[PLUG] Linux audio on Macbook 12 inch

[VY]

I had no luck with pulseaudio.  I was trying mostly pipewire.
I have to go back to look for the steps.
It was mostly google search and chatgpt info.

But you have a good point.  The speakers may be busted.  I already wiped
out MacOS so I cannot think of a way to confirm that.
I will try your steps tonight or this week.  Thanks!

-v


On Tue, Jul 22, 2025 at 12:06 PM King Beowulf <kingbeowulf at linuxgalaxy.org>
wrote:

> On 7/21/25 13:52, VY wrote:
> > Hello all:
> >
> > I inherited an Intel based Macbook 12-inch from a friend who is retiring
> it.
> >
> > The CPU is an Intel M3 chip.
> > I installed Linux Mint and everything is working fine except audio.
> > During audio playback, I can only hear sound on the 3.5 mm jack.
> > The on-machine speaker is dead silent.   The sound output on the 3.5mm
> jack
> > is working fine.
> > I tried several tricks and none seem to be working.
> >
> > Asking if anyone has such experience?  Any tip/pointer is much
> appreciated.
> > Thanks
> >
> > -Vincent
> Vincent,
>
> What 'tricks' have you tried?  It might be good to list those so we do
> not duplicate efforts.
>
> Since you have audio from the jack, the sound chip driver module is
> loaded and working.  For ALSA and pulseaudio (or pipewire), check the
> following:
>
> 1.  alsamixer
> PA is pretty stupid, so always check alsamixer (CLI utility) to
> determine what is and what is not enabled.  The speaker outputs might be
> muted.  No, the speaker output is not necessarily "master".   It could
> be 'PCM', 'front', etc.
>
> Check for to see if 'jack sensing' is on.  This does not always work.
> The names for this can vary a bit.  On some audio drivers is can be
> 'HP/Speaker'.  Set it to mute.
>
> 2. pulseaudio/piperwire audo mixer applet
> make sure you are selecting the correct device.  The default profile
> might be wring (Configuration).  Do you see HDMI Audio or a USB web
> cam?  Disable these for now.
>
> For the sound device profile, if you are trying 'Analog Stereo Duplex'
> try another such as 'Analog Surround 2.1 output [+ Analog Stereo Input]
>
> Under Output devices, depending on the profile and driver, check the
> Port: list. Maybe you have the wrong one selected.
>
> 3. ALSA tools
>
> in CLI, run 'aplay -L' to list all the channel stuff ALSA sees reported
> by the driver module. 'aplay -l' (lower case L) shows all the cards. Try
> this:
>
> speaker-test -Dplug:pulse -c2 -twav
>
> With your headphones plugged in, can you here the 'front left, front
> right'?  This will keep repeating until CTRL-C.  Now play with #1 and #2
> above until the sounds plays from the speakers.
>
> 4. Are you sure the speakers work?
>
> -Ed
>
>
>