Ubuntu 20.04 headphones detected but no sound

Question

So, after my computer started to be a bit slow this week, I decided to do a reboot. After, the sound output of my headset was not working at all and it seems to me that I have not changed anything on my computer before this infamous reboot. I've had many problem in the past with my output sound on my headset with things like headset not detected, and for this, I always used the command :

pulseaudio -k && sudo alsa force-reload

And, after a couple of tries, my headset would work again. But this time, it is a bit different, the command does not work and the headset IS detected (The headset works perfectly fine on windows). The speakers of my computers works fine and the sound has no problems to go through my HDMI port.

In Settings - Sound, it even says that sound is going to my headset (the little sound bar is moving just normally with my music), same thing with pavucontrol. Also, alsamixer seems quite normal to me (it seems to be the right sound card since I only got one), nothing out of ordinary. Last thing, I got a microphone integrated in my headset from which I can be heard without problems.

Some information about my laptop ASUS GL703V: -I use dual-boot with Windows 10 and ubuntu 20.04. -The output of $ lspci | grep Audio is : 00:1f.3 Audio device: Intel Corporation CM238 HD Audio Controller (rev 31) -My sound card according to Alsamixer : HDA Intel PCH -My chip according to Alsamixer : Realtek ALC295

What have I tried to correct the problem? First, I got to say I don't really understand most of the commands I've tried.

pulseaudio -k && sudo alsa force-reload
sudo alsactl restore
sudo apt-get remove --purge alsa-base
sudo apt-get update;sudo apt-get dist-upgrade; sudo apt-get install pavucontrol linux-sound-base alsa-base alsa-utils lightdm ubuntu-desktop  linux-image-`uname -r` libasound2; sudo apt-get -y --reinstall install linux-sound-base alsa-base alsa-utils lightdm ubuntu-desktop  linux-image-`uname -r` libasound2; killall pulseaudio; rm -r ~/.pulse*; ubuntu-support-status || ubuntu-security-status; sudo usermod -aG `cat /etc/group | grep -e '^pulse:' -e '^audio:' -e '^pulse-access:' -e '^pulse-rt:' -e '^video:' | awk -F: '{print $1}' | tr '\n' ',' | sed 's:,$::g'` `whoami`

I also tried to change the file analog-output-headphones.conf in /usr/share/pulseaudio/alsa-mixer/paths/. I changed

[Element Speaker]
switch = off
volume = off

to

[Element Speaker]
switch = on
volume = ignore

Thanks

Answer 1

I had exactly the same problem as you, except for a ASUS GL503 (but also Realtek ALC295). It drove me nuts as I tried every conceivable sound fix that I have seen for Ubuntu and derived systems. In the end, it appears it is kernel related and it mostly affects us ASUS users. There is a discussion here: https://forum.manjaro.org/t/sound-from-speakers-no-sound-from-3-5mm-jack-audio/5343/20

The easiest solution for me was to edit /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf (I think on some computers, it may be just alsa.conf) and insert this as the last line:

options snd-hda-intel model=headset-mode

Then do a complete shutdown and restart. Loging out and in wont work.

It is possible that this change may cause you to lose the microphone or phones when plugging in the headset. You can try this configuration:

options snd_hda_intel model=dell-headset-multi

In the case that both won't work. You will probably have to try one of the other options in the link that I posted above, which will probably require you to recompile your Kernel with the applicable patch.

Answer 2

There is a workaround for the problem you are facing, I am having the same issue with Realtek ACL295 (Asus Rog GL503). So here is what I found as a fix.

If you want to use Headphone but are willing to sacrifice the headphone mic

Go to :

/etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf

Add the following line at the end as suggested by Ben B

options snd-hda-intel model=headset-mode

Shutdown and cold boot. (Won't work on a restart!)

If you want to use External Microphone but are willing to sacrifice the headphone (hearing) , then replace the above line with the following:

options snd-hda-intel model=headset-multi

Shutdown and cold boot. (Won't work on a restart!)

NOTE: IN BOTH THE CASES YOUR SPEAKERS STILL WORK FINE. HOWEVER, IN THE LATTER, YOUR BUILT-IN MIC WORKS. I PREFER THE SECOND OPTION.

The first option is good, if you want to use headphone mics, external mics etc.

Complete solution (Mic + Audio)

[UPDATE]: This morning I was completely able to fix this issue where you can now use all your headsets with microphones by replacing all the above lines with the following:

options snd_hda_intel model=dell-headset-multi

Even if your system is not a dell system, it'll still work since the setting is for Realtek ALC295 and not a particular brand in general.

Shutdown and cold boot. (Won't work on a restart!)

Once you do this and try plugging in a headphone. Now it will give you an option to choose what type of device it is.

THIS IMAGE HERE

P.S -> They are visible in notification panel due to Gnome Extensions. You can go in settings and choose your preference.

Answer 3

I had some success with uninstalling timidity:

sudo apt-get remove timidity

I do still have to run the pulseaudio/alsa reload, but at least it works now.

pulseaudio -k && sudo alsa force-reload

Answer 4

I've randomly had the same or similar issue and the solution is possibly too simple to widely apply. I have the PulseAudio Volume Control app installed. When I experience the no sound from headphones problem I run it (pavucontrol-qt in my case, but from the menu). Then I go to the Output Devices tab and from the drop-down I select Headphones (sometimes it's tagged Unplugged and sometimes it's tagged Plugged in, doesn't matter, just select it) and then the headphones work. So no command line exercises.

I have not been able to identify any pattern to debug why the loss of audio happens and I have no idea why the manual intervention with PAV works. It just does work for me.

KInfoCenter shows both NVidia Corporation GP104 High Defintion Audio Controller and Intel Corporation 200 Series PCH HD Audio, but I don't know which is active or how to determine that. Maybe the presence of both on the PCI bus is somehow confusing things.

Operating System: Kubuntu 20.04
KDE Plasma Version: 5.18.5
KDE Frameworks Version: 5.68.0
Qt Version: 5.12.8
Kernel Version: 5.4.0-45-generic
OS Type: 64-bit
Processors: 12 × Intel® Core™ i7-8700K CPU @ 3.70GHz
Memory: 31.3 GiB of RAM

Answer 5

Was struggling with this for almost a month, and tried multiple online fixes but the simplest solution I happened to try was removing pulse audio and increasing bass speaker settings in alsamixer. And ta-da! Headphones started working fine.

Answer 6

fwiw executing alsactl kill quit && alsactl init helped in my instance.

Answer 7

I tried removing and re-installing alsa and pulseaudio and it worked for me.

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get remove --purge alsa-base pulseaudio && sudo apt-get install alsa-base pulseaudio && sudo alsa force-reload