Only Headphones Working in Ubuntu Studio 25.04

sem · October 6, 2025, 2:17pm

Ubuntu Version:

Ubuntu Studio 25.04

Desktop Environment (if applicable):

KDE Plasma

Problem Description:

My computer does not play audio through speakers, but can play audio through headphones. The speakers work on windows with a driver/gui called “VIA”.

More Details:
The sound menu gives me 4 options for NVIDIA HDMI, and 5 options for “Built-In Pro Audio”. The gui speaker test gives me white noise for "Built-In Pro Audio: aux0 and aux1, which are the headphone jack, but no others make a sound.

The back of the computer has 6 x 1/8" outlets for plugging in a speaker, as well as 1x headphone jack in the front. My desktop speakers which aren’t working are plugged into the center top plug.

Relevant System Information:

Sound works as expected under windows, but had the same problem with the KDE distro live usb.

Screenshots or Error Messages:

# Command Output:

$ lspci | grep -i audio
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C216 Chipset Family High Definition Audio Controller (rev 04)
01:00.1 Audio device: NVIDIA Corporation GM204 High Definition Audio Controller (rev a1)

$ inxi -A
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel 7 Series/C216 Family High Definition Audio
    driver: snd_hda_intel
  Device-2: NVIDIA GM204 High Definition Audio driver: snd_hda_intel
  API: ALSA v: k6.14.0-33-generic status: kernel-api
  Server-1: PipeWire v: 1.2.7 status: active

$ speaker-test -c 2
# no sound output

$ aplay -L
null
    Discard all samples (playback) or generate zero samples (capture)
lavrate
    Rate Converter Plugin Using Libav/FFmpeg Library
samplerate
    Rate Converter Plugin Using Samplerate Library
speexrate
    Rate Converter Plugin Using Speex Resampler
jack
    JACK Audio Connection Kit
oss
    Open Sound System
pipewire
    PipeWire Sound Server
pulse
    PulseAudio Sound Server
speex
    Plugin using Speex DSP (resample, agc, denoise, echo, dereverb)
upmix
    Plugin for channel upmix (4,6,8)
vdownmix
    Plugin for channel downmix (stereo) with a simple spacialization
default
    Default ALSA Output (currently PipeWire Media Server)
hw:CARD=PCH,DEV=0
    HDA Intel PCH, Generic Analog
    Direct hardware device without any conversions
hw:CARD=PCH,DEV=1
    HDA Intel PCH, Generic Digital
    Direct hardware device without any conversions
hw:CARD=PCH,DEV=3
    HDA Intel PCH, Generic Digital
    Direct hardware device without any conversions
plughw:CARD=PCH,DEV=0
    HDA Intel PCH, Generic Analog
    Hardware device with all software conversions
plughw:CARD=PCH,DEV=1
    HDA Intel PCH, Generic Digital
    Hardware device with all software conversions
plughw:CARD=PCH,DEV=3
    HDA Intel PCH, Generic Digital
    Hardware device with all software conversions
sysdefault:CARD=PCH
    HDA Intel PCH, Generic Analog
    Default Audio Device
front:CARD=PCH,DEV=0
    HDA Intel PCH, Generic Analog
    Front output / input
surround21:CARD=PCH,DEV=0
    HDA Intel PCH, Generic Analog
    2.1 Surround output to Front and Subwoofer speakers
surround40:CARD=PCH,DEV=0
    HDA Intel PCH, Generic Analog
    4.0 Surround output to Front and Rear speakers
surround41:CARD=PCH,DEV=0
    HDA Intel PCH, Generic Analog
    4.1 Surround output to Front, Rear and Subwoofer speakers
surround50:CARD=PCH,DEV=0
    HDA Intel PCH, Generic Analog
    5.0 Surround output to Front, Center and Rear speakers
surround51:CARD=PCH,DEV=0
    HDA Intel PCH, Generic Analog
    5.1 Surround output to Front, Center, Rear and Subwoofer speakers
surround71:CARD=PCH,DEV=0
    HDA Intel PCH, Generic Analog
    7.1 Surround output to Front, Center, Side, Rear and Woofer speakers
iec958:CARD=PCH,DEV=0
    HDA Intel PCH, Generic Digital
    IEC958 (S/PDIF) Digital Audio Output
hdmi:CARD=PCH,DEV=0
    HDA Intel PCH, Generic Digital
    HDMI Audio Output
dmix:CARD=PCH,DEV=0
    HDA Intel PCH, Generic Analog
    Direct sample mixing device
dmix:CARD=PCH,DEV=1
    HDA Intel PCH, Generic Digital
    Direct sample mixing device
dmix:CARD=PCH,DEV=3
    HDA Intel PCH, Generic Digital
    Direct sample mixing device
usbstream:CARD=PCH
    HDA Intel PCH
    USB Stream Output
hw:CARD=NVidia,DEV=3
    HDA NVidia, HDMI 0
    Direct hardware device without any conversions
hw:CARD=NVidia,DEV=7
    HDA NVidia, HDMI 1
    Direct hardware device without any conversions
hw:CARD=NVidia,DEV=8
    HDA NVidia, HDMI 2
    Direct hardware device without any conversions
hw:CARD=NVidia,DEV=9
    HDA NVidia, HDMI 3
    Direct hardware device without any conversions
plughw:CARD=NVidia,DEV=3
    HDA NVidia, HDMI 0
    Hardware device with all software conversions
plughw:CARD=NVidia,DEV=7
    HDA NVidia, HDMI 1
    Hardware device with all software conversions
plughw:CARD=NVidia,DEV=8
    HDA NVidia, HDMI 2
    Hardware device with all software conversions
plughw:CARD=NVidia,DEV=9
    HDA NVidia, HDMI 3
    Hardware device with all software conversions
hdmi:CARD=NVidia,DEV=0
    HDA NVidia, HDMI 0
    HDMI Audio Output
hdmi:CARD=NVidia,DEV=1
    HDA NVidia, HDMI 1
    HDMI Audio Output
hdmi:CARD=NVidia,DEV=2
    HDA NVidia, HDMI 2
    HDMI Audio Output
hdmi:CARD=NVidia,DEV=3
    HDA NVidia, HDMI 3
    HDMI Audio Output
dmix:CARD=NVidia,DEV=3
    HDA NVidia, HDMI 0
    Direct sample mixing device
dmix:CARD=NVidia,DEV=7
    HDA NVidia, HDMI 1
    Direct sample mixing device
dmix:CARD=NVidia,DEV=8
    HDA NVidia, HDMI 2
    Direct sample mixing device
dmix:CARD=NVidia,DEV=9
    HDA NVidia, HDMI 3
    Direct sample mixing device
usbstream:CARD=NVidia
    HDA NVidia
    USB Stream Output

