Acer Chromebook 514 Volta, Speakers stop working when gaming (Headphones & HDMI work) CachyOS (Arch)

[Sunie83]

Describe the bug
The script ran well and audio works over speakers, headset and HDMI. Watching a video on YouTube over my speakers works correctly.

The problem starts when I want to, for example, boot up a game or use waydroid. Speakers stop producing audio and games either lag or hang. Closing the game doesn't solve this issue. It then starts to lag my system when changing volume and even YouTube hangs entirely. As if video and audio want to sync up, but can't. I can solve this by rebooting, which 100% reproduces the issue when using speakers. When using a headset or HDMI however, audio plays as expected and I encounter no hangs or lag that's out of place. I do notice that changing volume causes the loading cursor to appear, as if the act of volume control is difficult.

This issue has been reproducible for me on Debian Trixie & Testing. However I do NOT encounter this issue when running the Debian-based distro Pika-OS (which isn't technically supported). They must do something beforehand that solves this issue but I can't figure out what it is. I've tried to search through the issue list but I couldn't find a solution, though I might not have used the right terms. I am stumped. WeirdTreeStumped, even.

Distro name and version
CachyOS rolling (Arch Linux)

Boardname
Volta

Logs

debug-logs-Volta-2025-12-18_11h44m.tar.gz

[WeirdTreeThing]

On distros where it has the issue, is pipewire or pulseaudio used (check the output of pactl info and look for pipewire). Also check what is used on the distro that doesn't have the issue.

[Sunie83]

hi! Sorry, I don't have Pika OS installed at the moment. I'll reinstall it and get back to you.
For nowm, here's the output of pactl info on CachyOS:

Server String: /run/user/1000/pulse/native
Library Protocol Version: 35
Server Protocol Version: 35
Is Local: yes
Client Index: 111
Tile Size: 65472
User Name: sunie
Host Name: Adilangin
Server Name: PulseAudio (on PipeWire 1.4.9)
Server Version: 15.0.0
Default Sample Specification: float32le 2ch 48000Hz
Default Channel Map: front-left,front-right
Default Sink: alsa_output.pci-0000_00_1f.3-platform-tgl_rt5682_def.HiFi__Headphones__sink
Default Source: alsa_input.pci-0000_00_1f.3-platform-tgl_rt5682_def.HiFi__Headset__source
Cookie: e8c6:ce2e

I see PulseAudio on PipeWire.

[Sunie83]

Here's the output of the script on a freshly installed Pika-OS, where I can confirm that after installation, audio from the speaker works as intended (during games and such):

sander@Adilangin:~/chromebook-linux-audio$ ./setup-audio
[sudo: authenticate] Password: 
Detecting platform
Detected Intel Tigerlake
Installing UCM configuration
Cloning into '/tmp/alsa-ucm-conf-cros'...
remote: Enumerating objects: 117, done.
remote: Counting objects: 100% (117/117), done.
remote: Compressing objects: 100% (86/86), done.
remote: Total 117 (delta 38), reused 88 (delta 24), pack-reused 0 (from 0)
Receiving objects: 100% (117/117), 20.07 KiB | 4.01 MiB/s, done.
Resolving deltas: 100% (38/38), done.
Checking kernel config for 6.18.1-pikaos
Detecting codecs
Found max98373
Found rt5682
Kernel config check passed
Increasing alsa headroom (fixes instability)
Initializing sound card
/bin/sh: 1: alsactl: not found
Audio setup finished! Reboot to complete setup.

Now here's the output of pactl info:

Server String: /run/user/1000/pulse/native
Library Protocol Version: 35
Server Protocol Version: 35
Is Local: yes
Client Index: 437
Tile Size: 65472
User Name: sunie
Host Name: Adilangin
Server Name: PulseAudio (on PipeWire 1.4.9)
Server Version: 15.0.0
Default Sample Specification: float32le 2ch 48000Hz
Default Channel Map: front-left,front-right
Default Sink: alsa_output.pci-0000_00_1f.3-platform-tgl_rt5682_def.HiFi__Speaker__sink
Default Source: alsa_output.pci-0000_00_1f.3-platform-tgl_rt5682_def.HiFi__Speaker__sink.monitor
Cookie: f84b:212b

I can't spot any significant differences between the two outputs. I did notice the install script mentioning that alsactl couldn't be found, which is why I included the output of it. I'll now install CachyOS again, see if the script output is different. At least we know the hardware should operate normally.

