USB mic not detected in Pulse audio

Zjwex · 16 April 2021 04:47

I have a USB Blue Snowball. The mic works fine, the cable is good and it’s been tested in multiple USB ports.

It will show up in lsusb

Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 003 Device 002: ID 0d8c:0005 C-Media Electronics, Inc. Blue Snowball
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 002 Device 002: ID 1058:25e1 Western Digital Technologies, Inc. My Passport (WD20NMVW)
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 1b1c:1b2e Corsair Corsair Corsair Gaming M65 Pro RGB Mouse
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 0951:16d2 Kingston Technology HX-KB4BL1-US [HYPERX Alloy FPS Pro]
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

But not in Pulse or Alsamixer.

pacmd list-sources

  * index: 0
	name: <alsa_output.pci-0000_0b_00.4.analog-stereo.monitor>
	driver: <module-alsa-card.c>
	flags: DECIBEL_VOLUME LATENCY DYNAMIC_LATENCY
	state: SUSPENDED
	suspend cause: IDLE
	priority: 1030
	volume: front-left: 65536 / 100% / 0.00 dB,   front-right: 65536 / 100% / 0.00 dB
	        balance 0.00
	base volume: 65536 / 100% / 0.00 dB
	volume steps: 65537
	muted: no
	current latency: 0.00 ms
	max rewind: 0 KiB
	sample spec: s16le 2ch 44100Hz
	channel map: front-left,front-right
	             Stereo
	used by: 0
	linked by: 0
	configured latency: 0.00 ms; range is 0.50 .. 1999.82 ms
	monitor_of: 0
	card: 1 <alsa_card.pci-0000_0b_00.4>
	module: 7
	properties:
		device.description = "Monitor of Starship/Matisse HD Audio Controller Analog Stereo"
		device.class = "monitor"
		alsa.card = "1"
		alsa.card_name = "HD-Audio Generic"
		alsa.long_card_name = "HD-Audio Generic at 0xfc400000 irq 74"
		alsa.driver_name = "snd_hda_intel"
		device.bus_path = "pci-0000:0b:00.4"
		sysfs.path = "/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:08.1/0000:0b:00.4/sound/card1"
		device.bus = "pci"
		device.vendor.id = "1022"
		device.vendor.name = "Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD]"
		device.product.id = "1487"
		device.product.name = "Starship/Matisse HD Audio Controller"
		device.string = "1"
		module-udev-detect.discovered = "1"
		device.icon_name = "audio-card-pci"

pacmd list-sinks

1 sink(s) available.
  * index: 0
	name: <alsa_output.pci-0000_0b_00.4.analog-stereo>
	driver: <module-alsa-card.c>
	flags: HARDWARE HW_MUTE_CTRL HW_VOLUME_CTRL DECIBEL_VOLUME LATENCY DYNAMIC_LATENCY
	state: SUSPENDED
	suspend cause: IDLE
	priority: 9039
	volume: front-left: 18350 /  28% / -33.17 dB,   front-right: 18350 /  28% / -33.17 dB
	        balance 0.00
	base volume: 65536 / 100% / 0.00 dB
	volume steps: 65537
	muted: no
	current latency: 0.00 ms
	max request: 0 KiB
	max rewind: 0 KiB
	monitor source: 0
	sample spec: s16le 2ch 44100Hz
	channel map: front-left,front-right
	             Stereo
	used by: 0
	linked by: 2
	configured latency: 0.00 ms; range is 0.50 .. 1999.82 ms
	card: 1 <alsa_card.pci-0000_0b_00.4>
	module: 7
	properties:
		alsa.resolution_bits = "16"
		device.api = "alsa"
		device.class = "sound"
		alsa.class = "generic"
		alsa.subclass = "generic-mix"
		alsa.name = "ALC887-VD Analog"
		alsa.id = "ALC887-VD Analog"
		alsa.subdevice = "0"
		alsa.subdevice_name = "subdevice #0"
		alsa.device = "0"
		alsa.card = "1"
		alsa.card_name = "HD-Audio Generic"
		alsa.long_card_name = "HD-Audio Generic at 0xfc400000 irq 74"
		alsa.driver_name = "snd_hda_intel"
		device.bus_path = "pci-0000:0b:00.4"
		sysfs.path = "/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:08.1/0000:0b:00.4/sound/card1"
		device.bus = "pci"
		device.vendor.id = "1022"
		device.vendor.name = "Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD]"
		device.product.id = "1487"
		device.product.name = "Starship/Matisse HD Audio Controller"
		device.string = "front:1"
		device.buffering.buffer_size = "352768"
		device.buffering.fragment_size = "176384"
		device.access_mode = "mmap+timer"
		device.profile.name = "analog-stereo"
		device.profile.description = "Analog Stereo"
		device.description = "Starship/Matisse HD Audio Controller Analog Stereo"
		module-udev-detect.discovered = "1"
		device.icon_name = "audio-card-pci"
	ports:
		analog-output-lineout: Line Out (priority 9000, latency offset 0 usec, available: yes)
			properties:
				
		analog-output-headphones: Headphones (priority 9900, latency offset 0 usec, available: no)
			properties:
				device.icon_name = "audio-headphones"
	active port: <analog-output-lineout>

pulseaudio-ctl

pulseaudio-ctl v1.67

 /usr/bin/pulseaudio-ctl {up,down,mute,mute-input,set,atmost,full-status} [n]

