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I recently upgraded to Ubuntu 20.04 lts from 18.04 lts. After reboot audio is not working. I tried to reinstall pulseaudio and alsa but still not working. sudo apt-get install --reinstall alsa-base pulseaudio sudo alsa force-reload still not working.

output

 └─▶ inxi -SMA
System:    Host: Wizard Kernel: 5.4.0-26-generic x86_64 bits: 64 Desktop: Gnome 3.36.1 Distro: Ubuntu 20.04 LTS (Focal Fossa) 
Machine:   Type: Portable System: Dell product: Vostro 2520 v: N/A serial: <superuser/root required> 
           Mobo: Dell model: 0V1NDP v: A11 serial: <superuser/root required> BIOS: Dell v: A11 date: 02/24/2014 
Audio:     Device-1: Intel 7 Series/C216 Family High Definition Audio driver: snd_hda_intel 
           Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.4.0-26-generic 
 

output

└─▶ lspci 
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation 3rd Gen Core processor DRAM Controller (rev 09)
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation 3rd Gen Core processor Graphics Controller (rev 09)
00:16.0 Communication controller: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C216 Chipset Family MEI Controller #1 (rev 04)
00:1a.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C216 Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller #2 (rev 04)
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C216 Chipset Family High Definition Audio Controller (rev 04)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C216 Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 1 (rev c4)
00:1c.3 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C216 Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 4 (rev c4)
00:1c.5 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C210 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 6 (rev c4)
00:1d.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C216 Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller #1 (rev 04)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation HM75 Express Chipset LPC Controller (rev 04)
00:1f.2 SATA controller: Intel Corporation 7 Series Chipset Family 6-port SATA Controller [AHCI mode] (rev 04)
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C216 Chipset Family SMBus Controller (rev 04)
07:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Inc. and subsidiaries BCM43142 802.11b/g/n (rev 01)
09:00.0 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller (rev 07)
7

7 Answers 7

19

Just in case somebody reached this question looking for a solution. The only native solution (no need to do something external) is provided by @Nate on this link https://askubuntu.com/a/37609/9598 which I reproduce partially here to give you a clue on how to fix this problem.

I [...] noticed that the ACLs weren't set in /dev/snd

sudo setfacl -m u:$USER:rw /dev/snd/*

and then do a reboot of your computer.

Running this command in a terminal will fix the issue.

Thank you very much Michael Butler

4
  • 2
    it worked to me, after a reboot.
    – luca76
    Sep 15, 2020 at 5:27
  • This worked for me too Aug 1, 2021 at 8:56
  • How to make it permanent? When I reboot this fix is gone. Aug 1, 2021 at 9:19
  • I don't know under which circumstances it is removed on reboot, but you can add this command to your crontab using sudo crontab -e then add @reboot setfacl -m u:$USER:rw /dev/snd/*. Maybe you are using a removable sound card? If so, just make sure your sound device is ready on start. Otherwise you may need to wait for a while sleep 60 (for 60 seconds delay), before the command runs. Aug 4, 2021 at 18:33
19

Your speakers may be detected as unplugged which causes them to be ignored.

Temporary fix:

  1. sudo apt install pavucontrol
  2. Run pavucontrol
  3. Configuration tab > Profile > Analogue Stereo Output (unplugged) (unavailable)

Speakers should work but it will reset when headphones are unplugged or system rebooted.

Permanent fix:

  1. sudo apt install alsa-tools-gui
  2. Run hdajackretask
  3. Parser hints > jack_detect = no
  4. Apply now
  5. Install boot override
4
  • 1
    The second one worked for me, even if there were error messages when I applied it.
    – billy
    May 14, 2020 at 11:22
  • 1
    Tried everything for asus zenbook pro ux434f but didnt work. Finally permanent fix worked for me after a restart (didn't installed boot override though). I will read the documentation and would then install boot override.
    – Niranjan
    Jun 7, 2020 at 18:30
  • Haven't tried the first solution, but the second one worked for Realtek ALC897 (ASUS PRIME H570-PLUS motherboard) and Ubuntu 21.10 Feb 21, 2022 at 13:16
  • Great 👍 fixed my problem with hp probook 450 g4 Jul 24, 2023 at 11:28
12

