Headphone only playing sound through left ear

[shortnut]

So I have been trying to fix this for a while and have browsed similar threads but none of the solutions seem to work for me. I have a MSI Laptop with one speaker jack and one headphone jack. When I plug the headphones in the headphone jack all the way I get sound only through the left ear (yes I have it set on stereo and yes I have balance on both sides). When i plug it in halfway I get sound through both sides of the headphone but it comes only from the left speaker (so when I play games I don't get 3D sound and it kind of effects listening to music). However, I can re-rout my speaker jack to let my headphones play through it and then I get sound through both ears just lower quality (probs because it isn't actually a heaphone jack). I have re-installed the audio drivers a zillion times and have tried everything else I can think of. Any ideas would be greatly welcomed!

Cheers,
Random Aussie Bloke

 

[nukemaster]

On computers normally a line and headphone jack do the same thing. Most times, I see a headphone/line and mic jack.

Is it possible the headset has an issue. Can you try it on another system. Even a short extension cable may work if for some reason your headphones are not making good contact with the laptop. Do you have any other headphones to try?

Half way out playing both is because left and right are touching the left contact(ground[sleeve] is common). This is why you do not get the sound right.

If the jack is not working, It would cost more to get it fixed than to just pick up a USB sound card.

 

[shortnut]

On computers normally a line and headphone jack do the same thing. Most times, I see a headphone/line and mic jack.

Is it possible the headset has an issue. Can you try it on another system. Even a short extension cable may work if for some reason your headphones are not making good contact with the laptop. Do you have any other headphones to try?

Half way out playing both is because left and right are touching the left contact(ground[sleeve] is common). This is why you do not get the sound right.

If the jack is not working, It would cost more to get it fixed than to just pick up a USB sound card.

I had this problem when I initially bought the laptop and it doesn't matter what headphones I plug in I get the same result. Have tried 4 different sets (borrowed some off friends to try). So maybe it is the headphone jack that is not working, just thought it must be fine cos it happened from when I bought it? I'm so confused but thanks for the help.

 

[Charfra]

I had the same problem and I just went to the control panel, then sound, your headphones, advanced and then I pressed test like 5 times and that worked for me. There's a good chance this won't work but it did for me.

 

[Rob1080]

Hi,
I realise this is an old question, but I thought I'd post my response here in case someone else has the same issue.

On my laptop, occasionally only the left headphone works. Balance etc have all been set. The laptop uses Via HD Audio Deck (which seems to override other balance settings on the speaker properties). So if you're using Via HD Audio Deck (or something similar) it's worth starting it up and adjusting the volume (strangely nothing to do with balance), then both headphone sides magically work.