Audio not working after playing a game [SOLVED]

Jujumba · 2026-01-20 11:00:43

Hi. Two days ago I've ran Detroit: Become Human on my machine through Proton and so my laptop speakers don't work anymore. The speakers aren't muted, I made sure to check that first in alsamixer.

Here are some things I've tried so far:
1. Restart pipewire with `systemctl --user start pipewire pipewire-pulse wireplumber`
2. Run speaker-test (nothing)
3. Run speaker-test on a arch linux iso on a usb stick (no sound)
4. Search for any kernel error messages with `journalctl --user -u pipewire -u pipewire-pulse -u wireplumber -xe | grep error` (there are none)

Information about the system audio:

~> aplay -l
**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: Generic [HD-Audio Generic], device 3: HDMI 0 [HDMI 0]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 0: Generic [HD-Audio Generic], device 7: HDMI 1 [HDMI 1]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 0: Generic [HD-Audio Generic], device 8: HDMI 2 [HDMI 2]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: Generic_1 [HD-Audio Generic], device 0: ALC274 Analog [ALC274 Analog]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0

What could be the reason? Any chance of a hardware damage? Thank you very much in advance for any help!

Last edited by Jujumba (Yesterday 11:22:35)

5hridhyan · 2026-01-20 17:01:11

does headphones work?, do you hear sound in headphones.
try power reset idk some say it revives `dead speakers` yes it has edge cases, https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/i … 1551050-16 according to this
drain the power, unplug AC, shutdown, press and hold power button for 15 seconds and then plug AC if necessary or cold boot.

EDIT:

Jujumba wrote:

Run speaker-test on a arch linux iso on a usb stick (no sound)

it rules out wireplumber/pipewire as culprit, test headphones on both system and live ISO and see if it works

in BIOS is there any options toggled off related to speakers? make sure onboard audio is enabled. Some laptops silently disable it after crashes

Jujumba wrote:

Any chance of a hardware damage?

Actual speaker damage from running a game would be extremely unlikely unless there was overheating, liquid, or electrical damage. Much more often this turns out to be a stuck codec, amp power issue, or firmware quirk, and the game might be a coincidence

and for full journal log

journalctl -b | curl -F file=@- 0x0.st

Last edited by 5hridhyan (Yesterday 02:04:13)

Jujumba · 2026-01-20 23:56:19

AC reset cured the problem, don't know how I missed that one!

Thanks a lot!

5hridhyan · Yesterday 00:56:54

glad to hear that
please edit the initial post title and add [SOLVED].

Arch Linux

#1 2026-01-20 11:00:43

Audio not working after playing a game [SOLVED]

#2 2026-01-20 17:01:11

Re: Audio not working after playing a game [SOLVED]

#3 2026-01-20 23:56:19

Re: Audio not working after playing a game [SOLVED]

#4 Yesterday 00:56:54

Re: Audio not working after playing a game [SOLVED]

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