I've had this problem for a while and tried a few things, but before I finally give up I thought I'd ask ALUG about it.
Without headphones plugged in, there is a clear input level showing on the sound settings. With any headphones plugged in, however, none. So I can watch videos or whatever, but it's impossible to use video conferencing tools as no-one can hear me.
Ideas?
Mint 19.1. on a Dell Latitude laptop.
Bev.
On 11/10/2022 10:30, Bev Nicolson wrote:
I've had this problem for a while and tried a few things, but before I finally give up I thought I'd ask ALUG about it.
Without headphones plugged in, there is a clear input level showing on the sound settings. With any headphones plugged in, however, none. So I can watch videos or whatever, but it's impossible to use video conferencing tools as no-one can hear me.
Ideas?
Mint 19.1. on a Dell Latitude laptop.
OK - Obvious first - do your headphones have a microphone and is it working - check on another device - e.g. smartphone or tablet. Assuming all is well...
Computers generally have a output volume level and an input (microphone) level for any built in devices.
They also usually show have output and input volume levels for any audio devices that you plug in.
They also sometimes have a Master volume input & output level. Also, any/all of these inputs or outputs can be muted, irrespective of the volume level.
Now, what you need to do is find the audio app/widget/program/setting in Mint that shows you the volume levels and mute status. If you find it, I suspect the problem will become apparent quite quickly.
Usually there is some sort of volume app on the task/status bar. it may reveal extra settings if you right click on it. Alternatively, you may need to install an app/program/widget or taskbar "indicator" to show these details.
Unfortunately, Linux has used various audio systems over the years, and different distros use different systems. I don't have Mint, so I can't tell you what it uses, so I can't tell you a likely app to install. There could be the equivalent of a control-panel style app that contains all settings.
Alternatively, you might be able to control the microphone volume using a messaging system like skype, zoom, teams etc.
As a last resort, try installing alsamixer or pulse audio volume control (or similar). Try and work out what mint is using first (e.g. Alsa or Pulse Audio).
Good luck
Steve
On Tue, 11 Oct 2022 at 16:07, steve-ALUG@hst.me.uk wrote:
On 11/10/2022 10:30, Bev Nicolson wrote:
Without headphones plugged in, there is a clear input level showing on the sound settings. With any headphones plugged in, however, none. So I can watch videos or whatever, but it's impossible to use video conferencing tools as no-one can hear me.
Ideas?
Mint 19.1. on a Dell Latitude laptop.
(or similar). Try and work out what mint is using first (e.g. Alsa or Pulse Audio).
Ha! Is this the dreaded Pulseaudio shenanigans? I had this months ago where plugging in USB headphones would confuse Pulseaudio into thinking there was no sound output at all (even thought I had Line Out wired up and working before plugging in the USB device). Sometimes it would work, sometimes it would terminate all sound devices.
A restart of the pulseaudio thing ("pulseaudio -k" on the command line) usually made it work.
Best wishes, Srdjan
On 11/10/2022 15:50, steve-ALUG@hst.me.uk wrote:
On 11/10/2022 10:30, Bev Nicolson wrote:
I've had this problem for a while and tried a few things, but before I finally give up I thought I'd ask ALUG about it.
Without headphones plugged in, there is a clear input level showing on the sound settings. With any headphones plugged in, however, none. So I can watch videos or whatever, but it's impossible to use video conferencing tools as no-one can hear me.
Ideas?
Mint 19.1. on a Dell Latitude laptop.
<snip>
Now, what you need to do is find the audio app/widget/program/setting in Mint that shows you the volume levels and mute status. If you find it, I suspect the problem will become apparent quite quickly.
You'd think, wouldn't you? But no.
Usually there is some sort of volume app on the task/status bar. it may reveal extra settings if you right click on it. Alternatively, you may need to install an app/program/widget or taskbar "indicator" to show these details.
<snip>
As a last resort, try installing alsamixer or pulse audio volume control (or similar). Try and work out what mint is using first (e.g. Alsa or Pulse Audio).
Alsa, as it turns out. Installed the Gnome gui. Not finding it intuitive but it's what Mint uses. I can tell, however, that it's more helpful than the panel sound settings menu.
Bev
On 11/10/2022 16:30, Srdjan Todorovic wrote:
On Tue, 11 Oct 2022 at 16:07, steve-ALUG@hst.me.uk wrote:
On 11/10/2022 10:30, Bev Nicolson wrote:
Without headphones plugged in, there is a clear input level showing on the sound settings. With any headphones plugged in, however, none. So I can watch videos or whatever, but it's impossible to use video conferencing tools as no-one can hear me.
Ideas?
Mint 19.1. on a Dell Latitude laptop.
(or similar). Try and work out what mint is using first (e.g. Alsa or Pulse Audio).
Ha! Is this the dreaded Pulseaudio shenanigans? I had this months ago where plugging in USB headphones would confuse Pulseaudio into thinking there was no sound output at all (even thought I had Line Out wired up and working before plugging in the USB device). Sometimes it would work, sometimes it would terminate all sound devices.
A restart of the pulseaudio thing ("pulseaudio -k" on the command line) usually made it work.
Best wishes, Srdjan
Pulse and Alsa seemed intertwined on this machine?
pulseaudio -k made it twitch a bit. There appeared to be a touch more sound detected, in other words. Not enough though.
Playing with alsamixer in terminal. Ditto.
It did work once (albeit sometimes Zoom played up, but it does that anyway) so I'm wondering what, between then and now, changed.
Bev
On Thu, 13 Oct 2022 at 21:21, Bev Nicolson lumos@gmx.co.uk wrote:
Pulse and Alsa seemed intertwined on this machine?
pulseaudio -k made it twitch a bit. There appeared to be a touch more sound detected, in other words. Not enough though.
Specifically, when I had to use pulseaudio -k, it seemed to merely be re-detecting the sound hardware and restarting something internally. Before that command, I did not see my onboard sound card. After the command, it showed up in the sound tray's list, and gave me the audio volume options for it. So, maybe it's now redetected yours but you now need to play with the volume controls / select which device is the output device?
Best of luck Srdj
-
Bev Nicolson -
Srdjan Todorovic -
steve-ALUG＠hst.me.uk