 Where up and down adjust volume in ±5 % increments
 Where up and down [n] adjust volume in ±n % increments
 Where mute toggles the mute status on/off
 Where mute-input toggles the input status on/off
 Where set set the volume to [n] %
 Where atmost only takes effect if current volume is higher than [n]
 Where full-status prints volume level, sink and source mute state to stdout

 Optionally, redefine an upper threshold in /home/leto/.config/pulseaudio-ctl/config

 Volume level     : 28 %
 Is sink muted    : no
 Is source muted  : no
 Detected sink    : 0
 Detected source  : 0

pacmd dump

### Configuration dump generated at Thu Apr 15 15:53:55 2021

load-module module-device-restore
load-module module-stream-restore
load-module module-card-restore
load-module module-augment-properties
load-module module-switch-on-port-available
load-module module-udev-detect
load-module module-alsa-card device_id="0" name="pci-0000_09_00.1" card_name="alsa_card.pci-0000_09_00.1" namereg_fail=false tsched=yes fixed_latency_range=no ignore_dB=no deferred_volume=yes use_ucm=yes avoid_resampling=no card_properties="module-udev-detect.discovered=1"
load-module module-alsa-card device_id="1" name="pci-0000_0b_00.4" card_name="alsa_card.pci-0000_0b_00.4" namereg_fail=false tsched=yes fixed_latency_range=no ignore_dB=no deferred_volume=yes use_ucm=yes avoid_resampling=no card_properties="module-udev-detect.discovered=1"
load-module module-jackdbus-detect channels=2
load-module module-bluetooth-policy
load-module module-bluetooth-discover
load-module module-bluez5-discover
load-module module-dbus-protocol
load-module module-native-protocol-unix
load-module module-gsettings
load-module module-default-device-restore
load-module module-always-sink
load-module module-intended-roles
load-module module-suspend-on-idle
load-module module-console-kit
load-module module-systemd-login
load-module module-position-event-sounds
load-module module-role-cork
load-module module-filter-heuristics
load-module module-filter-apply
load-module module-x11-publish display=:0.0 xauthority=/home/leto/.Xauthority
load-module module-x11-xsmp display=:0.0 xauthority=/home/leto/.Xauthority session_manager=local/omega:@/tmp/.ICE-unix/928,unix/omega:/tmp/.ICE-unix/928
load-module module-cli-protocol-unix

set-sink-volume alsa_output.pci-0000_0b_00.4.analog-stereo 0x47ae
set-sink-mute alsa_output.pci-0000_0b_00.4.analog-stereo no
suspend-sink alsa_output.pci-0000_0b_00.4.analog-stereo yes

set-source-volume alsa_output.pci-0000_0b_00.4.analog-stereo.monitor 0x10000
set-source-mute alsa_output.pci-0000_0b_00.4.analog-stereo.monitor no
suspend-source alsa_output.pci-0000_0b_00.4.analog-stereo.monitor yes

set-card-profile alsa_card.pci-0000_09_00.1 off
set-card-profile alsa_card.pci-0000_0b_00.4 output:analog-stereo

set-default-sink alsa_output.pci-0000_0b_00.4.analog-stereo
set-default-source alsa_output.pci-0000_0b_00.4.analog-stereo.monitor

### EOF

If anyone has any idea, it would be greatly appreciated. I’ve been trying a lot of searches and youtube videos and none of them seem to have an applicable solution, or at the least, one I understand.

winnie · 16 April 2021 15:55

What does this yield?

