All of a sudden the jack on my iPod Touch 4th Gen just wouldn't read, and it's because it thinks it's docked on an iHome or something. The bar itself to adjust the volume is gone, and can only listen on headphones when something is plugged into the USB jack. Very bizzare, I had it in bathroom as I was taking a bath and not sure if the vapor got to it or something. Any suggestions? Thanks CF!
There is either a piece of the headphones activating the headphones, or the jack is touching something that makes it think you have the headphone inserted. Take a picture of it or try to retrieve whatever is stuck in there. This happened to me a long time ago with an iPhone. I always thought it was the iOS acting up when I pressed the volume up or down and the screen said "headphones" and I was all "WTH, they're not inserted, you silly OS!"... but I was able to stick an applicator with crazy glue, with risk, and get the piece of the headphones out. Hope this helps you.
Occasionally lint/fuzz/whatever will accumulate in the headphone jack, which can cause similar issues. When it happened to mine, I took a toothpick and removed said fuzz and it went back to working normally, though it sounds like you might have more of a problem with where it docks? In any case, be sure the connection points are free of debris. Also, do try rebooting it if you haven't already.
