Hello all, I’ve been trying to troubleshoot this but to no avail. Recently, I noticed that the audio in CachyOS has been intermittent. When I try to adjust the volume, I don’t get audio feedback like I usually do. If I keep at it (maybe 5-10 seconds), it’ll eventually give me audible feedback. This will happen with apps as well: Brave on Youtube, Zoom … anything that can play back audio. It also happens with any connected devices: HDMI port, headphones, Bluetooth speakers, et cetera, so the problem persists. I’ve tried switching to the “Pro Audio” (Meteor Lake driver, I believe) but that doesn’t work at all, not even the microphone. At least on the “hi-fi quality” setting, the microphone appears to work, and the audio “appears” to work, meaning you can see movement on the audio scale, but the audio is not present. What else I’ve tried: Switching to the LTS kernel; no joy. Tried the new 7.x (I don’t remember what it is now) kernel. Rolled back to a BTRFS snapshot that I knew it was working on; no joy. Changed DEs. The interesting thing about this is in the COSMIC desktop (I wanted to try that out) is that it would continually switch it over to a different input. I suspect that maybe the same could be happening in my current DE (Plasma), but it doesn’t appear to be the case with the GUI. But the audio WAS working flawlessly in KDE for awhile. Tried blacklisting specific drivers as per various posts on CachyOS forums and Reddit; didn’t work. Removed config files that may have been corrupted; that didn’t work (those files were related to Pipewire). Tried to set the Nice (priority) to a higher level; that didn’t work. A persistent error that I do get whenever I check the status of Pipewire is: mod.rt: could not set nice-level to -11: Permission denied I tried putting my user in the “rtkit” group, I believe, bit I didn’t see it in my list. I didn’t create it to see if that would solve the problem. Hardware: Asus Vivobook S (S 15 5506M) Kernel: CachyOS 7.0.1-1s I did run the cachyOS bugreport script but I wasn’t quite sure what you were looking for on that, so I opted not to paste the whole thing, but I’ll post what I think might be useful below: I typically don’t have problems with audio; it’s usually always wi-fi! Thanks in advance for your help! Start of CachyOS bug report log file. Please send this report, along with a description of your bug, to CachyOS. Date: Tue Apr 28 09:24:50 EDT 2026 uname: Linux 7.0.1-1-cachyos #1 SMP PREEMPT Thu, 23 Apr 2026 21:04:50 +0000 x86_64 GNU/Linux cmdline: BOOT_IMAGE=/@/boot/vmlinuz-linux-cachyos root=UUID=d9e8111b-23c7-424f-98f8-45dc8b6ba410 rw rootflags=subvol=@ nowatchdog nvme_load=YES zswap.enabled=0 splash loglevel=3 Getting Hardware Information System: Kernel: 7.0.1-1-cachyos arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: clang v: 22.1.3 clocksource: tsc avail: acpi_pm parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/@/boot/vmlinuz-linux-cachyos root=UUID=d9e8111b-23c7-424f-98f8-45dc8b6ba410 