[Sunie83]

Installed CachyOS again, and ran the script, here's the output of that:

Detected Intel Tigerlake
Installing UCM configuration
Cloning into '/tmp/alsa-ucm-conf-cros'...
remote: Enumerating objects: 117, done.
remote: Counting objects: 100% (117/117), done.
remote: Compressing objects: 100% (86/86), done.
remote: Total 117 (delta 38), reused 88 (delta 24), pack-reused 0 (from 0)
Receiving objects: 100% (117/117), 20.07 KiB | 10.03 MiB/s, done.
Resolving deltas: 100% (38/38), done.
Checking kernel config for 6.18.1-2-cachyos
Detecting codecs
Found max98373
Found rt5682
Kernel config check passed
Increasing alsa headroom (fixes instability)
Initializing sound card
Audio setup finished! Reboot to complete setup.

only difference being that the alsactl error isn't there now.

and the output of pactl again for the heck of it:

❯ pactl info
Server String: /run/user/1000/pulse/native
Library Protocol Version: 35
Server Protocol Version: 35
Is Local: yes
Client Index: 287
Tile Size: 65472
User Name: sunie
Host Name: Adilangin
Server Name: PulseAudio (on PipeWire 1.4.9)
Server Version: 15.0.0
Default Sample Specification: float32le 2ch 48000Hz
Default Channel Map: front-left,front-right
Default Sink: alsa_output.pci-0000_00_1f.3-platform-tgl_rt5682_def.HiFi__Speaker__sink
Default Source: alsa_output.pci-0000_00_1f.3-platform-tgl_rt5682_def.HiFi__Speaker__sink.monitor
Cookie: ea23:c5b1

[WeirdTreeThing]

Can you send the version of wireplumber (should be in apt info wireplumber)

[Sunie83]

I jumped back to Cachy(arch), do you need me back in pika (debian)?

❯ pacman -Qi wireplumber
Installed From             : cachyos-extra-v4
Naam                       : wireplumber
Versie                     : 0.5.12-1.1
Beschrijving               : Session / policy manager implementation for PipeWire
Architectuur               : x86_64_v4
URL                        : https://pipewire.pages.freedesktop.org/wireplumber/
Licenties                  : MIT
Groepen                    : Geen
Voorziet                   : pipewire-session-manager
Is afhankelijk van         : libwireplumber=0.5.12-1.1  gcc-libs  glibc  libglib-2.0.so=0-64  libgobject-2.0.so=0-64
                             libgio-2.0.so=0-64  libpipewire  libpipewire-0.3.so=0-64  libsystemd.so=0-64  lua
                             pipewire  systemd-libs
Optionele afhankelijkheden : wireplumber-docs: Documentation
Vereist door               : cosmic-settings-daemon  gst-plugin-pipewire  pipewire-alsa  pipewire-pulse
Optioneel voor             : pipewire
Conflicteert met           : pipewire-media-session
Vervangt                   : Geen
Geïnstalleerde grootte     : 1147,58 KiB
Packager                   : CachyOS <admin@cachyos.org>
Creatiedatum               : zo 12 okt 2025 03:25:44 CEST
Installatiedatum           : do 18 dec 2025 16:38:00 CET
Installatiereden           : Expliciet geïnstalleerd
Installatiescript          : Ja
Gevalideerd door           : Handtekening

pardon the Dutch. can you make out the relevant info okay?

[WeirdTreeThing]

Yeah I want to compare it on both

[Sunie83]

Sure thing! here is it back on Pika OS:

Package: wireplumber
Version: 0.5.8-2
Priority: optional
Section: video
Maintainer: Utopia Maintenance Team <pkg-utopia-maintainers@alioth-lists.debian.net>
Installed-Size: 645 kB
Depends: libc6 (>= 2.38), libglib2.0-0t64 (>= 2.68), libpipewire-0.3-0t64 (>= 1.0.2), libwireplumber-0.5-0 (= 0.5.8-2), init-system-helpers (>= 1.52), default-dbus-sess>
Recommends: pipewire-pulse
Suggests: libspa-0.2-bluetooth, libspa-0.2-libcamera, wireplumber-doc
Conflicts: pipewire-media-session
Breaks: asahi-audio (<< 2.0)
Replaces: pipewire-media-session
Homepage: https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/pipewire/wireplumber
Download-Size: 108 kB
APT-Manual-Installed: no
APT-Sources: https://ppa.pika-os.com pika/nest amd64 Packages
Description: modular session / policy manager for PipeWire
 WirePlumber is a modular session / policy manager for PipeWire and a
 GObject-based high-level library that wraps PipeWire's API, providing
 convenience for writing the daemon's modules as well as external tools for
 managing PipeWire.
 .
 This package contains the WirePlumber daemon and command-line utilities.

