I have a Lenovo U410 (No touch screen) that runs Windows 8.1. I haven't swapped out any hardware, still using just the default specs. My problem seems to be either rare or unique, as I can't seem to find anything on it in the support section. Basically, I'm only getting part of the audio my computer is outputting through the jack. If I play music, it is horribly static-y and sounds echo-ey and far away. Playing games like Starbound, things that occur nearby the player are almost inaudible, while things that are almost offscreen are much louder. My guess is that I'm either only getting one channel of the audio or the bass frequencies are being lost. The only way I can hear it correctly is if I have it just barely plugged in, barely being defined as I'm holding it in at the point right before it pops out. I think that covers it, but I can provide more information if necessary.
Audio jack on my laptop isn't working right. Do I need to replace it, or can I fix it somehow?
All of the interface jacks of all laptops have potential to fail. Anything mechanical eventually fails. If under warranty, contact Lenovo.
It is possible that it is a connector issue. There may be flat rate repair places around, but you are looking at a minimum of $50 and they often say it is a motherboard issue if the jack is soldered to the motherboard.
You might find a maintenance manual at Lenovo.com. They are very good about making them available at least to see whether it is on a cable or directly soldered.
If not under warranty, you may want to start with a cheap fix usb audio.
There are various ones around at Amazon, Newegg, and other sites
http://www.miniinthebox.com/professional-3d-sound-and-virtual-5-1-surround-usb-2-0-external-audio-sound-card_p1578993.html
and there are many choices.
For less than $10 at least you figure out whether you can bypass the laptop audio completely.