How to Plug Headphones Into a Computer

By Andrew Smith

Computer users can listen to their favorite music and play video games on their machines. There may be times when you cannot listen to the audio on your computer at full blast through the speakers on the computer. As with any sound system or portable music player, you can also listen to the audio on your computer through a set of headphones. The instructions for connecting the headphones to your computer will vary slightly based upon the setup of your computer.

Step 1

Examine the end of your headphones cord to make sure that you can plug those particular headphones into a computer. The end of the headphones cord should be able to fit into the headphones jack located on any iPod, iPhone or similar portable MP3 or CD player. If it is larger, you cannot plug those headphones into the computer.

Step 2

Locate the headphones jack on your computer. Those using a laptop should look on each side of the computer for the headphones connection. If you have speakers connected to your computer, one of the speakers may have a headphones connection located on the front or side. Computers with a tower will also have a headphones connection found on the face of the tower. You will know which connection is for the headphones by the headphones icon located above the correct connection.

Step 3

Connect the end of the headphones cord into the headphones jack for your computer. Listen for a slight "click" to ensure that the headphones are fully plugged into the computer or speaker.

Step 4

Enable the sound on your computer. For a laptop, you simply need to turn the volume up on your computer. Those using additional speakers may need to turn that sound system on in order to use the headphones.

Tips & Warnings

  • Avoid confusing the headphones jack with the microphone jack. The microphone jack will have a "microphone" icon above that particular connection.

References & Resources