7

Is it safe to use my mobile headset on my PC or laptop?

Will it damage my audio chip or corrupt any driver?

In this site it says computers 2 TRS connectors, one for speaker and another for microphone while mobile phone headsets use single 4-conductor TRRS connector. Hence have to use a adapter

Improve this question
3
  • Personally I have used my bluetooth headset for a long time with no issues.
    – Unfundednut
    Jan 11, 2011 at 4:20
  • I dont have a bluetooth headset but I have bluetooth dongle for my PC. So can i connect my PC to mobile via bluetooh and then use my headset (which connected to the mobile).
    – subanki
    Jan 11, 2011 at 4:23
  • Is it okay if I connect my Headphones while my speakers are connected to my PC. and both are turned on ?
    – subanki
    Jan 11, 2011 at 5:22

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
7

Will it damage my audio chip or corrupt any driver?

No and no. Assuming you're talking about passive headphones + mic with TRRS connector, there's no way it should damage your audio chip, and it is (almost) totally driver-independent.

It's quite likely that you can plug your headset into your PC/Laptop and use the inbuilt headphones without any problem. Many recent 3.5mm TRRS jacks have been constructed to be compatible with stereo headphone (TRS) sockets)

Note that you will not be able to use the Mic in your headset when doing this. To make use of the headphones AND the mic you'll need an adaptor to go from TRRS (mic+stereo) --> TRS (stereo) + TRS (mic)

From the wiki:

A three- or four-conductor version of the 2.5 mm plug is widely used on cell phone handsfree headsets, providing mono (three conductor) or stereo (four conductor) sound and a microphone input. Common stereo headphones with the 2.5 mm plug are often not compatible with this type of socket. A 3.5 mm version of this plug is now commonly available on mobile telephones as well. A 3.5 mm stereo-plus-mic jack is available that is compatible with standard 3.5 mm stereo headphones, e.g. Nokia has been widely using TRRS connectors with 3.5 mm diameter since 2006. The selected pin assignment, with ground on the sleeve, is as well standardized in OMTP and has been accepted as a national Chinese standard YDT 1885-2009.

TRRS plugs do not work properly with a TRS stereo jack if the ground contact in the jack connects to the microphone contact on the plug. It is therefore a good practice to implement new TRS headphone jacks using actually a TRRS mechanical jacks and connecting ground to sleeve as well as the second ring contact. This way such jacks will provide better compatibility with different TRRS cell phone headsets.

Improve this answer
2
  • Okay so as long as I have a 3.5 mm headset I should have no worries, right?
    – subanki
    Jan 11, 2011 at 5:00
  • Typically, TRS,TRRS pins are arranged in such a way that You have Left, Right, Ground for stereo audio headphones without a microphone, and Left, Right, Ground, Mic for stereo headphones that have a microphone. This means that the Mic position being last on the jack means that it will never activate when a headset is plugged in. In such a case, you'd have a splitter which'd convert from TRRS input to two TRS outputs, one for headphones and one for Mic. Refer cablechick.com.au/blog/understanding-trrs-and-audio-jacks for a diagram showing this.
    – Bharat Mallapur
    Jan 31, 2018 at 11:48
1

I don't see why you wouldn't be able to use it...there are a variety of ways to connect...

If you're worried, create a System Restore point and try it. If you experience any effects that you don't like, just roll back to your restore point.

Improve this answer
5
  • 1
    Why would the computer need bluetooth?
    – AndrejaKo
    Jan 11, 2011 at 4:21
  • @AndreajaKo: I'm not well educated in this area...My answer was more of a guess...I suppose it could work like a wireless mouse does...
    – studiohack
    Jan 11, 2011 at 4:24
  • 2
    In the past one of motherboard's audio chip went damaged after I connected a cheap headphone. So I am a little afraid to connect it.
    – subanki
    Jan 11, 2011 at 4:36
  • @subanki: that's understandable.
    – studiohack
    Jan 11, 2011 at 4:38
  • 4
    This is very low-level, physical-only connection that will have no bearing on software. Creating a system restore point is a waste of time.
    – imoatama
    Jan 11, 2011 at 4:59
0

For proper use of a "Headset" a stereo headphone microphone combo with the TRRS 4 conductor 3.5mm jack plug I would suggest a GE 26694 single trrs to dual trrs Smartphone-to-PC adapter or equivalent; as you will be able to use BOTH the microphone and the stereo headphone capabilities of said headset.

There are some newer computers that do not need a(n) adapter for full functionality, for instance a lot of the new macs and the HP DM1Z. --1/21/2012

There are also PC headset dual trs to single trrs converters so pc headsets can be used with smartphones.

Improve this answer

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .