MacBook Pro Speaker Problem

[Ethan Carter]

So, I just got a Macbook Pro off craigslist (traded my xbox 360 and $35 for it). It is a 2006 or 2007 I think? Its the Core Duo model with 2gb of RAM. I love it. There is a problem with it though. I knew about it before I traded so yeah. The speakers don't work. There is no red light coming out of the headphone jack that I can see. Also when I go to system preferences/sound/output, it shows that it is connected via internal speakers, not an audio out device. PLEASE HELP!! Thank you

 

[mrmez]

Likely a h/ware issue which will probably cost more to fix than what the laptop is worth.
You could crack it open and see if there is something obvious. Maybe some a loose connection/solder etc.
Apart from that you just have to use bluetooth or wifi for audio.

iFixit has loads of tear down/repair guides on their site.

 

[Ethan Carter]

Really? Laptop is going for 150-200. Speaker is $20. Gonna see if you guys have any other solutions though

 

[mrmez]

So your optical out/headphone jack isn't working, along with the speakers.

You buy the speakers for $20, then what?
If you were capable of opening and repairing yourself you wouldn't have asked here, so lets assume you have to pay somebody.
Western countries = western wages. Assuming you find a kid on craigs list, it's not going to be less that $50 to install your new speakers.
Best case scenario that fixes half your problem. That still leaves the 3.5mm jack broken.
Worst case, the actual speakers are fine, but maybe some wiring has come loose or the audio chip on the board has died.
Speakers themselves hardly ever die completely. For both to die is highly unusual.
For 2 separate speakers, optical out, and the 3.5mm jack and the ability to detect headphones plugged in to all be dead at the same time... yeah, I'm thinking it's something really simple.


Back to the best case scenario, the 3.5mm jack is still dead. How do you fix that?
Has the jack itself died, or the solder come loose? The jack itself costs nothing, but it's so tricky to solder.
After all that, given the fact that ALL audio has died, it's likely a chip on the logic board has gone.
A quick search for a 2007ish logic board tells me it will cost you ~$200. Add at least $100 for labour as you need to pretty much gut the laptop to replace it.

 

[Ethan Carter]

Sorry, youre right. just confirmed that the headphone jack doesnt work. Thanks.

 

[MarkSF]

Applications/Utilities/Audio MIDI Setup: make sure "Built-in Output" is selected.

If that isn't the issue, I would try out a fresh OS installation before assuming there's a hardware issue.