Droid, Droid 2, Droid X Headphone Jack Permanent Fix

[dro855]

OK, I listen to music through my phone while driving, walking/jogging, at work, and in the gym. Like most, the connection on the phone had become so lose, the "straw fix" was just a temporary fix until it became lose again. It would cut in an out in the car using the AUX jack, and constantly cut in and out with headphones.

First off, this will involve partial disassembly by removing the back of the phone. This is a great walk through: Installing Motorola Droid Motherboard - iFixit

Root Cause(as described by buymagicfish)
This issue is a mechanical one inherent in the design of the phone. The headphone unit sits on a board with copper legs. As time goes on, the legs bend, or otherwise run out of spring and no longer consistently keep a good connection to the board. Its really a design flaw.

The headphone jack is held to the phone using adhesive and the copper legs reach out and touch the connection points to create the connection.

The Fix:
Since these "pressure" contacts create the connection, I figured the best thing to do was increase the pressure.
1. Disassemble the phone and remove the back plate
2. Lift headphone jack off the adhesive holding it to the case
3. Place some kind of material behind the jack(on top of adhesive) and put it back in place
- I folded some electrical tape and cut it to size. You don't need much material, and it took a couple times to get it right
- The jack will not have anything holding it in place until the back plate is back on
4. Put the back plate back on, and screw down the case.
5. THATS IT!!!

Note: It only took about 10mins and I've tested it in both my cars and headphones. I get no static, fading, cutting in and out. Time will tell, but I doubt I will have any issues anymore.

 

[smd12]

thanx for posting this. is there a site that shows how to open the X?

i'm going to keep returning my x until verizon gets sick of me or until they say no more returns then maybe i'll open it up.

it's a damn shame moto sux building phones android is one helluva OS

i shoulda got a htc

 

[dro855]

thanx for posting this. is there a site that shows how to open the X?

i'm going to keep returning my x until verizon gets sick of me or until they say no more returns then maybe i'll open it up.

it's a damn shame moto sux building phones android is one helluva OS

i shoulda got a htc

Yeah, there are a good number of videos of the X, but this is the only text walk-through I found.

Droid X Dissected! | Droid X – Blog dedicated to Droid X News and Accessories!

You definitely need the torx screw drivers and a plastic removal kit or something similar. Once you get in there, its a very simple fix.

 

[verizondroid2global]

do not put any pressure on the headset , that will cause a short and thus cause your connection to cut out. no fancy fixes needed

 

[dro855]

do not put any pressure on the headset , that will cause a short and thus cause your connection to cut out. no fancy fixes needed

1. Pressure is only being applied to the jack, and there are no copper points opposite the jack where it could short.
2. My connection used to cut out because the connection fingers on the jack do not engage because they have lost their spring, and will continue to do so over time; I see no other solution. If you would like to get VzB to get me another Droid, I will not stop you.