What I’ve Tried:

$ systemctl --user restart wireplumber pipewire pipewire-pulse
$ rm -r ~/.config/pulse

Added to “/etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf”

options snd-hda-intel dmic_detect=0
options snd-hda-intel model=generic enable=yes

Guides Followed

https://knowledgebase.frame.work/ubuntu-audio-issues-Bkw2Wlf2o
I found this guide, but have not tried the steps yet, since I’m not sure whether they could make the problem worse. I don’t know if I am using Pipewire, Pulseaudio, Alsa, JACK, OSS, or some combination and I’m not sure how to tell. https://askubuntu.com/questions/1515538/fixing-no-sound-dummy-output-issue-in-ubuntu-24-04

Thank you for any help possible. Hopefully this thread can help others in the future

Actionparsnip · October 6, 2025, 5:05pm

if you install and use pavucontrol does it help?

sem · October 7, 2025, 3:28am

If I install it, I see the same options in pavucontrol as I see in the KDE top panel – just with fewer things I can do.

I am not sure what to do on the “configuration tab” but I tried changing the type of device to 5.1 surround sound (since I have 6 jacks in the back) but that made me lose the sound in headphones without gaining anything.

How can I clarify what the problem actually might be?

EDIT: OK – with Pavucontrol, with help from https://askubuntu.com/questions/1230363/internal-speaker-audio-is-not-working-in-ubuntu-20-04-lts-after-upgrading-from, I selected Configuration>Built-in Audio>Profile: “Built-in Audio Analog Stereo” and now I have sound! Through the desktop speakers! It is very quiet at first, but I could adjust the levels in alsamixer. It seems this one is controlled by “Master” and “PCM” and “Front”

I also changed the alsaconf line to “auto” instead of “generic”, not sure if that affected the fix. I also unplugged and replugged a bunch of the inputs – especially after reading that sometimes having the headphone jack plugged in will mute the other speakers. This does not seem to be documented anywhere, and there is no visual indication that this is happening. But, I tested “hotplugging” this and it is indeed the case.

Actionparsnip · October 7, 2025, 10:37am

I’m really bad at sound issues but I find pavucontrol can help. Glad you got the gold

system · October 10, 2025, 10:38am

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