ASUS Chromebook C202SA - No Sound on Mate 20.04

Hello Ubuntu/Gallium Community!

Thank you for helping me with this audio issue (speaker & mic) on my kid's Chromebook laptop.

Hardware:
ASUS Chromebook C202SA (TERRA, 2016, Intel Braswell).

Firmware:
Updated to: Full Firmware [UEFI] (all) / RW_LEGACY (all)). Source: Firmware - GalliumOS Wiki.

OS:
UBUNTU MATE 20.04 (ISO install).

Issue:
Sound works well on Gallium OS.
With Ubuntu Mate, everything seems to be working fine on my system except audio. The system doesn't appear to see my sound card. The only interface I have is Dummy Audio.

Terminal Outputs:

brylen@terra:~$ pulseaudio

E: [pulseaudio] pid.c: Daemon already running.
E: [pulseaudio] main.c: pa_pid_file_create() failed.

brylen@terra:~$ arecord -l

**** List of CAPTURE Hardware Devices ****
card 1: chtrt5650 [chtrt5650], device 0: Audio (*) []
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0

brylen@terra:~$ aplay -l

**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: PCH [HDA Intel PCH], device 3: HDMI 0 [HDMI 0]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 0: PCH [HDA Intel PCH], device 7: HDMI 1 [HDMI 1]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 0: PCH [HDA Intel PCH], device 8: HDMI 2 [HDMI 2]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: chtrt5650 [chtrt5650], device 0: Audio () []
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: chtrt5650 [chtrt5650], device 1: Deep-Buffer Audio (
)
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0

brylen@terra:~$ pacmd list-cards
> 1 card(s) available.

    index: 0
    name: <alsa_card.pci-0000_00_1b.0>
    driver: <module-alsa-card.c>
    owner module: 7
    properties:
        alsa.card = "0"
        alsa.card_name = "HDA Intel PCH"
        alsa.long_card_name = "HDA Intel PCH at 0xd1314000 irq 314"
        alsa.driver_name = "snd_hda_intel"
        device.bus_path = "pci-0000:00:1b.0"
        sysfs.path = "/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1b.0/sound/card0"
        device.bus = "pci"
        device.vendor.id = "8086"
        device.vendor.name = "Intel Corporation"
        device.product.id = "2284"
        device.product.name = "Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series High Definition Audio Controller"
        device.form_factor = "internal"
        device.string = "0"
        device.description = "Built-in Audio"
        module-udev-detect.discovered = "1"
        device.icon_name = "audio-card-pci"
    profiles:
        output:hdmi-stereo: Digital Stereo (HDMI) Output (priority 5900, available: no)
        output:hdmi-surround: Digital Surround 5.1 (HDMI) Output (priority 800, available: no)
        output:hdmi-surround71: Digital Surround 7.1 (HDMI) Output (priority 800, available: no)
        output:hdmi-stereo-extra1: Digital Stereo (HDMI 2) Output (priority 5700, available: no)
        output:hdmi-surround-extra1: Digital Surround 5.1 (HDMI 2) Output (priority 600, available: no)
        output:hdmi-surround71-extra1: Digital Surround 7.1 (HDMI 2) Output (priority 600, available: no)
        output:hdmi-stereo-extra2: Digital Stereo (HDMI 3) Output (priority 5700, available: no)
        output:hdmi-surround-extra2: Digital Surround 5.1 (HDMI 3) Output (priority 600, available: no)
        output:hdmi-surround71-extra2: Digital Surround 7.1 (HDMI 3) Output (priority 600, available: no)
        off: Off (priority 0, available: unknown)
    active profile: <off>
    ports:
        hdmi-output-0: HDMI / DisplayPort (priority 5900, latency offset 0 usec, available: no)
            properties:
                device.icon_name = "video-display"
        hdmi-output-1: HDMI / DisplayPort 2 (priority 5800, latency offset 0 usec, available: no)
            properties:
                device.icon_name = "video-display"
        hdmi-output-2: HDMI / DisplayPort 3 (priority 5700, latency offset 0 usec, available: no)
            properties:
                device.icon_name = "video-display"

We have done this:
GitHub - bliutwo/dummy-sound-fix-ubuntu: Chromebook Dummy Sound Card Fix. But we have had no luck! :frowning:

We are looking forward to your help!