lsmod | grep snd_usb_audio

Zjwex · 16 April 2021 18:14

If I use that specific command it doesn’t do anyting but if I just use lsmod

Module                  Size  Used by
joydev                 28672  0
mousedev               24576  0
ses                    20480  0
enclosure              16384  1 ses
scsi_transport_sas     49152  1 ses
usbhid                 65536  0
uas                    32768  0
usb_storage            81920  2 uas
squashfs               73728  0
rfkill                 28672  2
loop                   36864  0
snd_hda_codec_realtek   147456  1
snd_hda_codec_generic    98304  1 snd_hda_codec_realtek
ledtrig_audio          16384  1 snd_hda_codec_generic
snd_hda_codec_hdmi     73728  1
snd_hda_intel          57344  3
snd_intel_dspcfg       28672  1 snd_hda_intel
soundwire_intel        45056  1 snd_intel_dspcfg
soundwire_generic_allocation    16384  1 soundwire_intel
uinput                 20480  0
soundwire_cadence      36864  1 soundwire_intel
nvidia_drm             65536  5
nvidia_modeset       1232896  9 nvidia_drm
snd_hda_codec         172032  4 snd_hda_codec_generic,snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec_realtek
drm_kms_helper        274432  1 nvidia_drm
edac_mce_amd           32768  0
snd_hda_core          106496  5 snd_hda_codec_generic,snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec,snd_hda_codec_realtek
kvm_amd               114688  0
snd_hwdep              16384  1 snd_hda_codec
soundwire_bus          90112  3 soundwire_intel,soundwire_generic_allocation,soundwire_cadence
cec                    69632  1 drm_kms_helper
vfat                   24576  1
kvm                   933888  1 kvm_amd
fat                    86016  1 vfat
wmi_bmof               16384  0
irqbypass              16384  1 kvm
snd_soc_core          323584  1 soundwire_intel
r8169                 102400  0
drm                   569344  8 drm_kms_helper,nvidia_drm
crct10dif_pclmul       16384  1
crc32_pclmul           16384  0
snd_compress           32768  1 snd_soc_core
ac97_bus               16384  1 snd_soc_core
ghash_clmulni_intel    16384  0
snd_pcm_dmaengine      16384  1 snd_soc_core
snd_pcm               147456  8 snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec,soundwire_intel,snd_compress,snd_soc_core,snd_hda_core,snd_pcm_dmaengine
realtek                24576  1
aesni_intel           372736  0
snd_timer              45056  1 snd_pcm
crypto_simd            16384  1 aesni_intel
agpgart                53248  1 drm
cryptd                 24576  2 crypto_simd,ghash_clmulni_intel
snd                   114688  16 snd_hda_codec_generic,snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hwdep,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec,snd_hda_codec_realtek,snd_timer,snd_compress,snd_soc_core,snd_pcm
mdio_devres            16384  1 r8169
glue_helper            16384  1 aesni_intel
syscopyarea            16384  1 drm_kms_helper
sysfillrect            16384  1 drm_kms_helper
sysimgblt              16384  1 drm_kms_helper
rapl                   16384  0
ccp                   118784  1 kvm_amd
libphy                151552  3 r8169,mdio_devres,realtek
sp5100_tco             20480  0
soundcore              16384  1 snd
pcspkr                 16384  0
fb_sys_fops            16384  1 drm_kms_helper
i2c_piix4              28672  0
rng_core               16384  1 ccp
k10temp                16384  0
gpio_amdpt             20480  0
gpio_generic           20480  1 gpio_amdpt
pinctrl_amd            32768  0
mac_hid                16384  0
wmi                    36864  1 wmi_bmof
acpi_cpufreq           28672  0
nvidia              34181120  362 nvidia_modeset
crypto_user            20480  0
fuse                  163840  5
ip_tables              32768  0
x_tables               53248  1 ip_tables
ext4                  937984  1
crc32c_generic         16384  0
crc16                  16384  1 ext4
mbcache                16384  1 ext4
jbd2                  151552  1 ext4
crc32c_intel           24576  2
xhci_pci               20480  0

winnie · 16 April 2021 18:42

It’s not loaded. Hm. Try manually loading it for now:

sudo modprobe snd_usb_audio

Then see if your USB mic shows up.

Zjwex · 17 April 2021 00:47

After doing that lsmod | grep snd_usb_audio shows

snd_usb_audio         315392  0
snd_usbmidi_lib        40960  1 snd_usb_audio
mc                     61440  1 snd_usb_audio
snd_hwdep              16384  2 snd_usb_audio,snd_hda_codec
snd_pcm               147456  9 snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_intel,snd_usb_audio,snd_hda_codec,soundwire_intel,snd_compress,snd_soc_core,snd_hda_core,snd_pcm_dmaengine
snd                   114688  20 snd_hda_codec_generic,snd_seq_device,snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hwdep,snd_hda_intel,snd_usb_audio,snd_usbmidi_lib,snd_hda_codec,snd_hda_codec_realtek,snd_timer,snd_compress,snd_soc_core,snd_pcm,snd_rawmidi

It still doesn’t list it in Pulse or Alsa however, and the lists don’t show any change.

winnie · 17 April 2021 00:55

Can you do it in this order, from a fresh reboot? Have the mic plugged in during this time.

sudo modprobe snd_usb_audio
~~sudo alsa force-reload~~
pulseaudio -k

Zjwex · 17 April 2021 03:32

modprobe prompts for password and then returns to prompt, sudo alsa says is an invalid command, so I tried sudo alsamixer force-reload and it brings up the mixer panel, which doesn’t show for any capture options, then pulseaudio -k returns nothing.