rw rootflags=subvol=@ nowatchdog nvme_load=YES zswap.enabled=0 splash loglevel=3 Desktop: KDE Plasma v: 6.6.4 tk: Qt v: N/A wm: kwin_wayland dm: SDDM Distro: CachyOS base: Arch Linux Machine: Type: Laptop System: ASUSTeK product: ASUS Vivobook S 15 S5506MA_S5506MA v: 1.0 serial: Mobo: ASUSTeK model: S5506MA v: 1.0 serial: uuid: fa98b6dc-6ab0-8e4f-bc26-6bb529454f38 Firmware: UEFI vendor: American Megatrends LLC. v: S5506MA.318 date: 02/25/2025 Battery: ID-1: BAT0 charge: 67.7 Wh (100%) condition: 67.7/75 Wh (90.3%) volts: 17.43 min: 16.03 model: AS3GYYg3KC U340646 type: Unknown serial: charging: status: full control: start: N/A end: 100% cycles: N/A CPU: Info: model: Intel Core Ultra 7 155H socket: U3E1 bits: 64 type: MST AMCP arch: Meteor Lake level: v3 note: check built: 2023+ process: Intel 4 (7nm) family: 6 model-id: 0xAA (170) stepping: 4 microcode: 0x28 Topology: cpus: 1x dies: 1 clusters: 9 cores: 16 threads: 22 mt: 6 tpc: 2 st: 10 smt: enabled cache: L1: 1.6 MiB desc: d-10x32 KiB, 6x48 KiB; i-16x64 KiB L2: 18 MiB desc: 9x2 MiB L3: 24 MiB desc: 1x24 MiB Speed (MHz): avg: 1684 min/max: 400/4500:4800:3800:2500 base/boost: 4158/4800 scaling: driver: intel_pstate governor: powersave volts: 1.0 V ext-clock: 100 MHz cores: 1: 1684 2: 1684 3: 1684 4: 1684 5: 1684 6: 1684 7: 1684 8: 1684 9: 1684 10: 1684 11: 1684 12: 1684 13: 1684 14: 1684 15: 1684 16: 1684 17: 1684 18: 1684 19: 1684 20: 1684 21: 1684 22: 1684 bogomips: 131788 Flags-basic: avx avx2 ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx Vulnerabilities: Type: gather_data_sampling status: Not affected Type: ghostwrite status: Not affected Type: indirect_target_selection status: Not affected Type: itlb_multihit status: Not affected Type: l1tf status: Not affected Type: mds status: Not affected Type: meltdown status: Not affected Type: mmio_stale_data status: Not affected Type: old_microcode status: Not affected Type: reg_file_data_sampling status: Not affected Type: retbleed status: Not affected Type: spec_rstack_overflow status: Not affected Type: spec_store_bypass mitigation: Speculative Store Bypass disabled via prctl Type: spectre_v1 mitigation: usercopy/swapgs barriers and __user pointer sanitization Type: spectre_v2 mitigation: Enhanced / Automatic IBRS; IBPB: conditional; PBRSB-eIBRS: Not affected; BHI: BHI_DIS_S Type: srbds status: Not affected Type: tsa status: Not affected Type: tsx_async_abort status: Not affected Type: vmscape mitigation: IBPB before exit to userspace Graphics: Device-1: Intel Meteor Lake-P [Intel Arc Graphics] vendor: ASUSTeK driver: i915 v: kernel alternate: xe arch: Xe-LPG process: Intel 4 (7nm+) built: 2023+ ports: active: eDP-1 empty: DP-1,DP-2,HDMI-A-1 bus-ID: 0000:00:02.0 chip-ID: 8086:7d55 class-ID: 0300 Device-2: Shinetech USB2.0 FHD UVC WebCam driver: uvcvideo type: USB rev: 2.0 speed: 480 Mb/s lanes: 1 mode: 2.0 bus-ID: 3-9:2 chip-ID: 3277:0060 class-ID: fe01 serial: Display: unspecified server: X.Org v: 24.1.10 