[Rishi Ashar]

I use the headphones provided with note 2 all the time

for calling
for music (play/pause, volume up/down)

I noticed this problem lately that mic, and all the buttons stopped working.

I did a factory reset, and firmware reinstall, still the problem persists.

No samsung update was installed during these days
what could this be, a hardware failure??

P.S.: I
I've tried several other headphones as well

[VDub2174]

Same thing happened to my headphones and I have no idea why it's doing that.

[dancing-bass]

OP are you saying other headphones with volume control are doing the same thing?

Install Poweramp (free trial). I know it supports headphone controls, so see if it works with poweramp.

If the controls on other headphones also don't work, AND they also don't work with Poweramp, I'd suspect hardware failure in the headphone jack on the phone

[Rishi Ashar]

Went to Samsung, they changed the jack, no use, still the same problem.

Apparently it's a HW failure, but not with the jack. They have kept the phone for now to check.

Maybe something with the motherboard. Will get to know once I have it back.

[dancing-bass]

I'd be curious to find out what it is. Please post when you know more

[Rishi Ashar]

They didn't look into the problem and kept the phone for 3 days, and they didn't have any justification for not looking into it in these days.
I have got my phone back without any repair as i needed it urgently, but it's a PBI issue, which is confirmed.

New finding: The plain headphones (the ones which don't have any mic or play/pause buttons etc) work fine. The ones which have music controls and mic don't seem to work.

Will give it back for repair in some days.

[dancing-bass]

Sounds like something in the jack or the solder connection is broken. The only difference between regular headphones and ones with a microphone is an extra ring on the headphones (and an extra connection inside the jack of course). There might be a bit of dirt or pocket lint stuck inside. Gently poke around with a toothpick to see if you can dislodge it.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

[Rishi Ashar]

It was the motherboard that had the issue.

Got it replaced and every headphone now works