Thanks in advance!

A desperate Linux fan!

Hi,
As a a fellow chromebook owner, I know too well sound can be tricky in the Linux World.
What I do usually is installing the UCM files for my audio chipset as mentioned on the Arch Forum. Sadly, there aren't UCM files for your chipset (chtrt5650) on that github repo.

So I searched for your chipset and found this fix. Basically, you just have to install this *.deb file from the Debian repos (click on all and then choose a mirror) and reboot.

Hope it works for you !

Hi @Utsuro, thanks so much for your reply and help.

Would you mind to explain me how to install this .deb from the Debian repos? I am unsure how to proceed.

Can you post the command lines?

Thanks,

Hi
Sadly, it shouldn't work as it installs files that are already present in the Ubuntu install. Didn't work as my install as well.
In your case it would install this file: fw_sst_22a8.bin that is already located in the /lib/firmware/intel folder.
I see there are already UCM files for your audio chipset in the /usr/share/alsa/ucm2/chtrt5650 folder.

You could try this in a terminal
sudo alsaucm -c chtrt5650 set _verb HiFi set _enadev Speakers
sudo alsactl store
And then check if you can tweak your sound outputs in the sound properties and try apps that use sound. That's the command I type to get sound on my chromebook after getting the missing UCM files.

brylen@terra:~$ sudo alsaucm -c chtrt5650 set _verb HiFi set _enadev Speakers

ALSA lib parser.c:1592:(parse_master_file) Syntax field not found in chtrt5650
ALSA lib main.c:962:(snd_use_case_mgr_open) error: failed to import chtrt5650 use case configuration -22
alsaucm: error failed to open sound card chtrt5650: Invalid argument

brylen@terra:~$ sudo alsactl store
brylen@terra:~$

What to do? Thanks in advance

I don't know what to do about those errors.

You can try this if you want. Fiddling with GalliumOS files.
In your case it would be

  1. Add "blacklist snd-hda-intel" to /etc/modprobe.d/snd-hda-intel.conf.
  2. Open a terminal:

sudo su
mkdir -p /usr/share/alsa/ucm/chtrt5650/
cd /usr/share/alsa/ucm/chtrt5650/
wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/GalliumOS/galliumos-braswell/master/usr/share/alsa/ucm/chtrt5650/chtrt5650.conf
wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/GalliumOS/galliumos-braswell/master/usr/share/alsa/ucm/chtrt5650/HiFi.conf
ln -s /usr/share/alsa/ucm/chtrt5650/ /usr/share/alsa/ucm/Google-Cave-1.0-Cave
ln -s /usr/share/alsa/ucm/chtrt5650/chtrt5650.conf /usr/share/alsa/ucm/chtrt5650/Google-Cave-1.0-Cave.conf

  1. Reboot the system.

After logging in, use the following commands to initialise or reset the device to a sane state:

alsaucm -c chtrt5650 set _verb HiFi set _disdev Speaker
alsaucm -c chtrt5650 set _verb HiFi set _disdev Headphone
alsaucm -c chtrt5650 set _verb HiFi set _enadev Speaker

Shouldn't hurt trying.

Dear @Utsuro,

Thanks for your message.

I have done this successfully:

sudo su
mkdir -p /usr/share/alsa/ucm/chtrt5650/
cd /usr/share/alsa/ucm/chtrt5650/
wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/GalliumOS/galliumos-braswell/master/usr/share/alsa/ucm/chtrt5650/chtrt5650.conf
wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/GalliumOS/galliumos-braswell/master/usr/share/alsa/ucm/chtrt5650/HiFi.conf
ln -s /usr/share/alsa/ucm/chtrt5650/ /usr/share/alsa/ucm/Google-Cave-1.0-Cave
ln -s /usr/share/alsa/ucm/chtrt5650/chtrt5650.conf /usr/share/alsa/ucm/chtrt5650/Google-Cave-1.0-Cave.conf

  1. Reboot the system.

After reboot, there is no solution. Have a look to the picture attached, please. And the command line output below:

root@terra:/home/brylen# alsaucm -c chtrt5650 set _verb HiFi set _disdev Speaker
ALSA lib parser.c:1592:(parse_master_file) Syntax field not found in chtrt5650
ALSA lib main.c:962:(snd_use_case_mgr_open) error: failed to import chtrt5650 use case configuration -22
alsaucm: error failed to open sound card chtrt5650: Invalid argument

Any clues?

