Need help on how to play music from your phone to speakers

edict17

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Hello, I'm new to using an android phone and I can't seem to figure out how to play music using the speakers. I connected the speakers to my phone and played music using the google music player and the sound still comes from my phone's built-in speakers and not to the connected one. I'm not sure if I'm using the correct jack but it seems to be the same size as the one on the phone's headset. Does anybody know how I can play music through the connected speakers? Hope you can help me, thanks! :)
 

B. Diddy

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Welcome to Android Central! Do your speakers have their own cable, or are you using a separate male-to-male audio cable? Is the plug completely in the jack? You should feel or hear a click when it's in all the way. Also, compare the speaker plug with your headphone plug--is the plug exactly the same, or are the contact bands in different places?
 

edict17

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Yes, my speakers have their own cable. The plug is also completely in the jack. I haven't really noticed how different the two plugs are..I just assumed that my speakers would work since it worked before on my ipod(my mistake). The contact bands on the 2 plugs are different, though:

here is a pic of the 2 plugs together:

IMG_20140421_162727.jpg

the left one is for my headset, right one is for the speakers.
 

garublador

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Make sure it's plugged in all the way. I have a couple of audio jacks that don't fit all that well into my S4. It might take some twisting and jiggling to get it to connect right. Better yet, find a short extension cable that fits well and use that. Bluetooth speakers might be another option if you are able to use something different from what you have now.
 

B. Diddy

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If the plug is specifically for the iPod, it may not work on Android devices, since the configuration of the jack is a little different.
 

edict17

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The plug isn't specifically for the ipod.. I also use it for the PC. I also plugged it in all the way(I think. I'll try it again later to be sure) If it still doesn't work, I'll probably look for bluetooth speakers or a wired one with the same plug/jack as my headset. Anyway, thanks for your help!
 

B. Diddy

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Hope you're able to find speakers that work! I was looking at your image again, and thought that the headphone plug has a 3rd band for a microphone. But the thing is that it can be confusing trying to figure out which plugs are compatible with which jacks, because different manufacturers do sometimes configure them differently. Here's a thread from a while back discussing the issue: http://forums.androidcentral.com/sa...nal-soultion-why-most-headsets-wont-work.html
 

edict17

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I hope so! But my brother suggested that I find an adapter/converter jack so I can still use my speaker's plug..that way I don't have to buy new speakers..I hope :) Thanks for the link, btw..I'll read that later :D
 

Rukbat

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You'll need an inline (mounted on cable, not in a cabinet) 4-pole plug (it looks like the standard Yaesu plug, so any place like DigiKey should stock them) and an inline 3.5mm (1/8") stereo jack (Radio Shack carries them). It looks as if one of the poles (rings or the tip) of the plug is for the mic, the other two are for speakers (or earphones) and the shell is ground. Your speaker plug is shell=ground and tip and ring are each a speaker.

Any high school kid who's taken an electronics course should be able to figure out which pin is which on the earphone plug (plug the unconnected new plug into the jack with one earphone wire grounded and probe the other 3 poles for sound. The two that have sound are the speaker/earphone poles.) 5 minutes and about $15 and you're good. (The 4 pole plugs, while standard, are still a bit costly. The RS jack should be about $4 (which is a ripoff, considering that they used to sell them, made in the USA, for about 69 cents for 2).

There's one problem if the speakers aren't amplified. The earphone output of a cellphone is deliberately kept very low, so you can hear but you can't damage your hearing. That's about enough that, when fed to a speaker, may just be loud enough for you to hear if you put your ear up against the speaker. That's why there are amplified speakers and why there are Bluetooth speakers (which, IMO, are better - they're smaller, produce pretty good quality sound, and you don't have to worry about wires. And they won't cost much more than the parts to make an adapter.)
 

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