3 computers. No sound or microphone working on headsets?

I successfully installed NomadBSD on 3 old Dell computers.

Unfortunately, I can’t get YouTube videos to give audio on either analog or
USB headsets.

Microphones won’t work online either. Checked on https://TheMicTest.com/.

Both analog (3.5mm) and USB headsets work. In fact, I can hear myself
in on both types of headsets, so I know both the microphone and earpieces
are working fine. The Logitech sound is so loud it gives a lot of feedback.

Since this is common to all 3 computers, I would think that this is a common
problem. Surely, someone must have bumped into this problem on this list!

Here is what ChatGPT suggested to try. I did with no luck =>

Here’s an exhaustive list of potential fixes for your sound problems on NomadBSD. I’ll break this down into steps that target both sound output and microphone input issues. Since you’ve tried many things, I’ll start with some basics and move into more advanced troubleshooting.

  1. Check and Configure Default Audio Devices

    1. Check Default Audio Device:
      ◦ Run the following command to list audio devices:
      shell
      Copy code
      cat /dev/sndstat
      ◦ Ensure that the correct device (USB headset or internal sound card) is set as the default. If not, change it:
      shell
      Copy code
      sysctl hw.snd.default_unit=1
      (Change 1 to the device number that corresponds to your USB headset or internal audio device.)
  2. Adjust Mixer Settings
    2. Check Mixer Volumes:
    ◦ Open the OSS mixer and ensure that the volume is not muted for both playback and microphone:
    shell
    Copy code
    mixer
    ◦ Increase the vol, pcm, and mic levels. Sometimes they are set to zero by default.
    ◦ Specifically check for any muted channels, especially pcm, which controls general sound output, and mic for the microphone.

  3. Verify USB Headset Configuration
    3. Select USB Headset as the Primary Device:
    ◦ If you are using a USB headset, make sure it’s selected as the active device using the method in step 1.
    ◦ You can also test the microphone input through the terminal with this command:
    shell
    Copy code
    ossrecord - | ossplay -
    ◦ This command captures the microphone input and plays it back immediately. If it works here, your microphone is functioning at the driver level.

  4. Check Software Volume Controls
    4. Browser Volume and Sound Settings:
    ◦ Open YouTube or any other sound-generating application and check if the browser’s sound is muted or too low within the OSS or PulseAudio mixers. Sometimes, individual applications are muted.
    ◦ Make sure the browser is playing through the correct audio device (USB headset or internal speakers).

  5. Test PulseAudio (Optional)
    5. Install and Use PulseAudio:
    ◦ Install pulseaudio and pavucontrol if not already done:
    shell
    Copy code
    pkg install pulseaudio pavucontrol
    ◦ Run PulseAudio:
    shell
    Copy code
    pulseaudio --start
    ◦ Open pavucontrol and check the Input Devices and Output Devices tabs. Ensure your headset is selected as the default input/output device.
    ◦ Adjust the input/output volume in pavucontrol. Test with your USB headset.

  6. Test with OSS Utilities
    6. Run OSS Sound Test:
    ◦ To test if the sound driver is working, use osstest:
    shell
    Copy code
    osstest
    ◦ This will cycle through the available audio devices and play a tone. Make sure the sound is played through the headset or speakers.

  7. Ensure the Correct Drivers are Loaded
    7. Verify Sound Driver:
    ◦ Run the following command to check if your sound card driver (like snd_hda) is loaded:
    shell
    Copy code
    dmesg | grep pcm
    ◦ If the correct driver is not loaded, manually load it:
    shell
    Copy code
    kldload snd_hda
    ◦ To make this permanent, add the line to /boot/loader.conf:
    shell
    Copy code
    snd_hda_load=“YES”

  8. Feedback and Loopback Fixes
    8. Mute or Disable Internal Microphone:
    ◦ If you are hearing feedback, it could be due to both the internal microphone and headset microphone being active.
    ◦ Use mixer or pavucontrol to mute or disable the internal microphone, keeping only the USB headset microphone active.

  9. Test Multiple Microphone Inputs
    9. Try Different Input Channels:
    ◦ Some headsets use different input channels for microphones. You may need to try all available microphone channels in the mixer or pavucontrol interface.
    ◦ In pavucontrol, go to Input Devices and test different microphone channels (mono/stereo, left/right).

  10. Reinstall Sound Subsystem or NomadBSD
    10. Reinstall OSS or PulseAudio:
    ◦ If none of the above work, you can try reinstalling the OSS or PulseAudio packages.
    ◦ First, remove the existing installation:
    shell
    Copy code
    pkg delete oss
    ◦ Then reinstall:
    shell
    Copy code
    pkg install oss
    ◦ Similarly, for PulseAudio:
    shell
    Copy code
    pkg delete pulseaudio
    pkg install pulseaudio

  11. Test Headset on Another OS or System
    11. Test Headset in a Different OS:
    ◦ Test the headset on a different operating system (like Windows or another Linux distro) to rule out hardware issues.

By working through these steps, you should be able to identify and resolve the sound and microphone issues on your Dell computers running NomadBSD. If the problem persists, it could be a hardware compatibility issue, especially on older machines.

I would be careful to trust a Chatgpt because its information could be very old. The FreeBSD handbook gives many advises to get the sound working. For any technical question my first source of information is always the handbook and the man files. In most cases you can get the sound working.
Here is one possible solution:

Here you get some other hints to get the sound working:

Thanks @mameko. Will look at these closely.

Hadn’t seen the advice to add:

media.cubeb.backend = oss

into Firefox about:config. Will try that.

To be clear, audio seems to work on most of these computers
through the speakers/back panel jacks.

What I would like to happen is for the speakers to turn
off if I plug the headset in.

Also, I need the microphone to work as well.

Will post back if I can get these to work.

Thanks again.

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