getting fixed with a bios update, I want my laptop to be perfect *LOL*

Which is one of the fears I have about sending it for repair... who knows what shape it'll come back in. And, of course, I have to take out everything I put in it, and only send the bare bones... all for the sake of a tiny ring and a bit of plastic.

Somehow I doubt I'm going to do that

Krista

 

It turns out the jack still works fine. It was just the headphones that I was using at the time, that made me not have them in all the way to work. It's a bit loose, but that's all right. I have an extra year on warranty since I bought it on a credit card that does that so if it ever has issues in the next year and 3/4 or so I'll be okay to replace it then.

I just can't go without it that long while I'm still in love with it

Krista