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Headphone jack on my Mac Mini doesn't work. I trouble shoot it with 2 different devices.

Is this a hardware or software problem?

Mac mini, macOS 12.0

Posted on Aug 1, 2022 8:05 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Aug 1, 2022 10:03 AM

Hmm... at this point it is hard to tell if it is software or hardware related.


On the Software side,

1) restart the Mac Mini and try again.

1) test in Safe Mode, as per > How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support

2) reinstall macOS over the current version , as per > How to reinstall macOS - Apple Support


On the hardware side,

1) make sure the plug is fully inserting into the headphone port.

2) maybe try a short headphone splitter or adapter to see if that works.

3) make an appointment at your local Apple Store or AASP and have it checked out.


Also note, you can by-pass a bad or broken headphone port by using a USB to Audio adapter.

5 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Aug 1, 2022 10:03 AM in response to Swimminup

Hmm... at this point it is hard to tell if it is software or hardware related.


On the Software side,

1) restart the Mac Mini and try again.

1) test in Safe Mode, as per > How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support

2) reinstall macOS over the current version , as per > How to reinstall macOS - Apple Support


On the hardware side,

1) make sure the plug is fully inserting into the headphone port.

2) maybe try a short headphone splitter or adapter to see if that works.

3) make an appointment at your local Apple Store or AASP and have it checked out.


Also note, you can by-pass a bad or broken headphone port by using a USB to Audio adapter.

Aug 1, 2022 8:46 AM in response to den.thed

Thanks. I troubleshoot it with both external speakers and headphones. Both of those worked fine the last time I was able to use them with my computer. It's unlikely they'd both fail at exactly the same time, I reckon. Since you asked, I just tried earbuds. I have sound from the internal speaker, but as soon as I plug anything into the headphone jack, silence. Under system preferences/sound, volume is up to max and it's unmuted, and it recognizes when a device is plugged in.

Headphone jack on my Mac Mini doesn't work. I trouble shoot it with 2 different devices.

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