Arch Linux

andyturfer

Member

Registered: 2021-01-08

Posts: 87

[SOLVED] No audio until I switch audio profiles

I bought a new laptop (Dell Inspiron 16 5645) and installed Arch Linux with KDE Plasma. I just have one small issue: there's no sound after booting (or rebooting) until I click the speaker icon in the taskbar and select a different profile.

Screenshot: https://ibb.co/Y0LDh6d

I think I installed "pipewire" for audio during the installation. Packages installed:

$ pacman -Q | grep -i pulse
libpulse 17.0-3
pipewire-pulse 1:1.2.3-1
pulseaudio-qt 1.5.0-1n

$ pacman -Q | grep -i pipe
gst-plugin-pipewire 1:1.2.3-1
kpipewire 6.1.4-1
libpipewire 1:1.2.3-1
pipewire 1:1.2.3-1
pipewire-alsa 1:1.2.3-1
pipewire-audio 1:1.2.3-1
pipewire-jack 1:1.2.3-1
pipewire-pulse 1:1.2.3-1

$ pacman -Q | grep -i plumb
libwireplumber 0.5.5-1
wireplumber 0.5.5-1

Audio details:

Audio:
  Device-1: AMD Rembrandt Radeon High Definition Audio vendor: Dell
    driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus-ID: 03:00.1
  Device-2: AMD ACP/ACP3X/ACP6x Audio Coprocessor vendor: Dell
    driver: snd_pci_ps v: kernel bus-ID: 03:00.5
  Device-3: AMD Family 17h/19h HD Audio vendor: Dell driver: snd_hda_intel
    v: kernel bus-ID: 03:00.6
  API: ALSA v: k6.10.8-arch1-1 status: kernel-api
  Server-1: JACK v: 1.9.22 status: off
  Server-2: PipeWire v: 1.2.3 status: active

How can I get my audio working by default straight after booting (or rebooting)?

Last edited by andyturfer (2024-10-02 02:01:21)

snakes0l1d

Member

Registered: 2024-07-03

Posts: 2

Re: [SOLVED] No audio until I switch audio profiles

I'm also using KDE and have the same issue. Muting and unmuting the device seens to make it work again, but it's not the desired behavior.
I've searched for a way to set the default profile in wireplumber's config, but couldn't get it to work.

Last edited by snakes0l1d (2024-09-07 02:15:23)

andyturfer

Member

Registered: 2021-01-08

Posts: 87

Re: [SOLVED] No audio until I switch audio profiles

...Muting and unmuting the device seems to make it work again, but it's not the desired behavior...

Thanks snakes0l1d, muting and un-muting worked for me too :)

I've created a script that auto-starts in KDE (after logging in) to mute and then un-mute the volume. It's a dirty workaround, but at least now I don't have to remember to do this manually using the multimedia keys!:

#!/bin/bash

/usr/bin/pactl set-sink-mute 0 toggle
/usr/bin/pactl set-sink-mute 0 toggle

I've saved the above script as toggle-mute.sh in /usr/local/bin/.

Then:

• Open Settings.

• Scroll down and click on Autostart.

• Click the Add button (top right).

• Select Add Login Script from the dropdown.

• Navigate to and select toggle-mute.sh (or whatever you've called it).

Last edited by andyturfer (2024-09-08 01:19:22)

andyturfer

Member

Registered: 2021-01-08

Posts: 87

Re: [SOLVED] No audio until I switch audio profiles

Workaround no longer needed. It looks like one of the kernel updates has resolved this issue on the Dell Inspiron 16 5645. Audio now works after rebooting without having to switch the audio profile or muting and unmuting.