Thank you,

I also have found this thread: Braswell Platform Validation · Issue #270 · GalliumOS/galliumos-distro · GitHub.

Braswell Chromebooks come with one of two audio chips: Maxim 98090 or Realtek ALC5650/5654. There are several reports of hardware speaker failures on models with the Realtek chip. There is a lot more discussion in the comments below.

  • Models with Maxim 98090
    • Acer Chromebook R11 CYAN
  • Models with Realtek ALC5650/5654
    • Acer Chromebook 14 EDGAR
    • Lenovo N22/N42 Chromebook REKS
    • HP Chromebook 11 G5 SETZER
    • Samsung Chromebook 3 (XE500C13) CELES
    • Acer Chromebook 15 (CB3-532) BANON
      > * ASUS Chromebook C202SA TERRA
    • ASUS Chromebook C300SA TERRA
    • CTL NL61 Chromebook RELM
    • Lenovo ThinkPad 11e Chromebook G3 ULTIMA
    • Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga G3 ULTIMA

Any clues how to implement Realtek ALC5650 drivers in Ubuntu 20.04?

Thanks,

1 Like

I have no clues about those errors messages. That is beyond my troubleshooting skills. Funny that your card is seen in AlsaMixer and not in the Pulse settings.
Some have been editing their /var/lib/alsa/asound.state file in order to fix it as well.
Here's the content of the asound.state file for your specific chtrt5650 soundcard. Check if your file has the same content and if not, edit it with the content from the site and then reboot.

Should it not work, you might have more luck asking on this subreddit and get answers from owners of the same chromebook that fixed the problem.

Thanks. I had run the script but it does not work.

bash install.sh

  1. (Reading database ... 266251 files and directories currently installed.)

  2. Preparing to unpack dummy-galliumos_1.0_all.deb ...

  3. Unpacking dummy-galliumos (1.0) over (1.0) ...

  4. Setting up dummy-galliumos (1.0) ...

  5. Selecting previously unselected package galliumos-braswell.

  6. (Reading database ... 266251 files and directories currently installed.)

  7. Preparing to unpack galliumos-braswell_2.0.5_all.deb ...

  8. Unpacking galliumos-braswell (2.0.5) ...

  9. Replacing files in old package pulseaudio (1:13.99.1-1ubuntu3) ...

  10. dpkg: dependency problems prevent configuration of galliumos-braswell:

  11. galliumos-braswell depends on galliumos-base; however:

  12. Package galliumos-base is not installed.

  13. galliumos-braswell depends on linux-image-galliumos-braswell; however:

  14. Package linux-image-galliumos-braswell is not installed.

  • dpkg: error processing package galliumos-braswell (--install):
  1. dependency problems - leaving unconfigured

  2. Errors were encountered while processing:

  3. galliumos-braswell

Do you know how can I add the Gallium Os Repository as suggested in the GitHub link?

Dear all,

I have good news! We have some kind of sound now. However, the current issues are:

  • Volume control disappeared from the taskbar
  • Volume is very low
  • Microphone does not work

I had run Alsamixer and unmuted the Headphone channel for this sound card.

brylen@terra:~$ pulseaudio

E: [pulseaudio] pid.c: Daemon already running.
E: [pulseaudio] main.c: pa_pid_file_create() failed.

brylen@terra:~$ arecord -l

**** List of CAPTURE Hardware Devices ****
card 0: chtrt5650 [chtrt5650], device 0: 1
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0

