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LG Stereo Headphone Adapter
Here's another one from the reader mailbag. Anonymous writes in to ask:
You'll need to find a 3.5mm to 2.5mm adapter with three black bands, not two (indeed, the phone uses the fouth conductor for a microphone). Once you find one, you have to push it in not quite all the way (it will still be snug, however), and you will hear full stereo sound. These four conductor adapters are pretty hard to find. Your best bet is probably eBay, where I got mine. Try a search like "lg headphone adapter" and you'll be fine as long as the picture shows a 3.5mm to 2.5mm adapter with three, not two, black bands around the plug. (UPDATE: This adapter from Amazon should also work. UPDATE 2: Reader Dash Metro writes in to confirm that this adapter works, but the Left and Right stereo channels are reversed. If you don't think you'd notice the difference, this product should be fine.)
If you have an adapter with only two black bands, such as the ones sold at Radio Shack, you can try pulling it out partially, but it falls out easily and I believe you will only hear mono sound, but through both channels. This is not recommended.
Oh, and I'm not really sure why the Recent Calls list pops up when you plug in headphones.
Andy
PS: Would people mind leaving their names from now on when they leave comments? Just click "Other" and type in a name, I don't really care if it actually is yours, it just gets tiring to see Anonymous after Anonymous after Anonymous ad nauseum. Thanks. :)
I bought a 2.5 to 3.5 mm (Editor's note: this should read 3.5 to 2.5mm) adapter so I can play WMAs through wired accessories (earbuds, FM xmitter etc.)Dear Anonymous,
BUT I only get right channel sound, and when I plug into the phone, the CONTACT(!) list comes up on the front display.
I suspect it thinks I plugged in a 2way earpiece, and that the left ch. is waiting for mic. input.
Is there some trick wiring in the earbuds that Verizon sells, and can I duplicate it to make the phone jack put out stereo sound???
You'll need to find a 3.5mm to 2.5mm adapter with three black bands, not two (indeed, the phone uses the fouth conductor for a microphone). Once you find one, you have to push it in not quite all the way (it will still be snug, however), and you will hear full stereo sound. These four conductor adapters are pretty hard to find. Your best bet is probably eBay, where I got mine. Try a search like "lg headphone adapter" and you'll be fine as long as the picture shows a 3.5mm to 2.5mm adapter with three, not two, black bands around the plug. (UPDATE: This adapter from Amazon should also work. UPDATE 2: Reader Dash Metro writes in to confirm that this adapter works, but the Left and Right stereo channels are reversed. If you don't think you'd notice the difference, this product should be fine.)
If you have an adapter with only two black bands, such as the ones sold at Radio Shack, you can try pulling it out partially, but it falls out easily and I believe you will only hear mono sound, but through both channels. This is not recommended.
Oh, and I'm not really sure why the Recent Calls list pops up when you plug in headphones.
Andy
PS: Would people mind leaving their names from now on when they leave comments? Just click "Other" and type in a name, I don't really care if it actually is yours, it just gets tiring to see Anonymous after Anonymous after Anonymous ad nauseum. Thanks. :)
posted by Andy Moskowitz at 2:39 AM
24 Comments:
(thank you so much. i just bought the wrong adapter and this is really helpful!)
Will the buttons on the outside of the phone be functional when listening to mp3's? How would the music keep playing once the clamshell is closed?
(i'm having weird problems with mp3's and this phone. like when i go to the menu, i see two mp3's but when i close my phone and hold down the 'play' button i only see one mp3 and it's different from the other two mp3's i see when i go to the menu. does anyone else have this problem?
mike, if you are listening to an mp3, it continues playing when you close the clamshell.)
Thanks so much, Andy, for all the great info on your site. Have you considered listing a PayPal account so that people could offer financial support? Also, how about a General thread for comments such as this one? Thanks again!
John: Ha, I really appreciate the sentiment. I'm already rewarded for my effort, however, by a small commission I make on sales of accessories, as well as by the many notes of appreciation that I've been getting from people like you. I think accepting donations would be a little too much. If you really want to go out of your way to support my site, I'd really appreciate it if you'd post a link to my new cell phone wall paper maker on whatever websites you can. I'd really like to see that thing take off the ground. Thanks again!
Andy,
I just got the LG 8300 and thanks to your site I've avoided making some mistakes. Keep up the good work!
lil 1/2 pint:
Where did you save the mp3's?
WORDS OF WARNING:
This phone ain't no ipod. I bought it expecting to use it as my main mp3 player. Unfortunately there are several really annoying things that prevent me from doing so.
1) The quality of the audio is not great -- it sounds flat and tinny. It's not my headphones. maybe the problem is my adaptor wire from ebay.
2) Even the loudest volume is not very loud. I have trouble using it on the loud nyc subways.
3) The navigation in awful. To play an mp3 from micro-sd, it has to be in the root folder of the mp3 folder. That means you can't drag your music mp3 folders onto the phone and expect to navigate them easily. Once i did put on my mp3s, the different tracks in each cd are randomly interspersed since they get sorted alphabetically.
When listening to music, you can only view two songs at a time.
4) When listening to music, you can't do ANYTHING else on the phone. you can't even see the clock (and since i use my phone as my watch, this really sucks).
