13

Is there a way of muting sound from my computer everytime I unplug my headphones (Like a phone does) to stop sound then playing out of my speakers?

Improve this question
3

4 Answers 4

Reset to default
11

Howto detect an unplug

Basically what worked for me was:

# When plugged in:
cat /proc/asound/card0/codec#0 > pluggedin.txt

# When not plugged in:
cat /proc/asound/card0/codec#0 > notplugged.txt

# Then compare the differences
diff pluggedin.txt notplugged.txt

For me the difference was in 'Node 0x16' under 'Amp-Out vals':

Node 0x16 [Pin Complex] wcaps 0x40058d: Stereo Amp-Out             Node 0x16 [PinComplex] wcaps 0x40058d: Stereo Amp-Out
  Amp-Out caps: ofs=0x00, nsteps=0x00, stepsize=0x00, mute=1         Amp-Out caps:ofs=0x00, nsteps=0x00, stepsize=0x00, mute=1
  Amp-Out vals:  [0x80 0x80]                                    |    Amp-Out vals:  [0x00 0x00]

So I based the detection on the difference found.

Howto mute

With this knowledge you can have a script running in the background. If unplugged the scripts mutes your speakers like using amixer sset Master playback 0% (or any other command).

#!/bin/bash
# This scripts detecs unplugging headphones.

oldstatus="unrelated string"
while [ 1 ]; do
    # The following line has to be changed depending on the difference (use diff) in '/proc/asound/card0/code#0'
    status=$(grep -A 4 'Node 0x16' '/proc/asound/card0/codec#0' |  grep 'Amp-Out vals:  \[0x80 0x80\]')
    if [ "$status" != "$oldstatus" ]; then
        if [ -n "$status" ]; then
            echo "Plugged in"
             amixer sset Master playback 80% # Set volume to 80%
            oldstatus="$status"
        else
            echo "Unplugged"
            amixer sset Master playback 0%  # Mute
            oldstatus="$status"
        fi
    fi
done

You can make it executable with chmod +x scriptname.sh and put it in the startup applications. You will have to adjust the unplug detection though by finding your own difference in /proc/asound/card0/codec#0 (maybe even change the numbers here for multiple soundcards.

Related Links:

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Audio/PreciseJackDetectionTesting

https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/25776/detecting-headphone-connection-disconnection-in-linux

How to automatically change volume level when un-/plugging headphones?

Improve this answer
3
  • This works perfectly on Mint 17.3. Thanks!
    – bbb
    Dec 31, 2015 at 12:03
  • 5
    Having a script with an infinite while loop (without even a little sleep instruction) running continuously in the background is far from an ideal solution; it's an ugly and hacky workaround, in addition to being a cpu and battery killer. I tried it and went from a normal situation of constant 5% cpu utilization (with browser, spotify, terminal, IDE, Telegram, and other apps open) to 45% constant cpu use.
    – LeartS
    Aug 22, 2017 at 16:06
  • This solution is a horribly bad citizen, as @LearlS points out. Please don't ever do this. For a good-citizen solution, use acpi_listen, as suggested in one of the links in this answer.
    – Don Hatch
    Jun 2, 2018 at 12:25
0

This worked for me on Ubuntu 14.04:

"with the headphones out mute it. Insert headphones and raise volume. Remove headphones and check for mute."

Credit: RevDrStrangelove on https://www.reddit.com/r/LifeProTips/comments/369k76/lpt_request_automaticly_mute_laptop_after_headset/

Improve this answer
0

For ubuntu-16.10 I made few change in this answer.

oldresult="Some Random String"

while [ 1 ]; do
        # incase of plugged out result will contain some data
        result=$(grep "EAPD 0x2: EAPD" /proc/asound/card0/codec#0)

        # checking for oldresult if not same then only go inside
        if [ "$oldresult" != "$result" ]; then
                oldresult=$result
                if [[ -z "$result" ]]; then
                        notify-send "Plugged In"
                        amixer sset Master playback 80% # Set volume to 80%
                 else
                        notify-send "Plugged Out"
                        amixer sset Master playback 0% # Set volume to 0%
                 fi
        fi
done
Improve this answer
1
  • Both this answer and the answer it came from are bad citizens. They appear to work, but they hog the system resources which doesn't scale-- run a few programs like this at the same time, and it ruins the system. Please don't ever do this. You can use one of the solutions involving acpi_listen or similar instead.
    – Don Hatch
    Jun 2, 2018 at 12:43
0

If you have problems with events catching in /etc/acpi/handler.sh see my answer. It's also without device codes as Node 0x16.

Improve this answer

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .