Home Debian How To Fix Audio Issue (Dummy Output) In Intel NUC On Debian 11 And Proxmox 7

How To Fix Audio Issue (Dummy Output) In Intel NUC On Debian 11 And Proxmox 7

Troubleshooting Audio Issues On Intel NUC

By sk
32.6K views

After installing the latest Proxmox edition on Debian 11 in my Intel NUC PC, I didn't have any audio output, but the mic seems to be working. I can able to play audio/video via a Bluetooth speaker, but the front panel 3.5mm audio jack isn't working. No sound comes through the audio jack. I tried to play audio with an external wired speaker and a headphone, but there is no sound coming out. After searching on Debian Wiki and Intel forum, I finally found a solution to fix Audio issue in Intel NUC PC on Debian 11 bullseye and Proxmox 7.1 edition.

Diagnosing Audio Issues In Intel NUC

The other day I have successfully installed Proxmox 7.1 on Debian 11 bullseye in an Intel NUC11PAH model PC. I managed to get Bluetooth and Wireless devices working after multiple trial-and-error attempts.

The other major issue I had with Intel NUC11PAH is the sound problem. I can hear the sound via a Bluetooth speaker but not from a wired speaker or headphone connected through the front panel 3.5mm audio jack.

I entered the following command to check if the snd-hda-intel kernel module is loaded:

$ sudo lsmod | grep snd_hda_intel

Sample output:

snd_hda_intel          53248  2
snd_intel_dspcfg       28672  2 snd_hda_intel,snd_sof_intel_hda_common
snd_hda_codec         147456  5 snd_hda_codec_generic,snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec_realtek,snd_soc_hdac_hda
snd_hda_core           94208  9 snd_hda_codec_generic,snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_ext_core,snd_hda_codec,snd_hda_codec_realtek,snd_sof_intel_hda_common,snd_soc_hdac_hda,snd_sof_intel_hda
snd_pcm               118784  10 snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec,soundwire_intel,snd_sof,snd_sof_intel_hda_common,snd_compress,snd_soc_core,snd_hda_core,snd_pcm_dmaengine
snd                    94208  15 snd_ctl_led,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

As you can see in the above output, the snd-hda-intel kernel module has been loaded as the driver for the controller chip and the codec chips on the HD-audio bus.

I also run the following command to verify the available audio devices along with the kernel module/driver in use.

$ sudo lspci -nnk | grep -A2 Audio

Yes, the audio device is present and the relevant kernel module/driver is loaded.

00:1f.3 Audio device [0403]: Intel Corporation Tiger Lake-LP Smart Sound Technology Audio Controller [8086:a0c8] (rev 20)
	DeviceName: Onboard - Sound
	Subsystem: Intel Corporation Tiger Lake-LP Smart Sound Technology Audio Controller [8086:3004]
	Kernel driver in use: snd_hda_intel
	Kernel modules: snd_hda_intel, snd_sof_pci_intel_tgl
Check If 'snd-hda-intel' Kernel Module Is Loaded
Check If 'snd-hda-intel' Kernel Module Is Loaded

From the above outputs, it seems that the audio drivers are installed and loaded, but there is a misconfiguration somewhere.

Next, I head over to "Settings (Gnome settings) > Sound > Output", and I noticed that the only available output device is Dummy Output. See the following screenshot.

Sound Output Device (Dummy Output)
Sound Output Device (Dummy Output)

Fix Audio Issue In Intel NUC On Debian Linux

If you get no sound output and only a Dummy Output on Debian (and hopefully other Linux distros) in Intel NUC, you can fix it by adding this line - "options snd-hda-intel model=dell-headset-multi" to "/etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf" file as shown below.

$ echo "options snd-hda-intel model=dell-headset-multi" | sudo tee -a /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf

This command will create the alsa-base.conf file if it not exists already.

Now, reboot your system.

Plug in the speaker/headphone. Go to " Gnome Settings > Sound > Output", and check the Output device. You should see that the output device is set to "Headphones - Built-in Audio".

Check Audio Output Device In Gnome Settings
Check Audio Output Device In Gnome Settings

Please note that the setting will change only after you plugged in the headphone/speaker.

That's it. You will be able to listen the audio!

After following the aforementioned steps, the audio is working on my Intel NUC. I checked the audio with an external wired speaker and two wired headphones. I can able to hear the audio loud and clear. It is a big relief!!

Heads Up: This fix is known to work on many latest Intel CPUs which use the Intel HDA chipset, even if it is non-DELL brand. Mine is Intel NUC11PAHi3 model PC, and this solution worked like a charm. Many users have also reported that this fix is working for them as well.

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4 comments

tonbor January 22, 2023 - 3:23 pm

Need help have no sound over HDMI can only choose headphone. This my output: rob@NUC5-Rob:~$ sudo lspci -nnk | grep -A6 Audio
00:1b.0 Audio device [0403]: Intel Corporation Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series High Definition Audio Controller [8086:2284] (rev 21)
DeviceName: WIFI
Subsystem: Intel Corporation Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series High Definition Audio Controller [8086:2060]
Kernel driver in use: snd_hda_intel
Kernel modules: snd_hda_intel
See that the devicename is wifi not Sound, is this the problem and how can I adjust that?

Reply
sk January 23, 2023 - 2:40 pm

I just checked the same command in my Intel NUC, and I got the same output as I added in the article. It shouldn’t show WIFI instead of “Sound”. It could be some other issue. Please post your question on Intel NUC support forum.https://www.intel.in/content/www/in/en/support/products/98414/intel-nuc.html

Reply
lolotux March 14, 2023 - 11:51 pm

Hi

I can say you save the sound…..
2 years of bluethooth headphone….

Your issue works

Inspiron AIO DT 5400
sudo lspci -nnk | grep -A2 Audio
00:1f.3 Audio device [0403]: Intel Corporation Tiger Lake-LP Smart Sound Technology Audio Controller [8086:a0c8] (rev 20)
DeviceName: Onboard – Sound
Subsystem: Dell Tiger Lake-LP Smart Sound Technology Audio Controller [1028:0a06]
Kernel driver in use: snd_hda_intel
Kernel modules: snd_hda_intel, snd_sof_pci

Reply
sk March 15, 2023 - 11:28 am

Glad it worked. Happy to help.

Reply

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