with: Xwayland v: 24.1.10 compositor: kwin_wayland driver: X: loaded: modesetting alternate: fbdev,intel,vesa dri: iris gpu: i915 display-ID: :0 screens: 1 Screen-1: 0 s-res: 2880x1620 s-dpi: 96 s-size: 762x428mm (30.00x16.85") s-diag: 874mm (34.41") monitors: <missing: xrandr> Monitor-1: eDP-1 model: Samsung 0x416e built: 2021 res: 2880x1620 dpi: 213 gamma: 1.2 size: 344x194mm (13.54x7.64") diag: 395mm (15.5") ratio: 16:9 modes: 2880x1620 API: EGL v: 1.5 hw: drv: intel iris platforms: device: 0 drv: iris device: 1 drv: swrast gbm: drv: iris surfaceless: drv: iris x11: drv: iris inactive: wayland API: OpenGL v: 4.6 compat-v: 4.5 vendor: intel mesa v: 26.0.5-arch2.4 glx-v: 1.4 direct-render: yes renderer: Mesa Intel Arc Graphics (MTL) device-ID: 8086:7d55 memory: 14.75 GiB unified: yes API: Vulkan v: 1.4.341 layers: 2 device: 0 type: integrated-gpu name: Intel Arc Graphics (MTL) driver: mesa intel v: 26.0.5-arch2.4 device-ID: 8086:7d55 surfaces: N/A Info: Tools: api: clinfo, eglinfo, glxinfo, vulkaninfo de: kscreen-console,kscreen-doctor wl: wayland-info x11: xdpyinfo,xprop Audio: Device-1: Intel Meteor Lake-P HD Audio vendor: ASUSTeK driver: sof-audio-pci-intel-mtl alternate: snd_sof_pci_intel_mtl,snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 0000:00:1f.3 chip-ID: 8086:7e28 class-ID: 0401 API: ALSA v: k7.0.1-1-cachyos status: kernel-api tools: alsactl,alsamixer,amixer Server-1: sndiod v: N/A status: off tools: aucat,midicat,sndioctl Server-2: JACK v: 0.126.0 status: off tools: N/A Server-3: PipeWire v: 1.6.4 status: n/a (root, process) with: 1: pipewire-pulse status: active 2: wireplumber status: active 3: pipewire-alsa type: plugin tools: pactl,pw-cat,pw-cli,wpctl Network: Device-1: Intel Meteor Lake PCH CNVi WiFi driver: iwlwifi v: kernel bus-ID: 0000:00:14.3 chip-ID: 8086:7e40 class-ID: 0280 IF: wlan0 state: up mac: IF-ID-1: docker0 state: down mac: Info: services: NetworkManager, smbd, systemd-timesyncd, wpa_supplicant Bluetooth: Device-1: Intel AX211 Bluetooth driver: btusb v: 0.8 type: USB rev: 2.0 speed: 12 Mb/s lanes: 1 mode: 1.1 bus-ID: 3-10:3 chip-ID: 8087:0033 class-ID: e001 Report: btmgmt ID: hci0 rfk-id: 0 state: up address: bt-v: 5.4 lmp-v: 13 status: discoverable: no pairing: no class-ID: 7c010c This might be of interest: 6.088913] sof-audio-pci-intel-mtl 0000:00:1f.3: Booted firmware version: [ 6.101886] sof-audio-pci-intel-mtl 0000:00:1f.3: loading topology: intel/sof-ipc4-tplg/sof-hda-generic-2ch.tplg [ 6.101933] sof-audio-pci-intel-mtl 0000:00:1f.3: Topology: ABI 3:29:1 Kernel ABI 3:23:1 [ 6.102114] skl_hda_dsp_generic skl_hda_dsp_generic: ASoC: Parent card not yet available, widget card binding deferred [ 6.121706] snd_hda_codec_alc269 ehdaudio0D0: autoconfig for ALC294: line_outs=1 (0x17/0x0/0x0/0x0/0x0) type:speaker [ 6.121711] snd_hda_codec_alc269 ehdaudio0D0: speaker_outs=0 (0x0/0x0/0x0/0x0/0x0) [ 6.121713] snd_hda_codec_alc269 ehdaudio0D0: hp_outs=1 (0x21/0x0/0x0/0x0/0x0) [ 6.121715] snd_hda_codec_alc269 