I think i have a workaround for your problem: Try

sudo alsa force-reload

This brought my soundcard back to life. But it doesn't survive a reboot, so I am working on making the change persistent... See:

https://www.maketecheasier.com/fix-no-sound-issue-ubuntu/

5
  • I already tried this.. see at question Apr 24, 2020 at 19:34
  • this works for me on Dell XPS L502X, and keeps working after sleep.
    – geoffrey
    Apr 29, 2020 at 18:20
  • @geoffrey, why shouldn't it be working after sleep?
    – Alexey
    May 4, 2020 at 8:37
  • Well because it's said that it doesn't persist after reboot. I don't know the internal working. I just wanted to add the info, maybe it could help someone diagnosing the problem better.
    – geoffrey
    May 5, 2020 at 9:08
  • @geoffrey, reboot has nothing to do with sleep. Sleep changes nothing, your comment almost certainly will not help.
    – Alexey
    May 16, 2020 at 13:26
10

What fixed it for me after an upgrade to 20.04 was:

sudo apt purge timidity-daemon

Then reboot.
Quick and easy so worth trying!

9
  • 2
    this worked for me. None of the other things did.
    – Space Bear
    May 5, 2020 at 13:07
  • 2
    Didn't work for me. I don't have timidity-daemon installed
    – Greg
    May 10, 2020 at 10:16
  • 1
    This worked for me as well!
    – cberner
    Jun 23, 2020 at 5:05
  • 1
    I don't have timidity-daemon installed too
    – Lebnik
    Aug 7, 2020 at 20:28
  • That helped. Dell XPS here. Can you explain why? Sep 2, 2020 at 20:36
5

Mine is a Dell Inspiron 1525. I tried all the solutions listed here on askubuntu.com and all over the web but of no use and finally to find that it is a bug in Ubuntu 20.04 LTS/kernel-5.4 (Focal kernel) where the internal sound card is not detected. The driver soc-skl is disabled by default from kernel-5.4. Kernels 5.5, 5.6 all disabled this driver. Read the bug reports here and here.

It affects many users. There is nothing much we can do until the kernels are fixed.

For me, the headphones and mic are working. For the time being, connecting the headphone jacks to external speakers solves the problem.

0
2

I tried all the solutions listed here on askubuntu.com and all over the web but of no use and finally to find that it is a bug in Ubuntu 20.04 LTS/kernel-5.4 (Focal kernel) where the internal sound card is not detected.

@Greg gave me The patch which is working for me

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:kaihengfeng/fix-lp1869819 sudo apt-get upgrade

Now Sound is working fine.

https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/alsa-driver/+question/690180

https://launchpad.net/~kaihengfeng/+archive/ubuntu/fix-lp1869819

1

I had this problem and tried everything else. For me the problem was built-in front audio in a desktop: it stopped working after a reboot. Running aplay -l said it saw no cards, but lspci -v reported an Intel Corporation C610/X99 series chipset HD Audio Controller. Its output didn't include any lines for Kernel modules. Googling told me that other people were using snd_hda_intel as the driver, but lsmod | grep snd gave no results. I didn't even have a /proc/asound directory; it was just missing.

It turns out I needed to run this to install the missing driver:

sudo apt-get install linux-modules-extra-`uname -r` 

I actually did have the drivers installed for a previous kernel (visible if I said find /lib/modules -name 'snd-hda*'), but for some reason I didn't have the -extra package installed for my current kernel.

Hopefully this helps someone!

1
  • This fixed on my dell laptop the problem with sound, wifi network and hdmi output not working problem after upgrading from ubuntu 18.04 to 20.04.3. For some reason, during upgrade, the -extra package didn't got installed
    – Claudiu
    Sep 12, 2021 at 14:24

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