Arch Linux

vdoan

Member

Registered: 2026-05-17

Posts: 1

Internal microphone not working

Hi, I’m using Arch Linux on an ASUS VivoBook X409FA (Intel i3-8145U, Realtek ALC256 codec). My internal microphone is detected by PipeWire, but it records no audio at all. External headset microphone (bluetooth) works normally, only the built-in internal microphone has no input.

Current setup:

* Kernel: 7.0.8-arch1-1
* Audio stack: PipeWire + WirePlumber
* Desktop: Caelestia shell (but issue persists outside DE too)

What works:

* Speakers output audio normally
* Internal mic appears in `wpctl status`
* `pavucontrol` shows only “Internal Microphone”
* In `alsamixer`, `Internal Mic` exists and capture is enabled

What does NOT work:

* No signal from mic in `arecord -vv -f dat /dev/null`
* Recording test with `arecord` creates silent files

Relevant outputs:
`wpctl status`:

* Source: Built-in Audio Analog Stereo

`cat /proc/asound/card0/codec* | grep Codec`:

* Realtek ALC256
* Intel Kabylake HDMI

`pacman -Qs 'pipewire|pulseaudio'`:

local/gst-plugin-pipewire 1:1.6.5-1
    Multimedia graph framework - pipewire
    plugin
local/libpipewire 1:1.6.5-1
    Low-latency audio/video router and
    processor - client library
local/libwireplumber 0.5.14-1
    Session / policy manager implementation
    for PipeWire - client library
local/pavucontrol 1:6.2-1
    PulseAudio Volume Control
local/pipewire 1:1.6.5-1
    Low-latency audio/video router and
    processor
local/pipewire-alsa 1:1.6.5-1
    Low-latency audio/video router and
    processor - ALSA configuration
local/pipewire-audio 1:1.6.5-1
    Low-latency audio/video router and
    processor - Audio support
local/pipewire-jack 1:1.6.5-1
    Low-latency audio/video router and
    processor - JACK replacement
local/pipewire-pulse 1:1.6.5-1
    Low-latency audio/video router and
    processor - PulseAudio replacement
local/wireplumber 0.5.14-1
    Session / policy manager implementation
    for PipeWire

Tried already:

* `sudo pacman -Syu`
* restarting pipewire/wireplumber
* `options snd-hda-intel dmic_detect=0`
* `options snd-hda-intel model=asus-headset-mic`
* `options snd-hda-intel model=headset-mode`
* `options snd-hda-intel model=alc256-asus-aio`
* checked capture/unmute in alsamixer
* tested in pavucontrol

Question:
Is this likely an ALC256 pin config / SOF issue on this model? Has anyone with X409FA or ALC256 fixed internal mic on recent kernels?