However they do work in my MP3 player. Not dropped my phone and they were working last time I used the headphones in my N900 - was wquite a while ago.

Can't see anything installed that may be making them not work.

The sound output is fine from the speakers - however when you plug the headphones in, the speakers just continue to play the output.

Any help would be appreciated.

I did Google this and tried typing in dmesg | grep headphone
in x-terminal - no joy.

In Xterm type:then plug in/out your head phones. You should see an output in Xterm showing a reaction when you plug them in. If not, you could have a problem in the headphone socket, check it for debris.

When I plugged it in and out x-term did signal a change

Stated - platform headphone property button state vale true

However when I go back into Media Player - sam eproblem - not recognised

Try plugging in a TV and then a head-set (with mic) they should all state what they are, if they all report correctly then I would assume a software issue so you might have to think about re-flashing.

did you try pluging in another pair of headphones on the N900? When my headphone cable got damaged n900 would not recognise them but my mp3 player whould. Then it got damaged more and they stoped functioning.

Tried other earphones and they dont work either, but they do in other things.

Looks like it's busted! Grrrr

No headphone logo appears when I puu the jack in, but if I push it in real tight at an angle it flashes up for a second - so it is a connection issue

i am sorry to hear it