How to Turn Off Headphone Mode On Android & iOS EASY [2022]

No matter how much technology progresses, there will always be bugs that bother consumers like us every day.

One common bug most of us face is when our phones get stuck in headphone mode. This means that the phone software thinks that a headphone is connected even when it is not.

So, How to Turn Off Headphone Mode On Android & iOS?

In order to turn off headphone mode:

Switch off Bluetooth on the phone and power down the device
Remove all accessories like headphone jacks and charging cables from the phone
Reboot the phone and check if the problem went away
Check the status bar on top. If the headphone icon isn’t there anymore then it means the phone is off the headphone mode

All you need to do is follow the troubleshooting steps mentioned below.

Connect and Disconnect headphones

Apart from a device restart, the best way to turn off headphone mode is to connect your headphones to the phone and then gently disconnect them.

Once you establish the connection and then take it off, it can fix the issue, whether it is hardware or software-related.

Pair and Unpair devices

If you are using Bluetooth headphones with your phone then first pair the devices and check if the headphones work or not. After you do that, turn off your headphones.

Then visit the Bluetooth settings on your phone and turn it off as well.

Use a Bluetooth speaker

This is not a sure-shot way but some users have found this to be helpful.

If you were using a wired headphone with your Apple or Android device and it is stuck in headphone mode, then try this out.

Switch on the device Bluetooth and connect it to a Bluetooth speaker
Play a song and ensure that the speaker is switched on to get the output
Now, without stopping the audio, switch off the phone Bluetooth
Then switch off the Bluetooth speaker
Restart your phone and this sometimes does solve the problem

Power Down

It’s time to fool the phone! This solution will make the phone believe that it is powering down & then cause it to stop services like headphone connections.

Press the power button on your phone till you get the option to switch it off. Cancel the power down and see if the headphone mode got removed. This could also fix the right earphone not working issue.

Perform a Soft Reset on the Phone

At times when a regular restart doesn’t do the trick, you might have to do a soft restart of the phone.

Here is how you can do it for iOS and Android phones.

iOS phones

Make sure your phone is turned on and all accessories are disconnected from it
Press and hold the power button along with the home button for about 5-8 seconds
This will cause the phone to reboot and this is also known as a soft reset
Once the phone is back on, check if you see a headphone icon on the top
Play any audio file on your phone to confirm if the headphone mode got switched off or not

Android phones

On your Android phone, press and hold the volume up key and the power button together for about 5 second
In some phones, instead of volume up, you might need to use the volume down key
The phone will automatically restart and you will see a menu will different options once it resets
Select reboot or restart and the soft reset is completed
Play an audio file to check if the output is your phone speaker or not

Try Airplane mode

The Airplane mode isn’t just a feature to use when you fly. Once you enable it, it shut down all wi-fi, cellular, Bluetooth, and other connections. Once you have turned on the Airplane mode, play an audio file that is stored on the phone to check where the output comes from. If you don’t have an audio file, switch on the wi-fi and play a file online.

Network Setting Reset

Another way of fixing the problem of your phone getting stuck in the headphone mode is to perform a network reset.

Here is how to Reset Network Settings on your Android and iPhone:

Navigate to the Settings option on the phone
Scroll down and look for a Backup & Reset option. It could be under System Management or other such options
If you can’t find it, type ‘Reset‘ in the search box in the Settings window
Inside the Reset menu, you will find options like Reset Network Settings, Reset All Settings and Erase All Data
You need to choose Reset Network Settings and nothing else
Confirm the action and wait for a few seconds
As a precaution, you should always restart your phone
Now all your previously made and saved connections on wi-fi, cellular, Bluetooth, etc. have been erased and you will need to start re-connecting your devices
But this should fix the problem of the phone being stuck in headphone mode

Clean the Headphone slot

This is a very hands-on approach and you will need to use a few tools. There are many tools available online but you can fashion one at home. The most common tool is to use a thin earbud if you have one. Gently insert the earbud into the headphone slot and start cleaning the insides. Remember that the earbud has to be much thinner than the slot.

cleaning headphone jack — Cleaning the Jack

If you do not have a thin earbud, then take a paperclip and make it completely straight. Now use transparent tape to wrap it around the paperclip. However, the stick side needs to be on the outside to catch dirt. Clean the slot thoroughly and roll the tape on the sides of the slot to clean any dirt stuck to the hole.

