Hello ! I recently switched to linux on my laptop and I’m currently on testing (trixie) and since I changed my audio set-up to have a headset for a call and a Bluetooth speaker for media etc my laptop’s speakers aren’t appearing anymore in pulse audio.
I must admit I’m a bit clueless on what to do to solve this issue, any help would be appreciated, I tried to find stuff online but nothing really seemed to match my issue as when the Bluetooth speaker is connected everything works fine. I’m trying to stick to the “don’t execute it if you don’t understand it” and well I don’t want to worsen the issue.
Thanks in advance for any help !
Hello. Had lots of issues like this myself with laptop speakers. Unfortunately probably can’t offer a complete fix.
I wound up breaking, reinstalling, breaking, and reinstalling Linux many times trying to get my audio fixed. Turns out my issues was because of how the dual boot was working…
I recommend a troubleshooting process that looks like:
Info gathering:
- Drivers installed
- Laptop hardware
- Software installed and versions
Research
- Why do you need that software? E.G. Pipewire vs Pulse Audio vs ALSA
- Alternative hardware drivers?
Experimentation
- try live USB of same OS to see if the same issue, also can run commands willy nilly without fear of breaking current setup
- try live USB of similar OSs to see if the same issue if for example Ubuntu speakers work, can you find those drivers and install onto your current laptop etc…
“don’t execute it if you don’t understand it”
That’s all well and good as long as you make an effore to understand the commands suggested. If you limit yourself to preexisting knowledge you’re in trouble. Just duckduckgo the individual commands. I’ve been using Linux now for years, and haven’t come across malicious commands just ones that broke my particular setup because I did something dumb before.
Thanks for the reply ! I’ll look into that ! And I’m not scarred off malicious command i do understand vaguely what command do, what I’m afraid of is changing config file from the terminal to add or replace stuff that i don’t understand and that part is a bit complicated to me even looking into it on the internet. This post really comes after a good 4h at least of trying to get it to work and searching stuff online. I already tried some things to no avail yet. Thanks again !
Don’t give up too easily. I’m both proud and ashamed to say it took me a year to fix my audio issues…
But for your config files (mostly) it’s cool to copy them as a backup. I rename mine to name-default.txt or name-4idiot.txt before making my changes so I can either refer back or just overwrite it completely if I mess up that much.
Also make backups of the system if you need your files!!!
I didn’t use Linux for work so I didn’t have anything I would miss when I reinstalled Linux after blowing it up beyond repair. Backups!
Keep in mind that some laptops will turn off the speakers if you plug in a 3.5mm jack so perhaps disconnect the headset to see if the speakers become available.