Apple - Silica Gel stuck in headphone jack

Had two silica beads stuck in my iPad earphone jack at the same time. What a pain! Took a paperclip end and scraped the beads up and down, taking care not to touch the earphone contacts. The sides turned to powder within 2-3 minutes allowing for each one to fall out. Wrapped the paperclip with paper towel and wiped the inside.

My sister is with the exactly same problem! She got a silica gel ball stuck her ipod touch 4 jack. I used a needle (sewing one) and "destroyed" the silica ball. Took a while, but it worked!

This is the number one foreign object I've seen stuck in iPod / iOS headphone jacks and just like getting coins and business cards and CD's out of a stuck optical drive slot, your best bet is to get it in the hands of a trained technician to remove.

Now, if you can't get to a technician you trust, you'll have to use some ingenuity to decide if you are able to dislodge it.

If the bead rattles around when you gently invert the device, it's very likely you could get it out by mechanical means (centripetal force as you swing your arm) or light suction or very carefully getting a lever past the sphere.

Unfortulately, most cases the bead gets firmly wedged at the bottom due to force from a headphone jack and the force needed to crush the sphere usually damages the thin metal contacts that are designed to hold the tip of your headphone jack in the port.

You may want to consider the repair options and cost of a new jack before deciding to force out a foreign body such as a silica bead.

Good luck, and hopefully this doesn't end up in a costly repair or replacement for you.