Computer WILL NOT recognize 3.5 jack or Bluetooth headphones (need answer fast)

We got moved to a different office at work, so I am now using a different computer than I was before. This one WILL NOT work with any of my headphones, and this is a big problem for me because I have hearing loss and need my usual headphones/earbuds. The only thing that works with it is this horrible, one-eared, headset microphone thing that needs to be taken outside and destroyed. A one-eared, foam-covered THING is supposed to be enough to hear with?

My boss is trying to help me, but I’m not sure this is going to be resolved anytime soon. This computer just will not recognize anything but that foam-covered gizmo. The troubleshooter says the computer does not have Bluetooth. What is happening?

There doesn’t seem to be any way to fix it that is achievable by non-IT wizzes.

Is if a large enough company that might have a set of USB headphones somewhere in the back to try? Or are the bad ones already USB and that’s why they work?

The bad ones are already USB, and that’s why they work, yes. It’s a call center environment, so that’s the type of headset they will have.

I have a really comfortable set of noise cancelling over the ear headphones with attached mike and it’s USB. Cost like twenty bucks on Amazon and is not subject to much in the way of failure modes. Yeah, there’s a wire but there’s also an inline set of controls which is pretty useful. Might want to consider that.

Does the computer not have an audio jack? or does it have one, but when you try plugging headphones into it, you can’t get them to work?

If it’s the latter, there may be some setting you can change on the computer to get it to work, but I wouldn’t be able to tell you how.

Otherwise, you can buy USB headphones, or a USB-to-audio-jack adapter that will let you plug in “regular” headphones, or a bluetooth adapter dongle (plugs into a USB port) that will allow you to use bluetooth headphones.

It does have an audio jack but refuses to recognize any headphones plugged into it. Maybe the jack port is bad, but since Bluetooth is also nowhere to be found, I’m thinking the computer is just evil. Plus the USB headset is also evil.

If something doesn’t look like it will get resolved in the next few days, I’m going to look into various adapters and maybe even check out a pair of USB headphones. They can’t be any worse than this piece of trash, right?

I’m just really bummed because I loved my two main sets of earbuds. They’re both awesome, and now I have to try to find some workaround that may not even work because this computer is trying to kill me!

I have looked absolutely all over the web for a solution, but they all assume that your headphones are just “hidden” in the device manager. But they are not there. At all. This computer is “Chucky.”

Purchase a Bluetooth adapter. They are super cheap. They plug in to a USB port. This will give your computer Bluetooth capabilities and you can use your good headphones.

ETA: Duh. What @Thudlow_Boink said.

You can get a bluetooth dongle that plus into the computer’s USB port for 10-20 dollars. More specifically, “you” means “your employer” as this is a fairly cheap way for them to accommodate your disability.

You can also check to see if the computer’s hardware profile has its 3.5MM adapter disabled, and double check to see what it is using for speakers and microphone - that’s something that trips me up fairly regularly.

I feel your frustration.

Even if the computer has Bluetooth, I’ve personally found it to be very sporadic on my company-provided laptop - it’ll connect a small fraction of the time, and will not even allow me to force it to try to pair from the control panel, until I restart the machine. Then it’ll work again for a while.

I have another work-supplied computer which does not even permit use of any wireless accessories. Frustrating, but I understand the reasoning. I’ve been forced to revert back to a USB headset I bought 9 years ago - and which is still going strong, requiring me to replace the foam earpad covers once, but otherwise it has performed flawlessly.

So, all in all, despite my needing to use the computer for communication fairly regularly, I can NOT rely on using my gloriously comfy Quiet Comfort headset.

I’ve been lucky up to now to have very good Bluetooth function with two different Windows desktops and my personal Apple laptop using my AirPods. That’s why I hadn’t anticipated this particular issue and am really thrown for a loop.

I also love my Bose Quiet Comfort 20 wired earbuds, which I don’t think they make anymore but are still trucking along. Can’t use 'em on this nightmare computer! Not without adapters. There’s going to have to be some solution. I will press it with the hearing loss if the IT ticket is not taken seriously.

For what it’s worth, this pair is wireless but comes with its own USB dongle (it’s not Bluetooth). It did NOT cost anything like the current list price - presumably they’ve been discontinued, and someone is selling remnants for a huge markup.

This is the USB wired headset I bought 9 years ago. As with the wireless set, I paid a fraction of what Amazon shows as the current price. Something like 27 bucks versus the current list price of a hundred bucks. In any case, something like either of those would work for you if your computer has an available USB port - but frankly I think the best bet is for the company to shell out 15 bucks for a cheap Bluetooth dongle so you can use your nice headset.

Try control panel-sound-playback and try to configure the headphones.

Today my boss was able to get the 3.5 mm jack working, but the Bluetooth is still showing up as not even being available on this computer. I’m so happy just to have the jack back! So much better than that one-eared thing.

Will have to see if I can wheedle the Bluetooth adapter out of ‘em but could be a while. We will be moving offices again in a few months so could end up with a totally different computer with its own nightmare issues!