Checking all the previous commands display exactly the same as listed before.

I’m wondering if there’s something I’m missing, like maybe there’s a program or driver I can download that would correct this? Or is it a quirk of how Manjaro handles USB devices?

winnie · 17 April 2021 04:12

Should have still loaded the module, which from your previous post it does.

Apologies. That was from memory back in my Ubuntu days. I wrote that post from a Windows PC.

It won’t show anything in the terminal, but it restarts the pulseaudio sound server in the background.

Just to make sure, when you’re in alsamixer, if you press F6, do you see your USB mic listed, after doing the above steps? (Skip the “alsa reload” step.)

Another thing to rule out is testing with another distro. Are you able to boot from a Live USB of another distro (say Ubuntu or Mint) and see if the USB mic shows up in Pulseaudio?

Zjwex · 18 April 2021 02:46

Ill have to try again at a later date as I have another iss prevention me from using the system.

My brand new AsRock mobo intermittently fails to detect my m.2 drive. if I can get it to work again momentarily I’ll try to test out the things you mentioned but until then I have to put it on hold. Thank you for your time.

winnie · 20 April 2021 21:33

Understood. As for the m.2 drive, what key is it? B? M? B+M? Consult your motherboard’s manual if you’re using it in SATA mode, as it can either disable (or be disabled by) another SATA drive that is plugged into a reserved port. This SATA port can be anything, such as SATA0, SATA1, even something random like SATA6.

So for example, the manual might say “If your m.2 drive is keyed B+M as SATA mode, it will conflict with the SATA2 port.”

Zjwex · 24 April 2021 02:56

I figured out the issue with the m.2, sorta. If I boot in any other method, even once shutdown properly, it won’t display the m.2 unless I wait a few minutes.

But back to the audio issue, now it won’t detect or play audio through my 3.5mm jack…

I did some other research after noticing something, and realized there is an issue with my Nvidia card drivers.

Apparently, others have had this issue as well, where it has an HDMI audio driver that takes priority over all other audio functions and if you don’t deactivate it, simply put, nothing will work right. The guide I saw explained how to blacklist or remove it in Debian, but not Arch. So I’m stuck with trying to find a solution for mine.

winnie · 24 April 2021 13:46

If that’s the case, you can try to “pseudo” blacklist it during boot:

su -c ‘echo “install snd_hda_codec_hdmi /bin/true” > /etc/modprobe.d/99-blacklist-hdmi-audio.conf’

Then reboot. If the above helps, make sure to have a copy of this file (99-blacklist-hdmi-audio.conf) in your home folder somewhere in case you need it in the future.

Before trying the above, what if you simply disable the Nvidia HDMI audio via Pulseaudio’s GUI?

Zjwex · 25 April 2021 00:49

With some research I added it to the blacklist. So it doesn’t show up in Pulse audio anymore. However it does now only list Dummy Output(and Monitor of Dummy Output for mic)

I looked on Realtek’s site and they have instructions for installing drivers on Linux, but it requires compiling and I’m not that advanced yet.

I had tried to disable it in the GUI but the option to disable was greyed out and it wouldn’t let me select it.

Is there another option for audio control for Manjaro? Because it seems like a LOT of people have audio issues.

nikgnomic · 28 April 2021 06:44

This USB microphone should work if the ALSA driver snd_usb_audio is loaded

It is confirmed to work on many other systems - https://linux-hardware.org/?id=usb:0d8c-0005

A hardware scan from another Manjaro user confirms that the USB microphone is working with kernel driver snd_usb_audio in inxi

  Device-3: C-Media Blue Snowball type: USB 
  driver: hid-generic,snd-usb-audio,usbhid bus ID: 3-1:2 chip ID: 0d8c:0005

Device is detected in ALSA arecord

card 2: MICROPHONE [USB MICROPHONE], device 0: USB Audio [USB Audio]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0

The Realtek onboard audio uses ALSA driver snd_hda_intel (as shown in pacmd data)
Blacklisting this driver will not help to get snd_usb_audio driver, it will only disable other audio devices

If all audio devices are unavailable, PulseAudio creates virtual output Dummy Output and Monitor of Dummy Output so audio applications can play to an inaudible audio stream rather than freeze or crash because no output is available

I suggest you boot system from a Live USB ISO and check if USB microphone is detected with the ALSA driver

inxi -Aa

and if the Microphone is detected as an ALSA capture device

arecord -l

and if the microphone is detected in PulseAudio

pactl list short sinks

linux-aarhus · 9 February 2022 17:44