Game Boy no sound or crackling sound (headphone jack, volume wheel, speaker)

Written by the CircuitScope research team in our own words, from the sources listed at the end, and checked by our moderators.

A Game Boy with no speaker sound usually has a dirty headphone jack switch that thinks headphones are plugged in, a dirty or worn volume potentiometer, or a broken speaker wire. Check these in order before looking at capacitors and the amplifier.

Difficulty: Easy · Time: about 45 minutes

Also applies to: Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance

Symptoms

• No sound from the speaker, but sound through headphones
• No sound at all, even through headphones
• Crackling, cutting out or uneven volume when the volume wheel is turned
• One headphone channel missing

Likely causes