The pinout refers to the location of the pins on the headphone connectors according to the diagram of the device. This information is necessary to determine the location of the headphone malfunction, carrying out restoration of its inoperability.
Content:
Types of headphone jacks
In today's headphones, designed to connect to mobile devices, audio equipment, TV, mainly used three sizes of connectors by diameter of the socket connection:
- 2.5 millimeter - micro Jack;
- 3.5 millimeters - mini jack;
- 6.25 - large Jack.
Large Jack is used in audio equipment, power amplifiers. It is also used in karaoke devices. Micro-jack is used in miniature players, formerly often used in small phones.
In today's smartphones, cell phones and home appliances, mini-jack jacks are the most used. According to the number of pins mini-jack connectors are classified into:
- two-pin;
- three-pin;
- four-pin.
Type of headphone jacks
Two-pin headphone jacks have lost their relevance since the early 2000s: most radios, even the simplest ones, where they were mostly used, switched to the standard stereo reception.
Three- and four-pin headphones have separate channels for playing right and left channel signals. At the same time, they are compatible with the mono signal, in which case the right and left earphones are connected in parallel, providing mono sound.
The four-pin connectors additionally have a microphone input combined with a control button. These jacks in most cases are used to connect headphones to smartphones.
Headphone Schematic
Schematic diagram of three-pin headphones.
Diagram of the Jack connector (in section).
In most quality headphones, the conductors leading to the headphones are made of shielded cable. It consists of a central insulated core and a braided cable shield.
Recommendations:
How to Solder a Headphone Plug
, How to disassemble headphones: instructions with step-by-step photos for repairing all headset elements
, Decoupling of headphones
The central core can be made in addition in the lacquer insulation, with a silk thread for greater resistance to fracture and stretching. The process of soldering such conductors in the case of damage is technologically complex, you need to have the skills, special flux and high-melting solder.
The three-pin headphone jack has an international TRS classification. The deciphering of the abbreviation is clear from the illustration below.
If the earphone jack breaks or the conductors break off, you can replace it with a new one. Standard headphone jacks are usually non-detachable.
You need to buy a collapsible connector, check the color of the conductor according to the connection diagram and use a soldering iron, solder, flux and a knife to first tin the wires, then the connection pins to the connector, then perform unsoldering.
The soldering is done according to the wiring diagram.
The four-pin connector has the TRRS classification.
The TRRS connectors can be pinouted in two variants: CTIA and OMTP.
Four-pin headphones usually have a microphone and a button. The pinout diagram for the CTIA four-pin connector.
Pressing the button blocks the microphone.
When buying headphones with a four-pin connector for your mobile device, you need to establish which type of connector is needed. As you can see from the pinout shown in the picture the pins "common" and "microphone" in these types are "mixed up".
The same brands of phones, but made in China, can have headphones with OMTP pinout. If you connect the wrong pinout, the sound in the headphones will be distorted, the microphone can fail. In this case you need to re-solder the pins of the plug according to the diagram.
Adapters are available for sale from one standard to another.
Checking headphones pinout of non-standard connectors
In some mobile devices and GSM phones, in most cases, older years were used phones with the original special connectors. In such cases, using search engines can find the original pinout headphone jacks. It can have different connection diagrams, such as the one shown in the figure.
If the headphones of such devices fail, you can cut the headphone cable, buy a new headset, and install new headphones according to the diagram.
In the absence of information on the Internet you can determine the pinout of the headphones yourself. To do this you need to perform the following steps:
- Disassemble the bodies of the dynamic system of headphones, for this you can use an active solvent;
- Ring the headphone speaker terminals with each other, zero resistance will correspond to a common wire;
- test the contacts of the jack with the common wire, the number of the contact at which the multimeter will show resistance close to zero, will be the connection contact of the common wire;
- in the same way you should make a dialler to the opposite contacts of the headphone jacks;
- for a headset with a microphone, make a search of the connection to the pins of the connector for each pin separately.
General recommendations
TRS type connectors have a standard pinout. Weak audibility in headphones can be the result of a common wire break or mismatch between the output impedance of the amplifier of the mobile device and the impedance of the dynamic system of the headphones.
TRRS connectors have two types of pinouts: CTIA and OMTP. Installation of headphones with the "non-native" pinout leads to distortion of the sound signal and can lead to microphone malfunction.
Topical materials:
Making simple headphones and headsets with a microphone yourself
, How to connect wireless headphones to the phone
, How to properly set up a headphone microphone on a Windows computer
, How to warm up headphones and if you need to do it
, How to fix headphones by yourself if one stops working
, How to improve the sound quality in headphones
, Headphone doesn't work: fault diagnosis, repair methods
, No sound in the headphones
, Repair of earphones with his own hands