brylen@terra:~$ pacmd list-cards

1 card(s) available.
index: 0
name: <alsa_card.platform-cht-bsw-rt5645>
driver: <module-alsa-card.c>
owner module: 7
properties:
alsa.card = "0"
alsa.card_name = "chtrt5650"
alsa.long_card_name = "GOOGLE-Terra-1.0"
alsa.driver_name = "snd_soc_sst_cht_bsw_rt5645"
device.bus_path = "platform-cht-bsw-rt5645"
sysfs.path = "/devices/pci0000:00/808622A8:00/cht-bsw-rt5645/sound/card0"
device.form_factor = "internal"
device.string = "0"
device.description = "Built-in Audio"
module-udev-detect.discovered = "1"
device.icon_name = "audio-card"
profiles:
input:stereo-fallback: Stereo Input (priority 51, available: unknown)
input:mono-fallback: Mono Input (priority 1, available: unknown)
input:multichannel-input: Multichannel Input (priority 1, available: unknown)
output:stereo-fallback: Stereo Output (priority 5100, available: unknown)
output:stereo-fallback+input:stereo-fallback: Stereo Output + Stereo Input (priority 5151, available: unknown)
output:stereo-fallback+input:mono-fallback: Stereo Output + Mono Input (priority 5101, available: unknown)
output:stereo-fallback+input:multichannel-input: Stereo Output + Multichannel Input (priority 5101, available: unknown)
output:multichannel-output: Multichannel Output (priority 100, available: unknown)
output:multichannel-output+input:stereo-fallback: Multichannel Output + Stereo Input (priority 151, available: unknown)
output:multichannel-output+input:mono-fallback: Multichannel Output + Mono Input (priority 101, available: unknown)
output:multichannel-output+input:multichannel-input: Multichannel Duplex (priority 101, available: unknown)
off: Off (priority 0, available: unknown)
active profile: output:stereo-fallback+input:stereo-fallback
sinks:
alsa_output.platform-cht-bsw-rt5645.stereo-fallback/#21: Built-in Audio Stereo
sources:
alsa_output.platform-cht-bsw-rt5645.stereo-fallback.monitor/#26: Monitor of Built-in Audio Stereo
alsa_input.platform-cht-bsw-rt5645.stereo-fallback/#27: Built-in Audio Stereo
ports:
analog-input-headset-mic: Headset Microphone (priority 8800, latency offset 0 usec, available: yes)
properties:
device.icon_name = "audio-input-microphone"
multichannel-input: Multichannel Input (priority 0, latency offset 0 usec, available: unknown)
properties:

  analog-output-speaker: Speakers (priority 10000, latency offset 0 usec, available: no)
  	properties:
  		device.icon_name = "audio-speakers"
  analog-output-headphones: Headphones (priority 9000, latency offset 0 usec, available: yes)
  	properties:
  		device.icon_name = "audio-headphones"
  multichannel-output: Multichannel Output (priority 0, latency offset 0 usec, available: unknown)
  	properties:

Any clues? Appreciated!

1 Like

Happy to know you got your sound back !

What I did to fix the low volume with my chtmax98090 chipset:
Edit /usr/share/alsa/ucm/chtmax98090/HiFi.conf
Change the line "cset "name='Speaker Volume' 10" " to "cset "name='Speaker Volume' 20"
Same for the headphones.

Your Hi-Fi.conf file should be located in /usr/share/alsa/ucm/chtrt5650/HiFi.conf or /usr/share/alsa/ucm2/chtrt5650/HiFi.conf
A reboot then and you should be good, volume-wise.
You can go above "20" if you're not happy with the volume but be aware too high a value could damage your hardware.

I don't know about the missing button from the panel nor the mic. Maybe unmute the mic in alsamixer ?!

@Utsuro, thank you.

  1. Sound Icon is back after changing the desktop with Mate Tweaks and reboot.

  2. Micro does not work

  3. I do not have the cset Speaker Volume available. See it here: /usr/share/alsa/ucm2/chtrt5650$ sudo gedit HiFi.confSectionVerb { # ALSA P - Pastebin.com.

}

SectionDevice."Speaker" {
Comment "Speaker"

Value {
PlaybackChannels "2"
}

ConflictingDevice [
"Headphones"
]

EnableSequence [
<codecs/rt5645/SpeakerEnableSeq.conf>
]

DisableSequence [
cset "name='Ext Spk Switch' off"
cset "name='Speaker Channel Switch' off"
]
}

Could you please let me know the full lines to include on Speaker and Headphones?

Thanks,

Here's what the Hi-Fi.conf for my card looks like.
Beware not damaging your hardware by editing that file if you're not sure what to do with it.

Thank you, @Utsuro. I guess I need to modify the device name to my model, right? So replacing chtmax98090 for chtrt5650 in every entry?

Any other comment?

Best,

I have no clue.
It could damage your hardware if something goes wrong.
I would ask for help on the LinuxQuestions subreddit for advice from owners of the same laptop if I were you.