Dell mother board replacement: My desktop works fine (xps 8920) except when the headphones are plugged into the front of the case no sound comes out. I am able to use my external...

johnsnap1947 Loc: New Fairfield, CT

My desktop works fine (xps 8920) except when the headphones are plugged into the front of the case no sound comes out. I am able to use my external speakers which are plugged into the rear USB slot. That works fine. My pc is under warantee and is 3 years old. The tech (after diagnosis) wants to send someone onsite to replace my mother board just to fix the headphone jack. This does not seem to be right and can screw things up on win10. Do you think she knows what shes talking about...

jdtonkinson Loc: Red Wing, MN

johnsnap1947 wrote:

My desktop works fine (xps 8920) except when the headphones are plugged into the front of the case no sound comes out. I am able to use my external speakers which are plugged into the rear USB slot. That works fine. My pc is under warantee and is 3 years old. The tech (after diagnosis) wants to send someone onsite to replace my mother board just to fix the headphone jack. This does not seem to be right and can screw things up on win10. Do you think she knows what shes talking about...

John,
I would try this first:

Summary
Double-click the Realtek HD Audio Manager system tray icon.
Click the small folder icon (see the image below).
Check that the 'Disable front panel jack detection' box is cleared.
Now insert the jack plug of either a microphone or headphone into the corresponding front panel socket of your computer.

Try that first.
The motherboard may control that physical port. I am glad for you that it's still under warranty.

Jim

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

USB headphones (digital) and 1/8"/mini-plug (analog) are two totally different signal systems and drivers.
Apples and kumquats.

johnsnap1947 Loc: New Fairfield, CT

There is NO Realtek HD Audio Manager icon in the system tray. Should I download the Realtek manager software and install it again...? Under computer management , sound and video controllers Realtek Audio does appear and it says its working properly..Also in there is Nvidia HD Audio

Ourspolair

You may simply have selected the wrong audio output device. Click on your loudspeaker icon on the bottom right of your screen and see which device is selected.

kymarto Loc: Portland OR and Milan Italy

johnsnap1947 wrote:

My desktop works fine (xps 8920) except when the headphones are plugged into the front of the case no sound comes out. I am able to use my external speakers which are plugged into the rear USB slot. That works fine. My pc is under warantee and is 3 years old. The tech (after diagnosis) wants to send someone onsite to replace my mother board just to fix the headphone jack. This does not seem to be right and can screw things up on win10. Do you think she knows what shes talking about...

Yes. It will not cause problems with Windows. They do it all the time.

dpfoto Loc: Cape Coral, FL

I have several Dell computers. Their on-site service is excellent. I would let them replace the motherboard.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

kymarto wrote:

Yes. It will not cause problems with Windows. They do it all the time.

Yeah, that was my first thought. A different motherboard will look like a different computer to Windows.

I would take my time and research this. How important are the headphones? I use Wi-Fi headphones and earbuds - nothing to plug in.

Bayou

It won't cause problems with Win 10 if a new motherboard is installed, but that sounds like a strange diagnosis. It's far more likely a software issue...depends on the skills of whoever diagnosed the issue. Is this the only audio out jack? Have you delved into Windows' "sound" settings?

Just for fun, you may want to go to the Microsoft Store app and install "Ear Trumpet", which is simply an alternate volume control. I once worked on a Win 10 machine that had a similar problem, and that Ear Trumpet app magically worked while the native volume control would not.

markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ

johnsnap1947 wrote:

My desktop works fine (xps 8920) except when the headphones are plugged into the front of the case no sound comes out. I am able to use my external speakers which are plugged into the rear USB slot. That works fine. My pc is under warantee and is 3 years old. The tech (after diagnosis) wants to send someone onsite to replace my mother board just to fix the headphone jack. This does not seem to be right and can screw things up on win10. Do you think she knows what shes talking about...

I have also headphones and speakers. I have to select the correct output in "Settings" to switch from one to another. The headphones connect via USB and the speakers connect to the motherboard (rear of PC). Go to Settings/System/Sound and select the output to switch from speakers to headphones.

Hope this helps. If not, good luck with the issue. Dell techs are pretty good.
Mark

John Matthews Loc: Wasilla, Alaska

I would want to verify that it is not a software issue. Also I realize it is very unlikely but could your headphone cable be bad?

aggiedad Loc: Corona, ca

I had this problem, and bought an adapter that fits in a USB port and a headphone jack. It now works with phones an my ole Cambridge speaker system. Got it on Amazon....where else?

CPR Loc: Nature Coast of Florida

If the software solution is no good, I'd get a new jack and take out a soldering iron but that's me.

srt101fan

johnsnap1947 wrote:

My desktop works fine (xps 8920) except when the headphones are plugged into the front of the case no sound comes out. I am able to use my external speakers which are plugged into the rear USB slot. That works fine. My pc is under warantee and is 3 years old. The tech (after diagnosis) wants to send someone onsite to replace my mother board just to fix the headphone jack. This does not seem to be right and can screw things up on win10. Do you think she knows what shes talking about...

Regarding your concern that replacing the motherboard could mess up Win 10: Several here have told you that that is not a problem. I'll just add a thought based on my recent experience with Win 10.

I had to replace my laptop hard drive and got on the Microsoft community board to get some help. I could not transfer Win 10 from the old drive and therefore had to do a clean install of Win 10 on the new drive. I thought I might have to pay for the software, but was told that my old license would still apply since the licensing info resides on the motherboard and not on the hard drive.

I mention this because I wonder what would have happened if I had to replace the motherboard! I guess that would be considered a new computer that required a new purchase of Win 10. But I suppose that is not an issue for you since your computer is still under warranty?

markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ

srt101fan wrote:

Regarding your concern that replacing the motherbo... (show quote)

Win 10 license is transferrable (free) to another computer, providing the 1st one is not active.
Mark