Sorry for ruining all your fun, but I was really disappointed with the music playing features and i don't want anyone else to spend lots of money and then feel the same way.
Jonathan:
I agree with most of the points you're making. If you're looking to replace an iPod or just about any other dedicated music player, this phone isn't really going to satisfy. On the other hand, if you like only having to carry one device in your pocket, or if you simply got a good deal on the VX8300, it's worthwhile learning how to use the music playing functions. Regarding your point #3: I suggest you read my article on this site on converting your music to WMA format; I think you'll find the navigation to be much more pleasant.
Andy,
Is there a way to get the phone to play mp3s or wavs through Bluetooth headphones? I've actually got a stereo set that I have successfully paired with the phone, as well as a mono earpiece, but so far no luck.
Yes, the Samsung SCH-A890 adapter works perfectly. More than lound enough with good earbuds. I bought adapters from radio shack and then best buy, both of which did not work properly. One I got that straightened out, I've had nothing but a good experience with this phone as an music player both through my car stereo and on the go.
Is there a way to disable the front play button, because when the phone is in my pocket and I bump up against something sometimes my MP3 player will start playing.
Is there a way to make it beep in the earbuds when somebody calls you?
Josh: I don't know of one. This actually seems like a major design flaw to me. I deal with the music turning on in my pocket almost daily. It always plays the first song listed alphabetically, so I've been tempted to make a silent track called AAAAA, but that would hardly solve the problem, and probably drain the battery, at that.
Verizon now carries an adapter to make the 2.5mm a standard stereo jack. I am looking on the package and I believe the part number is SHS25-35MMCAE either that, or the UPC is 0-97738-49483-6 if that helps, it was $15. I went to WalMart and picked up a cheap FM modulator for $10, plugged that all together and it works perfect in the car! You don't need to spend hundreds on an iPod and all the stuff for it... all together, this cost me $25 to do!
Here is how I fixed the Play button on the front. Go to the Phone Settings and select Shortcuts. One of the shortcut options is for the Play button. I had two choices: My VCAST Music and My MP3s. Since I followed the advice to convert my MP3s to WMA, I selected the My MP3s option.
So when I press the Play button, it tries to find MP3 files and gives the error "No Songs found in memory".
Note that I have a SDcard with a My MP3 subfolder on it. Not sure if this method works without the SDcard.
My $.02 worth here.
I have never owned an ipod so I cannot comment on it's functionality. However I do own a Sansa e250 player and this phone gives this player a run for it's money. Sound quality is as good. With the 8300, if the setting is for WMA (highly recommended)music organization is excellent and on par with the best music players on the market.
Video quality is better on the 8300. Both screens are 1.8" TFT with resolution @220x176 but the Sansa has 65K colors and the 8300 256K. The 8300 uses 3GP video, Sansa MJPEG. 3GP video is as good in quality with 15FPS with file sizes that are 1/5 the size of MJPEG.
I have not cycled the 8300 Lith-ION battery enough yet to get maximum capacity, but early indications are one would need to upgrade the battery to 1700MAH to equal most MP3 players on the market today.
As for accidentely pushing the play button, I use a holster an no problems so far.
Don't sell the capabilities of this phone short. This thing does a lot and does it well.
Thanks for the tip about the play button - that has annoyed me since I got my phone. I didn't have the Play button menu choice initially, but after going into the service menu and selecting "Music Setting", there's an option for MP3 Enable. Once I did that "My MP3s" was also available on the Get Tunes and Tones menu. Thanks!
Verizon has the speed dial #1 position pre set as "Voicemail" and the text cannot be changed however the number can be changed from *86 to anything you want. OK to menueleft to MessagingRight soft key to settings select 1 All Msg 4 Voice Mail # OK to select and change the number. The only draw back is when you press and hold the 1 key to speed dial it will read "Voicemail" the text you couldn't change. make sure speed dial is set to ON
GREAT TIP on changing the shortcut Play key from my V-cast music to MP3 what a pain to have it in your pocket and music play at the wrong time. thanks great blog
I found that the Samsung SCH-A890 2.5 to 3.5 Cell adapters work with the LG 8300 but the L & R channel are reversed. I have a test mp3 file that I use that has verified this.
Not a deal breaker but something to be aware of!
It's very true that there are 2 different 4 conductor plug configurations. I bought adapters off eBay that did not work properly because the distance between each black band is slightly different from that of the Samsung adapter.
Great, very helpful blog for a great phone - keep up the good work!
Thanks for the tip, Dash, I'll note it in the entry.
I purchased the following at Best Buy, and they work great with my VS8300. I figured I'd share the info with your readers.
http://www.amazon.com/Jabra-C220-Stereo-Earbuds-2-5mm/dp/B00083LGI4/ref=pd_ecc_rvi_2/103-2744755-3341437
I want to issue a challenge, figure out how to enable test mode, within the get in now menu under the hidden menu. I think that would open the doors to finally getting free games.
I've enjoyed responding to your hundreds of comments, but I've finally decided to disable comment posting now that I've created a better alternative. Please use the VX8300 forums for any further questions, where they'll me answered by me, or any number of other helpful VX8300 users.
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