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Fixing Missing Audio When Using HDMI on Ubuntu

Steps for restoring Ubuntu audio by switching output from HDMI to the computer's analog sound device.

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I have run into this problem several times: first when I connected a monitor over HDMI, and again after upgrading the Ubuntu kernel. This note records the fix.

HDMI carries both video and audio by default, routing sound from the computer to the monitor. You can connect speakers or headphones to the monitor, but its jack is on the back and is inconvenient to reach. I normally prefer the computer’s audio jack, so the goal is to separate the audio from HDMI and send it through the original output.

Steps

  1. Make sure audio output is enabled.

    Open a terminal and use ALSA to check that the output is not muted:

    Terminal window
    alsamixer

    Find <S/PDIF 1>—on some machines it may be <S/PDIF>. If its value is MM, press M to change it to 00, then press Escape to exit.

  2. Set the output mode.

    Open Ubuntu’s sound settings, select the Hardware tab, and set the profile to Analog Stereo Duplex. If everything goes well, audio should start playing through the analog output.

Originally published on SegmentFault.