Only one earphone working for Galaxy S5

[tdgross89]

I have the Samsung Galaxy S5. I have had it for about 8 months now. A few weeks ago, left earphone quit working on my headphones. Is there a setting somewhere that can get flipped to mono, or is it that my headphone jack has gone bad?

If its a problem with the jack, does anyone know anything about the warranty information for Samsung? Is this covered?

Before anyone asks. Yes, I have tried three different pair of headphones that I know both ears work. I have pushed extra hard to make sure the earphones are fully seated into the jack. I have taken the case off to make sure the connection is not being hindered by the case. I have checked to make sure there are not any obstructions down in the headphone jack.

Thanks!

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! Thanks for letting us know what you've tried--it helps us narrow things down better. When you say you checked for obstructions, was it only a visual check? Did you try using a damp toothpick to root around, or a can of compressed air to blow it out?

 

[SpookDroid]

I know you say you tried, but I'm not sure I got the outcome... Do other headphones work? Or none do? If other headphones work, then it's a problem with your headset (and yes, they are covered by Sammy's warranty). If no headphones work, then it's a problem with your phone, and that definitely warrants a replacement.

As for the settings, you CAN adjust the sound balance, and that can lead to a single earbud being active. In Accessibility Settings, look for the Sound Balance option. In those options there's also a Mono Audio checkbox.

 

[tdgross89]

Thanks for the replies! I have read this forum for an extended period of time and have found it helpful often.

I tried other headphones, and only the right works on all of them. Thank you for letting me know where the left right balance setting is. It is still set to center, and mono is not checked.

I visually inspected and I sprayed with a can of air. I could not get a cotton swab to fit to attempt to clean it.

I think this is a Samsung issue. If it is covered by warranty, does that mean I will have to send my phone in for an extended period of time, or do they have way to get items repaired locally?

 

[P_Devil]

Samsung has a few repair centers but they are few and far between. I had an issue with a Samsung tablet I purchased. I went to their website to see if I lived near a repair center. I searched for a 300 mile radius around Cincinnati, OH and it couldn't find anything. So odds are high that you will have to send your phone in for repair. The headphone jack should be covered under their warranty but I'm not 100% sure. You (or someone else) would have to check the actual language of their 1-year standard warranty. This might be considered "normal wear and tear" of which I don't think is covered by the warranty and they would charge you to fix it.

Call them up or shoot them an e-mail to get things going, the service rep should be able to help you out if you can cross the language barrier.

Edit: Better yet, you can take your S5 into a Best Buy if they have a Samsung store. One of the Samsung reps there might be able to help you better. They did with my tablet (which I didn't purchase from that Best Buy) so I don't see why they couldn't help you with your phone. Just make sure the store you're going into has an actual Samsung store in it and not just a Samsung section.

 

[SpookDroid]

Samsung Warranty covers that as long as the damage is not traced back to you (if they find water inside or a crayola pencil lodged in there, that's on you). As for the process, it depends on where you bought this. If this is a carrier-branded phone, most of the time you could go through your carrier and in some cases they'll ship you a new unit while you're still using yours, but again, it depends on the carrier and the type of damage.

 

[tdgross89]

Thanks for all the info everyone. It is always a little scary to me to send my phone off to someone else, considering the amount of online banking, emailing, etc that I do from my phone.

 

[SpookDroid]

Yeah, that's always scary... I know it's a pain, but if you'll be sending the phone off to for repairs, it would be a good idea to sign out of your most sensitive accounts.