Package: wireplumber
Version: 0.5.8-1
Priority: optional
Section: video
Maintainer: Utopia Maintenance Team <pkg-utopia-maintainers@alioth-lists.debian.net>
Installed-Size: 645 kB
Depends: libc6 (>= 2.38), libglib2.0-0t64 (>= 2.68), libpipewire-0.3-0t64 (>= 1.0.2), libwireplumber-0.5-0 (= 0.5.8-1), init-system-helpers (>= 1.52), default-dbus-sess>
Recommends: pipewire-pulse
Suggests: libspa-0.2-bluetooth, libspa-0.2-libcamera, wireplumber-doc
Conflicts: pipewire-media-session
Breaks: asahi-audio (<< 2.0)
Replaces: pipewire-media-session
Homepage: https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/pipewire/wireplumber
Download-Size: 108 kB
APT-Sources: https://ppa.pika-os.com pika/nest amd64 Packages
Description: modular session / policy manager for PipeWire
 WirePlumber is a modular session / policy manager for PipeWire and a
 GObject-based high-level library that wraps PipeWire's API, providing
 convenience for writing the daemon's modules as well as external tools for
 managing PipeWire.
 .
 This package contains the WirePlumber daemon and command-line utilities.
``

[Sunie83]

This bug is starting to become more apparent for me, since now even on PikaOS, audio over speakers stops working when playing Steam games. I've now tried to install Fedora 43 since your script supports it. But, even there, Speaker audio stops when playing a game.

When using headphones, I hear the game fine. When I pull out the headphones, speakers take over and just sorta lag out, extremely. It hangs, making clicking noises. putting the headset back in, the lag continues but eventually audio gets restored.

here's the output of pactl info:
Server String: /run/user/1000/pulse/native
Library Protocol Version: 35
Server Protocol Version: 35
Is Local: yes
Client Index: 147
Tile Size: 65472
User Name: sander
Host Name: fedora
Server Name: PulseAudio (on PipeWire 1.4.9)
Server Version: 15.0.0
Default Sample Specification: float32le 2ch 48000Hz
Default Channel Map: front-left,front-right
Default Sink: alsa_output.pci-0000_00_1f.3-platform-tgl_rt5682_def.HiFi__Speaker__sink
Default Source: alsa_output.pci-0000_00_1f.3-platform-tgl_rt5682_def.HiFi__Speaker__sink.monitor
Cookie: 6f12:dbfa

and the output of dnf info wireplumber:

Name            : wireplumber
Epoch           : 0
Version         : 0.5.12
Release         : 1.fc43
Architecture    : x86_64
Installed size  : 408.6 KiB
Source          : wireplumber-0.5.12-1.fc43.src.rpm
From repository : <unknown>
Summary         : A modular session/policy manager for PipeWire
URL             : https://pipewire.pages.freedesktop.org/wireplumber/
License         : MIT
Description     : WirePlumber is a modular session/policy manager for PipeWire a
                : nd a
                : GObject-based high-level library that wraps PipeWire's API, pr
                : oviding
                : convenience for writing the daemon's modules as well as extern
                : al tools for
                : managing PipeWire.
Vendor          : Fedora Project

Available packages
Name           : wireplumber
Epoch          : 0
Version        : 0.5.12
Release        : 1.fc43
Architecture   : i686
Download size  : 120.0 KiB
Installed size : 397.7 KiB
Source         : wireplumber-0.5.12-1.fc43.src.rpm
Repository     : updates
Summary        : A modular session/policy manager for PipeWire
URL            : https://pipewire.pages.freedesktop.org/wireplumber/
License        : MIT
Description    : WirePlumber is a modular session/policy manager for PipeWire an
               : d a
               : GObject-based high-level library that wraps PipeWire's API, pro
               : viding
               : convenience for writing the daemon's modules as well as externa
               : l tools for
               : managing PipeWire.
Vendor         : Fedora Project

Have you made any progress on this since we last spoke? I get the feeling it's a bandwidth issue. An interesting detail I missed before is that the loading cursor shows up for a little bit when I change volume with the keyboard when using the internal speakers, as if loading in the little 'boop' noise takes considerable resources.