USB cable preventing sound

[Cinque8]

Hello,

I have a Android 11 cell phone. If I plug a USB cable into my phone, there is no sound coming from the phone. But if I plug earbuds into the phone, I can hear sound coming from the phone. Why or how is the USB cable interferring with the sound?

Thank you.

 

[svim]

What phone model do you have? Does it have headphone jack?
When you refer to '... plug earbuds...' are they wired earbuds with an actual, physical plug on one end that you insert into the headphone jack, or are they wired USB Type-C earbuds?
Also, regarding plugging a USB cable into your phone is there anything on the other end of that same USB cable (i.e. a powered speaker, webcam, external drive, whatever) or is there nothing at all? (i.e. no attached device nor anything else plugged into an open jack).

 

[Cinque8]

Hello SVIM,

Thank you for responding to my post.

I have a OnePlus Nord N10 5G phone. It does have a headphone jack. The earbuds are wired, and I plug them into the headphone jack. Right now I have one end of the USB cable plugged into the phone, and the other end of the cable plugged into a charger that is attached to a wall socket. But when I have the other end of the cable plugged into a USB port on my Dell Windows 10 laptop, there is also no sound coming from the phone unless I have the earbuds plugged in. But, if I have one end of the USB cable plugged into the phone, and the other end is not plugged into anything, there still is no sound.

 

[The_Chief]

Have you tried a different cable? Some USB cables are wired for power and data; while some are only wired for power and charging.

 

[Cinque8]

I have tried more than one cable, but which type of cable would be wired for power and data, and which type would be wired for power and charging?

Thank you.

 

[The_Chief]

They often look identical, but are labeled as charging cables and data cables. It's not as prevalent as it used to be, but charging cables are cheaper to produce because of the reduced number of internal wires that need to be connected.

 

[svim]

.....
I have a OnePlus Nord N10 5G phone. It does have a headphone jack. The earbuds are wired, and I plug them into the headphone jack. Right now I have one end of the USB cable plugged into the phone, and the other end of the cable plugged into a charger that is attached to a wall socket. But when I have the other end of the cable plugged into a USB port on my Dell Windows 10 laptop, there is also no sound coming from the phone unless I have the earbuds plugged in. But, if I have one end of the USB cable plugged into the phone, and the other end is not plugged into anything, there still is no sound.

Before you down the rabbit hole buying different USB cables just to address this particular issue, What you're describing isn't a common scenario. Typically when you plug earbuds into the headphone jack, the audio gets rerouted to headphone jack and the internal speaker is silenced. Remove the plug and it reverts back to the internal speaker. USB Type-C is a different matter, it's all dependent on what is on the other end of the cable.
Have you tried just restarting your OnePlus since this problem started to occur? If it's just a one-off glitch that might fix the problem. Or has this been a long-standing issue since you've had this phone?

Also, try looking in the Settings >> Sound and vibration menu and see if there's any options there that might be relevant.