It was a last resort, but the superglue trick to remove a broken, 3.5mm headphone jack from the iPad socket worked.
Before: audio only worked on Bluetooth headphones.
After: sound is coming out of the iPad speaker, we can plug in headphones, as well as having the Bluetooth option.
Naturally, I was reluctant to start blindly jamming superglued implements into this valuable piece of equipment. Worst case, the socket could be unusable.
But puttering around the internet for solutions, many people had reported success with the superglue hack.
I studied the little broken-off nodule perfectly aligned at the centre of the tiny hole of the audio socket, looking up at me like a child stuck in a deep hole.
It seemed viable: slip a skinny, plastic pen refill over the broken metal tip, with a touch of superglue lining the inside of the plastic tube, let the glue cement, and pull it out.
Initially, I tried the dry solution, where you slip a thinner straw from aerosol cans (like the red straw that comes with WD40), without using glue. The idea is that the friction of the narrower sleeve will hold the headphone tip to it. But I had no luck – the tip was firmly ensconced – and the plastic straw just slipped off.
The superglue trick worked first time.
I was really careful to only apply a touch of superglue to the inside of the pen refill.
I gently slipped the plastic sleeve over the broken head, held it in place for 30 seconds and then put the iPad with its protusion aside to allow it to cement for another few minutes.
I came back and tried pulling out the refill. At first, it didn’t budge. The thought flashed across my mind that I’d glued the refill permanently to the socket. But then I gave it a more forceful pull, and out came the thin plastic sleeve with the shiny nipple attached to the end of it.
The speaker now worked. After reassuring myself that the headphones also worked, I duly patted myself on the back.