How to make Linux audio sound working on Mac Hardware

How to make Linux audio sound working on Mac Hardware

You can find this information online here: How-to-make-Linux-audio-sound-working-on-Mac-Hardware

Last update: 15. AUG. 2024

While sound on a regular PC hardware running Linux seems to work out of the box and not a big problem. But when it comes to Mac hardware it can be frustrating and quite a bit challenging.

Step 1: Which sound Chip you are using?

$ cat /proc/asound/card0/codec* | grep Codec

It should report your sound chip. For example:

Codec: Cirrus Logic CS8409

Not is down, my sound chip is: _____________. You will need this information in step 2.

Step 2: follow the instructions for your specific sound chip

According to your sound chip, you need to follow different instructions.

Sound Chip: Intel HDA?

Known hardware to work: iMac??,? Level: easy

Most of the time there is no sound card listed, with:

$ cat /proc/asound/cards
--- no soundcards ---

Activate the sound card with:

$ sudo /sbin/modprobe snd-hda-intel model=imac27

Check if your sound card is now listed now with:

$ cat /proc/asound/cards
 0 [PCH              ]: HDA-Intel - HDA Intel PCH
                        HDA Intel PCH at 0x......... irq 63
 1 [HDMI             ]: HDA-Intel - HDA ATI HDMI
                        HDA ATI HDMI at 0x.......... irq 64

Thurn UP VOLUME sliders!

You should hear audio now. Playing youtube video, etc.

Make this change permanent with:

$ sudo vi /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf

At the beginning at this line:

install /sbin/modprobe snd-hda-intel model=imac27

Save the file. After that change your sound should work every restrat of your computer as expected.

Sound Chip: Cirrus Logic CS8409

• Status: works
• Level: not an easy fix
• Known hardware that works: iMac19,2:

Codes: Cirrus Logic CS8409

You need to compile and install a Linux kernel module by yourself. https://www.github.com/davidjo/snd_hda_macbookpro

How to fix Sound distorted in macOS (restart coreaudio)

Problem

• Sound distorted after reboot back to macOS (how to restore macOS sound coreaudio)

Solution: Reset your sound system on macOS.

Restart your iMac, with Power off. I did a test, with Power OFF (plug removed from the main outlet), wait about 10 seconds, and reboot to macOS again. And the sound seems to be normal. Not shure if this work with a MacBook.

Sound distorted after reboot back to macOS.

Have to RESET macOS sound sytem.

macOS reset sound

% sudo pkill coreaudiod

or

% sudo pkill -9 coreaudiod

or

You can kill the CoreAudio process by opening Terminal and running:

% sudo kill -9 ps ax|grep 'coreaudio[a-z]' | awk '{print $1}'

It will restart automatically after a couple seconds.

FAQ

Can I use the same Linux if I changed / added a new support for my sound chip?

Yes. In fact you can use the same Linux configuration and use it with diffrent hardware iMac, MacBook Pro, PC, etc. whatever hardware it will support.

You can for example test your system and boot with Linux on an external USB-disk / SSD.

Troubleshooting

If something goes wrong.

Turn ON boot-up messages (so you can see what's going on)

You need to change the boot manager.

How to change and edit GRUB the Linux boot manager

If you need to update or change the Linux boot manager GRUB.

Use nano text editor if you are not familiar with editor vi.

If you prefere to edit with nano text editor use:

$ sudo nano /etc/default/grub
# -- do your changes as required and save the file
$ sudo update-grub

If you prefere to edit with vi text editor use:

$ sudo vi /etc/default/grub
# -- do your changes as required and save the file
$ sudo update-grub

Mini vi text editor howto:

• Cursor keys - move up, down, left and right
• i - insert text at current position
• ESC - exit text insert mode
• :wq - enter command mode and WRITE and QUIT
• :q! - enter command mode and QUIT without saveing changes

Change this:

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash nomodeset"

To this:

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="splash nomodeset"

nomodeset - will disable the intel graphics features which can be sometimes a problem when your system does not boot.

quiet splash - this will not show text output, instead a custom graphical logo.

Then shut down your computer with your graphical user interface, or type in reboot to restart your computer.