Maker Pro
Maker Pro

[Q] Weirdest issue phone only works with headphones plugged in

dt192

Sep 25, 2012
6
Joined
Sep 25, 2012
Messages
6
Hi all I've got a very weird problem with a GT-I9100, I bought it cheap as it was stuck in a bootloop, spent all morning flashing and re flashing it, tried PITs bootloader, official firmware, different kernels but no matter what I tried it wouldn't get past the black model number screen, so I emailed the seller and asked how it happened, he said he got to work one day listening to the radio and pulled the headphones out and the phone restarted and has been in a bootloop since, so having read that I grabbed some headphone plugged them in and it booted up into the last OS I flashed (stock 4.0.3) in this case, so i pulled the headphones out and it just freezes, but if I put the headphones back in it carries on working, so I thought no problem I'll just replace the circuit board that has the headphone socket, so I did that but the phone still behaves in the same way, I also tried detaching all the cables except the one to the screen but it was stick stuck on bootloop, any ideas? its had a full flash, new PIT, bootloader, and full stock firmware, plus a new headphone socket circuit?

EDIT: I've just found that if I pull the headphones out and press the applications icon nothing happens, but it stores that interaction so as soon as the headphone pin touch the headphone socket it then goes into the applications menu
 

GreenGiant

Feb 9, 2012
842
Joined
Feb 9, 2012
Messages
842
it could potentiall be a short/ground issue somewhere near the headphone jack, a small piece of metal may have fallen in or something, Im not sure though
 

dt192

Sep 25, 2012
6
Joined
Sep 25, 2012
Messages
6
I thought that but I replaced that whole part
$(KGrHqMOKooE5kIdRYELBOd-9O!yOQ~~_12.JPG
 

rob_croxford

Aug 3, 2010
262
Joined
Aug 3, 2010
Messages
262
Does sound still come out of the headphones?? What happens if you try putting a not metallic item into the headphone jack (like a pen lid or something)?
 

dt192

Sep 25, 2012
6
Joined
Sep 25, 2012
Messages
6
yea the headphones still play music, I tried a pair of original samsung headphone with buttons that answer the calls etc and a pair of standard headphones, both worked fine to play music and both enabled the phone to boot, I've got a stylus that has a plastic headphone plug on it, I plugged that in and it had no effect, the phone didn't boot
 

shrtrnd

Jan 15, 2010
3,876
Joined
Jan 15, 2010
Messages
3,876
My initial guess was that the switch contacts in the headphone jack were bent out of alignment. (So the circuit doesn't open/close correctly when the headphone plug is inserted/removed). I assume that new board has a new headphone jack on it?
I'm just asking this dumb question in case you removed and reinstalled the old phone jack on the new board.
 

dt192

Sep 25, 2012
6
Joined
Sep 25, 2012
Messages
6
yea its an integrated circuit with headphone jack, vibration thing, earphone speaker, and a second mic and i replaced it so all of those are new, i just took the whole main board out and had a look over it there is no debris that I can see of, that could be causing a short of some sort
 

dt192

Sep 25, 2012
6
Joined
Sep 25, 2012
Messages
6
I think I'll try switching the main board into another phone so I know for sure if its the main board or a screen issue
 

shrtrnd

Jan 15, 2010
3,876
Joined
Jan 15, 2010
Messages
3,876
Somehow the circuit may have been damaged. If I was working this, I'd make extra sure that phone jack is ok. Are you sure you plugged-in a correct size/configuration plug (stero/mono/whatever). Obviously something is holding the circuit out. It's probably electronic, but I'd make extra sure it's not mechanical in the phone jack first.
Sounds unlikely, but I've seen similar problems before. The fact that the original owner said this started when he yanked-out the plug made me think he bent the phone jack contacts. You have a whole new jack, but did you insert a wrong plug while you testing the new installation, that might have damaged the new plug.
I suppose I'm barking up the wrong tree, but that's what I'd check throughly before I
got into the circuitry.
The probable cause is when the original owner janked the plug, it shorted something
in the circuit not directly on the new board assy you replaced.
Opinions are cheap, cause sometimes they aren't worth much, but that's mine.
 

dt192

Sep 25, 2012
6
Joined
Sep 25, 2012
Messages
6
OK I swapped round the main boards and the board from the weird phone acts weird in the new one, so I would agree with the above it seems to be an issue with the main board and I'm guessing it wouldn't be economical to repair, i think i'll just buy a cheap pair of headphones from the £1 shop and cut off most of the wire and sell it as it is describing the fault and include the headphone plug, i should still make a profit on it, since its otherwise perfect, ok thanks all :)
 
Top