Inspect the phone audio settings

If you have fiddled around with the audio settings on your phone then this could lead to the output getting stuck to headphone mode. Let’s see how you can double-check the audio settings on your phone.

iOS Phones

Click on Settings and then go to the General option on the top of the window
Scroll down to Accessibility Settings
Click on Interaction
Now look for Call Audio Routing and click on it
This should be set to Automatic. If not, then change it to Automatic

Android Phones

There is no specific way to do this on an Android phone unless you use specific apps for Call Routing. If you do, you will have to check the settings for that app. Or worse, uninstall the app and check if it was causing the problem of the stuck headphone mode.

Using a 3rd Party Android App

If you are a tech-savvy Android user, then you probably know how to root your phone or use 3rd party apps. Some functionalities can only be performed when you root an Android phone or when you use special apps. Here is what you can do.

On the Google Playstore, look for an app called Disable Headphone/Enable Speaker
Download and install it
After you launch the app, you will see that it gives you options to switch between the phone speaker and headphones
If you want to use your speaker, change the app setting accordingly and this should override what your phone software is doing

Once you make changes to the app, it might be a good idea to restart your phone once to remove all software bugs.

Phone Recovery

Has the problem occurred after you made changes to the phone software? It could happen when you upgrade to a newer OS or when you download some apps. If you have a backup of your phone and then you will need to do a recovery.

iOS Devices

Please perform this action only after you have backed up your phone.

Go into Settings and then click on General
Navigate to Reset and then select Erase All Content and Settings
Once the erase is completed the phone will reboot
Follow on-screen instructions, till you get an option to Restore from Cloud or iTunes
Perform the restoration and check if your phone is out of headphone mode or not

Android Phones

Before resetting the phone, make a backup on your google or cloud account.

Click on Settings and go to Accessibility settings or System Management
Click on Backup & Reset and then Erase All Data
The phone will reboot and then when you sign in to your Google account, you will get an option to restore from the cloud

Why does a phone get stuck on headphone mode?

Two main components work with a headphone jack – the headphone slot and the phone software. So, it could be a bug in any of them. You will have to diagnose further to understand the issue.

Headphone Jack – The headphone jack is the slot on your phone which you use to insert the headphones. If there is any damage or blockage in the hole, then the hardware can malfunction and make the phone believe that there is a headphone inserted in the slot.

Phone software – Software glitches are not uncommon and take place in any phone OS, Android, and iOS. Sometimes when a headphone is not inserted or ejected properly, it could let the software think that a headphone is still connected. However, this problem can be rectified using the solutions mentioned below.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some commonly asked questions related to this topic that you will find useful.

1. How can I find out if my phone is stuck on headset mode?

When your phone gets stuck on headphone mode, there are two indicators

You will see a headphone icon on top of the screen indicating that a headphone is connected
You only get audio output when you use a connected headphone or on the speaker mode
Click on the volume buttons on your phone. If it shows headphone volume, then the phone is on headphone mode

2. How do I repair my Android phone if it’s stuck on the headphone mode?

At times, Android devices develop certain software issues due to which they get stuck on headphone mode. If none of the solutions above work, you can try this.

On Google, search for Android System Repair Tool
There are several ones and you can download any of them on a PC
Launch the software and connect your phone to the PC with a USB cable
Click on Repair Android System and enter your phone model details
Follow the instructions given out and your phone should be repaired in no time

Conclusion

Isn’t that an exhaustive list of troubleshooting steps to take your phone out of the headphone mode? Well, hopefully at least one of these resulted in a positive outcome for you. If nothing works, then it’s time to head to the service center and get the phone looked at by professionals! Before you go, check out how to pair powerbeats to windows 10 and can you use headphones as a mic on xbox one