ehdaudio0D0: mono: mono_out=0x0 [ 6.121716] snd_hda_codec_alc269 ehdaudio0D0: inputs: [ 6.139924] iwlwifi 0000:00:14.3: base HW address: [ 6.182971] typec port0: bound usb3-port2 (ops connector_ops) [ 6.182982] typec port0: bound usb2-port1 (ops connector_ops) [ 6.182987] typec port0: bound usb4_port1 (ops connector_ops.llvm.12704628839795162181 [thunderbolt]) [ 6.285881] systemd-journald[607]: Received client request to flush runtime journal. [ 6.291605] systemd-journald[607]: /var/log/journal/2ae0fd0c085a41609ddcba11f464c696/system.journal: HDMI converter 3 [ 6.482149] input: sof-hda-dsp Headphone as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1f.3/skl_hda_dsp_generic/sound/card0/input10 [ 6.482206] input: sof-hda-dsp HDMI/DP,pcm=3 as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1f.3/skl_hda_dsp_generic/sound/card0/input11 [ 6.482252] input: sof-hda-dsp HDMI/DP,pcm=4 as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1f.3/skl_hda_dsp_generic/sound/card0/input12 [ 6.482294] input: sof-hda-dsp HDMI/DP,pcm=5 as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1f.3/skl_hda_dsp_generic/sound/card0/input13 [ 6.483723] Bluetooth: BNEP (Ethernet Emulation) ver 1.3 [ 6.483725] Bluetooth: BNEP filters: protocol multicast [ 6.483733] Bluetooth: BNEP socket layer initialized [ 6.706892] iwlwifi 0000:00:14.3: WFPM_UMAC_PD_NOTIFICATION: 0x1f [ 6.706904] iwlwifi 0000:00:14.3: WFPM_LMAC2_PD_NOTIFICATION: 0x1f [ 6.706911] iwlwifi 0000:00:14.3: WFPM_AUTH_KEY_0: 0x80 [ 6.706918] iwlwifi 0000:00:14.3: CNVI_SCU_SEQ_DATA_DW9: 0x0 [ 6.707652] iwlwifi 0000:00:14.3: RFIm is deactivated, reason = 4 [ 6.992703] iwlwifi 0000:00:14.3: WFPM_UMAC_PD_NOTIFICATION: 0x1f [ 6.992722] iwlwifi 0000:00:14.3: WFPM_LMAC2_PD_NOTIFICATION: 0x1f [ 6.992729] iwlwifi 0000:00:14.3: WFPM_AUTH_KEY_0: 0x80 [ 6.992737] iwlwifi 0000:00:14.3: CNVI_SCU_SEQ_DATA_DW9: 0x0 [ 6.993563] iwlwifi 0000:00:14.3: RFIm is deactivated, reason = 4 [ 7.104775] bridge: filtering via arp/ip/ip6tables is no longer available by default. Update your Not sure what this is all about. pr 27 19:48:53 kioworker[3476]: readlink failed! “/proc/2/cwd” Apr 27 19:48:53 kioworker[3476]: readlink failed! “/proc/1/cwd” Apr 27 19:48:53 kioworker[3476]: readlink failed! “/proc/2/root” Apr 27 19:48:53 kioworker[3476]: readlink failed! “/proc/2/exe” Apr 27 19:48:53 kioworker[3476]: readlink failed! “/proc/1/root” Apr 27 19:48:53 kioworker[3476]: readlink failed! “/proc/1/exe” Apr 27 19:48:53 kioworker[3476]: readlink failed! “/proc/3/cwd” Apr 27 19:48:53 kioworker[3476]: readlink failed! “/proc/3/root” Apr 27 19:48:53 kioworker[3476]: readlink failed! “/proc/3/exe” Apr 27 19:48:53 kioworker[3476]: readlink failed! “/proc/4/cwd” Apr 27 19:48:53 kioworker[3476]: readlink failed! “/proc/4/root” Apr 27 19:48:53 kioworker[3476]: readlink failed! “/proc/4/exe” Apr 27 19:48:53 kioworker[3476]: readlink failed! “/proc/5/cwd” Apr 27 19:48:53 kioworker[3476]: readlink failed! “/proc/5/root”