Audio issues after latest Raspbian updates (June 2020)

mitu

@momentarydogma Don't modify the cmdline.txt, it shouldn't be needed and you should remove the lines you added.
If you selected the Analog/Headphone audio option in the Audio settings, then in EmulationStation the settings should be Card: Default and Device: Headphone.

momentarydogma

Okay, I removed the lines I added to the cmdline.txt file and selected the Headphone audio option in the Audio settings, then selected "Default" and "Headphone" in the EmulationStation settings. This actually got rid of the "failed to find mixer elements" message temporarily, but it unfortunately did not end up providing any sound... I tried restarting ES to see if that would help, but then the "mixer elements" message just automatically came back. On a whim, I tried selecting HDMI from the Audio settings and the ES settings (even though I'm using the 3.5mm output), but that just resulted in THREE iterations of the "mixer elements error". There is another setting in the ES audio settings titled "OMX Player Audio Device"-- do you have any idea what I should set that to?

mitu

@momentarydogma said in Audio issues after latest Raspbian updates:

This actually got rid of the "failed to find mixer elements" message temporarily, but it unfortunately did not end up providing any sound...

Check the volume - software and hardware.

There is another setting in the ES audio settings titled "OMX Player Audio Device"-- do you have any idea what I should set that to?

Re-read my first post, at the top of the topic.

momentarydogma

@mitu okay, here are the lines from my es_settings.cfg file:

Those seem to match up with your original post-- should I change them to something else? Also, the software volume is currently set to 90%, but sometimes it randomly goes back to 0% upon reboot.

mitu

@momentarydogma The settings are correct.

momentarydogma

@mitu Well, if that's correct, where do I go from here? I have verified that those settings are as they are supposed to be, but I still get the mixer settings error. The only other thing I could point out is that the OMX options also include "ALSA:HW:0,0" and "ALSA:HW:0,1". Does that mean anything? Keep in mind, this is a fully fresh install of Retropie 4.6-- I encountered this problem directly out of the box.

mitu

@momentarydogma said in Audio issues after latest Raspbian updates:

Keep in mind, this is a fully fresh install of Retropie 4.6-- I encountered this problem directly out of the box.

If you haven't updated anything on your image, then the instructions here don't apply, though I outlined the correct settings - before updating - in the first post. You can check if you have the updated kernel/firmware as described in the 1st post.

I have verified that those settings are as they are supposed to be, but I still get the mixer settings error.

Verify that you have the updated kernel/firmware, otherwise the settings you posted above don't apply.

momentarydogma

@mitu The very first thing I did was update the kernel and firmware. I did this before I realized that there was an issue with the audio. The first thing I was attempting to do was to install Attract Mode, and the very first step in the guide for that is to update the kernel and firmware. The first time I saw the "mixer elements" error was when I went into the package management console immediately after I had done those updates. I can also verify that I put in a different SD card with a 4.2 build from a prior setup (different 3B+) and the audio works with no issues. Thanks for all of your help!

mitu

@momentarydogma said in Audio issues after latest Raspbian updates:

The very first thing I did was update the kernel and firmware

This is not what 'out-of-the-box' means.
I advise you to reflash the image, update your system and packages and then re-do the settings for Audio as outlined in the first post. You don't to edit any files, just use RetroPie-Setup and the EmulationStation's settings from its menu.

momentarydogma

That's precisely what I did to begin with... I flashed the image, updated the system and packages, then I came upon this post once I realized that the audio wasn't working properly. I initially used the Retropie setup and configured the ES settings exactly how you described at the beginning of this post, to no avail. The only reason I edited any files was because you recommended doing so in order to revert to the previous audio configuration. But I'll try it again and see if that works. Thanks again!

Idelacio

Since updating my install sound has been working without changing options fine with one exception:
OMX player won't play sound.

No option corrects this and if I try and run a preview of a splash screen video it crashes the system. Video does play on startup though.

When going into the terminal I get the following errors depending on my settings:
Failed to find mixer elements (as above)
amixer: Unable to find simple control 'PCM' ,0 (get this twice)

This is using an updated official image on a Pi4 (4GB
5.4.51-v7+
RP - 4.6.6
ES - 2.9.3

I'm guessing this is part of the same problem though honestly not a massive issue, it's mainly presentation that's affected. If it is not sure there's anything that could be suggested for this other than wait for the general problem to be fixed?

Welp moot anyway because it won't boot into the OS now: rainbow screen of fail! You gotta love it when the raspi-config screws up... still useful to know when I load up the backup image as I believe that's pre update.

Idelacio

This post is deleted!

Idelacio

So after reloading the image and updating it (versions listed above) I now get new errors!

ALSA lib control .c:1375:(snd_ctl_open_noupdate) Invalid CTL hdmi
VolumeControl::init() - Failed to attach to default card!

I have sound across OMX, BG music and games but volume control does not work in the ES menu and the options in teh ES menu for Audio card/device etc are pre update style despite having updated everything.

Idelacio

Okay so started from SCRATCH, joys, and updated the system IMMEDIATELY (after applying wireless settings) and then applied audio settings. Did toss up the errors before setup but now it's working fine for all sound playing functions.

RussellB

Hi all,

I posted a new topic on this but this might be better here...

Can someone who has updated their configuration try lzdoom to see if it generates sound? It used to before; I must have updated something that updated my sound configuration and now that is the only program that doesn't output sound to the HDMI.

By the way, uname -r returns: 4.19.97-v8+

RussellB.

mitu

@RussellB said in Audio issues after latest Raspbian updates:

By the way, uname -r returns: 4.19.97-v8+

This topic is for the changes in the audio settings when using this kernel version 4.19.118 or later, so it doesn't really apply to your case.

RussellB

Sorry about that.

I updated to the latest kernel and I'm still having this problem. :-(

MISTERHOLLYW00D

I have some audio issues. Not sure if anyone here knows how to fix this.

I use this user created script that allows for a volume switch of off medium high.

This worked fine but since the update its ran to some issues. When system is rebooted the switch might not work anymore.

Plus on the Pi4 it won't work at all.

I think its the PCM not being located

Here is the script I'm using

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oy5WzMGDGdXXdjEkhYcXtn7YQCJzAdbb/view

https://icculus.org/~icculus/dotplan/arcade1up/arcade1up-volume-gpio.c

mitu

@MISTERHOLLYW00D said in Audio issues after latest Raspbian updates:

Here is the script I'm using...

You'll have to ask the user that created the script to amend it for the changes brought by the Raspbian Linux kernel updates. You can try replacing "PCM" in the source code with the correct mixer name (HDMI/Headphones, depending on what you use for audio output) and re-compile the .c file included in the instructions.

UberLumby · [Linux 5.10.103-v7+ armv7l GNU/Linux Retropie 4.8 Raspberry Pi 3B+]

Does this by chance effect the audio playing games? I've noticed some consoles have very low audio compared to others even when I have my sound settings at 100% but I don't see any errors I have BGM on emulation station that still works fine