MacBook Air M2 connecting automatic to External Headphone although no headphone is connected. It started happening after the MacOS Ventura 13.3.1(a) (22E772610a) update. In the photo it is showing an external headphone in my headphone port, which definitely I don't have any connected headphones and it is automatically switching to that strangely.
MacBook Air, macOS 13.3
Unfortunately none of the above works, tried Apple Diagnostics but it showed no problems.
I didn't plugged any Headphones earlier, as I always use Airpods.
The frustrating part is it switches automatically for no reason.
Unfortunately none of the above works, tried Apple Diagnostics but it showed no problems.
I didn't plugged any Headphones earlier, as I always use Airpods.
The frustrating part is it switches automatically for no reason.
Did you previously use headphones? I have personally seen macOS refuse to change outputs after an item has been disconnected. Just select one of the other options you want to use.
You can try logging out of your user account & log back in to see if the headphone option disappears or even rebooting the computer (especially if you haven't done so in a while).
Of course this assumes something is not stuck inside of the headphone jack causing the computer to believe headphones are really connected.
You can try running the Apple Diagnostics to see if any hardware issues are detected....they perform an audio test utilizing the built-in speakers & microphone.
Try booting into Safe Mode to see if you still have the problem.
If Safe Mode doesn't make any difference, then try creating another macOS user account. Log out of your main user, then log into the new user. Is there any difference?
The purpose of these two suggestions is to try to eliminate an issue with third party software and a corrupt preference file with the main account, respectively.
Do you have any headphones or external speakers you can use to plug into the headphone jack? Even just a cable with the proper connector would work. There is a possibility one of the contacts inside the headphone jack is stuck and inserting & removing a headphone/speaker cable may unstick the contact which may resolve the problem. Of course if you have working headphones or external speakers, you would be able to also verify the jack is outputting audio correctly. If one of the contacts inside the headphone jack gets stuck against the grounded casing, the system will think something is plugged into the jack.
As a last resort, you can try performing a clean install of macOS or better yet a firmware "Restore". The "Restore" is the better option as it resets the security chip & firmware as well as pushing a clean copy of macOS onto the internal SSD. Keep in mind both options will destroy all data on the internal SSD so make sure to have a good backup first. Just make sure to test the laptop before installing any third party software and before migrating/restoring from a backup. If the problem occurs with a clean install or especially with a "Restore" under these conditions, then it most likely indicates a hardware issue which will need repaired (or some obscure bug since I have not seen any other reports like this).
If no one else chimes in with any other suggestions, you can also take the laptop to an Apple Store or an Apple Authorized Service Provider to be examined.
MacBook Air M2 2022 connecting automatic to External Headphone although no headphone is connected.
