Audio Fails After System Idle/Resume on Kernel 6.17 (Regression from 6.12)

Support Audio
1

Audio stops working after leaving the computer idle for an extended period or after suspend/resume on kernel 6.17.11-1-MANJARO. This is a regression - audio worked perfectly on kernel 6.12.

Hardware:

  • Device: Lenovo ThinkPad (Alder Lake platform)
  • Audio Controller: Intel Corporation Alder Lake PCH-P High Definition Audio Controller [8086:51c8] (rev 01)
  • Audio Codec: ALC257 (Realtek)

Software:

  • Kernel: Linux 6.17.11-1-MANJARO #1 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Sun, 07 Dec 2025 07:13:59 +0000 x86_64
  • Audio Driver: sof-audio-pci-intel-tgl (Sound Open Firmware)
  • Audio Stack: PipeWire + WirePlumber
  • Distribution: Manjaro Linux

Driver Details:

Kernel driver in use: sof-audio-pci-intel-tgl
Kernel modules: snd_soc_avs, snd_sof_pci_intel_tgl, snd_hda_intel
SOF Firmware: version 2:2:0-57864
Firmware ABI: 3:22:1
Kernel ABI: 3:23:1

When It Happens

  • After leaving the computer idle for an extended period (exact duration varies)
  • After suspend/resume cycles
  • Does NOT happen immediately after boot - audio works fine initially

Symptoms

When the issue occurs:

  1. Audio completely stops working (no sound output)

  2. PipeWire/WirePlumber services become unresponsive

  3. Audio control commands fail with connection errors:

    pw-cli: Error: "failed to connect: Host is down"
pactl: Connection failure: Connection refused

Error Messages in Journal

Multiple WirePlumber link failures appear in the system journal:

wireplumber[2245]: wp-event-dispatcher: <WpAsyncEventHook:0x556f900c57d0> failed: <WpSiStandardLink:0x556f9042afb0> link failed: 1 of 1 PipeWire links failed to activate
wireplumber[2245]: wp-event-dispatcher: <WpAsyncEventHook:0x556f900c57d0> failed: <WpSiStandardLink:0x556f903e33c0> link failed: some node was destroyed before the link was created

These errors indicate that WirePlumber cannot properly create audio pipeline links, and some audio nodes are being destroyed prematurely (race condition).

Workaround:

systemctl --user restart pipewire pipewire-pulse wireplumber

This workaround proves that the issue is with the audio stack not recovering properly, rather than a hardware failure.

Mod note: Any resolution to an issue must be noted in a separate post to allow a marked solution. Workaround applied. No charge.

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Workaround provided by OP: