Mute the Volume / Pause Playback if Headphones are Removed?

Hey guys, so I've recently taken to using my laptop in the library to listen to Pandora while I do work, but unfortunately, my headphones often seem to come out, as my headphone's cable is pretty short. It's pretty embarassing when it comes out and my music plays for the world to hear, as everyone turns to look at me and some give me dirty looks. Is there any application/setting that would allow for me to either pause any media playback or just mute the volume if the computer detected that the headphone jack went from "in use" to "not in use?"

I know my laptop can detect when my headphones are plugged in and removed, as I get a little message at the bottom of my screen that says "You just plugged in a device into the audio jack" and "You just removed a device from the audio jack." Is there anyway I can harness these notifications and turn them into the functionality that I'm looking for?

Thanks for the help!

 

Interesting question. On some Apple websites I see applications you can download to do this for a Mac, but it's odd to not see this covered in more detail on any manufacturers websites.

 

Try muting your/lowering the volume first on speaker mode and then plug in your headphone and turn up the volume. Some audio controller allow you to have sepearate profiles which allow you to have different settings for headphone vs speaker mode.

 

Seconded, I notice this on my D630, i can adjust the volume to one level with my headphones unplugged, then (when i plug in my headphones) it'll revert back to my old volume level again.

quite handy, i'll test this muted and report back

EDIT: ok, I tested it and hitting "mute" mutes sound from all sources, headphone's unplugged or not. Here's a work around

Before you plug in your headphones, drag the volume slider on the taskbar to 0.

Plug in your headphones, and adjust the volume to your tastes.

Works like a charm!

Good luck, Ricky

 

unfortunately, it appears that my laptop doesn't support the multiple volume profiles =/. I tried turning the volume slider on the "sound" icon in the tray to 0, but if I adjust it back up after plugging in headphones, then the speakers are set to the same volume that the headphones were when I unplug =/. Thanks for the info though, I'll see if I can find out a way to replicate your results.

 

I'm using the generic Microsoft drivers for sound btw, instead of the custom Sigmatel ones that Dell provided for my laptop. You could always try uninstalling yours and trying Microsoft's driver instead

 

Thanks guys =). Updating to generic microsoft drivers has allowed me to utilize the "multiple audio profiles" that you were talking about. I'll stick with these for now, I can always switch back to the Sager drivers if necessary.

Again, thanks for all the help =).

 

NP, glad to see you got it sorted out!

 

Hi,

Please could you include the URL for this generic download? I've tried searching online but so far I've only managed to download a driver (all c source files) which doesn't work

PLEASE HELP!

I have a very similar problem. I have an HP Compaq 8510p and sound works fine except I want to lower (MUTE) the volume when the it's unplugged from the jack.

I've uninstalled the correct driver and now want to try a generic WITH MORE THAN ONE PROFILE...

 

Try using Windows Update to get the generic driver. (Start- type windows update into the search box)