Updated to oreo, headphone jack no longer properly works.

[mr_meerkat]

Hey guys! I updated to oreo yesterday on my sony XZ (single sim, 32GB) and apart from the moderate issue mentioned above, I've not experianced any other major or moderate issues such as considerably worse battery life or performance hits (unless the 300-400MB higher RAM usage counts, resulting in more reloading of apps). In terms of minor issues, twilight not properly working and the finger print scanner being slightly more picky  is probably the only two I've noticed.

Anyway, the title probably tells you what the moderate issue is. The headphone jack no longer properly works. 

When I plug in a pair of headphones/earphones, sometimes it will detect it and play music for a couple of seconds before it 'thinks' they were unplugged. When I try tapping play (as it auto pauses), the sound comes from the phone's speakers instead. After a couple of seconds, it would then redetect the headphones being plugged in and then a couple of seconds think it's unplugged again (and continue in a cycle of detection and disconnection). Other times it will completely fail to detect that something was plugged in.

I've tried restarting my phone and I've tried 7 different wired devices (2 headphones, 3 earphones and 2 speakers) however all of them experiences the same issue.

Before the software update, on nougat, it had no problems with wired devices so I don't believe its a hardware issue.

Any ideas?
Thanks!

On a side note, how ironic is this? I upgraded from a Z3C as mine suffered the headphone jack failure and I'm basically experiancing the same issue(ish) as the device I upgraded from 

[Unexpaix]

Well looks like I am a part of the club now.. 

Update to Android 8.0.0 (Oreo) went through last night and ever since my headphones with microphones do not work (using Sony Xperia X with Bose earbuds with mic and volume buttons)

I've tried toggling all of the audio settings including the Dynamic Normalizer as suggested by one reply in this forum. Nothing works. 

I am lucky enough to own a pair of earbuds without a microphone (also bose) and they are working fine. 

I am quite astonished to see that this issue has been happening accross several devices and that no patch or update has been sent out yet to fix it. 

Is sony in communication with Android regarding this? 

[HavingTroubles]

My sony xz (F8331)also has this problem. I was using a pair of Sony MDR-EX650AP earphones so I could take calls as well without removing earphones, sound was great until after about 30 uses ,( over about 13 weeks),my phone wouldnt recognize they were plugged in, I worked out it was my phone, as i had a set of old senhessier cx300 at home with only one bud working, when i tested them they worked in my phone. I bought a new set of earphones Xiaomi Hybrid Pros , I have been using these for about 8 weeks now ,I occassionally have trouble when I first insert them into my phone, but they generally work after reinserting.  I am using the latest software version on my phone

[Saietor]

Hi,

I got exactly same problem as you, and seem to have found a workaround!

Let me describe my situation - maybe it will help others.

I have Xperia X Compact. I also have several headphones available:

1) Koss Porta Pro, no mic (3 pin jack)

2) Koss Porta Pro KTC, with in-line mic and 3 buttons (iphone-compatible)

3) Sennheiser PX 100-IIi, with in-line mic and 3 buttons  (iphone-compatible)

4) Couple of android-compatible headphone cables for Audiotechnica ATH-M50x

So, before Oreo update it was like this:

1) Koss Porta Pro - worked perfectly

2) Koss Porta Pro KTC - did not work. Headset detected, but will self-stop the music a second or two after plug-in (as if middle button gets pressed), so unuseable.

3) Sennheiser PX 100-IIi - sometimes middle button will make phone believe headphones were disconnected rather than just stop music. Otherwise worked fine. Volume buttons did nothing (as they are not Android compatible by design).

4) Android-compatible headphone cables for Audiotechnica ATH-M50x - worked perfectly, including volume buttons.

I was using Sennheiser most of the time.

After Oreo update it got worse, and nothing on software side helped (clear cache, full reset, re-firmware from PC):

1) Koss Porta Pro - works perfectly.

2) Koss Porta Pro KTC - does not work at all, is not detected by the phone. However, works fine if I force the phone to send sound to headset with SoundAbout or similar app. So it is a detection issue only.

3) Sennheiser PX 100-IIi - same as Koss Porta Pro KTC.

4) Android-compatible headphone cables for Audiotechnica ATH-M50x - still work perfectly.

