FZ Headphone jack not working

I'm trying to watch something on an attached TV and also connecting to it for sound. For some reason, the sound is still coming out of the built in speakers and not the tv. What is going on?

 

Huh? Attached TV? Attached how? Through the HDMI port? What do you have connected to the headphone jack???

Gary

 

Possibly a Y adapter:

 

Check the Soundmenue in the Systemsettings.
There you can switch between the internal speakers or the headphone jack.

 

There is no such setting. What are you referring to when you say "soundmenue in systemsettings"??? Do you mean the "Control Panel" when you say "systemsettings"? Where is the "Soundmenue"???

Every laptop I have ever worked with had the internal speakers and headphone jack feed from a single output from the internal amplifier. Like any other such device, be it a radio, tape recorder etc. plugging in the headphones opens a built-in switch that turns off the speakers, it is integrated right into the headphone jack. There is no need to do anything except insert a plug into the headphone jack to turn off the speakers.

Gary

 

But even with that plugged into the headphone jack the speakers will turn off automatically. There is an integrated two pole switch in the headphone jack. Plugging in anything here, even a dummy plug, will interrupt the signal flow to the speakers.


Although we haven't heard back from the OP, I have a suspicion that the issue is they are using the HDMI port and have not enabled the audio out there. I don't have the instructions at hand, but I know someone else here ran into that and there is a setting change required. Sony assumes you are using the HDMI port for a second monitor and if you want to use it for video AND audio you need to make the setting change. I think, although I haven't tried it, that the Media Center software might enable this for you. I do know you can also do so with a setting change, I think it is in the control panel | Sound applet.

Gary

 

He's saying that the sound is still coming through the speakers, even with the y-adapter (assuming that's what he's using). It should transfer the sound through the jack and to the TV speakers. Obviously, there is some sort of malfunction with the jack itself.

 

Yep, if he is REALLY using the headphone jack, then indeed there is a serious malfunction. A mechanical one, at that. That's what lead me to question if the headphone jack is really in play here.

Let's see if the OP responds.

Gary

PING! DaSkiDude, where are you??? Inquiring minds want to know what was the setup you were trying to use?

 

I posted this, went to sleep. Did stuff and not I am checking it.

I have it hooked up through S-Video, I need a new TV to hook up through HDMI (Looking at a 32" LCD),

It started to work when I stopped and restarted what I was watching.

 

So what did the headphone jack have to do with this? I am REALLY confused as to how you had this wired up. What do you mean "It started to work when I stopped and restarted what I was watching."

Start from the begining again. How did you have it wired up, be specific. What did you exepect to happen? What did happen?

Gary

 

I plugged my tv into s-video and plugged ina Y-Cable into my headphone jack in to red and white on my TV. I started watching something and the sound was coming out of the built in speakers. Then I accidentally stopped it then I started it again and the sound was coming out of the TV. I dunno what I really did.

 

Ok, I think Hartman was on the right track. It would appear that the y cable was not plugged all the way into the headphone jack. There is a mechanical switch in there that turns off the speakers. Unless Sony has done some silly electrical switch, which I HIGHLY doubt. I do admit though that I have NOT opened my machine up to verify this. But I have done so on the last two Sony laptops I own and both used a jack with an integrated switch.

I dug around in the various sound settings and there is nothing there to allow you to take control of having the speakers versus headphones active.

Gary

 

There is no reason that the sound shouldn't transfer automatically when something is plugged in, no matter what brand laptop.

 

That's PRECISELY what I was thinking but thought as sure as I say that someone will point out some obscure manufacturer somewhere that uses an electronic, rather than mechanical, switch to do this.

Gary

 

Well, it's doing it again. I tried restarting it and still nothing.

Then when I pull it out, I dont get any sound.

 

You pulled the cable out of the headphone jack and you have no sound coming out of your built in speakers? If so, you obviously have some problem with the headphone jack itself.

By any chance did the cable you used have the "wrong" sized plug on the end? Remember there are two similar yet different size mini stereo plugs. Did it seem like maybe it had some "play" or slop in it when you plugged it in, like maybe it was too small? If so it might, and I am obviously speculating here, have bent the integrated switch slightly.

Unfortunately this is all a mechanical issue. The switch inside the jack is what turns the speakers on and off. If it is busted your only recourse is to have it replaced. Most of these jacks are encased in plastic and can't really be repaired. SOME of them though have their guts exposed and can easily be re-bent if my earlier speculation is true. I have not opened the case on my FZ yet, so I can't tell you which type of jack it has.

Sorry man, this sucks.

Gary

 

It's not a strange size plug, I've used it for my old laptop, my ipod among other things. Is the hole a strange size?

 

Nope it is the same size as any other laptop.

Gary

 

I got it, talked to the support peoples. I reinstalled the sound driver and it works now.

 

This is a bit too odd. The driver has no control over switching between headphones and built in speakers. It is all controlled by a mechanical switch in the headphone jack.

So did it quit working for BOTH headphone out AND built in speakers?

Gary

 

Yea. No sound.

Now it works.

 

I have simular problem. I dual boot the laptop with Vista and Linux (Fedora 7). When in Vista the headphonejack works as expected. I plug the head phones into the jack socket to listen to music and the internal speakers indeed switch off and sound comes through the headphone socket.

If I boot back into linux and play some music using any linux media player and plug the headphones in to the jack the sound still comes out of the internal speakers and not the headphones. Very strange, booting back into vista works fine again.

 

This is REALLY bizarre. It sounds like Sony might have introduced some electrical switching of the output from the internal amplifier. If so that is REALLY strange. On every other laptop I have ever seen (including the other Sony's I have done, this has been done just like it is done on transistor radios, tape players, DVD players etc, through a mechanical switch integral to the headphone jack itself.

Gary

 

Where did you find the driver to reinstall? Sony VAIO Update site?

 

well, I've found the file and now it's working fine. Let's see if it's just not like the camera device. This camera sh*t is still giving me headaches...

 

I need those drivers... those for win xp right? I have this working fine under Vista.. but under XP my drivers don't recognize the headphones!

 

Nope this is NOT the thread I was refering to. This one, I believe, was an issue with a Vista user. There is yet another thread about this, specifcially for XP. (Did you try the sound driver that Sony released for an XP downgrade on an FZ series machine?)

Gary

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=183572