How to connect wired and wireless headphones to your computer

What connection methods are there

There are several options for connecting audio devices. Which one to choose depends on the connectors of the headphones themselves and the interfaces available in the computer. There are three main ways in total.

Mini jacks

The most common type of connection is 3.5mm audio jacks on a sound card. In stationary computers, separate jacks (Mic and Line out) are used for headphones and a microphone, in laptops, in order to save space, one, combined.

Bluetooth

Wired headphones are gradually being replaced by wireless ones, which are usually connected via Bluetooth. To work, you need an appropriate module Laptops have it by default, in stationary computers, as a rule, only in expensive models of motherboards.

USB

You can connect a lot of different devices to the universal USB connector, including headphones. A rather exotic option, it is most often used in stationary PCs to connect gaming headsets.

How to connect wired headphones without a microphone to your computer

Problems with connecting such headphones, most likely, will not arise, but just in case, we will consider this option. Since there is no microphone, there will be only one wire. You need to insert it into the green audio connector on the back or front of the computer. Notebooks may not have color coding, but the headphone symbol is used as a designation.

How to connect wired headphones with microphone to your computer

Connecting a headset isn't much more complicated. If there are two wires, then you just need to insert them into the audio connectors in accordance with the color or symbol marking. The headphone wire is usually green, the microphone wire is pink.

A complication is caused by situations where the number of wires and available sockets does not match. In this case, you will need the appropriate adapters.

For example, to connect a standard two-wire headset to a laptop with one combo audio jack, you need an adapter with two 3.5mm jacks on one side and a plug on the other.

To connect a headset with one wire to a stationary PC with two connectors, you need a reverse adapter: on one side, a 3.5 mm jack, on the other, two plugs.

How to connect USB headphones to computer

Connecting headphones with a USB cable is easy. To do this, you need to find a free USB connector and insert the plug into it. After a few seconds, the audio device will be automatically detected in the system and will work.

In theory, any jacks are suitable for connecting headphones, but sometimes the jacks on the front panel may not be supported. In this case, you should switch the plug to one of the connectors on the motherboard on the back of the computer.

How to connect wireless headphones to your computer

For wireless headphones to work, your computer must have a built-in or external Bluetooth module. To connect, make sure it is activated, turn on the headphones and then go to Bluetooth settings. Wait for the system to detect the headphones, find them in the list and click "Connect".

How to check if the headphones are working

You can test the operation of the headphones if you enable sound playback in any application. For example, by launching a YouTube video or music in the player. To check the microphone, you can record sound in a standard voice recorder or call someone on Telegram or another messenger.

If the headphones don't work for some reason, follow the tips from Lifehacker's article to solve the problem.