It seems that all this is due to bad combination of software settings and hardware, failing to detect headphones properly based on measured resistances when plugged in.

So, first thing that I did was to re-activate the headphone/headset detection icons in notification bar, which are turend off by default in Oreo for some stupid reason. Follow this guide: http://c.mi.com/thread-684217-1-1.html

Now we can at least clearly see if phone detects headphones or not.

Then, by accident, I stumbled upon the following effect: If I clamp down (-) or (+) buttons on the remote when plugging in the headset, it is perfectly detected and functions correctly. The moment I release the button, phone "loses" headset detection. As volume controls on my Koss and Sennheiser are not compatible with Android, they do not produce any other effect anyway.

It seems that connecting the volume buttons changes the resistance of headset (that is how it works in Android-compatible headsets) - and changes situation for the better.

So, I opened up a spring-washer with pliers and used it as a clamp to keep one of the unused volume buttons permanently pressed.

Seems to work without any issues, including functional middle button, on both Koss Porta Pro KTC, and Sennheiser PX 100-IIi. So, it is actually even better than my experience on Nougat!

It is a terrible botch, but is way cheaper than new phone or non-existent good portable headphones for Android system.

I wish Sony would investigate and fix this properly though. I have MAJOR DOUBTS about buying theis phones again as my next device, especuially as there are more decent options in comparable size these days on the market.

Good luck!

[Katonym]

Having the same issue and just tried the holding down a button on the headphone remote bit while plugging in and it works straight away!! Thanks!

Had no issues using the sennheiser hands free before Oreo update but after they weren't recognised at all and only Sony over-ear ones worked and I don't like using those.

So glad there is a workaround with holding down the button to get it recognised and able to use it again!! 

[plog]

Same problem with me. Since Oreo update my sennheisser momentum 2s no longer work or are recognised by my x compact, my sennheisser ear buds do work however as do standard headphones with no Mic or controls. I think the issue is that Sony or Google(android) have changed the drivers for the control interface and will no longer recognised I,-phone compatible headphones. Spoke to Sony support in uk and was told that this is due to an'upgrade' and that I need to buy android or preferably Sony headphones. I didn't take kindly to being told that my£200 pair of headphones weren't good enough to be used on my Sony phone. I spoke to someone else at support and was advised to do a software repair, which hard reset my phone, but didn't fix the issue.

I feel Sony are once again shooting themselves on the foot.with this. At least allow us to roll back to 7.1.1 until this is fixed, admit there is a problem and stop being so arrogant!

[DarrenD]

Same problem on my Zperia X1A, headphones don't work and my volume button work on and off.

Seriously frustrating as on top of that 4G signal is so poor Sony admitted they are having problems with Oreo and 4G, so suggesting I set my mobile network to WCDMA GSM.

Isn't it wonderful that when you contact Sony they just advise to do a software repair or factory rest etc.

How about repairing the software before you release an update?

And how about replying to some of these complaints with a fix instead of just ignoring us in the hope there is a user out there with more technical skill than Sony who can find a work-around so we can again use our phone, until the next problem.

Counting the days until my contract is up and I can leave Sony behind forever .

[HavingTroubles]

I too have this problem with my headphone jack, I mentioned the brands I was using in another post on this subject, but I will add them again incase the other thread is closed. I was using a pair of Sony MDR-EX650AP which worked really well until this issue occured,I have tested the sonys in an old ipod and on my desktop computer and they work fine but my sony XZ(F8331) will not recognize them at all regardless of how often I plug and unplug them. I purchased a set of Xiaomi Hybrid Pro Three Drivers Graphene Earphones Earphones in Dec 2017 these were working without issue for about two weeks and now I have to keep plugging and repplugging the earphones so my phone detects them.* Update* As of today 5/5/18 my  Xiaomi Hybrid Pro Three Drivers Graphene Earphones are no longer recognized by my phone, so I can no longer listen to music on my phone until such time that Sony fix it.

[Elavats]

My headphones stopped working suddenly yesterday. After thoroughly going through every possible setting without success I decided to try the obvious.  I got a tooth pick and picked out a rather sizeable piece of dust from the headphone jack.  Problem solved.